Putin may have won the presidency, but during the Russian election on Sunday, 71 independent and opposition activists found seats in Moscow’s 125 district legislative councils. Many activists feel that this is the best way to bring about change in the country. Vera Kichanova, a 20-year-old opposition protestor who won a council seat, said, “"Real politics isn't just fighting in the street. It is helping people in their daily lives. This work might be tedious, but it is more important than standing back and criticizing. Someone needs to get involved."

One nearly heard a lusty roar from across the Atlantic Thursday as Greece seemed to secure a historic deal with private lenders. Investors and officials were reportedly confident about the status of the deal, which could help bring stability to Europe’s economy. The deal would be a step toward ensuring fresh bailout funds for Greece. Stocks in Europe rode high on the news, and interest rates on Spanish and Italian government debt dropped. “It’s a done deal,” said the president of a New York capital-management fund that brokered the agreement.

The Senate rejected a GOP led attempt to allow construction of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, despite the Obama Administration’s objections. It failed in a vote of 56-42, because it would have needed 60 votes in favor to succeed. Eleven Democrats joined the Republican caucus in supporting the plan. President Obama himself lobbied Democrats to vote against the measure. After the vote, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said, “At a moment when millions are out of work, gas prices are skyrocketing, and the Middle East is in turmoil, we’ve got a president who’s up making phone calls trying to block a pipeline here at home. It’s unbelievable.”

A genuine mugwump in the Syrian government may have bolted for the opposition. In a video posted Thursday, Syria's deputy oil minister announced he was switching sides, which would make him the first major government official to duck out from beneath President Bashar al-Assad’s iron wing since a popular uprising began almost a year ago. Little is known about where the videotaped defection originated, and the official, Abdu Hussameldin, has not verified its authenticity to reporters. In it Hussameldin says, “I declare I am joining the people’s revolution, which will not and will never accept oppression and the brutality practiced by the regime.”

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin wasn’t laughing during her appearance with Fox’s Sean Hannity Thursday night, as she dug into President Obama and the lack of media scrutiny he went through during the last election cycle. “Our sitting president was not vetted,” during the 2008 election, Palin said. Palin was speaking of videos aired on Hannity’s show Wednesday released by Breitbart.com that show Obama speaking in support of Professor Derrick Bell during Obama’s Harvard days. Palin also fumed over the denouncing of Rush Limbaugh, saying there was a double standard in Obama accepting money from Bill Maher, who Palin said has made misogynistic remarks about her. “Our president is one who is trying to divide our country,” Palin said. “He is not in this to unify America and to solidify our place as the exceptional nation in the world. He is trying to divide us based along lines of gender, of religion, of income, even of race.” Maher wrote a $1 million check to Priorities USA Action, a pro-Obama PAC, money Palin said Obama should ask the PAC to return.

Stop the presses! By an overwhelming vote of 390–23, the House voted to pass a jobs bill on Thursday, one that would loosen up SEC restrictions on small businesses to help them grow, go public, and raise money. Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, as it’s called, has been given Obama’s blessing, and the Senate is working on complementary legislation. The act is actually a compendium of half a dozen bills, most of which have cleared the House with 400 votes. So this is what bipartisanship looks like.

Mitt Romney released his campaign’s cash figures Thursday, showing that he had $7.3 million on hand at the end of February. Since he raised $11.5 million last month, and he had $7.7 million at the end of January, it means that he only spent $11.9 million in February to fight off a huge challenge from Rick Santorum and win Nevada, Michigan, Arizona, and set up his Super Tuesday victories. It shows Romney’s strong reliance on super PACs and his personal wealth. Santorum has said he raised $9 million in campaign funds in February, far more than in any previous month. (He’s reportedly raised only $16 million total so far.) If true, it’s more evidence that Romney is looking even stronger, since his spending was way down from January ($18.8 million) and he still managed to hold off Santorum’s surge.

Police say two people are dead in a shooting at the University of Pittsburgh Thursday at a psychiatric clinic on campus, and seven others were wounded. Paul Wood, spokesman for Pitt's medical center, said one of the dead included the shooter, who began firing inside the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic shortly before 2 p.m. ET. Wood said that media reports about a possible second gunman and a hostage crisis were unfounded. The school is on spring break, but the buildings were on lockdown; the area has now been secured.

A video that describes the atrocities committed by Joseph Kony and his Lord’s Resistance Army in the Central African Republic has gone viral. The video, which is more than 30 minutes long, has gotten more than 32 million views on YouTube since it was released on Monday. Kony is wanted by the International Criminal Court and is at the center of a manhunt involving 100 U.S. Special Forces in four African countries. The video was posted by the advocacy group Invisible Children, and it is part of the group’s campaign to raise awareness about the militia leader and the case against him. The hit video has also brought negative press to the organization, with many criticizing the ratio of the group’s spending on direct aid and a photo of group members posing with guns next to troops in what is now known as South Sudan.

A chance once-over in the mirror has made Sara Blakely one of the richest people on the planet. After she didn’t like the way she looked in some pants, Blakely invented Spanx, a body-shaping undergarment. Now she’s joined the ranks of Carlos Slim and Bill Gates, with Forbes installing her on its list of the world’s wealthiest. “I think my story says that, when women are given the chance and the opportunity, that we can achieve a lot,” Blakely said on CBS Thursday morning. “We can make the world a better place, one butt at a time.” Spanx took off when celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow and Oprah Winfrey gave them a thumbs-up. Blakely is valued at $1 billion, placing her at No. 1,153 on the Forbes list.

HBO can forget about acquiring the rights to Cindy McCain’s life story. The wife of 2008 candidate John McCain blasted the network’s adaption of Game Change on CNN Wednesday night, saying “it doesn’t even resemble what took place” on the campaign trail. Even worse? Ed Harris, who plays her husband in the movie, “is not nearly as cute” as the real-life senator, Cindy said. Her daughter Meghan had a similar take—though she was more pleased with Harris’s portrayal.

Apple didn't get to bask in the glory of its new iPad for long. The Justice Department has warned the company—along with five of the biggest U.S. publishers—that it plans to sue them for allegedly colluding to raise the price of electronic books, sources tell The Wall Street Journal. The case alleges that just before the release of the first iPad, Apple worked with publishers to adopt a retail model in which the publishers set a price and Apple took a 30 percent cut of sales. The move was a reaction against Amazon, which had frightened publishers by selling e-books at $9.99. After Apple adopted the pricing model, the publishers were able to demand a similar one from Amazon.

We wish we could say that the latest twist in investigations into News Corp.’s papers comes as a surprise. Two former Scotland Yard chiefs testified on Wednesday that their sons both gained “work experience” at News International, Rupert Murdoch’s publishing division. “It was a perfectly normal process,” said former Commissioner Ian Blair, “the kind of thing that would excite most 15-year-olds.” The nature of their experience wasn’t made clear, but the British usually equate the phrase with brief, unpaid internships. And while it’s hardly uncommon for kids to get internships through family connections, it may be further evidence of illicit ties between the Metropolitan Police and News Corp. Last week, it was revealed that former Sun and News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks rode around for years on a police horse.

The U.S. Treasury Department struck a deal on Wednesday with the American International Group, or AIG, to sell off $6 billion worth of stock—the most significant stake yet in the U.S. government’s bid to rid itself of its majority-shareholder position of the insurance company. Under the deal, AIG must pay off more than $8.5 billion in obligations. The government’s share in the company is currently about 77 percent and will be reduced to about 70 percent under the terms of the current deal. After 2008, both the Bush and Obama administrations awarded bailouts to AIG, with one of the pledges totaling $182 billion. The company reported a $20 billion profit for the fourth quarter.

Who knew that Gore-Tex played so rough? According to Outside Magazine, the waterproof-material maker is under investigation both in Europe and the United States for unfair business practices, namely intimidating gear makers who use their material into not using competitors' products. The complaint lodged in the U.S. was serious enough for the Federal Trade Commission to launch a follow-up investigation. “Everybody hates Gore, everybody needs Gore, so everybody’s afraid of Gore. They can make or break you,” said a manufacturer, anonymously.

The Gentleman From Georgia is counting on a little Southern hospitality as his campaign straggles at the end of the Republican pack after picking up only one Super Tuesday state. His campaign on Wednesday deep-sixed plans to stump in Kansas, and spokesman R.C. Hammond admitted that it’s going to be a long slog from here, telling reporters, “Everything between Spartanburg all the way to Texas, those all need to go for Gingrich.” Yet the campaign will soldier on, Hammond said, even as Rick Santorum’s campaign and a pro-Santorum super PAC breathe down the former speaker’s neck, urging him to duck out of the race post haste and not drive Republicans into Mitt Romney’s arms.

The number of hate groups operating in the United States continues to rise, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which has tracked such groups for 30 years. Fed by dislike of President Obama, changing racial demographics, and the growing gap between rich and poor, the number of hate groups and antigovernment organizations grew to 1,018 last year. Antigay groups grew especially quickly, to 27 from 17 in 2010. Antigovernment and militia groups also grew quickly. The center found 1,274 of such groups, up from 824 last year. “They represent both a kind of right-wing populist rage and a left-wing populist rage that has gotten all mixed up in anger toward the government,” said the director of the center.

Utah’s sex-ed classes are about to get a lot shorter. The state’s legislature passed a bill that would ban public schools from teaching contraception as a way of preventing pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases. The bill also prohibits teaching about homosexuality. The bill now goes to Gov. Gary Herbert, who has yet to take a public stance on the issue. Thirty-seven states require information about abstinence to be taught, while 26 of those states require abstinence be taught as the most reliable way of preventing pregnancy or infection. Utah’s law would be the only one that prohibits discussion of birth control.

This is a shift from preaching conservative family values. Evangelist Pat Robertson's newest cause is the legalization of marijuana. “I really believe we should treat marijuana the way we treat beverage alcohol,” Robertson told The New York Times. “I’ve never used marijuana and I don’t intend to, but it’s just one of those things that I think: this war on drugs just hasn’t succeeded.” Robertson argues that legalizing marijuana is the best way to bring down U.S. incarceration rates. “I believe in working with the hearts of people, and not locking them up,” he said.

Three of Osama bin Laden’s widows, who have been held by Pakistani authorities since the U.S. raid that killed their husband in May, have been charged with illegally entering and living in the country, Pakistan’s interior minister said Thursday. Each woman could face up to five years in jail, though it’s possible that the charges are just part of a process of letting them out of the country. One of the wives is from Yemen, another from Saudi Arabia, and the third’s nationality isn’t known.

The state of Michigan has figured out that winning the lottery is not like being unemployed. The Department of Human Services has cut off welfare to Amanda Clayton, a 24-year-old woman who hit a $1 million lottery jackpot last fall yet continued to collect $200 a month in food aid. Her case has also been referred to state anti-fraud officials to investigate. Clayton, who has two children, defended her decision to the Detroit news crew that tracked her down. “I feel that it’s OK because, I mean, I have no income, and I have bills to pay. I have two houses.” She bought a second house, along with a car, when she won the lottery. After it was discovered that another Michigan resident continued to get public assistance after winning a $2 million jackpot in 2010, a Republican lawmaker sponsored a bill that would trigger a state notification whenever someone wins more than $1,000 in the lottery.

A super PAC backing Rick Santorum is stepping up pressure to force Newt Gingrich to drop out of the GOP presidential race. The Red White and Blue fund is spending about half a million dollars in Alabama and Mississippi—states that Gingrich said are must-wins. It’s called on Gingrich to drop out, but the former House speaker has said he won’t. Santorum himself isn’t getting his hands dirty. “I’m not saying I don’t want him to get out,” Santorum said Wednesday. “If he wants to get out, I’m all for him getting out. I’m for Mitt Romney getting out. I wish President Obama would just hand me the thing, but that’s not going to happen.” Seems a good strategy to take, since pestering Gingrich to drop out now might not help Santorum get his endorsement, which could mean a lot more.

Hot enough for ya? A massive solar flare—the biggest in years—hit Earth this morning around 5:45 a.m. ET, with the threat of disrupting electricity grids, airplane routes, and GPS services. Upon its arrival the blast was measured at G1 on an intensity scale of 5, but was expected grow to G3 sometime Thursday. So far, it hasn’t lived up to predictions, but it did knock out some radio communications at the Earth’s poles. It hit the planet at a mind-boggling speed of 4.5 million miles per hour. The bright side? It won’t harm anyone, and it could make for some spectacular light shows.

How are you celebrating International Women’s Day? March 8 marks the day, which the Los Angeles Times notes is an online sensation as Afghanistan has opened its first women’s Internet café and “Happy International Women’s Day” trending worldwide on Twitter. According to the day’s official website, the U.K. is said to be marking the day with 437 events while the U.S. is ringing it in with 253—including Newsweek & The Daily Beast’s Women in the World Summit. The day is meant to honor the plight of women around the world, various non profits and organizations marking the day by honoring mothers, wives and families, particularly in war-torn worlds. In some parts of the world, March 8 is a day to give women flowers and candy, much like Valentine’s or Mother’s Day in the U.S.

It’s hard to get a movie pitch picked up by the Weinstein Co.—just ask President Obama. Apparently, the commander in chief sent Oscar’s favorite producer, Harvey Weinstein, a spy novel that he had read and suggested the film mogul make it into a movie. But Weinstein ultimately passed on the idea. “I sent him an email back saying he was the most overqualified book scout I’ve ever had,” Weinstein said. He is a strong supporter of the president and has hosted fundraisers for Obama in both New York and Los Angeles.

The Mississippi Supreme Court upheld more than 200 controversial pardons granted by former governor Haley Barbour on his way out of office in January, stopping a bid by the state attorney general’s office to have them overturned. The 6–3 ruling came on Thursday afternoon when the court ruled that Barbour’s moves “may not be set aside or voided by the judicial branch.” Dissenting Justice Michael Randolph wrote that the decision was “a stunning victory for some lawless convicted felons, and an immeasurable loss for ... our state.” Of the 214 felons, four were convicted murderers who had worked as “trusties” in the governor’s mansion. The attorney general argued that Barbour had failed to think of the families of the victims prior to his pardons.

Who knew that Iran would be praising the U.S.? Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appeared on the state-run Press TV Thursday and delivered the customary critiques of America, lashing out at President Obama’s threat to impose more sanctions on Iran if the country’s nuclear program continues. But in a surprise move that might signal a willingness to back off from the aggressive rhetoric, he also praised Obama for his speeches this week saying that he is not thinking of military action at this point, and that “loose talk” of war against Iran is dangerous. Khamenei said Obama’s remarks were “positive”—and then promptly warned him that his talk of sanctions will backfire on the U.S.