Two families of victims in the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting were awarded $4 million Wednesday as a local jury ruled in favor of their negligence suit against the school and state. The families had argued that the school should have acted faster to communicate with the rest of the student body after two students were found dead in their dorm room early on the day of the massacre, before Seung-Hui Cho went on to kill 30 other people across campus, including the victims whose families filed suit. In a statement, a Virginia Tech spokesman said the school was "disappointed with today's decision and stand by our long-held position that the administration and law enforcement at Virginia Tech did their absolute best with the information available on April 16, 2007."

An Afghan man breached security and drove a stolen truck onto the airstrip where Defense Secretary Leon Panetta's plane was touching down on Wednesday, and then later emerged from the vehicle in flames. Fox News reports that an official has said the incident was a targeted attack on Panetta.The man reportedly was an Afghan interpreter who had gasoline and a lighter in a pickup truck that he stole from an English service member. The interpreter crashed his truck into a ditch. The source says that the driver got out of the car and set himself on fire, though there were no explosives. The episode marks the beginning of a tense trip for the secretary, who must make amends with the Afghan government after an American soldier allegedly killed 16 Afghans.

Who would have guessed that Syria's President Bashar al-Assad spends his days shopping for music and video games on iTunes? The Guardian has exclusively obtained 3,000 email exchanges between the Syrian leader and his wife, revealing surprising facts about the brutal dictator's private life. The messages, which were allegedly leaked to an opposition group by someone in the president's inner circle between last June and early February, paint a portrait not of a villain whose regime has seen more than 8,000 Syrians killed but of a rich leader who was more consumed by his lavish lifestyle than the protests and bloody crackdown going on around him. The emails reveal Assad's wife spent upwards of $10,000 on the Internet, while the president himself bought Chris Brown songs and games for his iPad on iTunes. They also indicate that Iran may have been involved in helping Assad suppress political uprising. One message sent from a media adviser to Assad was based on consultations with "the media and political adviser for the Iranian ambassador" and urged the president to use "powerful and violent" language in a December speech.

And you thought the Republican presidential nomination race was intense. The Communist Party in China has dropped one of the nation’s most ambitious—and flamboyant—leaders. Bo Xilai was being considered to be on the party’s Politiburo Standing Committee, but now he’ll be replaced as Chongqing city Communist Party secretary. The news of Bo’s exit—it wasn’t clear if he had resigned or was booted—was delivered in a one-sentence statement by the Xinhua News Agency. In recent weeks, a scandal had erupted over the chief of police who he picked who enforced a crackdown on Chongqing’s gangs.

Look who’s coming to dinner. The president and first lady are hosting British Prime Minister David Cameron and wife Samantha at the White House tonight. Among the A-list celebrities who’ll be in attendance: George Clooney, Downton Abbey’s Hugh Bonneville, musicians John Legend and Mumford and Sons, Richard Branson, actress Carey Mulligan, Newsweek and The Daily Beast’s Andrew Sullivan, Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour, and Sen. John Kerry—who even posed for a picture. Read the full list here.

In a letter to the British parliament on Wednesday, James Murdoch claimed his innocence in the phone-hacking scandal that has embroiled his family name and News International conglomerate while saying he had "deep regret" for the situation. "It has been suggested that my decision to resign my role at News International reflected past knowledge of voicemail interception or other alleged criminal wrongdoing at News International," Murdoch wrote in a seven-page letter. "This is untrue." meanwhile, veteran British reporter Neville Thurlbeck was arrested on Wednesday for his alleged involvement in the scandal. He was arrested on charges of trying to intimidate a witness and encouraging or assisting an offense while working at News of the World. The 51-year-old was taken into custody by officers working on Operation Weeting, the investigation that stemmed from revelations that phone hacking was rampant at the paper, which is now defunct. Thurlbeck, who was arrested in April 2011, made bail. His former colleague Rebekah Brooks was also rearrested, along with four others.

In his final speech before heading to prison, former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich said that he’s going to “follow the law.” Blago heads to Colorado to begin a 14-year sentence. Last June, Blagojevich was convicted on 17 counts of corruption, including allegations that he was trying to make a profit off filling Barack Obama’s Senate seat. Speaking to a crowd that sometimes chanted “Free our governor” outside his Chicago home, the disgraced former governor held his wife under his arms while she held back tears. "This, as bad as it is, is part of a long and hard journey that will only get worse before it gets better," he said. Day 1 of his 14 years begins.

Introducing the first $2.15 billion op-ed. After a resigning Goldman Sachs employee wrote a scathing piece for The New York Times about the company’s moral bankruptcy, Goldman Sach’s market value took a $2.15 billion hit. The company's share price tumbled 3.4 percent in trading Wednesday. The writer was Greg Smith, who spent 12 years at the company and held nothing back when blasting CEO Lloyd C. Blankfein and the culture of greed. The company sent a memo to employees on Wednesday, saying that Smith was wrong.  Shares are still up 33 percent for the year.

Catherine Greig, the longtime girlfriend of mobster James "Whitey" Bulger, pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiracy charges for helping him remain on the lam for 16 years. Greig, 60, also pleaded guilty to two other charges involving conspiracy and identity theft and faces up to five years in prison. Before the plea, a man whose sister was allegedly murdered by Bulger told the court that Greig was a "monster" and deserved a harsh sentence. Bulger and Greig were arrested last June in California, caught with more than $820,000 in cash and a large trove of firearms hidden in the walls of their apartment. Bulger, who is accused of murdering 19 people, may have written memoirs that could be used against him in court, according to a recent investigation. 

Luck has appeared to run out for HBO's Luck. Following a third horse death on the set of racetrack-set drama, as first reported Tuesday by TMZ, premium cable network HBO today announced that it has decided to stop production on the low-rated show, citing animal-safety concerns. Luck, created by Michael Mann and David Milch, had already been renewed for a second season, despite meager ratings. “The two of us loved this series, loved the cast, crew and writers," Milch and Mann wrote in a joint statement. "This has been a tremendous collaboration and one that we plan to continue in the future.”

Even Jeremy Lin couldn't save Mike D'Antoni, who resigned from his post as the New York Knicks’ head coach today. After a bruising six-game losing streak, the team has fallen to an 18-24 deficit, and the players were reportedly not pleased with the man running the show. Mike Woodson will take the helm as interim head coach, according to Yahoo. He’ll have some work to do: the Knicks are now tied with the Milwaukee Bucks for eighth place in the Eastern Conference. D'Antoni’s struggles came despite an all-star roster that includes Amar'e Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony, and Tyson Chandler.

The Arizona Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday approved a bill that would allow employers to restrict birth-control access based on religious beliefs—and would allow employers to ask for proof of a medical prescription for women seeking contraceptives. The bill’s sponsor, Republican Majority Whip Debbie Lesko, said that “government should not be telling the organizations or mom-and-pop employers to do something against their moral beliefs.” Planned Parenthood Arizona president Bryan Howard said there haven’t been any complaints since 2002, when Arizona passed the Contraceptive Equity Law, which bans religious employers from denying employees birth control for noncontraceptive purposes.

Goldman Sachs executive Greg Smith knows how to go out with a bang. “Today is my last day at Goldman Sachs,” he writes in a New York Times op-ed. He’s been at Goldman for 12 years, and says, “The environment now is as toxic and destructive as I have ever seen it.” Smith says the investment bank has lost its way. It used to want to help clients; now people call them “muppets” and “callously” talk about ripping them off. The firm changed the way it thought about leadership, he says. “Leadership used to be about ideas, setting an example and doing the right thing. Today, if you make enough money for the firm (and are not currently an ax murderer) you will be promoted into a position of influence.”

An American soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians has been flown out of Afghanistan, a U.S. military official said on Wednesday. The official said the soldier had been flown to a “pretrial containment facility” in another country, but did not provide any more details. The official said the decision had been made to pursue legal proceedings outside Afghanistan, but did not provide any other reasons for the move. In a separate New York Times piece, a U.S. official said there is surveillance video of the soldier returning to the base after the shooting. The soldier, an Army staff sergeant, walks up to the outpost and surrenders. Some details also emerged about the sergeant: he is a 38-year-old married father of two, serving with the Third Stryker Brigade, Second Infantry Division, and based out of the Joint Lewis-McChord Army installation near Tacoma, Wash.

Yikes, was Lindsay Lohan’s Saturday Night Live comeback episode all in vain? TMZ is reporting that Lohan was in a minor car accident just after midnight on Wednesday—and the actress reportedly fled the scene after grazing a pedestrian. TMZ's sources say Lohan had gone to the Hookah Lounge just after midnight on Wednesday but was blocked by paparazzi and bystanders. She was reportedly attempting a three-point turn when she allegedly grazed the knee and car of the 26-year-old manager of the Hookah Lounge. He reportedly did not recognize Lohan and refused medical attention, but a short time later, he said he was injured. Police said they will open an investigation if a report is filed.

At least one person was killed and three were injured Wednesday when a man began shooting in the Jefferson County courthouse in Texas. "There was a defendant on trial. It was break time, lunchtime, and he apparently shot three people, maybe four," Judge Larry Gist told CNN. An elderly woman was apparently killed. A witness in the case was shot, said Gist. The courthouse was evacuated and police eventually captured the suspect after shooting him.

Two earthquakes rattled Japan on Wednesday, just days after the anniversary of 2011’s tragic tsunami. First, a 6.8 temblor struck northern Japan. Several towns were evacuated, and forecasters issued a tsunami warning that was later lifted. Later, a shallow 6.1-magnitude quake struck near Tokyo. No damages or injuries have been reported from either incident. Last year’s earthquake, a 9.0 that hit roughly the same area as today’s first earthquake, triggered a massive tsunami that left 19,000 dead.

Moroccans are furious over the suicide of a 16-year-old girl who was subject to Article 475 of the nation’s penal code, which allows the “kidnapper” of a minor to skirt criminal charges if he marries his victim. Online activists are speaking out after Amina Filali swallowed rat poison over the weekend in defiance of her marriage to the person who raped her one year ago. Article 475 is rarely used, though victims’ families sometimes opt for it out of the fear that the public knowledge of a rape will make a bride unable to find a husband. The victim’s father has said that the court suggested that his daughter marry the rapist when he first told them about the case. The Facebook group “We are all Amina Filali” already has 1,000 signatures.

Fans of the printed word will no doubt breathe a sentimental sigh over this news: after 244 years, Encyclopaedia Britannica is ceasing production of its multivolume reference books, shifting its focus to online encyclopedias and educational tools, company executives announced on Tuesday. Britannica usually prints a new set of tomes every two years, but 2010's 32-volume set will be the last one ever produced. "Everyone will want to call this the end of an era, and I understand that," said Britannica president Jorge Cauz. "But there's no sad moment for us." Print encyclopedias account for less than 1 percent of Encyclopaedia Britannica’s revenues, with curriculum products and other educational tools bringing in 85 percent and the remaining revenues coming from online subscriptions to its website.

Dallas Seavey turned 25 on March 4, the day the 1,000-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race began, making him the youngest winner ever. He finished in nine days, four hours, and 29 minutes. Dallas’s father won the race in 2004, and placed seventh this time around. His 74-year-old grandfather is running his fifth Iditarod this year. “It’s kind of what we do,” said Dallas.

Thanks to TLC’s hit show Toddlers and Tiaras, child beauty pageants are suddenly in the spotlight. But John Ramsey, whose 6-year-old daughter and pageant winner JonBenet was murdered in 1996, recently said he regrets her involvement in the child pageant world. “I think about these things now and it makes me cringe. We were so naive,” he told ABC News. “I now believe with all my heart that it’s not a good idea to put your child on public display.” Benet was found strangled in her home days after she appeared in a Christmas parade. John and his wife, Patsy Ramsey, were long believed to be suspects in their daughter’s murder and were only recently cleared of suspicion. Ramsey is promoting his new book, The Other Side of Suffering, which details his emotional journey “from grief to grace” following JonBenet’s murder. Fifteen years after her death, police have not yet found the killer.

Newt Gingrich is sticking in the race, despite a disappointing second-place finish in Alabama and Mississippi. The GOP campaign is essentially a two-man race between Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum, with Gingrich representing a potential drag on Santorum. But the former speaker doesn’t see it that way. After last night’s results came in, he gave a speech that seemed to suggest he and Santorum could work as a team to prevent Romney from winning the nomination. “Between Santorum and myself, we’ll get over two thirds of the delegates and the so-called frontrunner will get less than a third,” Gingrich said, which could force a contested convention.

Bashar al-Assad’s assault continues. In Idlib, a northern rebel stronghold that has been under siege for three days following a similar assault on Baba Amr, Assad’s forces pushed hundreds of military defectors out of a base they’d held for months. Meanwhile, the Arab League condemned Syria’s actions as crimes against humanity, and Human Rights Watch reported that Syrian forces are placing land mines along refugee routes. Amid all the international condemnation, Syria has at least one friend: Russia pledged to continue selling weapons to the regime.

Rick Santorum was met with huge cheers from his supporters as he exclaimed at the opening of his victory speech in Alabama, “We did it again,” foreshadowing his subsequent win in Mississippi. The former Pennsylvania senator went on to thank his wife and his family, giving a special shout-out to his eldest daughter, Elizabeth, who’s campaigning for him in Hawaii—the one state Mitt Romney won last night. Rick also knocked Mitt Romney’s super PAC: “Romney spent a whole lot of money against me for being inevitable.” As he was concluding his speech, emphasizing his commitment to family and “the centrality of faith in our lives,” the numbers came in to reveal that he had won Mississippi’s primary as well.

A new development in concerns over Iran's nuclear program: a U.S. nuke expert said Tuesday that he's discovered a test chamber for explosives at Iran's Parchin military site. David Albright, founder of the Institute for Science and International Security, said he found the site through satellite images of a relatively small and isolated compound at Parchin, which is southeast of Tehran, that matched a description in a November 2011 International Atomic Energy Agency report. Iran has so far refused access to the site, which a U.N. nuclear watchdog wants to visit, leading to speculation among Western diplomats that it was trying to clean up the facility before letting anyone inspect it. Iran, meanwhile, has written off talks of an alleged cleanup as "propaganda."

A “substantial” portion of Britain’s white cliffs of Dover collapsed into the sea Wednesday, according to the Coast Guard. The cliff face shelved off from an area near Crab Bay, and no one was injured. The Dover Coast Guard said a full survey will be conducted to find out exactly how much of the cliff collapsed. While the cause is unknown, experts believe it may have been caused by freezing rain being absorbed into the chalk and expanding, causing it to weaken. This is not the first major rockfall for the famous cliffs, with a notable one occurring just last year.

President Obama held a news conference with British P.M. David Cameron today, and by all accounts the two leaders are getting along just fine. The pair discussed Syria, where they both agreed that the Assad regime needs to end and humanitarian aid needs to be increased. On Iran, they were in lockstep again, with Cameron supporting Obama's notion that nothing is "off the table." And there were parting gifts, to boot. The Obamas gave the Camerons a custom-designed wood- and charcoal-burning grill, engraved with American and British friendship flags, and a pair of personalized chef jackets. The gift was meant to commemorate the cookout the Obamas and Camerons held in London for members of their respective countries’ militaries last year.

A Belgian bus struck the wall of a Swiss tunnel on the way back from a ski trip, killing 28 people—including 22 children, most around 12 years old. Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo said it was "a tragic day for all of Belgium.” The children were returning from a week of skiing in Val d'Anniviers in the Swiss Alps. The crash is something of a mystery: the bus was nearly new and equipped with safety belts, the line has a good reputation, the drivers appear to have followed the regulations for proper rest, and the tunnel wasn't crowded. An investigation is underway.

A fire in Boston’s Back Bay on Tuesday night left some 12,000 without power on Wednesday as the city struggled to return to normal. A fire in a 115,000-volt transformer was reported around 6:30 p.m. in the residential neighborhood Back Bay, sending black smoke through the streets of Boston. Local power company NStar then shutdown power to avoid the spread of the fire. An estimated 800 NStar workers are currently working on restoring power to the estimated thousands who were left stranded. Around 11,000 people were still without power by noon on Wednesday, with parts of the Theatre District, Back Bay and Chinatown already restored.

At this point in the Republican primary contest, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum have resorted to making digs at one another. First Romney said Santorum was “at the desperate end of his campaign.” Then, Wednesday, Santorum adviser John Brabender took to CNN’s Starting Point and retorted, “I’m not sure I’m going to listen to a value judgment of a guy who strapped his own dog on the top of a car and went hurling down the highway. For Mitt Romney to be going out there, saying that this is desperate, is an insult also to the voters in places like Mississippi and Alabama who evidently didn’t get the Romney desperate memo.”

Academy Award-winning actress Charlize Theron can now add motherhood to her list of achievements. Theron, 36, has adopted a baby boy named Jackson, her rep confirmed in a statement, with sources telling US Weekly that the child is African-American and was born in the U.S. Having split from her long-time boyfriend in 2010, the Young Adult star has since expressed interest in wanting to start a family. "I feel very blessed to have had a certain amount of success, and now I'm reaching the point where I would love to be a mom," the actress said in a 2010 interview.

British Prime Minister David Cameron and U.S. President Obama pledged on Wednesday to stick to the agreed-upon timetable for withdrawal in Afghanistan, despite the recent upheaval after a U.S. soldier opened fire on unarmed civilians. Obama admitted there has been a “drift” in Afghanistan since he took office and he admitted that “no one wants war,” but Obama insisted that the U.S. is committed to finishing its mission there. Cameron said recent events serve as an important reminder of how dangerous this mission is, since “Afghanistan must never again be a safe haven for attacks against us.” As for Syria, Cameron said “we must maintain the strongest pressure to all those who are resisting change” and he pledged to “work with anyone who is willing to build a stable, inclusive and democratic Syria for all Syrians.”

First he loses two big primaries and now this? President Obama is leading Mitt Romney nationally by 12 points, according to a new Pew poll. While 56 percent of voters polled see the president favorably, only 29 percent have the same view of Romney. Obama’s also reached a job approval rating of 50 percent, the first time Pew has registered that figure since May of last year. However, while Pew’s results give hope to the incumbent, CBS News, The New York Times, and ABC News and The Washington Post have released surveys recently that show Obama’s approval sinking with rising gas prices.