More than 8,000 people attended a rally in Sanford, Florida, for slain teenager Trayvon Martin, who was killed in February by neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman. Protesters wore hooded sweatshirts to honor Trayvon, demanding justice for the unarmed black teenager. The protest was filled with impassioned speakers, including the Rev. Al Sharpton, who said that Zimmerman should have been arrested because you can’t “defend yourself against Skittles and iced tea.” Martin's mother, Sybrina Fulton, thanked the crowd for its support, saying that Trayvon is everyone’s son now. Ray Lewis, Patrick Ewing, and Jesse Jackson are expected to attend a Sanford City Commission meeting on Monday.

Did France’s intelligence services make a major mistake in not detaining Mohamed Merah, the 23-year-old suspected in a series of al Qaeda–inspired shootings across southern France, before it was too late? Foreign Minister Alain Juppé has asked whether they failed to stop the attack since Merah had been under surveillance and was questioned as recently as November. Merah was on a government no-fly list, and the authorities knew that he had a violent criminal record and had been to Afghanistan at least twice. French security services are well known; no terror attacks have taken place there in 15 years.

Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales will be charged with 17 counts of murder, a Defense Department official told NBC News on Thursday. The official charges are expected to be released Friday. Bales is accused of shooting and killing 17 Afghan civilians, including nine children, on March 11. Meanwhile, some have alleged that Bales was drinking when the massacre occurred. The Associated Press reported Thursday that the Army staff sergeant had been cited in a previous incident involving alcohol, and a previous background check revealed Bales had been arrested in a drunken assault case in 2002.

The U.N. Security Council has strongly condemned a military coup that took place in Mali early Thursday morning. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on the responsible parties to refrain from violence. Rogue soldiers overtook the government after it was unable to stop a separatist rebellion in the north of the country. Mali is due to hold elections on April 29, and the whereabouts of the current president, as well as other top government officials, remain unknown as the World Bank halted its aid to the nation.

Now that the cause of Whitney Houston’s death is public knowledge, the pop diva’s family has released a statement saying they are “saddened to learn” what killed her. The family expressed sorrow over the news that cocaine was in Houston’s system at the time of her death, even though they said they were “glad to have closure.” The toxicology report showed that cocaine contributed to her death, and could have helped trigger a heart attack that caused her to drown. Houston also had marijuana, Xanax, Flexeril, and Benadryl in her system at the time of her death.

President Obama announced Thursday that he will expedite permits for the southern portion of the controversial Keystone pipeline—which had been a sticking point for Republicans during February’s payroll-tax argument. Speaking in Oklahoma, Obama said he will issue an executive order allowing the federal permitting of infrastructure projects. Calgary-based TransCanada has said it hopes to build the $2.3 billion Oklahoma-to-Texas portion of the pipeline next year. Republicans have hit Obama hard on his energy proposals—especially after solar-energy company Solyndra failed, despite receiving government money.

The hacking group Anonymous crashed at least two websites in Mexico on Thursday, in protest of Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the country. The two sites contained information about the pope’s visit to the state of Guanajuato. In a video posted on a social media website, Anonymous Mexico explained that the visit would be used to get votes for President Felipe Calderón’s National Action Party (PAN) in the upcoming election. “The PAN will take this as a political weapon to win the votes of millions of Catholics in Mexico,” the video said.

John Edwards on Thursday denied a report that he had used New York's so-called "Millionaire Madam." Edwards's lawyer issued a strongly worded statement denying the allegation, and demanded a "complete retraction" from New York's local news blog DNA Info, which broke the story. DNA Info reported Thursday that a call girl working for Anna Gristina told investigators that she was paid to have sex with Edwards while he was in New York in 2007, raising money for his failed presidential bid. Records show he stayed at the Loews Regency Hotel—which is also where he allegedly met Rielle Hunter.

The Sweet 16 isn’t so sweet—when you lose. There was a bitter taste in the mouths of the Michigan State Spartan squad as it became the NCAA tournament’s first No. 1 seed to fall, losing to Louisvill 57-44 Thursday night. In a low-scoring affair, the nation’s best-shooting team went cold from the floor, shooting just 28 percent, as veteran coach Rick Pitino led Louisville to its 29th win of the season. The Cardinals led 23-15 at halftime and never looked back, leading by double digits for much of the second half.

Smash will be back for a second season, but creator Theresa Rebeck is bidding the chronicle of a Broadway musical based on the life of Marilyn Monroe adieu. The show swept audiences off their feet and won critical plaudits, but there’s a feeling among viewers of the show’s more recent episodes that maybe it’s gone a bit mushy. According to Variety, episodes of the show have been receiving an average of 9.6 million viewers, making it NBC’s No. 1 drama for viewers ages 18 to 49. Stephen Spielberg is an executive producer on the show, which has an all-star cast that includes Debra Messing and Anjelica Huston.

Mazel tov! Hip-hop artist Drake is returning to his roots for his latest music video. The Grammy-winner was shooting a reenactment of his bar mitzvah at Temple Israel in Miami. Lil Wayne was reportedly on scene to help with the production. Drake’s mother is Jewish and from Canada, while his dad is an African-American from Memphis.

The death toll in a U.S. soldier's slaying of Afghan citizens last week has risen to 17, an increase of one over earlier reports that 16 had been killed. The military was unable to explain the discrepancy immediately, saying the investigation is ongoing. Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, who is accused of gunning down the Afghans in their sleep on March 11, is expected to be charged Friday. He is being held in a military prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kans.

Mitt Romney’s wife, Ann, said on Wednesday that an aide comparing her husband to an Etch a Sketch is a “distraction” that “makes for great media.” “Obviously he [aide Eric Fehrnstrom] was talking about how we’re going to change focus and … the organizational sense of changing, not Mitt changing positions,” Ann said on Piers Morgan Tonight. Ann also said that people need to lighten up if they are offended by Robert DeNiro’s joke that the country isn’t ready for a white first lady. “I took it for what it was, a joke,” she said.

Rihanna and Ashton Kutcher got the gossip fires burning Thursday with a midnight rendezvous at Kutcher's Hollywood home. Rihanna, 24, was spotted arriving, then ducking out four hours later, around 3 a.m. A rep for Kutcher denied a romance, saying the two are “friends.” The 34-year-old Kutcher recently split from his wife, Demi Moore, who is undergoing treatment for drug addiction, while Rihanna has raised controversy by releasing remixes with Chris Brown, her former boyfriend who infamously beat her in 2009.

President Obama insists Mitt Romney's health care was, in fact, the blueprint for his own. "We designed a program that actually previously had support of Republicans—including the person who may end up being the Republican standard-bearer and is now pretending like he came up with something different," the president said. He also had a message for governors resistant to his plan, saying it will be “very hard” for any governor to explain that they are not giving insurance due to “some ideological argument” they are having with the president.

The “Million Hoodie March”—planned by activists outraged by the killing of unarmed black teen Trayvon Martin last month—featured two special guests: Trayvon’s parents. Martin was killed Feb. 26 by neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman who said he was acting in self-defense against the 17 year old, who was wearing a hooded sweatshirt that evening. Meanwhile Wednesday night, the Sanford City Commission passed a "no confidence" vote of police chief Bill Lee. The city will now decide whether to ask for him to resign or fire him. Zimmerman has not been charged for the shooting.

He’ll super-size that pension, please. After nearly a decade as the head of the world’s largest fast-food chain, Jim Skinner will step down from his post as CEO of McDonald’s. He’ll be succeeded by the company’s current chief operating officer Don Thompson. Skinner’s McDonald’s career actually began 40 years ago, when he worked as a store manager. Now, he’s an advocate for U.S. recovery through less government spending and lower corporation tax. “The question is, how can we get the ox out of the ditch,” he’s said in the past. “In order to create jobs in America, you’re going to have to cut taxes.”

State Senator Wendy Davis, the Texas legislator whose office was firebombed this week, has taken the clear mental instability of her attacker as an opportunity to point out how little funding Texas dedicates to mental health care. "These decisions have consequences," she told Talking Points Memo. Cedric Steele, the 40-year-old man who threw a lit bag full of Molotov cocktails at the front door of Davis' office Tuesday night, was homeless, spoke of space aliens and had a history of mental problems. Texas is ranked last in the U.S. for public mental-health spending.

The birther movement has penetrated local politics. No longer just motivated by a desire to prove Barack Obama's supposed ineligibility for the role of president, California birthers now want Secretary of State Debra Bowen to verify the eligibility of every single candidate in the state before their names reach a ballot. The birthers don't seem to be loyal to any one party, however, as part of their lawsuit includes "questions concerning the eligibility" of Mitt Romney for the presidency.

The Newark Star-Ledger has scored the first interview with Dharun Ravi, the Rutgers student who was convicted of a biased intimidation, a hate crime last week. Ravi was convicted on 15 counts after using his web cam to spy on his roommate, Tyler Clementi, during a sexual encounter in the fall of 2010. “I wasn’t biased," Ravi told the paper. "I didn’t act out of hate and I wasn’t uncomfortable with Tyler being gay." Clementi committed suicide after he learned that Ravi had used a web cam to spy on his Clementi’s encounter.

Harold Clark Simmons is on a mission to defeat President Obama in November and will spend almost any amount of money to do so. On Karl Rove's advice, the 80-year-old Texan head of chemicals and metals producer Contran Corp. and his wife, Annette, are the largest contributors to the 2012 election, having donated over $18 million to conservative PACs since the start of the race. Which Republican wins is not the point. "Any of these Republicans would make a better president than that socialist Obama," Simmons told The Wall Street Journal. "Obama is the most dangerous American alive."

The Telecommunication Co. of Iran already has a monopoly over most of the country's telephone and Internet services. But now, with the help of the Chinese-based ZTE Corp, the government can use TCI to spy on its citizens and arrest critics, human-rights groups say. Just this month, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad created the Supreme Council of Cyberspace, which he leads, to protect "against internet evils." Newly released documents show that the ZTE system allows Ahmadinejad and his government to look in on emails, chats, Web searches, text messages and even locate users and identify their voice.

Jeb Bush threw his support behind Mitt Romney for the Republican presidential nomination Wednesday, but he gave a much more convincing endorsement to Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), who he suggests should be the vice presidential nominee. "He's the best orator of American politics today, a good family man. He's not only a consistent conservative, but he's managed to find a way to communicate a conservative message full of hope and optimism," said Bush. The former Florida governor urged Republicans to end the elongated primary election and rally around Romney. 

The Malian government has been seized by rebel soldiers, according to a few of them who appeared on state TV to announce that the presidential palace had been attacked, the constitution had been suspended, and a nationwide curfew would be enforced. The coup, say the soldiers, is in response to not being provided with enough weapons to take on an ethnic rebellion. ECOWAS, the West African regional body, has already denounced the troops' actions and said, in a statement, that they view the "misguided" and "reprehensible" actions of the soldiers with "dismay and mounting concern."

Move over, Twilight! The ticket-purchasing website Fandango is reporting that The Hunger Games is set to eclipse the vampire saga’s record opening-weekend sales figures. Tracking estimates show that Hunger Games might pull in a total of $140 million its first weekend based on presale figures. Breaking Dawn of the Twilight trilogy had ticket sales for the first weekend that reached $138.5 million. Already, Hunger Games has sold out 2,000 theaters nationwide.

Yikes, talk about taking things personally. Goldman Sachs is reportedly conducting a companywide search through emails for any references to “muppets”—after an executive said in a New York Times editorial that’s how managing directors refer to clients. Former executive director Greg Smith quit via an editorial last week, and the company has been reeling ever since—including losing $2.2 billion in market value after shares tumbled. In an internal memo distributed last week, Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein said Smith’s claims do represent the values at the company. The phrase “muppet” is a derogatory term for stupid people in Britain.

France’s so-called Scooter Killer was shot in the head by French police after a 32-hour standoff that ended on Thursday. Mohamed Merah, 23, was suspected of killing seven people in multiple attacks. A prosecutor also confirmed rumors that Merah filmed the three attacks. A self-described Islamic militant, Merah had wounded three police officers in an earlier raid on Wednesday, and either fell out of a window or leapt as he was being shot. Authorities said Merah was “dead as he hit the ground.” An autopsy will be performed later Thursday afternoon.

Rick Santorum is leading Mitt Romney with double digits in Louisiana, according to a new Rasmussen poll out of the state. 43 percent of those polled Wednesday said they would vote for the former Pennsylvania Senator over 31 percent who support Mitt Romney. Still, 73 percent of Lousiana Republicans have already resigned themselves to the idea that Mitt Romney will be the GOP nominee. Following his loss to Romney in Illinois Tuesday, Santorum has already begun campaigning in Louisiana, promising to bring more drilling and jobs to the gulf region.

Weekly unemployment claims fell to their lowest mark since February 2008, the Labor Department said Thursday. Claims fell by 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 348,000, the lowest in four years, and the less volatile four-week average of applications fell to 355,000, also a four-year low. Applications have steadily declined since last fall, when hiring began picking up. From December to February this year, the economy added about 245,000 jobs a month, pushing the unemployment rate down to 8.3 percent, its lowest point in three years. The economy grew at 3 percent in the final quarter of last year, more than double the 1.7 percent of the previous quarter.

Marine Sgt. Gary Stein, who has openly questioned President Obama’s authority, said Thursday that he faces discharge for his comments. Stein, the founder of the Armed Forces Tea Party, said his commanding officer at Camp Pendleton has accused him of violating the Marine Corps code, which calls for “good order and discipline.” In one Facebook post, Stein called Obama the “domestic enemy” and in another, he questioned Obama’s birth certificate. But Stein says he has never “spoken on behalf of the Marine Corps or in uniform.”

Mohamed Merah, the 23-year-old suspected in a series of shootings across southern France, was on the U.S. no-fly list after reportedly being held in Afghanistan and then sent back to France. But the circumstances of his detention are unclear; military officials say they don't have any record of Merah being in American custody. Merah was killed Thursday after a two-day siege of his home in Toulouse when he jumped from a window while being shot. French President Nicolas Sarkozy said he would crack down on visitors to terrorist websites, and he and socialist challenger François Hollande resumed their presidential campaigns.

Sugar, a deaf white cat from Boston, escaped almost certain death on Wednesday when she plunged 19 stories from a west-end high-rise and got up and walked away. Neighbors saw a white blur pass their windows, and an animal rescue manager said there was an “impact crater” where the cat hit the ground, complete with remnants of white fur. Sugar’s survival appears to have been thanks to her “flying squirrel”–like physique, which helped slow her fall. She sustained minor bruising and a cut on the lip.

U.S. Justice Department officials on Thursday met with the family of Trayvon Martin, the black teenager shot and killed by a neighborhood-watch captain. The meeting comes just hours before the Rev. Al Sharpton will lead a rally in Florida, which thousands are expected to attend. Martin’s family joined supporters and activists in New York for a “Million Hoodie March.” Meanwhile, Sanford, Fla., Police Chief Billy Lee, who is leading the investigation into Trayvon Martin’s death, said on Thursday that he will “temporarily remove” himself from his position.

Italian divers on Thursday found five more bodies aboard the shipwrecked cruiseliner Costa Concordia, leaving two people still missing two months after the ship ran aground off the cost of Giglio, Italy. Searchers announced Thursday afternoon that they had found three more bodies, and then authorities said later in the day that two more bodies had been found nearby. Authorities said the bodies were found outside the ship, in a small space between the wreck and the sea bed. This brings the official death toll up to 30.

Sen. Dick Durbin is not at all happy with the New Orleans Saints, and is setting up a Judiciary Committee hearing on bounty programs in the NFL. The intervention comes despite the NFL’s harsh crackdown on bounty systems, in which players are given cash bonuses to injure opponents. The league suspended Saints coach Sean Payton for a year after his team’s system was revealed. “If this activity were taking place off of a sporting field, away from a court, nobody would have a second thought” about whether it was wrong, Durbin said

A lawyer for former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky requested that the more than 50 criminal charges lodged against his client be dropped Thursday. The lawyer said charges against the 68-year-old aren’t specific enough and that the statute of limitations has run out on others. Sandusky is alleged to have sexually abused 10 boys over the course of 15 years. The former coach is confined to his home until his trial begins sometime in May. Prosecutors are expected to respond before the judge schedules oral arguments over Sandusky’s request.

Whitney Houston's official autopsy was released on Thursday, revealing the singer died because of an accidental drowning. The coroner's office found that cocaine use and heart disease also contributed to the singer’s death. Houston had cocaine in her system at the time of her death and could have suffered from a heart attack prior to drowning. Houston was found dead in a bathtub Feb. 11, one day before she was set to attend the Grammy Awards. Coroner officials had previously confirmed that prescription drugs were found in her room, but they said there were not “alarming amounts” of pills.