The elder brother of Mohamed Merah, the 23-year-old gunman who killed seven people in France, said during a closed hearing that he was “proud” of his brother’s actions. Abdelkader Merah also admitted to helping his brother steal the scooter that he used in the shootings, although he denied having known anything else about the plans. Abdelkader and his wife were arrested on Wednesday, but a judge will likely decide on Sunday if there are any grounds for opening legal proceedings against them.

The GOP primary isn't over just yet. Rick Santorum cruised to an easy victory in Louisiana, winning twice as many votes as presumptive frontrunner Mitt Romney. Santorum took 49 percent to Romney's 26 percent, while Gingrich placed a distant third with 15 percent. Though the conventional wisdom says the win won't help Santorum much, the former senator seemed to expand his appeal, winning majorities of voters who only consider themselves moderately conservative and who think the economy is the most important issue in the election. 

No service members will face disciplinary charges over the NATO airstrike in November that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. A previous American investigation found that the U.S. and Pakistan were both to blame for the deadly strike, but that Pakistan fired first. Based on these findings, a second inquiry was set up to figure out whether any American personnel should be punished over the incident. The review found that the Americans fired in self-defense. One military official said, “We found nothing criminally negligent on the part of any individual in our investigations of the incident.”

A man was arrested Friday for sending a threatening email to the police chief of Sanford, the Florida town where 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot and killed. “You and your family deserve to be hunted down and shot like a dog, just like Trayvon Martin,” read a profanity-laced email sent to Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee, Jr. Police arrested John Carnduff Stewart, 68, who authorities say has also been investigated for threats against Penn State assistant coach and whistleblower Mike McQueary. Martin was shot and killed by a neighborhood-watch volunteer, who has not been charged.

At 71 years old and after a 20-month wait, Dick Cheney finally has a new heart. The former VP’s office said Cheney is recovering at a Virginia hospital. “Although the former vice president and his family do not know the identity of the donor, they will be forever grateful for this lifesaving gift,” an aide’s statement read. Cheney’s waiting period was a bit longer than usual, but his age may have complicated things. According to The New York Times, transplants are generally recommended for patients under 70.

U.S. and European officials say Iran is providing broad assistance to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to put down opposition protests. Tehran is giving Assad's security forces electronic surveillance systems, technology to disrupt social media, drones, guns,  and ammunitions a U.S. security official said. This as Syrian forces once again pounded the battered city of Homs on Saturday and tanks rolled into the northern town of Saraqib.

An internal Penn State police file has revealed that the university was warned that Jerry Sandusky molested a child in 1998, when a psychologist who spoke to Victim No. 6 said Sandusky's behavior was "consistent with a pedophile." During an investigation, Penn State police heard the boy's mother ask Sandusky if he touched the boy's private parts, to which Sandusky replied that he didn't think so, but wasn't sure. But the investigation was dropped after another psychologist said there was no evidence of sex abuse.

Two adults and six children were killed in an early-morning fire in Charleston, W. Va., on Saturday in what the city’s mayor is calling the “worst fire in 40 years.” Charleston police said it appears that all the victims of the fire were related, and firefighters said it appeared there had been a slumber party at the house. The fire was reported at about 3:30 a.m. Saturday, and the cause is still unknown.

The former Goldman Sachs executive who resigned from his job via a New York Times op-ed article last week is now looking for a book deal, according to sources who spoke to the Times. Greg Smith, who worked at the firm for 12 years and ran its U.S. equity-derivatives business in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, reportedly met with publishers this week. The Times said Smith's book would be a coming-of-age story of a man ultimately disillusioned by Goldman’s focus on making money.

The odds are ever in its favor! The Hunger Games continues to break box-office records, earning $68.3 million on its opening day. That’s the fifth-best opening day ever and the best opening day ever for a nonsequel. The film had already earned the highest midnight totals ever for a nonsequel, with $19.7 million from Thursday-night showings. It's on track to earn at least $140 million over the weekend, which would give the movie the biggest opening ever for a nonsequel. For comparison, the original Twilight film opened to $69.6 million for the entire weekend.

I no like. Not so nice. Kazakhstan is furious over the playing of the spoof national anthem from the comedy Borat during a real-life international sporting event, calling it "a scandal" and demanded an investigation. Maria Dmitrienko of Kazakhstan won a gold medal at the Arab Shooting Championships in Kuwait on Thursday, but during the award ceremony the spoof anthem from the 2006 movie starring Sacha Baron Cohen was played instead of the real anthem. Tournament organizers are believed to have downloaded the wrong version from the Internet.

Bank of America has adopted the role of landlord for some homeowners headed into foreclosure. On Friday, BofA began testing its new lender program on some 1,000 distressed homeowners in Nevada, Arizona, and upstate New York, selling their homes as rental properties to investors. The program offers homeowners a chance to stay on as renters for as long as three years in order to avoid having their properties seized in foreclosure, leaving them with disastrous credit scores. Bank officials say rents would be less than a monthly mortgage payment and based on independent estimates. If the program's trial run is successful, with the goal of investors taking over as soon as occupants relinquish ownership, it could be applied across the country.

"I honestly didn't pay attention to it. You know what I mean?" Really? Angelina Jolie has finally spoken out about her much-noticed leg-bomb on Oscar night last month. On the red carpet and on stage while presenting an award, Jolie stuck her right leg out of the slit of her black velvet gown. That right leg had a life of its own and went viral, with its own Twitter account. "I heard something, but I didn't pay any attention. It's as simple as being a woman picking a dress you like," Jolie said in an interview.

The mother of the French gunman accused of killing seven people in an ethnic shooting rampage, before being shot dead Thursday in Toulouse, was released late Friday without charge. Zoulika Aziri was questioned by police, who are trying to determine whether the self-proclaimed al Qaeda member Mohamed Merah acted alone. The probe has turned to his older brother Abdelkader. Police said they have gathered evidence to suggest that he helped his brother carry out the shootings. He and his girlfriend remain in custody in Paris and could face charges.

President Obama is once again urging Congress to act. In his weekly radio address Saturday, the POTUS called on House Republicans to pass a bipartisan, two-year, $109-billion bill to rebuild America’s transportation system that the administration say will create jobs. The proposal was passed in Democratic-controlled Senate but is stalled in the House. “Once again, we’re waiting on Congress,” Obama said. “In a matter of days, funding will stop for all sorts of transportation projects. Construction sites will go idle. Workers will have to go home. And our economy will take a hit.”

Move along! Nothing to see here! A hunk of junk from a Russian satellite flew past the International Space Station on Saturday, missing it by about nine miles, NASA said. That didn’t stop the crew members from taking shelter in their Russian Soyuz lifeboats as a precaution because the ultimately harmless debris came within the zone known as the “pizza box,” requiring safety measures. The debris was left over from the 2009 collision of an Iridium telecommunications satellite and Russia’s Cosmos 2251 military communications satellite.

Asma al-Assad, the glamorous but increasingly hated wife of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, could lose her British citizenship. The British Home Office is looking at the possibility of revoking her passport even though she was born in London and only left Britain in 2000 to marry. The European Union slapped a travel ban and an asset freeze on her Friday but cannot stop her from going home to Britain. The home secretary, however, does have the power to take away someone's citizenship if deemed "conducive to the public good."

Pope Benedict XVI touched down in Mexico Friday for his first papal visit to Latin America. The pontiff spoke out against the violence that is taking place in Mexico, saying the Catholic Church has an obligation to try to lead young people from a life of drugs. The pope also criticized the communist regime in Cuba, saying it was time for the people to rise up and find a new model. He received a warm welcome from Mexican President Felipe Calderón and thousands of faithful Catholics who were there for his arrival. He is expected to give an outdoor mass on Sunday in Guanajuato.

Five members—three women and two men—of what's believed to be part of the same family were found dead Friday inside a home in a quiet San Francisco neighborhood. Police stopped short of calling it a murder-suicide but said it was an isolated incident and no suspects were being sought. The house is near an expensive private high school and the city college. A woman with access to the home found a man's body in the foyer, two more victims in the garage, and then ran out of the house and called the police. At least two of them appear to have been shot to death.

Wanted: huge villa, famous neighbors, must be able to hold bunga bungas, immunity from prosecution conferred to resident a bonus. Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi finally bought the perfect mansion on Lake Como after a five-year search. It has 30 rooms, a tennis court a boat dock, and a Hollywood superstar neighbor: George Clooney. No word on the price tag, or that immunity: Berlusconi still faces charges that he paid for sex with underage Moroccan prostitute and belly dancer Karima El Mahrou, also known as "Ruby the Heart-Stealer."

Even the pouring rain didn't stop some 150 protesters in Chicago from marching Friday to protest the shooting of Trayvon Martin, the 17-year-old who was shot and killed last month in Florida by neighborhood-watch volunteer George Zimmerman, in what's suspected by many to be a racial incident. There have already been huge protests and school walkouts in Florida, but the outrage is spreading across the country.

Whoa, cool it with the rhetoric? A state-run Chinese website called China Tibet Online posted a commentary Saturday that accused the Dalai Lama of "Nazi" racial policies. The piece was also carried by the official Xinhua News Agency and says the exiled Tibetan leader advocates racial segregation when he criticizes China's "cultural genocide" by taking over Tibetan religion and customs. The attack also claims the Dalai Lama instigated some 30 Tibetans to burn themselves in protest over the past year—the spiritual leader has praised the people's courage but does not encourage the protests.

While "Kony 2012" director Jason Russell is recovering from "reactive psychosis," his video is still making waves. Backed by the U.S., the African Union has amassed a military force of 5,000 soldiers to hunt down Joseph Kony, the fugitive warlord who has recently been thrust in the public spotlight by Russell's viral video sensation. The AU is collaborating with Washington intel and other soldiers from different countries in Africa to find Kony, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for committing war crimes and inhumane atrocities in northern Uganda for two decades.

The wife of Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales has established a legal defense fund for her husband. Kari Bales announced The Staff Sergeant Robert Bales Legal Defense Fund in a statement on Saturday: “In America, everyone is entitled to a fair trial. Over time, the truth will come out. That’s why we have due process under the laws of our country. Unfortunately, due process is very expensive.” Staff Sergeant Bales faces 17 charges of murder “with premeditation” for the alleged March 11 shooting massacre in Afghanistan.

Rick Santorum needs to win Saturday's Louisiana primary, and it looks like he will as the state's voters head to the polls. The contest could rejuvenate his campaign and remind the GOP that frontrunner Mitt Romney lacks conservative support in the South, since Santorum won in Alabama and Mississippi also. But Romney already dealt a decisive loss to Santorum in Illinois on Tuesday, proving that he can win in big, industrial Midwestern states—despite the Etch a Sketch gaffes.

President Obama's remarks Friday about the tragic shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin have prompted a diatribe from Newt Gingrich, who called them "disgraceful" and "appalling" on Sean Hannity's radio show. Obama offered his condolences to Martin's family and said, "If I had a son, he would look like Trayvon Martin." He also said all parents in America should understand why its imperative to investigate Martin's death. But Gingrich said Obama turned it into a "racial issue" that is "dividing this country up." Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum also weighed in on Martin's death yesterday, but neither of the two GOP presidential candidates attacked Obama.