Mitt Romney’s latest business advice might not be the most effective way to win over young voters. At a talk Friday at Ohio’s Otterbein University, the presidential candidate offered his expertise to a room of students, telling them that if they want to start a business or pay for their education, they should just borrow from mom and dad. “Take a shot, go for it, take a risk, get the education, borrow money if you have to from your parents, start a business,” he said, citing a friend of his who took out a $20,000 loan from his parents. This remark came on the heels of a gaffe made by two of Romney’s national-security advisers, who made outdated Cold War–era references Thursday. One mistakenly spoke of Czechoslovakia, which was divided into two countries in 1993, while another attacked Obama for failing to lead the free world, saying, “We are seeing the Soviets pushing into the Arctic with no response from us.”

A Friday suicide bombing left nine dead and 30 injured when the explosion detonated in front of a school and mosque in the capital. The Interior Ministry said terrorists were to blame, while opposition forces point fingers at the regime, saying the neighborhood is an opposition stronghold. Despite two weeks of attempted United Nations-backed ceasefire, explosions are still blasting apart Syrian cities, with casualties actually escalating. So far, there are 15 monitors in Syria to observe the situation, with 15 more set to arrive on Monday.

Chen Guangcheng, one of China’s best-known dissidents, has escaped from house arrest and is reportedly under American protection at the U.S. embassy in Beijing. Chen released a YouTube video addressed to Premier Wen Jiabao from an undisclosed location, though supporters say he’s safe in Beijing. Chen, a blind activist who campaigned against forced abortions and has been under house arrest since September 2010, called attention to the brutal treatment of his family members and the corrupt Chinese government.

U.S. economic growth slowed in the first quarter on the heels of Ben Bernanke’s announcement Thursday. The latest GDP report revealed that The GDP expanded at a 2.2 percent annual rate, according to the Commerce Department, disappointing economists’ expectations for a 2.5 percent rate. Though the economy has been growing at a snail’s pace since the second half of 2009, the report sent mixed signals: businesses cut back on investments and unemployment rates are soaring, but a surge in consumer spending softened those blow. Stocks saw their best day in 2012 Thursday, and the Fed decided not to continue efforts to spur growth for now.  

First Colombia, then El Salvador, now Moscow? The U.S. government is investigating reports that the Secret Service Colombia-prostitute scandal was far from an “isolated incident” but rather one of many occasions when agents misbehaved. Following the allegation that agents paid for sexual favors at a strip club in El Salvador in March 2011, there are now reports that Secret Service personnel partied at strip clubs in Buenos Aires while traveling with former president Bill Clinton in 2009, and of a similar incident in Moscow in 2000. The latest allegations have triggered growing demands by members of Congress who feel it’s their duty to oversee the investigation.

New York City residents and workers took a moment Friday morning to watch the space shuttle Enterprise make a dramatic flight along the Hudson River before arriving at John F. Kennedy airport. Perched atop a Boeing 747 jet, the retired Enterprise flew from Washington D.C. into the New York region, swooping in at a low altitude and passing city monuments like the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, and the World Trade Center. The shuttle will remain at JFK for several weeks until it will be removed from the jet and carried on a barge to its final destination at New York’s Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum.

A Florida judge ruled Friday that George Zimmerman, charged with second-degree murder in the death of Trayvon Martin, could keep his $200,000 raised by supporters—despite having not disclosed it previously. Zimmerman’s attorney Mark O’Mara said that Zimmerman had experienced issues with his Twitter and Facebook accounts and may shut down his donation setup for fear of copycats making money off his cause. Prosecutors had asked that Zimmerman's $150,000 bond be increased, but Judge Kenneth Lester said he is worried about revealing the donors’ names—and is not sure he has the authority to increase the bond.

As the New Jersey Nets move to become the Brooklyn Nets, they’re showcasing their new hometown pride. The NBA team’s new logo wasn’t supposed to be released until April 30, but leaked pictures show some very Brooklyn-focused garb (with no mention of the Nets). The team played, and lost, their last New Jersey game this week, and are preparing to move into the newly completed Barclays Center in the New York borough for the 2012-2013 season. The Nets are actually returning to familiar terrain—they played in New York between 1968 and 1977.

Step aside, Octomom. A Mexican woman is pregnant with nine babies, or “nonuplets,” and is due to give birth May 20, according to state-owned TV. Karla Vanessa Perez, whose age was not disclosed to the media, reportedly had fertility treatment prior to the pregnancy and is already a mother of triplets. The successful delivery of nonuplets would be one of the highest multiple births ever recorded. Perez, who is currently being treated at a local hospital, told reporters she’s not thinking of names yet and is just hoping that “everything goes well.”

Matt Lauer joked about Ryan Seacrest’s multiplatform venture with NBC earlier this month, but we doubt the host of the Today show is laughing now. Seacrest signed a new two-year contract with NBCUniversal Friday afternoon that all but declares him the face of the television network. According to the deal, Seacrest will be a “special correspondent” covering news, entertainment, and sports—including this year’s Summer Olympics— and will make appearances on Today. Given the considerable time Seacrest will be dedicating to his work with NBC, the contract stipulates that he step back from some of his on-camera duties at E!, which means kissing goodbye his six-year gig as host of E! News. He will, however, continue hosting and producing E!’s Live From the Red Carpet shows. Earlier this week, Seacrest also renewed his deal to host American Idol for two more seasons. How does he find the time?

Syrian activists said that up to 70 people were killed in the city of Hama as United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned the ongoing troop violence there, saying he “remains deeply troubled” by the attacks. State media refuted the death toll of 70, saying instead that only 16 people died in what it called an “armed terrorist group's” bomb factory. The Arab League also said Thursday that it would ask the U.N. to “act immediately” to protect Syrian civilians.

The Secret Service has opened a new investigation after allegations were made Thursday that misconduct occurred during a trip to El Salvador in 2011. Agents who were on an advance trip prior to President Obama’s visit to the Latin America country were said to have paid for sexual favors at a strip club. A CBS local station in Seattle reported that one agent bragged that they “did this all the time” in reference to paying for sex on trip. But a congressman relayed that Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan said he had not found anything “credible” in his new investigation as of yet.

After months of speculation, the Indianapolis Colts made it official Thursday evening when they selected Andrew Luck as the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft. The Stanford quarterback has a big pair of shoes to fill now that Peyton Manning has decamped to Denver. Robert Griffin III, Baylor’s quarterback, was the second pick of the evening. He’ll be heading to the Washington Redskins. The Cleveland Browns had the third pick, choosing Alabama running back Trent Richardson. The draft was held at New York’s Radio City Music Hall.

As a peace accord backed by the United Nations seems on the brink of falling apart, protests were expected all across Syria on Friday to call attention to a week of violence that has killed dozens of people. In Damascus on Friday, a suicide bomber killed 9 people and wounded 30 more, according to Syrian state TV. Demonstrations were to take place in cities including Hama, where government troops reportedly killed more than 100 people since Monday. President Bashar al-Assad's regime has blamed "armed terrorist groups," but U.N. envoy Ban Ki-moon said Syria was in violation of the peace deal by keeping troops and heavy weapons in urban areas.

France's socialist presidential candidate Francois Hollande told RTL radio Friday that if elected, he won't overturn a law banning face-covering Muslim veils, called "the burqa ban," which was enacted by President Nicolas Sarkozy. Hollande, who leads Sarkozy in polls ahead of the May 6 runoff, had abstained from the 2010 vote on the ban, along with other Socialists. But Hollande now says he would "have it applied in the best way." Muslim leaders say the law unfairly stigmatizes Muslims.

The House passed a controversial cyber security bill on Thursday, despite a threat from President Obama that he would veto the bill should it make it to his desk. The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) would allow the government more easy access to individual’s personal web-browsing history in cases of potential cyber threats. Proponents say the bill is aimed more at file sharing because it also allows security firms and Web agencies to share information. The White House said the law repeals "important provisions of electronic surveillance law without instituting corresponding privacy, confidentiality and civil liberties safeguards." The bill passed with a 248-168 margin.

For the first time, Samsung has overtaken Nokia as the world’s biggest maker of mobile phones, ending the Finnish company’s 14-year run. According to an industry study, Samsung shipped 93.5 million handsets in the first quarter of 2012, 36 percent more than a year earlier. Nokia shipped 82.7 million, researcher Strategy Analytics said in a statement Friday. Samsung posted a $4.5 billion first-quarter net income today, while Nokia reported a $1.8 billion first-quarter operating loss because of a sales slump.

Denmark's intelligence agency, PET, arrested three people Friday in Copenhagen over a suspected terror plot. A 22-year-old Jordanian citizen, a 23-year-old Turkish citizen who lives in Denmark, and a 21-year-old Danish citizen who lives in Egypt were detained and have been charged with illegal possession of automatic weapons and ammunition. The PET did not specify what terror attack the three had been planning and did not disclose an intended target.

Vice President Joseph Biden trumpeted President Obama's foreign-policy credentials Thursday night during a speech in New York, but his main intention seemed to be slamming presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney. Biden shifted the battle from jobs and taxes to foreign relations and said Romney would leave American troops stranded in Afghanistan. Biden says Romney sees the world "through a Cold War prism," painting him as a relic of an era that no longer exists. Biden is the former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The U.S. military will relocate 9,000 Marines from the Japanese island of Okinawa to quash anger among residents over pollution, accidents, and crime. Under a deal reached late Thursday, about half of the 19,000 Marines stationed there will move to other Pacific locations like Guam, Hawaii, and Australia. No date has been given for the move, which will cost $8.6 billion, of which Japan will pay $3.1 billion.

Cuban actor Javier Nunez Florian, who starred in a film about defecting to the United States, and who went missing in real life while traveling to New York for the Tribeca Film Festival, has won the top acting award at the ceremony Thursday. Florian was last seen at the Miami airport with his costar, Anailin de la Rua de la Torre. The film, Una Noche, also won prizes for Best New Narrative Director and Best Cinematography. The top prize for Best Narrative Feature went to Canadian director Kim Nguyen's War Witch, about a young girl who is stolen from her African village and forced to become a child soldier.

The hostage standoff in central London ended Friday afternoon after Scotland Yard made an arrest, but no further details about the arrest have been released. Tottenham Court Road was shut down after a man seen with six canisters of gas strapped to his chest threatened to blow up the offices of Advantage HGV, a truck-driving school, and took four people hostage. The neighboring buildings were evacuated and witnesses said the man was throwing objects such as computers and paper from the fifth floor of the building. Scotland Yard said the man has “mental health problems.”

Good news! There is no way an angry protester will make their way into the Republican National Convention with lumber, a hatchet, chains, gas masks or even a "super soaker" water gun. However, both Tampa and Charlotte—the setting of the Republican and Democratic conventions, respectively—have laws making it illegal to ban concealed guns. Tampa's City Council has already asked Florida Gov. Rick Scott to waive this law for the convention, initial deferring to the state legislator signals an executive order may be unlikely. So, while conventiongoers can rest assured knowing they won't get soaked at the political gathering, there's no guarentee someone won't bring a gun. 

It sounds like Detroit Tigers outfielder Delmon Young went out a little too hard last night, and now he’s got a lot more than a bad hangover on his hands. Young was arrested early this morning after allegedly attacking a panhandler near New York’s Times Square and yelling anti-Semitic epithets. Police say Young, who was “highly intoxicated,” got into a confrontation with a group of Chicago tourists after a panhandler wearing a yarmulke asked them for money, at which point Young started shouting, “F--king Jews!” Young, who is known for his hot temper, was charged with aggravated harassment and could faces hate crime charges. When asked to comment, a spokesman for the Tigers told the New York Post, “We’ll get back to you.”

The 200 Turkish-American and Azerbaijani-American donors at the Fairfax Hotel in Washington, DC Friday didn't realize that, when attending a Joe Biden fundraising event, you can't just show up and write a check—you've got to get excited! In typical Biden fashion, the ever-jovial VP teased the crowd for being subdued. "I guess what I'm trying to say without boring you too long at breakfast—and you all look dull as hell, I might add," he said. "The dullest audience I have ever spoken to. Just sitting there, staring at me. Pretend you like me!" 

The German state of Bavaria is preparing to republish Adolf Hitler’s racist manifesto, Mein Kampf, for the first time since World War II before the book’s copyright expires in 2015. The news that Mein Kampf would be returning to German bookshelves was met with mixed reactions from Jewish groups. The head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany was pleased to hear that Bavaria is publishing two different editions, including one for students with critical commentary, hailing the decision to republish the book a “good idea.” But Deirdre Berger of the American Jewish Committee told The Week that no one should “underestimate the potential danger to this day of this book.”

John Edwards’s defense team had hoped to leave his alleged sex tape with Rielle Hunter out of his trial. But on day five of testimony, the prosecution’s lead witness touched on the taboo topic. Once the tape was mentioned, the judge and attorneys from both sides spoke privately, and questioning resumed with a different focus. But this surely won’t be the last of the sex tape. The judge will decide whether discussion of the video should be allowed by Friday’s session.

Just because Mitt Romney supports keeping student loan rates low, doesn't mean he and President Obama see eye to eye on how to do so. The President has been touting his plan for stopping a steep loan-rate increase, but he's already threatened to veto the GOP proposal for the same thing. A memo from the Office of Management and Budget explains that the GOP plan, which the House passed this afternoon, "includes an attempt to repeal the Prevention and Public Health Fund, created to help prevent disease, detect it early, and manage conditions before they become severe. Women, in particular, will benefit from this Prevention Fund, which will provide for hundreds of thousands of screenings for breast and cervical cancer."

Days before the final round of France’s presidential election, former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn has told The Guardian that the downfall of his reputation following his encounter with a New York City hotel maid was “shaped by those with a political agenda.” While he didn’t say the incident with Nafissatou Diallo was a setup, he believes that “more was involved here than mere coincidence.” He suggested that his internationally publicized criminal investigation and subsequent imprisonment were orchestrated by political enemies intent on sabotaging his chance of getting a presidential bid. Furthermore, he thinks the instigators had ties with current President Nicolas Sarkozy. “Perhaps I was politically naive, but I simply did not believe they would go that far … I didn’t think they could find anything that could stop me,” he said.