After days of speculation, government officials in Spain announced Saturday that the country will seek a bailout, becoming the fourth European country to do so. Finance ministers for the 17 euro-zone countries spoke on Saturday to discuss plans to help Spain recapitalize its banks, and European finance officials offered as much as $125 billion (€100 billion) to help prevent the debt-crisis contagion from spreading even further. Politicians and financial experts in Spain and other countries that share the common currency have pushed for the country to act quickly to help stabilize the beleaguered euro zone before Greek elections on June 17. Meanwhile, Irish officials have begun clamoring for a renegotiation of the terms of its bailout to match those of Spain.

Obama’s blitz on private-equity firm Bain Capital may be paying dividends in key election states, even if it has cost him on Wall Street. The president’s reelection campaign drew criticism—even from Obama proxies like Newark Mayor Cory Booker—after issuing a series of ads that took a swing at Mitt Romney’s time at Bain, which the GOP candidate founded. Recent polling data suggests that around half of voters in key purple states like Ohio, Florida, and Pennsylvania do not think that private equity increases employment, a perception that could tug at the narrative Romney has tried to create for himself as an experienced businessman and job creator.

Violence came to the front door of Bashar al-Assad’s regime Saturday as activists in the country said the Syrian capital saw one of its worst nights of bloodshed in more than a year. Troops loyal to Assad also reportedly shelled the city of Daraa in the south of the country, killing 18 people, including 12 women and children. According to the United Nations, more than 9,000 people have been killed in the continuing violence that began 15 months ago after a popular uprising against Assad’s regime. A resident of the capital city told the Associated Press on Saturday that Syrians spent a “night of fear” as gunshots and explosions were heard in the city, which is under military control.

President François Hollande has announced he'll be implementing the withdrawal of France's troops in Afghanistan in July and a full pullout will be completed by the end of this year. Four French soldiers were killed Saturday in a Taliban attack, the first losses for their troops since January. Removing French troops from the country was one of Hollande's election platforms, and he says it has nothing to do with the recent attack. "In the meantime, everything must be done for our troops to meet their obligations but with the highest level of security and with the greatest vigilance for the lives of the soldiers," he said.

Union Rags overtook Paynter for a win in the 144th Belmont Stakes race in New York after his trainer switched to jockey John Velazquez. The horse was a favorite to win the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and even the Kentucky Derby, but ended up in seventh place in the latter. “It was my dream, and it came true today,” said Union Rag’s owner, Phyllis Wyeth.

Marco’s their man. So said a straw poll of right-leaning voters conducted by the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday evening asking whose name they would like to see beside Mitt Romney’s come election day. Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio scored 30 percent of the vote at the meet-up of the American Conservative Union, breezing past runner-up New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who netted only 14 percent of votes. Rubio is a fan favorite among conservatives, who see him as a fresh face for the party and a potential way to bring Latino voters into the Republican fold. Rep. Paul Ryan scored 9 percent, and Sen. Rand Paul gathered 8 percent.

An autopsy failed to find human flesh in the stomach of Miami “cannibal” Rudy Eugene’s stomach, according a report in The Miami Herald. Undigested pills were found in his stomach but haven’t been identified; many have speculated that he was under the influence of bath salts. Eugene was shot and killed by police after being caught chewing the face off a homeless man. The autopsy did find flesh lodged between his teeth and the crime-scene investigation showed chunks of flesh on the ground as if they had been spit out.

There’s more cause for celebration at Buckingham Palace Saturday as Queen Elizabeth II’s husband was released from the hospital after a five-day stay. Prince Philip, who turns 91 on Sunday, was treated this week for a bladder infection, and missed out on several events held in honor of the queen’s Diamond Jubilee. It wasn’t the prince’s first health scare—in December he was hospitalized around the Christmas holidays and underwent surgery for a blocked coronary artery. The prince will be celebrating his upcoming birthday “privately” a Buckingham Palace spokesman told reporters on Saturday.

Maria Sharapova overcame Sara Errani on Saturday to triumph in the French Open, 6-3, 6-2. The win completes a career Grand Slam for the Russian tennis player, having previously come out tops in the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open. The champion fell to her knees and looked toward the sky after her victory, her first major title in four years. Her Italian opponent suffered from a difficult start, and never quite picked up momentum against Sharapova, who took a healthy lead.

Nothing says happy birthday like a new Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4. Kim Kardashian bought her beau Kanye West the $750,000 car for his 35th birthday on Friday. The rapper is currently in Ireland on tour and hasn’t yet seen the car, but luckily Kim send him a video of the gift (which TMZ has pictures of). Lucky man!

Former Indian officer Avtar Singh called police to say he had killed four people early this morning in Selma, Calif. Singh, his wife, and his two children, ages 3 and 15, were found dead at the house. A 17-year-old boy was found with a head wound, but still alive. Singh was wanted in his native India for killing a human-rights lawyer in Kashmir in 1996 and had fled to the United States after. India has requested his extradition, but for reasons unknown, he remained free.

After an accident that left both Lindsay Lohan and her black Porsche the worse for wear, the actress is reportedly back on the set of her Liz Taylor project—but concealing her injuries, according to TMZ. Lohan was taken to the hospital after colliding with an 18-wheeler on the Pacific Coast Highway on Friday. The 26-year-old is set for a comeback with her role in the Lifetime movie Liz & Dick, and TMZ reports that sources say she’s asked to have some visible injuries covered over with makeup so that she can keep shooting the film.

Six Seattle pitchers lent their shoulders to a team effort against the Los Angeles Dodgers Friday night, closing the game at Safeco Field with a no-hitter. It was the fourth no-hitter pitched in the major leagues this season and the third in Mariners history. “It was really fun. I was praying at the last inning,” said Seattle catcher Jesus Montero. “It was one of my dreams. It was amazing, an amazing feeling.” What was most peculiar about the feat, however, was the number of pitchers involved, which tied the record for most number of pitchers used in a no-hitter.

Got ’em. Some 190 people were arrested in a major child-pornography crackdown Friday that rounded up alleged offenders in Spain and the Philippines as well as the United States. Federal agents said Friday that 18 children were also brought to safety by Operation Orion. “Let this operation be a warning to anyone who thinks they can use the Internet to exploit children,” said Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Sirector John Morton. “We are out there looking for you, we will find you, and you will be prosecuted.” Among those arrested was a Louisiana resident who allegedly made pornography involving a 7-year-old, and a man in Michigan who officials said had a hoard of more than 1,200 images depicting children pornographically.

The space race continues. China said Saturday that it is planning for a manned space docking in June, the first such out-of-this-world attempt by the country’s space agency. China’s official news agency said that astronauts will launch in “mid-June” to dock a Shenzhou 9 spacecraft with a Tiangong 1 orbital module. The space agency moved the rocket to the Jiuwuan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert on Saturday for preliminary tests and inspections, Chinese media reported. One crew member will stay on the Shenzhou spacecraft as a safety precaution while other crew members cross over into the orbital module.

Royal Air Force helicopters swooped in Saturday to assist three people trapped by flooding in west Wales, officials said. The water swept through a caravan park, prompting rescuers to deploy helicopters and boats to retrieve residents. “Numerous people are surrounded by flood water and are requiring rescue by fire service boats, inshore life boat teams, and RAF helicopters,” a fire service spokesman told reporters. “At the moment three people have been rescued by Sea King helicopter there.” Overall, emergency crews have rescued more than 90 people so far after heavy flooding swept through the area.

Keep it up. U.S. stocks logged their best week of the year, closing Friday with the Dow Jones up 93 points and the NASDAQ up 1 percent. The drive this week came amid uncertainty in Europe, and speculation that Spain would ask for assistance for its debt-laden banks on Saturday. “There’s a lot of uncertainty out there,” said Bernard Kavanagh, vice president of a St. Louis brokerage house. “I’m surprised we didn’t see more selling given the strong week we’ve had.” International action by major national central banks, including those in China and Europe, helped support the strong showing for the markets this week, and Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke told reporters Wednesday that he too is prepared to act to help bolster the U.S. economy.

Act now, leaders in Europe told Spain this week. The country is expected to ask for help recapitalizing its banks Saturday, and a Eurogroup conference call that lasted two and a half hours on Saturday ended with officials saying that a statement would come after the Spanish government had time to talk. Politicians and market watchers are afraid of what may happen if the debt-laden country delays, as elections in Greece scheduled to June 17 add to political and economic uncertainty in the euro zone. “There is a need to ensure that the euro area is properly ringfenced and protected from possible Greek fallout, and that means strengthening Spain’s banks,” one EU official told reporters.

Four French soldiers were killed and five more wounded in an attack in Afghanistan on Saturday, French President Francois Hollande said in a statement. The soldiers were reportedly in the province of Kapisa, near Kabul. France has 3,300 soldiers in the country but plans to pull out its troops later this year, ahead of the main NATO timetable, which calls for a pullout by 2014. The four deaths bring the total number of French troops who have died in Afghanistan to 87 since the country began its military presence in the country in 2001. Former president Nicolas Sarkozy announced France’s early drawdown in January after four other French troops were killed in Kapisa.

A betrayal of campaign promises, or a necessary political evil? A cache of emails released by House Republicans suggest that President Obama’s administration negotiated certain aspects of the health-care overhaul—a move that some say contradicts the president’s promise to keep the influence of large pharmaceutical companies out of legislation. “Throughout his campaign, President Obama was clear that he would bring every stakeholder to the table in order to pass health reform, even longtime opponents like the pharmaceutical industry,” White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer told reports on Friday. In emails released Friday, seemed to show a deal reached by White House staff and drug companies in 2009 on reimplementation of lower-price medications.

This Dollar must not be feeling so almighty. Megachurch pastor and preacher of the gilded gospel Creflo Dollar was arrested Friday after he “got physical” in an argument with his 15-year-old daughter, authorities said. The Creflo Dollar Ministries pastor known for his promises of personal financial prosperity as a reward for faith could be charged with simple battery as well as cruelty to children. Dollar’s Atlanta-based megachurch, World Changers Church International, serves close to 30,000 parishoners. “As a father I love my children and I always have their best interest at heart at all times, and I would never use my hand to ever cause bodily harm to my children,” Dollar said in a statement.

British TV journalist Alex Thomson said Friday that rebels from the Free Syrian Army set him up to be shot at by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad. “I’m quite clear the rebels set us up to be shot by the Syrian Army,” Thompson wrote Friday after an incident in which his car was led directly into a firefight. “Dead journos are bad for Damascus.” Thompson and his companions were able to get themselves out of the fire zone unscathed and back to the capital city of Damascus. Violence continues across the country, with a reported 17 people killed in a night of shelling in the city of Daraa on Saturday.