In two interviews Sunday, outgoing Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta threw his support behind potential successor Chuck Hagel and responded to criticism over the handling of the Benghazi attacks. He expressed disappointment that Hagel's confirmation hearing last week focused on the old stances coming back to haunt Hagel, and not on current issues like the Afghan war, budget cuts, and fighting terrorism. "We just did not see enough time spent on discussing those issues. And in the end, that's what counts," he told NBC, saying he was confident in Hagel's abilities. Discussing Benghazi, Panetta said the Obama administration had no advance warning. “This is not 9/11,” he said. “You cannot just simply call and expect within two minutes to have a team in place. It takes time.” Panetta will appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday.

Turkish authorities have confirmed the death of an American woman who went missing in Istanbul and was killed by an apparent blow to the head, but questions about the mysterious ordeal remain. Sarai Sierra, a 33-year-old mother of two from New York City, was last heard from on January 21, the day she was due to fly home from vacation—her first trip abroad. Turkey’s state-run news agency said 15 people have been detained in connection with her death.

After three weeks of military offensive against Islamist militants in Mali, French air forces pounded an area in the north of the country near the Algerian border where rebels have gathered. Thirty french jets targeted various communication and training centers in an attempt to secur the city of Kidal, one of the final remaining holdouts for the militants. Several French hostages are believed to be held somewhere in the area. French armed forces also moved to protect a uranium plant in neighboring Niger after a hostage crisis at a gas plant in Algeria. The French company Areva is deeply involved in uranium mining in Niger, which supplies materials for nuclear power production in France.

A power surge that killed the lights at the Superdome in New Orleans just moments into the second half of Super Bowl XLVII seemed to turn around the fortunes of the San Francisco 49ers, who proceeded to score 17 points in a four-minute period. Knocked on their heels, the Baltimore Ravens could only manage a pair of field goals as 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick set a Super Bowl record with a 15-yard touchdown. But Baltimore was in luck: the 49ers hit a snag in the fourth quarter when they were unable to score despite driving to the Baltimore 5-yard line. The Ravens were able to hold them off and run out the clock to win 34–31.

Well she certainly wouldn't dare to lip sync this time, right? Opening with "Crazy in Love," and complete with a frenzied dance routine, fireworks, and an army of digital doubles, Beyoncé took the halftime show of Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans by storm. But the party didn't truly start until Destiny's Child—in full leather ensembles—appeared for a rendition of the classic "Bootylicious" and joined in on Beyoncé's hit "Single Ladies." Excuse us, we're feeling a bit emotional. Here's to hoping this reunion lasts.

She miraculously survived a shot to the head, and now 15-year-old Malala Yousafzai is recovering after a successful five-hour surgery in Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital. The young Pakistani activist for girls' education had a titanium plate molded to the missing part of her skull and a cochlear implant fitted for hearing purposes during two operations. A hospital spokesperson says Yousafzai is awake and speaking, and the medical team is "very pleased" with her recovery.

Given all that’s happened, this is a fairly level-headed response. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said that Israel was trying to “destabilize” his country. It’s the first comments from the embattled leader after Israel reportedly delivered an airstrike in Syria. The target was a weapons convoy heading to Lebanon. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak hinted that his nation was behind it. Assad went on to say that Israel’s role of sabotaging Syria with “foreign enemies” had been unmasked.

Suspect Eddie Routh, 25, has been charged with two accounts of murder for allegedly gunning down former Navy SEAL and best-selling American Sniper author Chris Kyle at a shooting range in Texas late Saturday night. Kyle, 39 and known as America’s best sharpshooter (he said his 150-plus kills prompted Iraqi insurgents to put a bounty on his head) and his friend were both shot dead, according to state police. Authorities have so far found no clear motive. 

Yes, that’s right, even Fox News has sided with President Obama over the NRA on gun control. On Sunday, host Chris Wallace called out NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre for arguing that American children deserve the same amount of protection that President Obama’s daughters get. “That’s ridiculous and you know it, sir,” said Wallace, referring to the organization’s contentious TV ad proposing to put armed guards in all schools. Wallace also refuted LaPierre’s claims that inner-city gangs are responsible for America’s gun problem.

Could the Oscar underdog Argo take best picture? Ben Affleck won the 65^th Directors Guild of America Award for his Iran hostage drama last night, cleaning up a sweep of top prizes from awards season. Affleck has already won the Critics’ Choice Award for Best Picture and Best Director, a Golden Globe for Best Picture, a SAG award for Best Ensemble, and a PGA for Best-Produced picture. No film has ever won all of the aforementioned prizes without winning Best Picture at the Oscars.

After a visit to Harvard University, 34 people in a group of 42 high school students and adult chaperones from Pennsylvania were injured when their charter bus crashed into an overpass Saturday night. Authorities described a harrowing situation, with some rescued through the roof of the vehicle. Police said the driver, who was not injured, failed to heed low-clearance warning signs. One person was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries, three others serious, and the remaining minor.

Richard Fee was in college when, like many other undergrads, he had his first taste of Adderall. It wasn't long before he was dangerously addicted to the legal stimulant, with irresponsible doctors dashing off scripts without properly evaluating his side effects—mood swings, sleeplessness, and violent physical outbursts. At 24, two years after he had his first taste—and two weeks after his doctor finally refused to prescribe him the medication—Richard hanged himself. While Fee's case is unusual, his patterns of abusing the medication are not. A 2006 study found that 10 percent of adolescents and young adults who misused A.D.H.D. stimulants became addicted to them, and even careful, doctor-supervised use of the medication can trigger psychotic behavior in 1 in 400 patients.

A member of a leftist group is behind the suicide bombing at a U.S. Embassy that killed a security guard on Friday. The Turkish government says DNA tests confirmed Saturday that Ecevit Sanli, a member of the leftist Revolutionary People's Liberation Army-Front, was behind the attack. The group has accused the United States of using Turkey as its "slave," and claimed responsibility for the attack on its webstie saying "Murderer America! You will not run away from people's rage." Turkey is an important U.S. ally, and one of the leading advocates for intervention in the war in Syria. 

On the heels of Hillary Clinton’s departure as secretary of state, The New York Times published an interview from her second to last day in office, grilling her on Syria. When asked whether the U.S. has done everything it could to end the massacre in the country, Clinton said the Obama administration has “never stopped trying,” despite facing many more obstacles there than in Libya and other countries where violence sprang up during the Arab Spring. She also said that the Clinton administration’s Kosovo crisis was “immensely simple” compared with the Syria crisis, especially given that Russia is actively aiding Assad’s regime.

A suicide car bomber attacked police headquarters in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk Sunday, killing at least 33 people, according to police reports. Three additional gunmen who were disguised as officers then tried to storm the compound, but were shot dead by guards. The blast was the third major attack in weeks in or around the disputed multiethnic city at the heart of the conflict between Iraq’s central government and the autonomous Kurdistan region.

It's probably safe to say Frank Ocean is the bigger man in this situation. Despite earlier reports that the singer would be pressing charges after Chris Brown allegedly punched him in a recording studio, Ocean said Saturday he will not be pursuing a case against the famously aggressive Brown. “As a child I thought if someone jumped me it would result in me murdering or mutilating a man,” Ocean wrote in a post on his Tumblr page. “But as a man I am not a killer. I’m an artist and a modern person. I’ll choose sanity. No criminal charges. No civil lawsuit. Forgiveness, albeit difficult, is wisdom. Peace, albeit trite, is what I want in my short life. Peace.”

It’s hard to compete with today’s technologically advanced toy market, but the Etch a Sketch has never lost its singular appeal. André Cassagnes, ingenious creator of the iconic red mechanical drawing toy—”the world’s first laptop” on which generations of children drew on, shook up, and started over—has died at the age of 86. The toy’s manufacturer said Cassagnes, an electrical technician who developed the magnetic idea in the late ’50s, died in Paris on January 16, though cause of death has not yet been disclosed.

Talk about a terrifying sideshow. A man holding a large knife to his throat during the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace on Sunday morning was tasered by police when he ran at them wielding two knives. The two six-inch blades and a pair of trainers (that’s Brit-speak for sneakers) were left inside the cordoned-off area where the incident took place, just 30 yards from the palace gates. Thank heavens Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip were at Sandringham Estate.

The Big Easy is due for a boon to its economy as it hosts this year’s Super Bowl, seven years after the city was left in ruins by Hurricane Katrina. City officials are expecting to reap $432 million from the football bonanza—$100 million more than Indianapolis gained from last year’s bash, though less than Dallas’s estimated $600 million in 2011. With more than 150,000 people descending on the city for the weekend’s festivities and practically every hotel booked, tourist officials are directing latecomers as far as Baton Rouge. Beyoncé better bring her A-game to the halftime show.