Syria’s regime added another mass killing to its long list Tuesday. At least 31 civilians, including 14 children, are dead after a bombardment strike in a rebel-controlled district of Aleppo, rebels say. Many have fled the embattled city, where the government troops and opposition groups are still fighting for control. The most horrifying incidents in the last month include a missile strike on Aleppo University that killed at least 80 and evidence of a mass execution-style killing. Meanwhile, in Damascus mortar shells seemingly aimed at the presidential palace hit two hospitals, but there were no casualties.

At least 14 people were seriously injured when a car hit a gas main, causing a major explosion at an upscale shopping center in Kansas City, Missouri Tuesday evening. Police say a well-known downtown restaurant set in an upscale shopping district was the site of two blasts during dinnertime. "We're trying to get our arms around it," a spokesman for Missouri Gas Energy told NBC when asked about the cause. Multiple people were transported to the hospital, and witnesses told local news that they could smell natural gas in the area before the explosion.

So he won't be NATO's supreme commander. Gen. John Allen officially plans to retire instead of moving forward with his nomination for the prestigious position, according to a White House statement released Tuesday. The general cited the need to care for his wife, Kathy, who suffers from a combination of chronic health problems, in his request for retirement, which President Obama said he accepted. Most recently, Allen was in the headlines for his email correspondence with Jill Kelley, a player in the David Petraeus affair.

Get ready for Citizens United: Part Two. The Supreme Court has decided to hear a case challenging limits on campaign donations to political candidates. Currently individuals can contribute up to $46,200 to political candidates and $70,800 to political committees, but Alabama businessman Shaun McCutcheon says that those caps violate the First Amendment. A Washington federal court rejected McCutcheon’s challenge, but the Supreme Court is expected to rule on it before July 2014.

Prosecutors in South Africa charged Olympian Oscar Pistorius with premeditated murder on Tuesday, claiming that he shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp through the door of his bathroom where she was taking cover after a fight. Pistorius said that he shot her thinking she was a robber, and that he felt vulnernable because he didn't have his prosthetic legs on. After shooting, he then put on his legs, bashed the door in with a cricket bat, and ran downstairs with Steenkamp as she died in his arms. Head prosecutor Gerrie Nel quickly dismantled the argument. “It was all part of the preplanning. Why would a burglar lock himself inside the bathroom?” he asked. Pistorius, who began Tuesday’s hearing straight-faced, allegedly broke down as the prosecution continued, wiping away tears as he sobbed in the courtroom.

Out gun shopping and not sure which firearm will best suit your needs? Just ask Uncle Joe. Vice President Biden, who’s been guiding the administration’s gun control legislation, says he told his wife, Jill, that she should get a double-barreled shotgun as protection for herself and their home. Assualt weapons, he said, are not effective. “You don’t need an AR-15—it’s harder to aim, it’s harder to use, and in fact you don’t need 30 rounds to protect yourself,” he said in a Facebook town hall with Parents Magazine on Tuesday. Of the White House’s gun-control agenda, he admitted it won’t be a cure-all, but over time, will be impactful.

Everybody's getting hacked these days. It's only Tuesday and this week alone the Twitter accounts of Burger King and Jeep as well as computers belonging to a few Apple employees have been attacked. Apple workers were the victims of a malicious software that's infected business-owned Mac computers—a new feat for hackers who've, up until now, used Windows for most major attacks. Meanwhile, whoever's got their hands on Jeep's Twitter account has been tweeting salacious pictures and seriously damning messages such as "You'll never catch @50Cent ridin in a Dirty Ass @Jeep!!! #ForDaLulz #FreeJeep."

Ocean's Fourteen may have just found its new plot line. On Monday evening eight masked and heavily armed men drove through a security fence at Brussels International Airport and demanded crew open the cargo doors to Swiss-bound plane. They withdrew 120 packets of diamonds--worth up to $350 million--and sped off, all in a matter of minutes. The robbers were reportedly disguised as airport police, with armbands on their uniforms and blue flashing lights on their cars. One car was found burned out nearby the airport."It was well-prepared and very professional," said Ms. Van Wymersch, a Belgian prosecutor.

The war on drugs may want to refocus to the real problem area: deadly prescription drug overdoses. New data from the National Center for Health Statistics shows that fatal drug overdoses in the U.S. increased for the 11th year in a row. In 2010, 38,329 people died after overdosing. More than half of them involved known prescription drugs, and 74 percent of those deaths were accidental. Even more surprising: an LA Times investigation last year revealed that prescription drug overdoses over the past decade outnumbered both heroin- and cocaine-related deaths combined.

And let the backlash begin. Kelly Clarkson has penned an open letter on her blog in response to claims made by music mogul Clive Davis in his new memoir, The Soundtrack of My Life. Clarkson, whom Davis and Simon Fuller signed to RCA Records after she won the first season of American Idol, says she feels “bullied” by Davis, who claims she burst into “hysterical sobbing” after he forced her to include “Since U Been Gone” on her 2004 Breakaway album. But Clarkson insists “his stories and songs are mixed up.” “I cried after I played him a song I had written about my life called ‘Because of You,’” Clarkson wrote. “I cried because he hated it and told me verbatim that I was a ‘sh--ty writer who should be grateful for the gifts that he bestows upon me.’” The singer also refutes Davis’s claims that she did not co-pen any hit songs on her third album, My December.

People in Deputatskoye are traipsing through the snow—equipped with matchboxes, plastic bags, and jars—searching for pieces of the meteorite that soared over their small Siberian town last Friday. What was a liability last week has now become a commodity, as the sale of meteorite fragments, though illegal, can be potentially lucrative. One woman told The New York Times that she sold a fist-size stone that crashed through the roof of her woodshed for $230, only to be offered $1,300 a few hours later. 

If all dogs go to heaven, Pat Derby has got good company. The famed Hollywood animal trainer who helped shape stars like Flipper and Lassie died from throat cancer at age 69, according to a statement from her organization, the Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS). After making a name for herself training animals, Derby shifted her focus to animal protection—a move that stemmed from the animal abuse she witnessed in Hollywood. Most recently, Derby led a fight to get elephants released from circuses and zoos and sent to safe sanctuaries. Her longtime partner, Ed Stewart, was by her side at her death.

At least three people—in at least six different crime scenes throughout Orange County, California—were killed after a 25-minute shooting spree possibly sparked by an early-morning carjacking. Responding to a variety of shooting reports between 5:30 and 5:55 a.m., police found a trail of dead and injured victims leading them to an intersection where the alleged shooter killed himself. 

Attention Tom Clancy. An investigation by the security firm Mandiant found that many of the attacks on American corporations and government agencies are coming from a clandestine People’s Liberation Army base on the outskirts of Shanghai. The group is known as the "Comment Crew" for the hidden notes it embeds into Web pages. Perhaps the most alarming part of the report is that the group, no longer focused on stealing intellectual property from corporations and military contractors, has been trying to gain access to critical infrastructure, hacking a company that designs software for oil pipelines and power grids.

No shirt, no underwear, no problem. In a special after-hours viewing of the exhibit Nude Men From 1800 to Today at Vienna’s Leopold Museum, a group of 60 art lovers got up close and nakedly personal with the 300 pieces of nude art. Some in the group allegedly wore red tape to cover certain areas, while others walked around the exhibit stark-naked. Museum spokesman Klaus Pokorny said the decision to allow a bare-skinned tour came after petitions streamed in from many different countries. “We got requests from all over the world from people who were inspired by the exhibition … who asked us, ‘Can we visit the exhibition naked?’” he said. The move is not a ridiculous one for Vienna, known for its laid-back attitude.

Office Max and Office Depot, two struggling big-box retailers, are considering joining forces. The two companies have seen their profits and market share fall in the face of relentless online competition. In 1997, the two companies tried to merge, only to see their deal scuppered by the federal anti-trust police. With the retail landscape having changed so much in the past 16 years, it’s likely the Feds wouldn’t object to a deal.

Brace yourselves Pippa-lovers, England’s most eligible bachelorette is officially off the market. The duchess of Cambridge’s younger sister is reportedly dating a 35-year-old Deutsche Bank stockbroker named Nico Jackson. The two recently went on a trip to the Caribbean island of Mustique, after which Jackson introduced her to his family. Jackson’s parents—who run a ski and sportswear shop in Kent, England—called Pippa “absolutely charming” and said the couple is thriving. “They are happy, and that is all that matters. As long as my children are happy, then I am happy,” mother Ulrike Jackson said.

Persona non grata turned persona we like you again. Two years after financier Steven Rattner’s infamous fall from grace, Andrew Ross Sorkin says the man Wall Street loved to hate is back in its good graces. A former journalist turned economist, Rattner rose to the top tiers of Washington’s elite in 2009 when he was appointed by the White House to head the restructuring of the auto industry. But excitement over his new role quickly dissipated when accusations surfaced that he had employed “pay to play” practices while at a New York state pension fund. Banned from making appearances before public pension funds for five years and shunned by nearly the entire Manhattan community, he has miraculously restored his once-flawless reputation. Sorkin says the change of heart is rare in a city where “powerful figures are dropped at the whiff of trouble.”

Law enforcement officials tell CBS that Adam Lanza, who killed 26 children and teachers in Newtown, Connecticut, was trying to outdo Anders Breivik, who killed 77 in Norway in 2011. Breivik bombed downtown Oslo before shooting teenagers gathered at a nearby island for summer camp. Officials say Lanza targeted Sandy Hook because it was the "easiest target" with the "largest cluster of people." Sources also say evidence shows Lanza was acting out fantasies taken from videogames. A police spokesman commented Monday that it is still "mere speculation" to try to understand Lanza's motives. 

The Coast Guard says the cause of the engine fire that rendered the Carnival cruise liner powerless for five days was a leak in a fuel oil line that dripped on a hot surface.  Although the cause of the fire is now confirmed, the final report on the incident may not be released for another six months. Meanwhile, Carnival has already been hit with its first lawsuit—a passenger who claims to have waded through human feces during the five days of wretched conditions.

At least five people were killed and dozens injured Tuesday when a military helicopter crashed into a building complex near historic “Change Square” in the Yemeni capital of Sana. The pilot and seven passengers were reportedly killed upon impact. Officials say the death toll will likely continue to rise as fire and black smoke pour from the site of the crash—a residential area with many shops. A witness reportedly saw two houses completely annihilated, leaving many trapped beneath rubble. Yemen has seen increased violence in 2013, and at least 10 al Qaeda militants killed by a drone strike in late January.

The hashtag #liberaltips2avoidrape exploded on Twitter Tuesday after a Colorado college advised women to vomit or urinate on an attacker to avoid rape in the wake of a heated debate among Colorado lawmakers about allowing women to carry concealed weapons to prevent sexual assault. The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs updated its advisory Monday evening, telling female students to “tell your attacker you have a disease or are menstruating” and that “vomiting or urinating also may convince the attacker to leave you alone.” The advisory was updated when the Colorado House of Representatives passed a bill Monday evening banning firearms on college campuses after a debate Friday among lawmakers when Democrat Joe Salazar suggested access to guns does not protect women from being raped.

Pizza and guns, what America does best. A pizza shop owner in Virginia Beach is flexing his pro–gun rights muscles by giving a 15 percent discount to anyone who comes into the shop with a gun or concealed handgun permit. Jay Laze, owner of All Around Pizzas and Deli, began the discount on Friday and says it has been a huge success. Estimates of 80 percent of his customers have come in bearing weapons, one allegedly with an AK-47. Laze is apparently a gun owner as well, and says he still vigorously supports the Second Amendment, even after the recent shooting massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, that left 20 children dead.

Google just got re-schmoogled. Microsoft launched its official assault campaign on Google’s gmail, a $30 million plan intended to convince users that Outlook is a better option. The “marketing blitz” will act as a complement to the anti-Google “Scroogled” attack ads that portray Google as a big-brother type of conglomerate that combs users emails for information that it then sells to advertisers. Dharmesh Mehta, senior director of Outlook.com, said the campaign is meant to be educational and motivational. “We are trying to push people who have gotten lazy and comfortable with an email service that may not be all that great and help show them what email can really do for them,” said Mehta.

Great speeches are edited one 8½ by 11–inch piece of paper at a time. A rough draft of President Obama’s Inaugural Address, complete with scribbled edits by POTUS himself, was released by chief official White House photographer Pete Souza Tuesday morning via Flickr. The image provides a rare glimpse behind the scenes at the calculated process of crafting his prose. Seemingly pointing at one particular edit, his markings vary from small grammar changes to bigger tweaks. In one instance he opts to change “what we look like” to “the color of our skin,” no doubt a nod to Martin Luther King Jr., whose day of memorial fell on the same day as the speech itself.

Students from the liberal-arts school Wesleyan got a little too hands-on at the Connecticut Science Center, allegedly climbing on dinosaurs and vomiting off a flight of stairs before being kicked out. Students were also reportedly doing drugs and having sex in the museum bathrooms. The school rented out the museum for a special cocktail event for the senior class, but reportedly the attendees were kicked out after just two hours of revelry. Parents, your money, once again, is well spent.