Abbas to head Palestinian unity government (AP)
AP - The two rival Palestinian camps have agreed that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will head an interim unity government that is to lead them to elections.
 
Analysis: Euro zone strugglers lack innovative knack (Reuters)
Reuters - To get an idea of the economic mountain euro zone strugglers Greece and Portugal have to climb, consider this: per million inhabitants, they each filed fewer than eight applications with the European Patent Office in 2010.
 
M.I.A. flips bird during Super Bowl halftime show (AP)

Nicki Minaj, left, and M.I.A. perform during halftime of the NFL Super Bowl XLVI football game between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots, Sunday, Feb. 5, 2012, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)AP - The NFL and a major television network are apologizing for another Super Bowl halftime show.


 
Romney latest pol to join wait-let-me-explain club (AP)

FILE - In this Oct. 15, 1992, file photo President George H.W. Bush looks at his watch during the 1992 presidential campaign debate with other candidates, Independent Ross Perot, top, and Democrat Bill Clinton, not shown, at the University of Richmond, Va. The most telling moment in a three-way debate between Bush, Bill Clinton and Ross Perot in 1992, wasn't conveyed in words. It was Bush's glance at his watch. The president already was battling perceptions that he was out of touch and out of ideas in a time of economic distress. When the TV cameras caught him stealing a glance at his watch, it reinforced the impression that Bush wasn't up for the job. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds, File)AP - Mitt Romney's remark that he's not worried about the very poor, the latest gaffe in a campaign rich with blunders, joins a long list of wait-let-me-explain episodes in presidential election history.


 
Mushroom pickers lost hope, considered eating dog (AP)

Belinda Conne, right, cries in the arms of a friend Sunday, Feb. 5, 2012 at a hospital in Gold Beach, Ore., at the thought she and her husband and son might have killed their dog for food if they hadn't been found after six nights lost in the woods. The three were rescued Saturday after a volunteer helicopter pilot spotted them on the edge of a ravine in tall timber. (AP Photo/Jeff Barnard)AP - Dan Conne says he and his wife and son thought they were going to die after getting lost while picking mushrooms and spending nearly a week in the rugged forest of southwest Oregon.


 
Syrian assault on Homs kills 50: opposition (Reuters)
Reuters - Syrian forces bombarded Homs on Monday, killing 50 people in a sustained assault on several districts of the city which has become a centre of armed opposition to President Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian National Council opposition group said.
 
Defense cuts test lawmakers' resolve on deficits (AP)
AP - Lawmakers who came to Washington demanding budget cuts face a tough test now that President Barack Obama and military leaders want to shrink the force, shut down bases and cancel weapons to achieve them.
 
Activists: Syrian troops pound Homs neighborhoods (AP)

Syrians stand near the body of a man local residents say was an activist who was tortured to death by the Syrian government and dumped by the side of the road in Idlib, northern Syria, Sunday, Feb. 5, 2012. The commander of rebel Syrian soldiers said Sunday there is no choice but to use military force to drive President Bashar Assad's regime from power as fears mounted that government troops will escalate their deadly crackdown on dissent after Russia and China vetoed a U.N. resolution aimed at resolving the crisis. (AP Photo)AP - Syrian troops shelled neighborhoods in the restive city of Homs on Monday, striking a makeshift medical clinic and residential areas in an assault that killed at least 12 people, activists said.


 
Greek parties face EU bailout deadline (Reuters)

Prime Minister Lucas Papademos arrives at his office in Athens for a meeting with Greek political leaders February 5, 2012. REUTERS/Yiorgos KarahalisReuters - Greece's coalition parties must tell the European Union on Monday whether they accept the painful terms of a new bailout deal to avoid a messy default that could threaten the country's future in the euro zone.


 
Gingrich vows to take fight to "timid" Romney (Reuters)

U.S. Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney shakes hands with supporters while giving a speech at his Nevada caucus night rally in Las Vegas, Nevada, February 4, 2012. REUTERS/Brian SnyderReuters - Republican Newt Gingrich vowed on Sunday to press ahead with his struggling presidential bid after a big loss in Nevada, saying he will focus on drawing a contrast with "timid" rival Mitt Romney.


 
Giants top Pats for 2nd Super Bowl in 4 years (AP)

New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin, right, hands the Vince Lombardi Trophy to quarterback Eli Manning after their 21-17 win over the New England Patriots in the NFL Super Bowl XLVI football game, Sunday, Feb. 5, 2012, in Indianapolis.  (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)AP - Tom Brady let his final pass fly toward the scrum of players in the end zone, hoping for an incredible finish.


 
Fire kills husband of missing Utah woman, 2 boys (AP)

The smoldering remains of a house, left, where an explosion killed Josh Powell and his two sons, Sunday, Feb. 5, 2012, is shown from the air in Graham, Wash. The explosion occurred moments after a Child Protective Services worker brought the two boys to the home for a supervised visit. Powell's wife Susan went reportedly missing from their West Valley City, Utah, home in December 2009. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)AP - Josh Powell's note was simple and short, a farewell to the world after two years of being scrutinized in the media, hammered by police and questioned by judges, prosecutors and social workers, living his life under a microscope since the day his wife vanished.


 
Euro, shares lower ahead of Greek high noon (Reuters)

Specialist trader Jason Hardzewicz (L) of Barclay's Capital gives prices to traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange February 3, 2012. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidReuters - The euro and European shares retreated on Monday on nerves Greek would fail to come up with the political commitments needed to avoid a potential sovereign debt default, taking the shine off a U.S. jobs report that had brightened the global economic outlook.


 
Chrysler's "Halftime" ad: a roadmap for America? (Reuters)
Reuters - Is what is good for Chrysler good for America?
 
Too many kids breathe others' smoke in cars: CDC (AP)
AP - Texting while driving, speeding and back-seat hanky-panky aren't all that parents need to worry about when their kids are in cars: Add secondhand smoke to the list.
 
Insight: Two firms flourish in frenzied MF Global aftermath (Reuters)
Reuters - The mad rush to move client money out of MF Global Inc. after its collapse left two firms with the bulk of customer accounts, while other brokerages emerged with only minor gains from the chaos of carving up a multibillion-dollar business.
 
Goldman's Blankfein campaigns for gay marriage (Reuters)
Reuters - Goldman Sachs Group Inc Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein, one of Wall Street's most powerful figures, has become the first major business leader to join a national media campaign in support of same-sex marriage.
 
Former Panamanian dictator Noriega hospitalized (AP)

FILE - This  Dec. 11, 2011 file photo, shows Panama's former strongman Manuel Noriega gesturing while being carried in a wheelchair by a police officer inside El Renacer prison, on the outskirts of Panama City. A police statement issued Sunday, Feb. 5, 2012 says Noriega was taken from the El Renacer prison to Santo Tomas hospital after he had high blood pressure and apparently a brain hemorrhage. Noriega returned to Panama on Dec. 11 and is serving three 20-year sentences for the killings of political opponents in the 1980s.(AP Photo/Esteban Felix)AP - Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, who was toppled by a 1989 American invasion and later convicted of drug running, was transferred from prison to a hospital on Sunday because of extreme hypertension, health officials said.


 
Romney wins big in Nevada; Gingrich vows to fight on (The Christian Science Monitor)
The Christian Science Monitor - In Nevada Saturday night, Mitt Romney won two big contests.
 
Abortion, birth control becoming major campaign issues (The Christian Science Monitor)
The Christian Science Monitor - Whenever abortion becomes a heated political issue, you can be sure that religion is involved. The reverse also is true. Such is the case with the 2012 election season.