AP - In two days of bloody turmoil in Syria, more than 50 people were killed as forces loyal to President Bashar Assad shelled residential buildings, fired on crowds and left bleeding corpses in the streets in a dramatic escalation of violence, activists said Friday.

AP - California air regulators passed sweeping auto emission standards Friday that include a mandate to have 1.4 million electric and hybrid vehicles on state roads by 2025.

AP - Mitt Romney, forced to prove his resilience after a stinging loss in South Carolina, is showing why the so-called Republican establishment thinks he has the best discipline, organization and campaign smarts to challenge President Barack Obama this fall.

AP - Bloggers and activists from China, the Middle East and Latin America said Friday they were afraid that new Twitter policies could allow governments to censor messages, stifling free expression.

AP - The economy grew late last year at a pace that in normal times would suggest it's healthy.

AP - Since the Iraq War ended there has been little fanfare for the veterans returning home. No ticker-tape parades. No massive, flag-waving public celebrations.

AP - Because Cyrano weighs more than 20 pounds, amputating his cancer-weakened leg was out of the question. So the tubby tabby's owners turned to doctors and engineers at North Carolina State University to get him back into mice-catching trim.

AP - President Barack Obama told House Democrats Friday to be ready to work with Republicans if they show a willingness to put politics aside even "for just a nanosecond," but to stay firm and push back if the GOP stands in the way.

AP - Mitt Romney's ties to the Northeast gave him a boost on the way to winning the New Hampshire primary. Newt Gingrich's roots in the South probably had at least a little to do with his South Carolina triumph.

AP - As a young college professor running for Congress, Newt Gingrich wanted to sharpen his debating skills.

AP - Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney pitched their ideas for reforming immigration law and pushing democracy into Cuba and across Latin America as the Republican presidential candidates vied for Hispanic votes Friday, entering the final, frenzied weekend before Florida's primary.

AP - Forget the so-called liberal media. Right now Newt Gingrich's most ardent critics are conservative pundits and columnists, many of whom have launched aggressive campaigns to discredit him and trip up his run for the Republican nomination.

AP - Mitt Romney, forced to prove his resilience after a stinging loss in South Carolina, is showing why the so-called Republican establishment thinks he has the best discipline, organization and campaign smarts to challenge President Barack Obama this fall.

AP - Rick Santorum is tired, almost broke — and going home.

NBC's Alex Moe / msnbc.com:
Gingrich spokesman gets in spat with pro-Romney congressman  —  After Romney campaign surrogate Rep. Jason Chaffetz showed up at a Gingrich campaign event in Mount Dora, Florida to talk to media about Gingrich's speech, Gingrich campaign spokesman RC Hammond turned his audio recorder on the congressman.

Jeff Poor / The Daily Caller:
Mark Levin bucks conservative media trend, comes to Gingrich's defense  —  While much of the conservative movement has seemingly lined up to oppose former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's ascent in the contest for the Republican presidential nomination, high-profile defenders of Gingrich have been few and far between.

Alex Seitz-Wald / ThinkProgress:
Romney Seems To Back Off ‘Self-Deportation’ Rhetoric  —  MIAMI, Florida — The day after being hammered on his immigration policy in last night's CNN debate, GOP front-runner Mitt Romney seemed to back off a key piece of his proposal, or at least the rhetoric he uses to describe it.

Steve Jordon / Omaha World-Herald:
Buffett: Criticism is ‘ridiculous’ … Warren Buffett's secretary, after being pointed out on national television during Tuesday's State of the Union speech, now is facing criticism over her salary and second home.  —  Debbie Bosanek and her boss both declined Thursday to disclose how much she's paid, saying it's private.

Mike Lillis / The Hill:
Biden: Dems will take the House  —  CAMBRIDGE, Md. —House Democrats will win the House in November, swinging the gavel back into the hands of Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Vice President Biden predicted Friday.  —  “Nancy, I think, is not going to be remembered just for being the first woman Speaker …

Jeffrey H. Anderson / Weekly Standard:
'It's Not Worth Getting Angry About'  —  Tell that to the Tea Party.  —  More than anyone else during any of the previous Republican presidential debates, Rick Santorum took dead aim tonight at the similarities between Romneycare and Obamacare.  Arguing that those similarities …

Amanda Peterson Beadle / ThinkProgress:
Alabama School Under Scrutiny After Official Tells A Student To Remove A Gay Rights Sweatshirt  —  The Southern Poverty Law Center has warned an Alabama school district against infringing on a student's freedom of speech.  Elizabeth Garrett, an openly gay sophomore at Brookwood High School …

John Cook / Gawker:
Yes, the Romneys Converted Mitt's Dead Atheist Father-in-Law to Mormonism  —  Gawker's substantial Mormon readership has come through for us: Two readers have sent us confirmation that Edward Davies, Mitt Romney's militantly atheist father-in-law, was indeed posthumously converted to Mormonism …

Daniel Bice / JSOnline:
Two ex-Walker aides charged with illegal campaigning  —  By Daniel Bice and Dave Umhoefer of the Journal Sentinel  —  Two staffers who worked directly for Gov. Scott Walker while he was county executive were charged Thursday with illegally doing extensive political work while being paid by taxpayers to do county jobs.

Dan Farber / CBS News:
Bob Dole hopes Gingrich has no chance to be president  —  The former Republican senator from Kansas and presidential candidate Bob Dole has thrown his support behind Mitt Romney and decisively against Newt Gingrich.  Dole described Gingrich in a recent “CBS Sunday Morning” interview with Rita Braver as …