Santorum surges into the lead  —  Riding a wave of momentum from his trio of victories on Tuesday Rick Santorum has opened up a wide lead in PPP's newest national poll.  He's at 38% to 23% for Mitt Romney, 17% for Newt Gingrich, and 13% for Ron Paul.  —  Part of the reason for Santorum's surge is his own high level of popularity.

Bishops: Contraception deal ‘unacceptable’  —  Hours after calling the Obama administration's contraceptives compromise a “first step,” the Catholic bishops said Friday night they have “two serious objections” to the new policy and will fight its enactment.  —  First, the U.S. Conference …

Assad@axisofevil.com . . .  Leaked emails show Westerners truckling to the Syrian regime.  —  In the fall of 2007 Israel reportedly hacked into Syria's air defense systems and disabled them, as a prelude to bombing a nuclear facility in the Syrian desert.  This vaunted cyber exploit …

Ahmadinejad: Major nuclear announcement expected within days  —  Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the 25th International Islamic Unity Conference in Tehran on February 8, 2012  —  (CNN) — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced Saturday that the nation will reveal …

The Contraception Controversy Would Have Been Avoided If Obama Were President  —  Helene Cooper and Laurie Goldstein of the Ministry of Truth pick up the pom-poms to cover the contraception controversy and assure their readers of two points - Obama is caving in to the Religious Left …

A Chilling Verdict in Spain  —  The enemies of Judge Baltasar Garzón have finally gotten their way.  Spain's Supreme Court this week found the judge guilty of misapplying the country's wiretap law and suspended him from the courts for 11 years.  —  Judge Garzón has played …

Awkward: Fox News contributor debuts rap video at CPAC  —  Bright and early Friday morning at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, D.C., a small group of Republicans were treated to perhaps the most bizarre attempt at rap music since “M.C. Rove” took the stage in front of the whole D.C. press corps in 2007.

Chipotle Is Apple  —  The burrito chain is revolutionizing food: Why doesn't it get more respect?  —  Hunting for business success stories in a recession is a difficult (and sometimes depressing) task.  Most of the feel-good stories seem to come from the high-tech world and the burgeoning app economy.

Koch fights back: Obama ‘trying to intimidate’  —  Responding more aggressively than in the past, Koch Industries' political arm on Friday accused President Barack Obama and his allies of “trying to intimidate into silence those who may disagree with them.”  —  The statement came in response …

Believing the Unbelievable: Why Kim Jong Un Death Rumors Won't Die  —  An incredible story that the North Korean leader was killed in Beijing gained remarkable attention in the West, revealing some of the ways Americans can misunderstand Asian societies.  —  North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un waves …

Catholic Institutions Reluctantly Comply With N.Y. Law on Contraceptives Coverage  —  Although Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of New York has been leading the national fight against requiring Roman Catholic hospitals, universities and charities to cover birth control in their health insurance plans …