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 …

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 …

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 …

Romney does campaign first as Paul hopes for first win in Maine  —  Tune in Saturday at 6 p.m. ET for CNN's live special coverage of the Maine caucuses and follow real-time results on CNNPolitics.com and on Twitter at #cnnelections.  Stay up to date with CNN apps for iPhone, iPad, Android or other phones.

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 …