Russian scientists have drilled into the vast, dark and never-
before-touched Lake Vostok 2.2 miles below the surface of Antarctica, the state-run Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported Monday.

“Yesterday, our scientists stopped drilling at the depth of 3,768 meters and reached the surface of the subglacial lake,” the news agency quoted a source as saying. The team had “finally managed to pierce” the ice sheet into Vostok, the source said.

In the confusion following the earthquake and tsunami that damaged Japan’s Fukushima nuclear complex last March, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said it was standing by to help.

But a trove of e-mails posted on the NRC’s Web site shows an agency struggling to figure out how to respond and how to deal with the American public while cutting through what one official called “the fog of information” coming out of Japan.

European leaders pressed Greece on Monday to quickly resolve deadlocked talks over a new international bailout and are threatening to let the country default if Athens does not agree to new economic reforms.

Britain’s Home Affairs Committee published a report Tuesday on the roots of violent radicalization and it found one culprit: The Web.

“The Committee concludes that the Internet is one of the most significant vehicles for promoting violent radicalism— more so than prisons, universities or places of worship,” a report on the Parliament Web site begins. “The Committee recommends that Internet service providers themselves should be more active in monitoring the material they host... [and] for the removal of material which promotes violent extremism.”

When state-run Russian news agency RIA Novosti released a report Monday that said Russian scientists had drilled into the deep, dark and previously untouched Lake Vostok, a curious detail was buried farther down in the story:

Most foreign journalists have been barred from Syria, but graphic footage of the shelling and carnage is leaking out, shedding light on the horror of the Syrian regime’s crackdown in places such as Homs.

On this day in 1962, U.S. President John F. Kennedy imposed a full trade embargo on Cuba. The White House statement that day was optimistic about what the embargo could accomplish:

As a U.S. federal appeals court Tuesday struck down Prop 8, California’s same-sex marriage ban since 2008, another battle for gay rights played out across the Atlantic.

In Uganda, an anti-gay bill was reintroduced Tuesday, the Associated Press reports.

MEXICO CITY — With a decisive primary victory Sunday night, Josefina Vazquez Mota became the first woman to represent a major party in the Mexican presidential election, which backers hope will excite voters weary of the drug violence and political gridlock of her party’s leader, President Felipe Calderon.

CAIRO — Julie Hughes, a veteran pro-democracy worker, was crushed when she missed out on Egypt’s revolt last year. In a Facebook posting at the time, she said, “It’s like having your next door neighbor throw an incredibly joyous party and you don’t get an invitation.”

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — As U.S.-funded Afghan jihadists battled the Soviets in the late 1980s, the unassuming American-run bar in this ancient frontier city bulged with gossiping foreigners. Today, with another Afghan conflict winding down, the watering hole practically echoes with emptiness.

JERUSALEM — A Jerusalem court ruled has ruled against plans to build a luxury housing development on the remains of a Palestinian village abandoned in the 1948 war that followed the establishment of Israel.

DAMASCUS, Syria —Russia’s top diplomat said Tuesday that a Syrian commission has prepared a new constitution, to be voted on in a referendum, and added that President Bashar al-Assad is ready for a “dialogue” with opposition groups after months of a harsh and bloody crackdown on anti-government protesters.

Over the past decade, Sen. Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala.) has directed more than $100 million in federal earmarks to transform Tuscaloosa’s core into a place that local officials say benefits everyone who lives, works and plays in the area.

Rep. Louie Gohmert, patron saint of amorous wildlife? The Texas Republican, who’s not exactly known as a champion of animal rights, said his primary concern in the development of a massive Alaskan oil pipeline is the love life of the caribous surrounding the project.

You might want to pick your comfiest chair. Last week, former Cuban President Fidel Castro unveiled his new memoir, “Time Guerrilla,” a 1,000-plus page, two-volume set based on conversations with journalist Katiuska Blanco. Oh, and it stops just as his revolution really gets rolling, in 1959.

House and Senate negotiators appointed to reach a compromise over how to pay for extending the expiring payroll tax cut will hold a key meeting Tuesday morning.

Ongoing discussions between the 20-member conference committee, as well as House and Senate leaders, will make clear whether Democrats and Republicans will reach a quick deal to extend the tax cut for the remainder of the year.

In many ways, President Obama is right when he calls the folks on Capitol Hill a “do-nothing Congress.” But you can’t say that about House Republicans who have marched to a steady beat in pressing legislation that would make life more difficult for federal employees.

The United States’ view of warfare has been changing.

To deter potential conflicts, the nation will have forward-based sea, air and ground forces in strategic areas around the globe. It will also retain its nuclear triad of land- and submarine-based intercontinental ballistic missiles and strategic bombers.

Congressional ethics investigators concluded there “is substantial reason to believe” that Florida’s Rep. Vern Buchanan, one of the top Republicans in the House, violated ethics laws by failing to report his position with a half-dozen firms, according to records released Monday.

“Only ten percent of people in unions today actually voted to join the union.”

— Voiceover from an ad sponsored by the Center for Union Facts which aired during the Super Bowl

A top official of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation who was involved in the controversy over the group’s funding of Planned Parenthood resigned Tuesday.

Karen Handel, vice president for public policy, acknowledged that she had supported Komen’s decision to pull funding for Planned Parenthood in a resignation letter obtained by The Atlanta Journal Constitution. However, she said the decision-making process began before she joined the organization last year, and the policy change was thoroughly vetted at every level within the organization and unanimously agreed to by the board at a November meeting.

President Obama will use the backdrop of a White House science fair Tuesday to highlight a nationwide shortage of math and science teachers and unveil a plan to invest $100 million to help train 100,000 new educators over the next decade.

CINCINNATI—Newt Gingrich lobbed a joint attack on President Obama and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney over contraception mandates on Tuesday, saying Romney, as governor, supported forcing Catholic institutions to break from their church’s doctrine and provide emergency contraception.

Missouri’s primary election won’t award any delegates on Tuesday, but it still could affect the GOP race and give candidate Rick Santorum a boost.

While no delegates will be awarded in all three GOP contests on Tuesday -- Minnesota and Colorado are holding non-binding caucuses -- Missouri Republicans will begin the process of choosing delegates at a caucus on March 17.   

One day after the Obama campaign announced that it is backing a pro-Democratic “super PAC,” House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) blasted the move at a news conference on Capitol Hill.

“Just another broken promise,” Boehner told reporters at the Republican National Committee when asked about the Obama campaign’s decision to give its blessing to Priorities USA Action, the super PAC founded by a pair of former top White House aides.

There are three primaries or caucuses tonight — the first multi-state election day of the 2012 primary.

While no delegates will actually be awarded tonight, these races still matter. Former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum is making a play to be the new “conservative alternative” to former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. Former House speaker Newt Gingrich is hoping to get some good news after a losing streak. Texas Rep. Ron Paul is trying to prove that his caucus-based strategy has any viability.

Social media still have nothing on Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and Wolf Blitzer.

Twitter and Facebook are great tools for the political junkie, and God knows The Fix team are big fans. But when it comes to the 2012 election, the reach of these social media tools is actually pretty small and isn’t growing very quickly relative to the most popular medium: TV.

Last Friday, we asked for your best Nevada caucus predictions. The actual results, after the state GOP’s looooong counting process:

Mitt Romney: 50.1 percent,

Newt Gingrich: 21.1 percent

Ron Paul:18.8 percent

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — Mitt Romney returned to the campaign trail here Monday and trained his focus on President Obama, but his top aides and key surrogates fought to beat back a possible surge by Rick Santorum on the eve of Republican presidential contests in a trio of states.

Fearing a tide of spending by outside conservative groups, President Obama is giving his blessing to a pro-Democratic Party “super PAC” that will work to help his reelection, his campaign said late Monday.

Rick Santorum may actually win a state or two today. But does it really mean anything?

Mitt Romney’s campaign set about turning aside a possible surge by Santorum on Monday, holding a conference call and beginning a push to attack the former Pennsylvania senator for a history of earmarking.

“We can’t afford two George Soros approved candidates this fall.”

— Voiceover from Newt Gingrich campaign ad, referring to Mitt Romney and President Obama, Feb. 2, 2012

A federal appeals panel in San Francisco ruled Tuesday that California’s ban on same-sex marriage violates the constitutional right to equal protection.

The panel overturned Proposition 8, which was approved by 52 percent of the state’s voters in 2008 and amended the state’s constitution to limit marriage to a man and a woman.

Disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who says he once made $20 million in a year before going to federal prison on public corruption charges, wants to produce movies and a reality television show. And he would like to help reform the political system he exploited for years.

Abramoff, at the ...

They have served a combined 46 years in the House of Representatives, ethnic Catholic liberals born four months apart representing districts along their state's northern border.

But now, redistricting in Ohio, drawn up by a Republican-led General Assembly, has left two powerhouse liberal Democrats, Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich and Rep. ...

PENNSYLVANIA

Official says bankruptcy possible for state capital

HARRISBURG — The state official in charge of figuring out how to fix an enormous financial shortfall in Pennsylvania's capital city said in a proposed recovery plan released Monday that "significant and difficult" steps lie ahead, and that Harrisburg may end up ...

Shrugging off widespread criticism of its college tuition cap proposal, the Obama administration mounted a public-relations blitz Monday to sell the plan to students and university leaders.

Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Sen. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts were among the White House officials and ...

ATLANTA | Georgia's top court struck down a state law that restricted the advertising of assisted suicides, siding Monday with four members of a suicide group who said the law violated their free-speech rights.

The Georgia Supreme Court's unanimous ruling found that the law violates the free-speech clauses of the ...

CHICAGO | Junk food remains plentiful at the nation's elementary schools despite widespread efforts to curb childhood obesity, a new study suggests.

Between 2006 and 2010, nearly half of public and private schools surveyed sold sweet or salty snack foods in vending machines or other places, the study found.

There ...

GRAHAM, Wash. — Josh Powell's boys were coming for a visit, and he had preparations to make.

He boxed up their books and toys and brought them to a charity. He carried heavy cans of gasoline inside his house.

He thought about what to write in the final emails he'd send ...

A federal appeals court on Tuesday declared California's same-sex-marriage ban unconstitutional, paving the way for the legalization of gay marriage in the nation's most populous state and setting the stage for a showdown before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that Proposition 8, ...

ATLANTA (AP) — Bread and rolls are the No. 1 source of salt in the American diet, accounting for more than twice as much sodium as snacks such as potato chips and pretzels.

That surprising finding comes in a government report released Tuesday that includes a list of the top ...

SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. — Students at a Pennsylvania university can obtain the "morning-after" pill from an unusual source — a vending machine at the campus health center.

The vending machine at Shippensburg University's Etter Health Center provides the Plan B emergency contraceptive along with condoms, decongestants and pregnancy tests.

Vice President ...

WASHINGTON — The number of available jobs in the United States jumped in December to near a three-year high, supporting other data that show a brighter outlook for hiring.

Companies and governments posted 3.38 million jobs in December, the Labor Department said Tuesday. That's up from the 3.12 million advertised ...

CHICAGO (AP) — Good news for budget-minded travelers: There's no proof that flying economy class increases your chances of dangerous blood clots, according to new guidelines from medical specialists.

Travelers' blood clots have been nicknamed "economy-class syndrome," but the new advice suggests this is a misnomer.

The real risk is not getting ...

ATLANTA — A high-ranking official resigned Tuesday from the Susan G. Komen for the Cure breast-cancer charity after a dispute over whether the group should give funding to Planned Parenthood, according to a letter obtained by the Associated Press.

Karen Handel, the charity's vice president for public policy, told Komen ...

GRAHAM, Wash. — Before setting his house ablaze and killing himself and his two young sons, Josh Powell left a voice mail for family members saying he couldn't live without the boys and didn't want to go on anymore.

ABC News obtained what it says was a voice mail Powell ...

LOS ANGELES — The entire staff at a Los Angeles elementary school is being removed while authorities investigate horrific allegations of sexual abuse by two of the school's teachers, one of whom is accused of blindfolding children, taping their mouths and photographing them in a classroom.

Los Angeles Unified School ...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal appeals court has declared California's same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional, paving the way for a likely U.S. Supreme Court showdown on the voter-approved law.

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled 2-1 Tuesday that a lower court judge interpreted ...

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

There are no East Carolinas in the National Football League, as a wise man (John Madden? Pat Summerall?) famously put it, but the field in the Republican presidential primaries this year is studded with cupcakes.

Mitt Romney, who if he were a football team might have been an East ...

A three-judge US Court of Appeals panel has denied Google's request to toss out another judge's decision to allow an incriminating email from being used as evidence in Oracle's Java-patent lawsuit against Mountain View.…

Google is dropping full support for CDMA handsets running Android, leaving millions of customers wondering if their phones and tablets will be able to cope.…

Adobe has released beta code for sandboxing its heavily hacked Flash code within Firefox, in a similar fashion to the Chrome security protections added to its Reader software and Google’s Chrome browser.…

The fragile European consensus over the ACTA treaty is fraying at the fringes: the Czech Republic and Slovakia have decided to suspend the ratification process, while Romania’s support for the treaty could stall on a change of government.…

Review The true audiophile is likely to have many questions concerning the Colorfly Pocket Hi-Fi, but chief among them is likely to be ‘How f*%&ing much??!?’ At £549 this Chinese-made high fidelity portable music player is nobody’s idea of a bargain, but if you’re one of those brave souls who still cares about sound quality, who appreciates the convenience of digital but feels cheated by the compressed sound, Colorfly might just have something here.…

The Government Procurement Service has advertised for suppliers to join a wide-ranging £4bn ICT framework.…

Blocks and Files: It's a vision thing: EMC was a storage company and is an information company, but in the next decade it looks like it will be a data centre infrastructure company.…

An international team of top boffins has quite literally left no stone unturned in its efforts to answer a highly unusual question: Just what did the love songs of the Jurassic era really sound like?…

Google will remove content posted on its blogging platform on a country-by-country basis after altering the way the service organises blog posts.…

Axis of evil North Korea now has a whopping one million mobile phone users some four years after the technology was first introduced in the repressive state.…

Apple was the only major computer maker to increase its shipments into the UK PC market during the final three months of 2011.…

Android App of the Week The security or lack thereof of the Android platform - real or imagined - is a common topic of conversation at the moment so it seems like a good time to take a look for a comprehensive security app. My preferred choice is Avast!.…

The fight against cancer reached a weird new level after Singapore’s centuries-old chilli crab dish inspired boffins to build a tumour-removing robot.…

Is Blighty's Freedom of Information (FOI) law working?…

HTC could be in for a spot of bother in 2012 after its Q1 outlook missed analysts’ estimates. Commentators suggest the firm may struggle to compete with Apple, Samsung and the wealth of handset manufacturers crowding this increasingly competitive space.…

TalkTalk lost 43,000 broadband customers during the company's third quarter and reported that revenue in that area of the business had fallen year-on-year.…

Internet giant Google is once more trying to save the world, this time with its TED-rip-off "Solve for X" project.…

Members of Parliament may soon be issued with an iPad each in a scheme that could cost the tax payer over £400,000.…

Microsoft is reportedly killing the Start button in Windows, a staple of Redmond's PC operating system since the landmark Windows 95.…

Toshiba's 'world's thinnest, lightest' tablet, the AT200 - aka the Excite in the US - goes on sale over here next week.…

UK retailers have offered a number of concessions after the Office of Fair Trading had a word about their extended warranties on electrical goods.…

Review Every now and again, a brand new product comes along that seems to hark back to days of yore, to a time when things were different. One of those things would be the steam-powered PC, another is the ViewSonic V350 – a smartphone that can work on two networks simultaneously.…