Briefing

‘I want to know how this could be.’

1. KARILYN BALES, wife of U.S. Army staff sergeant Robert Bales, who is being held for the massacre of 16 civilians–including nine children–in southern Afghanistan

‘The message is directed to the Arab leaders–that Iraq is not safe enough to be visited.’

2. HUSSEIN SHADHAN AL-ABOUDI, provincial-council member in Karbala, after a string of bombings killed at least 46 people in eight cities before the upcoming Arab League summit in Baghdad

‘The question is, Which future will we choose?’

3. PAUL RYAN, Republican Congressman from Wisconsin and chairman of the House Budget Committee, unveiling a proposal that aims to overhaul Medicare and the tax code

‘We can be as optimistic and even audacious as Amelia Earhart.’

4. HILLARY CLINTON, addressing a group of historians and scientists launching another search for Earhart’s plane, which disappeared during her quest to become the first woman to fly around the world

‘It’s not journalism. It’s theater.’

5. MIKE DAISEY, writer and monologuist, who admitted to fabricating stories about oppressed workers at an Apple contractor’s factory in China; the public-radio program This American Life retracted his report

$8.5 BILLION

Total 2011 Wendy’s revenue, which bested Burger King’s for the first time since Wendy’s 1969 debut

10-1

Odds the Denver Broncos will win the Super Bowl after acquiring Peyton Manning, down from 50-1 sans the star quarterback

250,000

Tons of snow–just shy of the city’s all-time high–hauled away by Anchorage last winter

$200 MILLION

Estimated loss Disney will incur from John Carter, which could be the film industry’s biggest flop

Sources: Washington Post; AP; House Budget Committee; AP; WBEZ