DENVER, Colo. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- What seemed impossible only a week ago -- that Rick Santorum could pick up enough steam to displace Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney as the Republican nominee -- now seems merely improbable. With three major victories Tuesday, Santorum's financially challenged grass-roots campaign stands poised for transformation. The biggest surprise of the evening came in Colorado, where Santorum defied political analysts by seizing a 3,600-vote win against front-runner Mitt Romney. Although voters in many of the state's precincts expressed a desire to see a more socially conservative candidate vie for the White House, Santorum remained a long-shot in the eyes of most observers. That is, until Colorado megachurch leader Rev. Ted Haggard generated a groundswell of support for Santorum. Haggard is the controversial but influential pastor of St. James Church in Colorado Springs. According to reports, a conservative power-broker who uses the same massage parlor as Haggard overheard the endorsement while waiting for his session.

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- Over the last few years, it seems the news has been filled with alarming reports of distraught, homicidal and suicidal parents planning their exits from this world as a sort of family vacation from hell by including their children in the itinerary. The most recent story involves the Powell family of Utah. Two years ago, Susan Powell went missing. Her husband, Josh, was considered a person of interest at that time, but no evidence could be found to link him to the disappearance. Even a drawing made by one of the children -- depicting Susan Powell's body in the trunk of the car during an impromptu camping trip in the middle of a snowy night -- failed to arouse suspicion. On Sunday, Josh Powell trapped his children in the home and set it ablaze. There were no survivors. The incident has provoked abused children across the nation to form a coalition with the simple message: "You can make your point -- you can even kill yourself if it seems easier than therapy-- but please, please, please don't take us with you."

Sources inside Goldman Sachs worry about Blankfein making his rent this month

NEW YORK, N.Y. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein revealed Wednesday that he too is feeling the pinch of the weak economy as his company announced a 47-percent plummet in earnings, the most severe drop since 2008. As a result, the financial group decreased Blankfein's annual bonus, seemingly in tandem, by nearly 44 percent. Blankfein, who was raised in a Bronx housing project, said the dramatic reduction in pay evoked memories of his humble origins. After being awarded a paltry $7 million -- down from $12.6 million the previous year -- Blankfein put on a brave face and told reporters: "Sure, it's hard. I'm like so many Americans who've had their compensation shredded to a questionable living wage. And, you know, it's easy to complain -- to say, 'why they'd even bother,' or to think of the stipend as a hollow gesture in the face of horrendous morale. But then I take a look around and consider myself lucky that I'm even employed. The bank already fired 2,400 people. Unlike Mitt Romney, they didn't seem to enjoy it. I'm grateful, actually."

The Gingrich Campaign Capitalizes on the Momentum by Using a Newt to Predict the Length of Obama's Presidency

PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- According to the 2012 Farmers' Almanac, which called its annual forecast "clime and punishment," this winter will see unusually cold and stormy conditions. For some regions of the country, frigid climates will be the norm. In many others, people have been told to expect a substantial amount of rainfall and snow. The areas most affected will be the Northern Plains, parts of the Rockies and the western Great Lakes. For the myriad citizens likely to be impacted by these adverse weather conditions, a great deal of hope was placed on promises of an early spring this morning from Punxsutawney Phil, the groundhog who emerges from his den each February 2 to predict the length of winter. But as 12,000 freezing people gathered before dawn in western Pennsylvania, the world's most famous groundhog saw his shadow and delivered the bad news that winter will last another six weeks.

NEW YORK, N.Y. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the nation's most prominent breast-cancer charity, announced Tuesday that it was pulling its grants from Planned Parenthood and severing its ties with the organization. Since its founding in 1982, Komen has invested more than $1.9 billion in breast-cancer research, related health services and advocacy. In 2011, Planned Parenthood received $680,000 from Komen, which it distributed among its 19 affiliates. The money was used to cover the costs of critical screenings for women unable to afford traditional health care. Critics and disillusioned supporters cried foul, blaming the charity for caving to pressure from conservative religious groups that have boycotted Komen since it formed its partnership with Planned Parenthood in 2005. Representatives from Komen insisted the move was not politically motivated but stemmed from new rules that prohibit it from giving money to groups under federal investigation. This claim too remains disputed as the "investigation" is merely a probe launched by a single Republican at the behest of an anti-abortion group. However, Komen said it also believes shunning Planned Parenthood could save even more lives, citing new intelligence that abortions increase the risk of breast-cancer by invoking the wrath of God.