The lawyer for the family of the soldier accused in the killing of 16 Afghan civilians says they remain "stunned." However, he adds they quote "stand behind the man they know as a devoted husband, father, and dedicated member of the armed services." Staff Sergeant Robert Bales sits in solitary confinement at the military's maximum security prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. His defense team begin meeting with him today, and charges against the 38-year-old are expected this week.

Gas prices rose for the ninth straight day Sunday. The average price for a gallon of gasoline is now $3.83 — not that far from July 2008’s record high of $4.11. In fact, gas prices are already more than $4 a gallon in seven states. As gas prices have risen, they’ve also increasingly become a touchy political talking point. This week President Obama is setting off on a four state tour to promote and defend his energy policies. He'll stop in Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, and Oklahoma.

According to the National Home Education Research Institute (NHEI), about two million American children (about 4 percent of all American students) receive their education at home. The NHEI claims that those families are usually white Christians in rural areas who disagree with the public school system on religious grounds. 

GOP Presidential candidates take the fight for the nomination to Illinois, while the Senate takes up the JOBS Act, a business de-regulation bill that SEC Chair Mary Schapiro warns would expose investors to fraud. The U.N. Security council meets to discuss the future of Afghanistan, while American officials debate the American role in the country. Finally, the Transportation Security Administration announces new regulations for elderly passengers as the owners of the Mets go to trial over money they made in the Madoff scandal.

March Madness is turning out to be not that mad. Not too many bracket busting upsets this year. In fact, all but two of the Sweet 16 teams are from power conferences. The NCAA championship has become a kind of "who's who" in big basketball schools.

The debate over whether to intervene in Syria continues, and many questions remain. What role would the U.S. play in an intervention? How should Americans engage the international community? Should we arm the Syrian opposition? 

Today we have the opportunity to reflect on the U.S.’s role in two recent conflicts. One year ago today, the American troops joined their French and British counterparts on the battlefield in Libya. Nine years ago today, the U.S. launched Operation Iraqi Freedom. What have we learned from these conflicts, and how do they inform U.S. foreign policy today? 

Mitt Romney is going into the crucial Illinois primary with a big win out of Puerto Rico. The former Massachusetts governor took more than three-quarters of the vote, which is enough to award him all 20 delegates.

In the days since former Goldman Sachs vice president Greg Smith resigned with a scalding New York Times Op-Ed, the company's reputation has come under fire on all sides. But how fair has the criticism been? And what can Goldman do to rehabilitate its image?

John Hockenberry reports on his week in London, where he participated in a week-long "job swap" with Dan Damon from the BBC. Hockenberry reports on the preparations being made for the Summer Olympics and the Queen's 60th Anniversary Diamond Jubilee celebration, the London Underground and more. Hockenberry also enjoyed a break from the U.S. primary. "At one point I heard something about Rick Santorum's sweater vests on the air and thought, I'm really happy to be away," Hockenberry said. 

The budget fight returns to Congress this week. Representative Paul Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee, is leading the Republican charge to present a budget plan that cuts 2013 federal spending. But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says Republicans are turning on the agreement the two parties reached last August.

Americans have long debated whether the U.S. should have an official state language. The issue has been back in the spotlight in recent days since Republican Presidential candidate Rick Santorum said, "There are other states with more than one language, like Hawaii, but to be a state of the United States, English must be the principal language." However, recent studies show that switching between languages may actually make you smarter. 

Politicians from both sides of the Irish border will be in Washington tomorrow to help President Obama celebrate a belated St Patrick's Day. A symbol of the progress since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, but back home divisions still run deep. Few are willing to confess the role they might have played in past violence. But former Loyalist and Republican paramilitaries are looking for a way forward, a journey that's taken them to the townships of South Africa. 

As the webcam-spying trial of Rutgers student Dharun Ravi comes to an end, some people have questioned whether hate crime laws are necessary at all. On the one hand, they dole out harsher punishments for crimes motivated by discrimination and bigotry. On the other, is the same crime worse depending on the identity of the victim? In the Rutgers case, the jury must decide if Ravi's actions constituted a hate crime or just a tasteless prank.

The American Crossword Puzzle Tournament held its annual puzzle-solving contest over the weekend, where decades-old rivalries are fought through pencil and grid. This year, the tournament had a new and potentially controversial unofficial entrant: a computer program called Dr. Fill.

This morning, investors found out Apple's plans for its stockpile of almost 100 billion dollars in cash. Apple says it will use some of its money to pay a dividend to shareholders and buy back some of its shares.