Russia has announced this morning that it will throw its support behind envoy Kofi Annan's efforts to end the fighting in Syria. Russia is also urging both sides in the crisis to stop fighting at least once a day for the Red Cross to administer aid. Up until now Russia has blocked efforts of the UN to end the fighting.

Until just a few weeks ago, Staff Sergeant Robert Bales was known simply as a former high school football captain, an American patriot who joined the Army after 9/11, a husband, a son, and a father of two. Now, he’s a prisoner at a detention facility in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, accused of killing 16 civilians in Afghanistan in an incident that’s been called one of the worst war crimes of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. As new facts about Bales' life emerge — including details about foot and head injuries and a mild traumatic brain injury he suffered — it appears that this could shape into a complicated legal case for the Army.

While our host John Hockenberry was in London last week, he met with Paul Deighton, Chief Executive Officer of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The two discussed the planning that has gone into the Games, one of the largest events a city can host. Deighton said the project was one of a kind.

After a strong victory in Puerto Rico's primary race last week, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is hoping to repeat his success with a win in the Illinois primary. Romney and a Super PAC backing him have spent more than $3 million in Illinois. At stake are 54 delegates — and the chance to reclaim momentum. Although polling in Illinois has consistently shown Romney in the lead, Santorum's victories in neighboring Minnesota, Iowa, and Missouri suggest he has built support in the region.

After a short reprieve, the budget fight is back on in Congress. Today, Congressman Paul Ryan will give a speech introducing his 2013 budget, the Republican answer to the budget Obama proposed last month. In an election year, Ryan's budget is partially a manifesto of what America can expect from many — but not all — Republican legislators.

On February 26th, Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old black high school student was visiting his father in Sanford, Florida and watching the NBA All-Star game at a house in a gated community. At halftime, he walked to 7-Eleven to buy Skittles and Arizona Ice Tea. He was on his way back to the house when a neighborhood crime watch volunteer named George Zimmerman noticed him. Zimmerman was patrolling the neighborhood in his SUV. He called 911 to report "a real suspicious guy," and then took off after Martin. The details of what happened next are unclear, but other 911 calls from neighbors record screams for help and a gunshot. Martin was discovered dead with a bullet to his chest.

The death toll is rising in Iraq after a series of bombings have reportedly killed four dozen people. The attacks have raised new concerns about security in Iraq ahead of next week's scheduled meeting of the Arab League in Baghdad.

In some states, parents frustrated with the public school system may have a new tool to fix their child’s education. Parent trigger laws, passed in some form in four states already, give dissatisfied parents the power to fire teachers, convert a public school to a charter, or even shut down the school altogether. As one can imagine, such a dramatic solution to the problem of public education has created quite a controversy. Parents and educators alike are asking: should parents have their fingers on the trigger of public education?

When a violent crime is committed and reported, it's expected that investigators will collect evidence, process it, and use that evidence to track down the perpetrator. But in tens of thousands of rape cases, that is not what happens. Instead, the evidence collected is shelved and left unprocessed for years. In many cases, the rape kits are stored incorrectly so that contamination is likely to occur. In other cases, the kits have even been deliberately destroyed by the police.

In places like Los Angeles and New York, efforts have been made to change this. And now Detroit and Houston are taking steps to do the same.

All this week, The Takeaway is talking about incarceration in America. We’ll talk with experts, advocates and former prisoners about the issues they’re facing, behind bars and outside the prison walls. Today we're focusing on juvenile justice.

It's a bittersweet morning for Denver Broncos fans. They got the news yesterday that Peyton Manning will become their next quarterback — and that means that beloved team leader Tim Tebow will soon be traded. Manning chose the Broncos over the Tennessee Titans and the San Francisco 49'ers.

Sharon Waxman, founder of the Hollywood and media analysis website TheWrap.com, joins us to discuss the latest in the media world, including the $200 million estimated loss for the Disney sci-fi epic John Carter, Apple's $100 billion cash reserve, the ongoing conversation around Kony2012, and the fact or fiction of playwright Mike Daisey's show on the working conditions at Apple supplier factories.

One of the biggest manhunts in recent French history is under way after a shooting spree at a Jewish school in the town of Toulouse. This morning there is new information on the shooter, who has been linked to two shooting last week in which three soldiers of North African descent were killed.

Russia said today that it will support the United Nations envoy Kofi Annan's efforts to end the fighting in Syria. This could potentially be a break in the standoff over the violence in the country.