10 things you need to know today: February 20, 2012

1. SANTORUM DEFENDS COMMENTS ON OBAMA'S FAITH

After telling a crowd in Ohio on Saturday that President Obama adheres to "some phony theology" and "not a theology based on the Bible," Rick Santorum defended the remarks on Sunday. "I accept the fact that the president's Christian," he told CBS's Face the Nation, framing Obama's environmentalism and "worldview that elevates the Earth above man" as problematic. An Obama adviser said Santorum's comment went "well over the line." [Los Angeles Times]

………………………………………………………………………………

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

2. U.N. NUCLEAR INSPECTORS RETURN TO IRAN

As tensions increase in the Middle East, United Nations inspectors arrived Monday in Tehran for another round of talks with Iranian officials about the country's nuclear program. On Sunday, Iran cut off crude exports to France and Britain in response to new economic sanctions, while British and U.S. officials urged Israel not to attack Iran. [CNN]

………………………………………………………………………………

3. SOUTH KOREA HOLDS MILITARY DRILLS

Despite threats from North Korea, South Korea proceeded with live-fire military drills near a disputed boundary in the Yellow Sea on Monday. On Sunday, a North Korean officer told the Associated Press that the country would respond to any provocation with a "merciless retaliatory strike." [Associated Press]

………………………………………………………………………………

4. FOUR PEOPLE DIE IN WASHINGTON AVALANCHES

In Washington state, an avalanche in an out-of-bounds area near a popular ski resort claimed the lives of three veteran skiers Sunday. That same day, a snowboarder was killed in another avalanche at a separate ski area in the state. Experts say the dry winter and weak base layer of snow could increase the risk of avalanche throughout the ski season in the region. [CBS News/Associated Press]

………………………………………………………………………………

5. MEXICO PRISON RIOT KILLS 44

In what may be the country's deadliest prison riot in history, 44 inmates were killed when cell-block fighting broke out between two rival drug cartels on Sunday in Apodaca, Mexico. A similior riot at another Mexican prison last month claimed the lives of 31 inmates. [Wall Street Journal]

………………………………………………………………………………

6. GREEK BAILOUT LIKELY TO GET APPROVAL

Monday could be a big day for Greece, with seniors officials saying eurozone finance ministers are likely to finally approve a 130 billion euro ($170 billion) bailout deal to save the country from default. [Associated Press]

………………………………………………………………………………

7. ESPN EDITOR FIRED OVER LIN HEADLINE

On Sunday, ESPN fired editor Anthony Federico for using the phrase "chink in the armor" in a headline about New York Knicks star Jeremy Lin and the end of the team's winning streak. Federico says he never intended it as a racial slur and called it an "honest mistake." [New York Daily News]

………………………………………………………………………………

8. SPACE ANNIVERSARY PROMPTS REFLECTION

Monday marks the 50th anniversary of the groundbreaking flight that saw John Glenn become the first American to orbit the earth, effectively catching up with the Russians in the the space race. With the shuttle program having ended and NASA no longer able to fly astronauts into space, Glenn, now 90, told a crowd at Kennedy Space Center on Saturday, "I regret that this is the way things have developed." [Reuters]

………………………………………………………………………………

9. LOHAN TO HOST SNL

Fallen starlet Lindsay Lohan is set to host Saturday Night Live on March 3. That news, along with the fact that Lohan's probation restrictions soon end, are spurring hopes of a turnaround for the troubled tabloid fixture. She has hosted SNL three times before. [CNN]

………………………………………………………………………………

10. LEGENDARY ADVENTURER DIES AT 74

John Fairfax was known for crossing both the Pacific and the Atlantic in a rowboat. His New York Times obituary reads: "At 9, he settled a dispute with a pistol. At 13, he lit out for the Amazon jungle. At 20, he attempted suicide-by-jaguar. Afterward, he was apprenticed to a pirate." [New York Times]