Just three weeks ago, Canadian freestyle skier Sarah Burke was preparing to defend her 2011 Winter X Games ski superpipe gold medal. On Thursday, athletes kicked off the 2012 event without her, memorializing the fallen skier with stickers, ribbons and a torchlit tribute.

Dozens of athletes with torches gathered on the top of a darkened Buttermilk Mountain halfpipe in Aspen, Colorado, and wordlessly skied to the bottom as part of a tribute during ESPN's Winter X Games broadcast Thursday night. Many then embraced Burke's relatives, who were waiting at the bottom.

See the Denver Post's video of the tribute

Burke, a four-time Winter X Games gold medalist credited with getting women's ski halfpipe into the 2014 Winter Olympics, died January 19 as a result of a training accident nine days earlier.

Thursday's tribute on the superpipe was part of a seven-minute segment dedicated to Burke on ESPN. A 90-second video showed performance highlights and old interview clips of the skier.

Burke, at the Winter X Games in 2009.

"She was a superstar with the humility of a rookie," one of ESPN's hosts for the Winter X Games, Sal Masekela, said before the video was shown. "She is the reason that women’s ski pipe is at Winter X, and why it will be in the Olympics in 2014. So if you are looking for her legacy, you will find it in all the faces that you see here tonight, and all those that line halfpipes and come-down mountains around the world for years and years to come."

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It's too early to call the rescue near Cape Cod a success, but it looks like there's good news for a fifth of the dolphins that began washing ashore on the Massachusetts coast earlier this month.

The majority of the dolphins rescued during the "mass strandings" have survived and appear to be tooling about off the coast of Maine, according to a news release from the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

Rescuers put satellite tracking tags on six of the 24 animals that they have rescued and released since January 12, when rescuers began finding dozens of common and Atlantic white-sided dolphins along a 25-mile stretch of shoreline.

As many as 100 dolphins may have been stranded during the episode, 50 of which were dead when they were discovered, wrote IFAW senior program coordinator A.J. Cady earlier this week. Three of the dolphins with tracking tags died after being released.

"We're all exhausted, muddy and unsure what tomorrow will bring," Cady wrote Tuesday, "but rest assured, if more dolphins strand, we'll do everything in our power to rescue and release them into open ocean."

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Attorney General Eric Holder announced Friday the creation of a wide-ranging federal task force to investigate those responsible for misconduct that led to the financial crisis related to the sale of residential mortgage-backed securities.

Holder said the Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Working Group will consist of more than 50 Department of Justice attorneys, analysts, agents and investigators around the United States.

Protests, explosions and assaults rocked Syria on Friday as world powers plan crucial talks about the conflict.

Pro-regime militias killed at least 11 civilians and wounded dozens in the Daraa province town of Nawa, said the Local Coordination Committees of Syria, an opposition activist group. The assault occurred during a funeral procession for a high school student killed on Thursday by security forces.

"The regime's forces encircled the procession and responded with intense gunfire which led to additional martyrs. Among the eleven people massacred was the activist Bashar Abu al-Sal who was popular for leading the chants for the demonstrations. Assad's security forces and thugs raided the private hospital in the town and attempted to kidnap the wounded," the LCC said.

Brazilian rescuers intensified their search for victims in the rubble of three collapsed buildings in Rio de Janeiro Friday, though they are yet to find any survivors.

Seven bodies have been recovered and 20 people are reported missing, the Rio de Janeiro fire department said, according to the state-run Agencia Brasil news agency.

It was not immediately clear what caused the collapse of a 20-story building and adjacent 10- and 4-story buildings on Wednesday night. Officials said they were investigating both the possibility of a gas leak and a structural failure.

College affordability takes center stage Friday for President Barack Obama as he makes the final stop on his road trip highlighting themes from the State of the Union address this week.

In his speech Friday at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Obama is expected to focus on programs designed to encourage states to shepherd college cost controls, as well as efforts to reform financial aid programs.

Obama wants to create a competitive $1 billion program to encourage states to make changes that help contain college tuition and leverage $10 billion a year in federal aid to hold costs down by providing more assistance to schools that hold tuition down and less to those that do not.

An asteroid about the size of a school bus will pass close to Earth today, but it poses no danger to the planet, NASA astronomers say.

The huge rock, called Asteroid 2012 BX34, will close to within about 36,750 miles of Earth, or about .17 times the distance between the Earth and the moon, according to a Twitter post from Asteroid Watch, which is operated by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Near Earth Object Office.

"It wouldn't get through our atmosphere intact even if it dared to try," an Asteroid Watch tweet says of the 37-foot diameter rock.

The asteroid makes its closest approach about 10:25 a.m. ET, according to NASA.

Check out NASA's orbit diagram of the asteroid and info on when it will again pass close to Earth.

[Update 5:40 a.m. ET] The death toll in Friday's car bomb attack that targeted a Shiite funeral procession in Baghdad climbed to 31 people dead and 60 wounded, two police officials said.

[Posted 5:36 a.m. ET] A car bomb targeting a Shiite funeral procession in Baghdad on Friday killed at least 12 people and wounded 60 others, police officials said.

Passengers of the Costa Concordia are expected to receive a compensation lump sum of 11,000 euros ($14,400) each, the Italian Association of Tour Operators said in a statement Friday.

The decision was reached during a meeting between Costa Cruises and consumer groups, the association said.

The massive liner struck rocks and rolled over onto its side in shallow waters off an island on Italy's Tuscan coast on January 13, leading to a panicked overnight evacuation and a number of deaths.

A 16th body was found by divers searching the ship Tuesday. Sixteen others are missing from the roughly 4,200 people aboard the cruise liner - 3,200 passengers and 1,000 crew members - at the time of the collision.

The captain of the ill-fated cruise ship is under house arrest and faces possible charges of manslaughter, shipwreck and abandoning ship.

The founder of a French company that makes breast implants linked to a health scare was charged Friday with involuntary injury, his attorney told a CNN television affiliate.

Jean-Claude Mas, founder of Poly Implant Protheses, or PIP, has been released but is under judicial control, meaning he cannot leave France, attorney Yves Haddad said.

He has not been charged with the more serious offense of involuntary manslaughter.

Mas was arrested Thursday in Six-Fours-les-Plages, near Toulon in southern France, the French national police said.

His lawyer said Thursday his client is not feeling well and needs to see a doctor.

CNN examines statements by Republican presidential candidates during Thursday night's CNN/Republican Party of Florida debate in Jacksonville, Florida.

Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich both accused each other of having financial interests in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

The statements: "We discovered, to our shock, Gov. Romney owns shares of both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Governor Romney made $1 million off of selling some of that. Governor Romney has an investment in Goldman Sachs, which is, today, foreclosing on Floridians." - Gingrich

"First of all, my investments are not made by me. My investments, for the last 10 years, have been in a blind trust, managed by a trustee. Secondly, the investments that they have made, we learned about this as we made our financial disclosure, have been in mutual funds and bonds. I don't own stock in either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. There are bonds that the investor has held through mutual funds. And, Mr. Speaker, I know that sounds like an enormous revelation, but have you checked your own investments? You also have investments through mutual funds that also invest in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac." - Romney FULL POST

A group of indigenous Australian protesters made headlines for a second day in a row Friday after they gathered outside the Australian Parliament and set fire to the country's flag.

The move came a day after security officers dragged Prime Minister Julia Gillard out of a Canberra restaurant after scores of angry protesters surrounded the building during a luncheon ceremony.

Aborigine leaders on Friday criticized the actions of the group, saying they jeopardized efforts to reconcile indigenous Australians with the broader society.

Video on the website of the Australian Broadcasting Corp. showed a circle of protesters outside Parliament in Canberra setting light to an Australian flag and chanting, "Always was, always will be Aboriginal land."

A Norwegian U.N. official snatched from the streets of Yemen's capital city of Sanaa by armed tribesmen was released unharmed, Norwegian and Yemeni officials said Friday.

The official, who was not identified, was released following negotiations by Yemeni officials, Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store said in a statement.

It was not immediately known what, if any, deal was struck by Yemen with the tribesmen for the official's release.

The official was kidnapped on January 15 by gunmen demanding the release of a jailed tribal leader, officials said.

Scientists' list of verified planets is now more than two dozen planets longer, thanks to NASA's Kepler space telescope team.

The Kepler mission has discovered 11 new planetary systems with 26 verified planets in the Cygnus and Lyra constellations, NASA said Thursday.

This nearly triples the number of verified multiple-planet stars that the Kepler mission has discovered, now standing at 17. And it nearly doubles the number of verified planets it has discovered, which now is 61.

Before the Kepler satellite was launched in 2009, scientists knew about perhaps 500 planets outside our solar system "across the whole sky," said Doug Hudgins, Kepler program scientist at NASA.

"Now, in just two years staring at a patch of sky not much bigger than your fist, Kepler has discovered more than 60 planets and more than 2,300 planet candidates," Hudgins said in a news release. "This tells us that our galaxy is positively loaded with planets of all sizes and orbits."

Editor's note: This post is part of the Overheard on CNN.com series, a regular feature that examines interesting comments and thought-provoking conversations posted by the community.

[F]  _   _   _   _  [D]  _         [D]  _  _  [T]         _   _   [T]
[F]  _   _   _   _  [D]  _         [G]  _  [T]         _   _   [H]   _   _   [D]
[T]   _   _           [W] [H]   _   _   _         [D]   _   _   _   [K]
(This puzzle is based on a comment from Joe. Any guesses? Want to buy a vowel? Solution at the bottom of this post.) 

"Wheel of Fortune" host Pat Sajak gave a recent interview on  "Dan Le Batard is Highly Questionable" in which he said he and Vanna White sometimes went across the street to grab margaritas. Sajak has in fact admitted to being, in the joking words of reader Crys, "drunk behind the Wheel" on occasion. This is definitely on the lighter side of today's news, but the comments were great.

Pat Sajak's hosted 'Wheel of Fortune' drunk

This comment sums up the main points many users expressed.

mfx3:
1. Anyone who has seen 'Wheel of Fortune' already knew this.
2. If I had to host that show, I'd be drunk too.
3. Who cares? It's not like he was flying a plane or operating heavy machinery.

A couple of readers speculated about White's on-the-job performance. FULL POST

A man accused of killing a Louisiana priest in Mississippi was found dead in his jail cell Thursday morning, a Mississippi Department of Corrections spokeswoman said.

Jeremy Manieri, 33, was being held in a jail in Pearl, Mississippi. An investigation into Manieri's death has begun, corrections spokeswoman Tara Booth said.

Manieri was charged with shooting the Rev. Ed Everitt, 70, in July 2011 at a beach house in Waveland, Mississippi.

Everitt, who presided over the Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Hammond, Louisiana, had been vacationing in Waveland when he was killed, the Southern Dominican Province order of friars has said.

Manieri

Editor's note: This post is part of the Overheard on CNN.com series, a regular feature that examines interesting comments and thought-provoking conversations posted by the community.

The president is not well-liked in sections of Arizona. But when two politicians can't put aside a petty disagreement and get along socially ... it's sad.
–Portland tony

Lots of people are talking about an intense exchange between President Barack Obama and Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer on the tarmac in Arizona on Wednesday. A photo shows Brewer pointing her finger at Obama. The governor said the president brought up an unflattering description of him in her book, "Scorpions for Breakfast." Our readers (some claiming to be Arizonans) debated what went wrong in this exchange and advocated political civility.

Obama shares intense encounter with Arizona governor

"2012 is going to be a nasty year in politics," predicted commenter Monroe.

We saw some posts from people who were outraged by Brewer's actions.

Jon V: "Jan Brewer is a sad representation of Arizona. I am extremely disappointed she is our governor. What an embarrassment to have the governor of your state appearing to scold the president of the United States like he is one of her children. You can have disagreements with someone without ambushing him at the airport for a photo aimed at firing up her extreme Tea Party base. Pathetic."

But others said the finger-pointing scene is being misinterpreted and Obama should not have confronted Brewer about her book.

Dave: "It is a snapshot of a woman who talks with her hands. Besides, (Obama) was the one out of line. It was the wrong place and wrong time to bring it up. What he needed to be doing was taking notes on how to fix an economy because Arizona is on the upswing at a much greater pace than the U.S., like most states being run by fiscal conservatives."

Some had little sympathy for Brewer. FULL POST

A 23-year-old former Marine Corps reservist accused of shooting at the Pentagon and other military-related buildings in late 2010 has pleaded guilty to three counts on Thursday.

Yonathan Melaku agreed to a 25-year prison sentence. If Melaku had been convicted on all the federal charges, he could have faced a maximum life sentence.

The U.S. government accused Melaku of shooting at the Pentagon, the National Museum of the Marine Corps and a Coast Guard recruiting center in northern Virginia. Melaku pleaded guilty to injury to property of the United States by shooting with a firearm, using carrying and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence and attempted injury to veterans' memorials.

Melaku attempted to flee law enforcement back in June 2011 when they found him trespassing in Arlington National Cemetery, but he was apprehended. He discarded a backpack in which police found 9mm casings, numerous Arabic statements referencing al Qaeda, along with Ziplock bags containing ammonium nitrate, according to a police affidavit.

It was disclosed Thursday that Melaku's intention was to spray-paint grave markers with Arabic statements.

When Alejandrina Cabrera speaks English, it doesn't quite roll off of her tongue the way it does when she speaks in her native Spanish.

Instead of the confident, strong way she speaks in Spanish to the residents of San Luis, Arizona, she speaks a bit more slowly, and perhaps with a bit less conviction, when she switches to English. That's something she admits, but she says that she can communicate at the level she needs to in English, given where she lives.

In San Luis, 87% of residents speak a language other than English in their home and 98.7% are of Hispanic origin, according to 2010 U.S. Census data. After all, most of the people there, by all accounts, will speak in English and in Spanish. In the comfort of communal settings, they'll speak the way they're most comfortable.

“You go to a market, it’s Spanish,” Cabrera told The New York Times. “You go to a doctor, it’s Spanish. When you pay the bills for the lights or water, it’s Spanish.”

So why the focus on Cabrera and her language skills? Because when it comes to politics, it's a whole separate ballgame.

And that's why a major debate about English proficiency has taken the town by storm.

That's because when Cabrera threw her name in the hat to run for city council, Juan Carlos Escamilla, the mayor of San Luis, said he was concerned that she might not have the proper grasp of the language for the job. Escamilla filed a lawsuit in December that asked a court to determine if Cabrera's skills qualified her under state law to run for the council seat.

The fight began as a purely political one, with opponents seeking to block her from running for office after she tried to recall Escamilla from office twice, according to The New York Times. But it has turned into a firestorm in a town where many constituents have the same grasp of English as Cabrera.

The issues at the center of this debate: Just how much English must you understand to run for a political office? And what does it mean to be proficient?

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Today’s video of an armless Colombian man who repairs electronics inspired us. He says that he doesn’t want people to feel sorry for him. He’s in good company in these people who are doing great things despite their disabilities. Watch their stirring stories.

Climbing mountains – Kyle Maynard was born without arms or legs, but he hasn’t let that stop him from going for his dreams. CNN followed him as he trained to hike Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Maynard reached the summit on January 15th, according to his website.

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