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The day's most popular stories
The five most popular stories on CNN.com in the past 24 hours, according to NewsPulse.
Mubarak resigns presidency: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak stepped down Friday and handed over power to the military, his nearly three decades of iron rule ended by a groundswell of popular protests that began January 25.
Dad's letter claims he killed twins, police say: The father of missing Swiss twins sent a letter to his wife saying he had killed them before committing suicide, police said Friday.
'Dukes of Hazzard' actress Peggy Rea dies: Actress Peggy Rea, possibly best known for her work on "The Dukes of Hazzard," died of congestive heart failure on Saturday at her home in Toluca Lake, California.
Facebook launches pages redesign: Facebook has begun rolling out a full redesign of Facebook Pages. The changes will make the Pages look and operate more like user profiles.
Granddaughter wants share of Einstein profits: Albert Einstein made many contributions to modern science, but it's the videos, bobblehead dolls and Halloween masks using his image that continue to generate millions of dollars long after his death.
'Egypt is free' after Mubarak quits; more demonstrations planned for Saturday
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigned Friday, relinquishing power after 18 days of protests and three decades of rule in the powerhouse nation of the Arab world. Vice President Omar Suleiman announced the transfer of authority to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to "run the affairs of the country." Check out our full coverage and the latest tweets from CNN correspondents on the ground. Click here to watch developments live from Egypt.
Developments, as confirmed by CNN, on the revolution in Egypt:
[Update 5:30 a.m. in Cairo, 10:30 p.m. ET] Even as daylight neared on Saturday, throngs remained on the streets of Cairo celebrating the end of President Mubarak's rule. Some areas near Cairo's Tahrir Square remained packed, with Egyptian flags waving and sporadic fireworks firing into the air.
[Update 4:18 a.m. in Cairo, 9:18 p.m. ET] Not everyone's rejoicing over the developments in Egypt. iReporter W.J. O’Reilly in New York says that Americans should be cautious in reacting to the events in Egypt: "A far more destructive state of tyranny may only be in the first stages of beginning."
[Update 3:25 a.m. in Cairo, 8:25 p.m. ET] So, now what? "Dear Egyptians, Go back to your work on Sunday, work like never before and help Egypt become a developed country," Wael Ghonim suggests on his Twitter account.
[Update 2:45 a.m. in Cairo, 7:45 p.m. ET] A spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood told CNN's John King that his organization trusts Egypt's new military leadership to transition to a free and open democracy. Essam El Erian said that the Muslim Brotherhood, which has vowed not to field a presidential candidate, expects to be represented in a new parliament but does not expect to win a majority of seats.
El Erian added that reports that al Qaeda has a presence in Egypt are "all rumor," one that he claims originated with Egypt's interior ministry.
[Update 2:10 a.m. in Cairo, 7:10 p.m. ET] Sarah Palin, a former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, urged the media on her Twitter page to ask, "Will Obama Admin exert as much 'constructive' pressure on Iranian govt to change & allow freedom - as they just did for Egypt?" Palin, a popular figure among U.S. conservatives, has consistently criticized how U.S. President Obama has handled the effort to halt Iran's budding nuclear program.
[Update 1:45 a.m. in Cairo, 6:45 p.m. ET] Wael Ghonim earlier credited Facebook with helping the revolution get started online long before the January 25 protest that triggered the revolt (which was also organized with the help of a Facebook event page). Facebook had this to say in response:
"Mr. Ghonim is a hero and, like all true heroes, he diminishes his own role and gives credit to others. We've witnessed brave people of all ages coming together to effect a profound change in their country. Certainly, technology was a vital tool in their efforts but we believe their bravery and determination mattered most," spokesman Elliot Schrage said.
[Update 1:00 a.m. in Cairo, 6:00 p.m. ET] "Egypt today is a free and proud nation. God bless," Nobel laureate and leading Egyptian opposition figure Mohammed ElBaradei tweets.
[Update 12:30 a.m. in Cairo, 5:39 p.m. ET] The head of Iran's National Security Council compared "the Egyptian Revolution with the victory of Iran's Islamic Revolution," according to Iran's state-run media. Saeed Jalili added, "The United States and Europe must be answerable to the Egyptian people for supporting a dictatorship for 30 years."
On the topic of U.S.-Egypt relations, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, a Texas Republican known for his libertarian streak, said that American support of Mubarak over the past three decades is "a big mistake." He urged the United States to maintain a friendly relationship with Egypt's new government but said it should stop providing economic and military support.
[Update 11:45 p.m. in Cairo, 4:45 p.m. ET] Many streets in Cairo, especially around Tahrir Square, remained full of revelers as midnight approached Friday. People stood atop cars, waved huge Egyptian flags, sang and danced to celebrate the end of Mubarak's reign.
iReporter Abdel-Maguid Ramzy, a professor at Cairo University Medical School, shot video of people praying and celebrating near the presidential palace in Heliopolis on Friday evening. "It's a very special moment for us," he said. "We didn't know that it was going to happen that fast."
Egyptians aren't alone - people around the world are celebrating. iReporter Jason Antos of New York City says people watched the developments in Egyptian-owned businesses and poured out into the street to celebrate after the annoucement Mubarak would step down. He says police allowed people to demonstrate in the streets for a little while.
1.7 million baby monitors recalled after 2 infants strangled by cords
A voluntary recall was issued Friday for 1.7 million video baby monitors, after federal regulators probed reports that two babies had died in the past 11 months after being strangled by electrical cords.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission issued the announcement in conjunction with Summer Infant, the Woonsocket, Rhode Island, company behind the monitors, which are made in China and sold at retailers nationwide.
The federal commission noted that at least seven babies and toddlers nationwide have died since 2004 after being strangled by monitor cords, the last two involving Summer Infant items.
That includes a 10-month-old girl from Washington, D.C., killed last March after being strangled by a cord from a Summer Infant monitor that had been placed atop her crib rail, the commission said.
FULL STORY
50 people in 50 days: Tot disappears from bowling alley
Editor's note: Nancy Grace's new show on HLN, "Nancy Grace: America's Missing," is dedicated to finding 50 people in 50 days. As part of the effort, which relies heavily on audience participation, CNN.com's news blog This Just In will feature the stories of the missing.
This is the 20th case, and it airs Friday at 9 p.m. ET on HLN.
What began as a family night at the bowling alley turned into an evening that the relatives of Teekah Lewis will never forget.
The family took up two lanes in New Frontier Bowling Lanes in Tacoma, Washington, on a busy Saturday night in January 1999. Relatives of 2-year-old Teekah took turns watching her while she played arcade games. An uncle turned away to watch another relative bowl, and when he turned his attention back to where Teekah was sitting, she was gone.
The bowling alley made an announcement over the loudspeaker but it was too late. Police have only one clue - a witness said they saw a 1980s Pontiac Grand Am pull out of the parking lot around the time that Teekah disappeared. The vehicle was maroon with dark windows and a large spoiler.
When she disappeared, Teekah was wearing a green Tweety Bird T-shirt, white sweatpants and Air Jordan sneakers. She was carrying a clear fish-printed purse stuffed with Starburst candy. She would be 13 years old today.
CNN.com 'Godfather' dies at 63 after battle with cancer
Jon Petrovich greenlighted funding for CNN.com in 1994 and became known as its "Godfather," a title he relished as the site became the most-read news site in the world.
Petrovich, a former CNN executive, died Thursday in New York after a battle with cancer and diabetes. He would have turned 64 at the end of this month.
"Jon was a big presence at our company and in the media industry," Jim Walton, president of CNN Worldwide, said in an e-mail sent to CNN staff. "He was a builder, an innovator and a journalist, first and last."
Petrovich was known for his impeccable tailored suits, his optimistic outlook on life and solid news judgment. He hobnobbed with the likes of Ted Turner. He just as easily struck up conversations with interns, entry-level staffers and the rank-and-file.
FULL STORY
Egypt's revolution has only just begun
Egypt's revolution takes me back to the fall of communism in my native Bulgaria.
The first breath of freedom, the joy in the heart and the high hopes for the future are simply overwhelming!
But in Bulgaria that joy was soon tempered by the realization that the battle for change had only just begun.
If the country was to have true democracy, the system had to change, not just the leaders at the top. FULL POST
SI.com: Jerry Sloan's not-so-unexpected departure; Lemaire joins the 600 club
Jerry Sloan caught the basketball world off guard Thursday when he abruptly resigned after 23 years as head coach of the Utah Jazz.
Just days after signing a contract extension, the NBA’s longest-tenured coach had a change of heart and decided to call it quits. Rumors quickly surfaced that Sloan’s departure was due to a clash with Jazz star Deron Williams and that he could no longer stomach the rift between him and his best player.
But Sloan, 68, shot down the speculation in his farewell press conference, electing to take the high road on his way out of Salt Lake City.
"I had a feeling this time was the time to move on," an emotional Sloan said. "(That's) a long time to be in one organization. Again, I've been blessed. Today is a new day. When I get this over with, I'll feel better. My time is up and it's time to move on."
President Obama returns tie to Gibbs on press secretary's last day
President Barack Obama made a surprise visit to the White House briefing
room Friday to help mark Robert Gibbs' last day as the president's press
secretary.
Obama returned a tie to Gibbs he had borrowed to wear while delivering the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston.
"You couldn't ask for anybody better in the foxhole with you," Obama said. "I couldn't have a better friend at the podium each and every day."
Magnitude 6.8 earthquake strikes coast of Chile
[Update 4:50 p.m.] The USGS has revised the magnitude of the earthquake the struck off the coast of Chile on Friday to 6.8.
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Friday afternoon off the coast of Chile, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The estimated epicenter was 69 kilometers (43 miles) from the Chilean city of Concepcion.
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FULL STORY
Scoliosis, not collision, likely left whale bent, expert says
Experts are now saying a hobbled whale seen Monday near Hawaii's Kauai Island was not injured but suffers from a chronic condition, a local newspaper reports.
The distressed humpback whale probably has scoliosis, or curvature of the spine, said David Schofield, marine mammal response coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, according to the Honolulu Star Advertiser.
Gerry Charlebois, owner and instructor of Birds in Paradise Flight School, spotted the whale from the air Monday and suspected the marine mammal had been injured by a ship.
Schofield discounted that diagnosis.
"They're not like cartoon animals," he said, according to the Star Advertiser. "They don't hold the shape of the contusion. Sometimes they'll have like a little imprint, but it's just not too plausible to see that if the animal had been impacted there that the peduncle or the tail shaft would've stayed that way."
The animal's pale, mottled skin and emaciated condition indicate it is in distress, but probably not from a ship collision, he told the paper. Much of the whale's behavior described by Charlebois is normal, he added.
3 teenage boys among 7 Somalis facing death in Malaysia piracy case
Seven Somalis, including three boys under 15 years old, could face the death penalty if convicted on charges of firing on Malaysian armed forces while attempting to a hijack a merchant ship.
The seven appeared before a Malaysia magistrate in Kuala Lumpur on Friday to hear the charges against them. They did not enter a plea and were transferred to a prison to await the next court action, set for March 15, the Malaysian national news agency Bernama reported.
The charges stem from an attack on the container ship Bunga Laurel in the Gulf of Aden on January 20.
On the Radar: Anger in Egypt, CPAC, sentencing in Levy case, Gibbs' farewell
Egypt developments - Thousands of outraged protesters on Friday are packing Cairo's Tahrir Square and moving on government buildings in Suez after Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak failed to resign as expected.
Mubarak remains the titular head of his country, but little else is clear.
He delegated most of his powers to Vice President Omar Suleiman, whom he appointed just last week.
The Egyptian Constitution reserves three particular powers for the president alone - they cannot be delegated to the vice president. Those are the right to dismiss parliament, to request constitutional amendments and to alter the structure of the government.
Friday's live video events
Watch CNN.com Live for continuing coverage of the political crisis in Egypt.
Today's programming highlights...
Ongoing coverage - Crisis in Egypt
9:00 am ET - CPAC 2011 - Today is the second day of the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington. Today's speakers include Mitt Romney (10:30 am ET), Sen. John Thune (1:30 pm ET), Tim Pawlenty (3:00 pm ET), Rep. Ron Paul (3:30 pm ET) and Gov. Mitch Daniels (7:30 pm ET)
12:15 pm ET - White House briefing - Robert Gibbs holds his final briefing as White House Press Secretary. Topics expected to be discussed include the crisis and Egypt and Gibbs' future plans.
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