Melanie Jones

The three people killed in the Marist College house fire in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. have been identified as Eva Block, 21, Kerry Fitzsimons, 21, and Kevin Johnson, 20. But while funeral services have begun today for the victims of Saturday's horrific tragedy and friends remember the victims, police say that the cause of the fire is still under investigation, with no obvious cause. The home itself has since been razed by the local fire department.

As the Megaupload founder defends himself against charges of money laundering and bribery, many are wondering if the nebulous charges against him are linked the recent defeat of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), a conclusion which government insiders confirm. Though the FBI claims Megaupload is an online menace and its founder a career criminal, Dotcom's defenders see his arrest as a form of increasingly desperate government censorship.

Earlier today, music legend Etta James died after a long struggle with terminal cancer. Just a day earlier, freestyle skier Sarah Burke passed away after suffering horrific injuries during a training accident last week. We've lost some of music, politics and sports' brightest and best in just the first weeks of 2012. But take a moment to relive their inspirational lives: those of Etta James, Sarah Burke, Johnny Otis, Tony Blankley, Bob Weston and Bob Anderson.

Pro-life activist Elizabeth Leichert released a flier this week slamming Santorum for allegedly being a wolf in sheep's clothing in his opposition to abortion. But in was Leichert's attack on the GOP candidate's wife Karen, whom she accused of having a six year affair with an older abortionist, that forced the former Pennsylvania senator to strike back.

Etta James, the iconic singer whose classic songs like At Last, Something's Got a Hold on Me, and The Wallflower made her a rhythm and blues legend, is dead at age 73 after a long battle with terminal cancer.

In a big turnaround from Ron Paul's first debate in South Carolina, where the Texas congressman was booed by the audience for advocating the golden rule of statesmanship, last night's audience took to Paul's defense when moderator John King tried to switch the topic from abortion without letting Paul answer the question.

The South Carolina primary is on Jan. 21, 2012, and GOP candidates Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich were gunning for every vote during tonight's second debate. Who do you think won this round, and who do you support for the 2012 GOP nomination? Vote here to let us know.

Just as the Republican 2012 primary candidates were preparing for a final debate in South Carolina, a series of bombshells, sudden endorsements and uncomfortable revelations were thrown into the mix. From Rick Perry withdrawing from the race to Marianne Gingrich's interview with ABC, here are five ways the GOP race changed today.

Francesco Schettino, in a move that has sparked outrage from survivors and fellow mariners, told Italian investigators that he tripped into one of the lifeboats while aiding in the Concordia's evacuation, insisting he left the sinking cruise ship purely by accident. Schettino did admit full responsibility for causing the crash, but for families of the dead, his excuses are far from enough.

The Garden-Webb University student collapsed in class on Jan. 17 and died on her 21st birthday, only a few hours after tweeting, Thank you God for another year of life. A Facebook memorial has already been erected for Patterson, as a spokeswoman reveals the reason for her tragic death during a religion class at the Boiling Springs remains a complete mystery.

The Texas governor, known for his numerous on-air gaffes, has withdrawn from the Republican presidential primaries after another lackluster debate performance and poor numbers in South Carolina. Here, relive Perry's best (worst) moments on the campaign trail, from his infamous 'oops' moment to his unintentionally hilarious Strong ad.

Yesterday, Internet titans like Wikipedia, Reddit and Boing Boing launched a coordinated blackout to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA). But what is the SOPA bill? How would it affect the way the Internet works now? Who supports and opposes the bill, and is it even likely to pass?

Rather than sending back the RQ-170 Sentinel drone that crashed into Iran last year, Tehran-based Aaye Art Group says it plans to send President Obama miniature fake versions of the spycraft... and rumor has it the $4 toys are likely to be pink. Though the Iranian government is still insisting that the spy drone was over Iran when it crashed and that Iranian spies brought it down, the U.S. claims the aircraft was in Afghanistan, and suffered a technical malfunction.

The second grade teacher has been arrested on a battery of child pornography and indecent assault charges after federal agents found hundreds of pornographic images and videos, including one of a friend's daughter, and dozens of girls' underwear. The Newton school district is reeling from the recent revelations, but says there is no proof that Ettlinger abused any of his students.

Many popular websites, including Wikipedia, Reddit and Boing Boing, launched a coordinated blackout today to protest the House's Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Senate's Protect IP Act (PIPA). But what do you think of SOPA? How much have you been affected by the blackout protesting it, and will it make a difference? Let us know here.

Bill Weir, the co-anchor of ABC's Nightline, made a shocking discovery while working on a story about full body scans this week: he himself is at major risk of having a heart attack. Weir's on-air diagnosis is very rare, but he's not the only reporter whose assignment has turned intensely personal: three other reporters have all saved lives with their coverage, and for two of them, their reasons were intensely personal.

Webmaster trends analyst Pierre Far has announced that GoogleBot, the web crawler that sorts Google's traffic, will be significantly slowed down Wednesday to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act, giving some extra help to sites who've chosen to self-censor on Internet Blackout Day. Google is also providing SEO tips to sites like Wikipedia and Reddit in an effort to bolster their web traffic.

The Canadian freeskier is still in a medically induced coma after her horrific crash last week, and doctors have been unwilling to disclose any new information on her prognosis. As Burke struggles, however, critics of freestyle skiing are wondering if the extreme sport, recently accepted into the winter Olympics, is too risky for its athletes.

The singer and new mom to daughter Blue Ivy is under fire after whitewashed promo ads for her new album 4 were released this week. Nor is it the first time Beyonce has been slammed for lightening her skin. In 2008, L'Oreal was accused of digitally lightening the star to promote its blonde hair colors, and her father Mathew Knowles was once accused of pressuring her to use skin treatments to remain the lightest member of girl group Destiny's Child.

The House Minority Leaders claimed even his own party doesn't believe Mitt Romney can win in November 2012, which is why support for him has been so half-hearted. But Pelosi had even less regard for his fellow candidates, who she called third tier representatives that show the Party's disconnect from what Pelosi asserts are the true carriers of the American Dream: the Democrats.

A former employee claims mice ran rampant in the Philadelphia McDonald's where he worked, and has video of one mouse (watch here) scurrying across Big Mac buns to prove it. His supervisor even ordered him to brush off mouse droppings from the buns and to serve them to McDonald's customers.

According to local authorities, the boy injured two children and one adult yesterday afternoon after a fight in a mobile home park. At least one of the children is related to the child, whose name will not be released. The five-year-old, who used an edged weapon in the triple stabbing, is under evaluation. It's unclear whether he will be charged with a crime.

In a spirited debate last night in Myrtle Beach, S.C., Republican candidates went after both President Barack Obama and their GOP rivals on issues ranging from U.S. trade relations and the federal income tax to misleading attack ads and America's relationship with Turkey. But what statements were true, and what were false?

With the South Carolina primary just five days off, presidential candidates Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry faced off the first of two debates before Jan. 21. Get a complete breakdown of the GOP candidates' performances, and how the debate is likely to affect the results of the 2012 South Carolina Republican primary, here.

The South Carolina 2012 GOP debate featured five candidates for the Republican presidential nomination: Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Rick Perry. Who do you think won the South Carolina 2012 Republican Debate? Vote here, and let us know who you're planning to support for the 2012 Republican nomination.

Brian Williams, NBC anchor and apparent Gawker fan, was less than amused by singer Lana Del Rey's performance on Saturday Night Live over the weekend, a performance he skewered in a widely-read email leaked by Gawker editor Nick Denton. Read the email (and NBC's frazzled PR response) here, and watch Lana Del Rey's underwhelming performance on SNL.

Six months before Christopher Nolan's final Batman film hits theaters, tickets for The Dark Knight Rises: The IMAX Experience are on sale for theaters in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco for an early July 19 screening. Advance tickets are selling out fast, so Batman fanboys and those eager to see Anne Hathaway as Catwoman early are advised to buy up the tickets while they can.

Polygamist Warren Jeffs may be serving a life sentence for sexual assault, but the former head of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints continues to run his radical off-branch of the Mormon Church behind bars. His attempts to restrict and control his followers, however, is causing a rift within the fundamentalist community, in what may come to be the biggest split in the FLDS Church since it broke away from mainstream Mormonism.

Six are confirmed dead so far in the wrecking of the Italian luxury liner, with around 29 passengers still missing. But the Costa Concordia sinking isn't the worst accident on a cruise ship. From the fire aboard the SS Morro Castle to the sinking of the Titanic, here are the ten worst passenger ship disasters of maritime history so far.