Mark Memmott

Horrific details keep emerging about the deaths in Graham, Wash., on Sunday of Braden and Charlie Powell.

Among the disturbing news: Authorities now say it appears that before the boys died in a fire ignited by their father, Josh Powell, he struck his sons with a hatchet.

"In a dramatic move to quell parents' fears, Los Angeles school officials said they will temporarily replace the entire staff of an elementary school south of downtown Los Angeles, where two teachers have been accused of lewd acts against students," the Los Angeles Times writes.

With heavy machine gun fire in the background as he spoke from the Baba Amr section of Homs, Syrian citizen journalist and blogger Omar Shakir told Morning Edition co-host Renee Montagne earlier today that "we are asking for [an] SOS" and help from the International Red Cross to stop what he said has been the deadly shelling of his city by forces loyal to President Bashar Assad.

"There is no one with us," Shakir said.

As most of the headlines we're seeing say: "Aww, man!"

A newspaper in Iran says the authorities there have banned dolls of characters from The Simpsons because they supposedly promote Western culture.

So that means Homer, Marge, Lisa, Maggie and, of course, Bart, join Barbie on the list of toys deemed to be too hot for Iranian children to handle.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals plans to release its ruling on the constitutionality of Calfornia's Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in the state, at 1 p.m. ET on Tuesday (10 a.m. in California), the court just announced.

"I'm sorry, goodbye," Josh Powell wrote in an email to his attorney just before he apparently ignited an explosive fire Sunday that took not just his life but those of his 5- and 7-year-old sons, authorities say.

The tragic events at Powell's home in Graham, Wash., came nearly three years after the disappearance of Powell's wife Susan and the emergence of Powell as the only "person of interest" in the case. Throughout, he maintained his innocence.

President Obama has signed an executive order blocking the movement of "all property and interests in property of the government of Iran, including the Central Bank of Iran," if the assets are in the U.S. or are controlled by an American or U.S. entity at foreign branches of U.S. institutions.

(Note: If seeing someone "flip the bird" greatly offends you, this might not be the post for you.)

If it's the morning after a Super Bowl then that must mean everybody's talking not just about the game but about the ads and the halftime show as well.

The game? OK, but not the greatest. (If you haven't heard, the New York Giants beat the New England Patriots 21-17.)

Good morning.

Our early headlines:

-- Syrian Regime Has 'License To Kill' After Diplomatic Impasse, Activists Say.

-- Release Americans 'Immediately,' Ambassador Rice Tells Egypt.

Saying that "these Americans have done absolutely nothing wrong," the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations this morning called on Egypt to immediately allow 19 U.S. citizens to leave that country and to drop plans to accuse them of illegally funding groups that oppose Egypt's ruling military regime.

President Obama has his first "clear edge" over Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney in polling done for The Washington Post and ABC News:

After leading his New York Giants to a 21-17 victory over the New England Patriots last night, quarterback Eli Manning is now 2-0 in Super Bowl games.

That puts him ahead of older brother Peyton, who has taken the Indianapolis Colts to two Super Bowls and won one.

People in Homs, Syria, say government forces are shelling the city and that at least 15 to 20 people have died so far today. The renewed attacks follow an even deadlier weekend barrage — human rights groups say government forces killed about 200 people in Homs on Saturday, making it perhaps the bloodiest day since opposition protests began last spring.

Before we finish the week, we have to pass on at least one more story related to Facebook's plan to raise about $5 billion with its first sale of shares to the public.

It seems that Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss — the "Winklevii" twins — could get up to $300 million worth of Facebook shares when the deal goes through.

A day that began with the Anonymous hackers posting a nearly 17-minute recording of a conference call between officials of the FBI and Scotland Yard has been followed with some tweeted taunting of law enforcement and the news media, and the hacking of websites for the Greek Ministry of Justice, Boston Police Department and lawyers who defended a U.S. Marine at the center of the killing of 24 unarmed Iraqi civilians.

The Susan G. Komen Foundation just announced it will be providing grants to Planned Parenthood for that organization to use in basic screening and educating women about breast cancer.

"We will continue to fund existing grants, including those of Planned Parenthood, and preserve their eligibility to apply for future grants, while maintaining the ability of our affiliates to make funding decisions that meet the needs of their communities."

NBC News, al-Jazeera and al-Arabiya are reporting that police in Egypt say two American women and an Egyptian tour guide have been released by gunmen who kidnapped them earlier today near the Red Sea

Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers, one of baseball's biggest stars and someone who has been battling addiction demons for the last decade, was spotted drinking alcohol at a Dallas bar on Monday, the local Morning News has reported.

Good morning.

Our early headlines:

-- Unemployment Rate Edges Down To 8.3 Percent.

-- Iran Defiant Amid Talk Of Israeli Attack On Its Nuclear Sites.

The nation's unemployment rate dipped to 8.3 percent in January from 8.5 percent the month before as private employers added 257,000 jobs to their payrolls, the Bureau of Labor Statistics just reported. Overall, after a small drop at government agencies, employment grew by 243,000.

We'll add more from the report momentarily.

Update at 9:40 a.m. ET. White House, Republican Reactions: