1. Romney finds himself man to beat in South Carolina.
Something funny could happen on the way to the Republican presidential nomination next year.
Mitt Romney might actually win South Carolina. A triumph by the former Massachusetts governor in the first-in-the-South primary state has long been considered unthinkable by Republican insiders here, where Romney's northern pedigree and evolving positions on core conservative issues have been viewed with skepticism since his last White House bid in 2008. But, as in Iowa, Romney is holding steady at or near the top of the polls in the Palmetto State with roughly a quarter of the GOP vote in his corner. And crucially, no other candidate has managed to rally conservatives and emerge as a serious alternative to the presumed front-runner.
2. Major League catcher kidnapped in Venezuela.
Venezuelan federal authorities on Thursday dispatched their "best investigators" to track the kidnappers of Major League Baseball catcher Wilson Ramos, the country's justice minister said. Ramos, a rising star for the Washington Nationals, was snatched from his family home in central Venezuela by gunmen Wednesday night, a team spokeswoman said. The 24-year-old emerged as the Nationals' top catcher this past season. He had a .267 batting average with 15 home runs and 52 runs batted in. This past year was his rookie season, and he was back in his home country playing for the Aragua Tigers in Venezuela's winter league.
The Nationals could not confirm the kidnapping, but they published a statement citing Tiger's spokeswoman Kathe Vilera. Ramos was kidnapped by four armed men from his home in Santa Ines, in Carabobo state, Vilera said on Twitter. "It's sad, worrisome and true that Wilson Ramos was kidnapped," she wrote.
The vehicle believed to have been used in the kidnapping was found in the town of Bejuma, about 60 miles from where Ramos was kidnapped, the country's justice and interior minister, Tareck El Aissami.
3. 'Horrified' mother of Penn State victim wants 'justice'. 
Penn State tackled the ugly fallout of the child sex abuse scandal Friday, as authorities planned to create a special panel to investigate the allegations and students prepared for a nighttime vigil in support of the victims. The scandal revolves around Jerry Sandusky, the football team's former defensive coordinator who is accused of sexually assaulting children, and it led to the departure of four top university figures, including nationally revered coach Joe Paterno, amid widespread outrage over their perceived failure to contact police.