1. Official: Los Angeles arson suspect under investigation in Germany.
A German man due to appear in a Los Angeles court Wednesday in connection with one of the worst arson sprees in the city's history is also under investigation for arson and fraud in his home country, a prosecution official in Germany said. Harry Burkhart, 24, was arrested in Los Angeles early Monday after a string of 52 fires -- mostly in parked cars -- since Friday. He faces an arraignment hearing Wednesday morning. No one was hurt in the fires, but property damage costs are likely to reach $3 million, authorities said. On Wednesday, a German official said Burkhart was also under investigation in relation to a fire in Neukirchen, near Frankfurt.
2. Preston: Short sprint or long haul to GOP nomination?
With a narrow loss, Rick Santorum scored a stunning victory and now heads to New Hampshire, hoping this momentum sets him up as the anti-Mitt Romney in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.
Santorum, who lost to Romney by eight votes in the Iowa caucuses early Wednesday, is following a well-worn path on his march as the new political battleground shifts from this Midwestern state to New Hampshire. It is an uphill battle for Santorum, who faces a better-funded rival in Romney and questions about his own viability as a general election candidate.
3. Syrian rebels eye 'huge operations'.
The Free Syrian Army plans to kick off "huge operations" this week against "vital interests" of President Bashar al-Assad's regime, the force's commander said Wednesday. "We prepared ourselves for this stage," Col. Riad al-Asaad told CNN in Turkey. "We can't force him off with the peaceful demonstrations, so we are going to force him by arms to leave." The anti-government resistance movement, which emerged over the summer, comprises defectors from the massive and better-equipped Syrian army. The fledgling force is flexing its muscles amid international fears of a civil war that would destabilize both Syria and the greater Middle East.