'For this Administration, the unemployment number is just another inconvenient statistic standing in the way of a second term.'
1. MITT ROMNEY, who won victories in six Republican presidential nominating contests on Super Tuesday, March 6; though he continues to face stiff primary competition, Romney focused many of his attacks on President Obama
'The United States will always have Israel's back.'
2. PRESIDENT OBAMA, while meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on March 5; Obama urged diplomacy while pledging that "all options" were on the table to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon
'They needed me ... so I had to figure out what to do.'
3. STEPHANIE DECKER, who shielded her two young children as a tornado struck their home in Marysville, Ind. Decker lost her legs, but her children survived unharmed
'I promised you we would win. We have won.'
4. VLADIMIR PUTIN, after declaring victory in Russia's presidential election; international observers reported progress in transparency but also poor vote-counting procedures in a third of monitored cases
'We knew it was wrong while we were doing it.'
5. GREGG WILLIAMS, former defensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints, admitting to running a bounty system that rewarded players $1,000 to $1,500 for injuring opponents
20 MILLION
Number of Twitter users following Lady Gaga, 7.2 million more than President Obama; she is the first person on the microblogging service to amass such an audience
22.8%
Percentage of U.S. homes with underwater mortgages--that is, owners owe more than their home is worth--in the fourth quarter of 2011, up from 22.1% the previous quarter
100
Number of new Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins stores set to open in China that will sell, among other things, pork doughnuts (and will be endorsed by LeBron James)
$5 MILLION
Bail money posted by the U.S., allowing seven American pro-democracy workers who were arrested in Egypt to leave the country
Sources: Washington Post; CBS; ABC; Reuters; Sports Illustrated