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January 17, 2012 | | RUNAWAY Newly revealed recordings show that Francesco Schettino, the captain of the cruise ship that ran aground off the coast of Italy, left the Costa Concordia before all the passengers were off and then pleaded desperately with the port authority not to send him back on the ship. The Daily Beast’s Barbie Latza Nadeau reports from Italy. One More Thing Apparently unsatisfied with the time he'd been given to defend his corporate record in last night's debate, Mitt Romney held a press conference Tuesday to continue explaining how Bain Capital created 120,000 jobs when he was CEO. The current Republican front-runner did acknowledge that other companies Bain had invested in lost about 10,000 jobs, but when compared to those that were created, his record shows positive job growth. Romney has been criticized by competitors lately for his work at the private-equity firm and for not releasing his tax records. At the press conference, Romney said he would release his 2011 tax return when it's available in April, but said his tax rate in recent years has been something like the 15 percent assessed investment income, as he is a multimillionaire. COSTA CONCORDIA Another five bodies were found Tuesday morning aboard the sunken Costa Concordia, bringing the official death toll up to 11. Divers found the bodies while the Italian Navy blasted holes in the hull of the partially submerged cruise ship in a desperate attempt to find any survivors before a storm reaches it. Meanwhile, Italian newspapers reported that according to a transcript of the radio on the ship and a telephone conversation with ship Capt. Francesco Schettino and the Coast Guard, Schettino pleaded not to return to the ship. The officer reportedly told Schettino, “It is an order. Don’t make any more excuses,” when Schettino said everything aboard was “all OK.” SYRIA A Syrian member of Parliament who defected to Egypt said Tuesday that president Bashar al-Assad will stop at nothing to crush the uprising movement seeking to remove him from office. “There is an open budget allocated to the crackdown on the popular uprising and revolution,” said Imad Ghalioun, according to CNN. "There is no budget for the country but only money to serve the regime's security forces and its ‘ghost hit men.’” Syria’s uprising has lasted for 10 months, and the regime’s crackdown has resulted in 5,000 deaths. THROW HIM OUT After thousands of voters revolted over Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s stripping public workers of their collective bargaining rights last year, they’re taking the next step to get him out. Organizers of a sprawling campaign to recall Walker are delivered over 1 million signatures to a state board, nearly twice as many as necessary, making the beginning of an extended process that could lead to a recall election. The Democratic Party said it will deliver the 3,300 pounds of signatures Tuesday, and Wisconsin’s Government Accountability Board will have 31 days to sign off on them. | | 
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