World: Italy’s highest court today overturned the 2011 murder acquittal of American student Amanda Knox and ordered her to be retried. It was a salacious case involving sex and drugs. Knox and her former boyfriend at first were convicted of killing British student Meredith Kercher, but later acquitted because the evidence was faulty. Knox was released from prison in 2011, returned to Seattle and has a book coming out.

• Cyprus banks will remain closed until Thursday. When they reopen the government will control withdrawal of cash and prevent major deposits from leaving the country. According to a deal made with the Eurozone, Cyprus will take a percentage of large deposits to pay off its debts. Losses to major depositors, many of whom are Russian, could average 30%. Not answered is the question of how will Cyprus keep its banking business after swiping so much of depositors’ money.
• The US has handed over control of its last prison in Afghanistan to the Afghan government. Parwan Prison holds about 3,000 untried detainees and has been a political issue. It’s illegal under Afghan law to hold what are called “administrative detainees”, while the US says it’s allowable under international law. Of course, holding prisoners under these premises is illegal under US domestic law.
• British police now say the Russian billionaire Boris Berezovsky died by hanging. His body was found in a locked bathroom in his home outside London, but the cause of death was not immediately evident. Police initially conducted radiation tests in the home. Berezovsky had two former wives, lost billions in litigation, and had a falling out with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.  He had survived several assassination attempts.

National: A 44-year-old Passaic immigrant who speaks only Spanish has come forward with the winning ticket for the  $338.3 million Powerball jackpot. Pedro Quezada and his family live in an apartment building next to a highway.

Snowed: The Costa Rica soccer team wants a rematch after losing to the US 1-0 in a blizzard in Denver. They said it was impossible to move the ball in snow even though the Americans moved it into the goal.

Passing: Former NY Times reporter and columnist Anthony Lewis, who changed the way legal issues are covered in the press and won two Pulitzer Prizes, has died at age 85. His reporting on Supreme Court decisions went beyond merely reporting decisions to explaining their legal and social context.

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