Pope Resigns: Citing poor health, 85-year-old Pope Benedict XVI announced his resignation effective Feb. 28^th. “I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry,” he said in a statement. Traditionally the Pope stays in office until he dies and Benedict XVI is the first to resign in 600 years. Some observers say this may have more to do with sex abuse scandals than advancing age or ill health.

GraMammaries: The British folk-rock group Mumford & Sons won the big Grammy for album of the year. The Black Keys took home three and singer Gotye, one. Potential one-hit-wonder “Fun” (We Are Young) won Best New Artist. A band member’s speech consisted of “I gotta pee so bad.” The singer D’Manti missed the CBS memo about showing too much skin and Jennifer Lopez showed a lot of one arm and one leg.

National: Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is offering a $1 million reward for information leading to the arrest of fugitive former cop Christopher Dorner. The last trace of him was his burned out pickup truck found in the mountains near Big Bear Lake.

• More than 100,000 customers in the Boston area are still without power as the digout continues from the New England blizzard, “Nemo”.
• The Los Angeles Times reports some meteorologists are unhappy that The Weather Channel has taken to naming storms, the latest being Nemo. This started in 2011 with a storm they called “Snowtober”. They say viewers find it helpful if a storm has a handle. Traditionally the National Weather Service names only tropical storms and hurricanes.

World: A stampede at the Kumbh Mela, the Indian religious festival that draws millions of people, resulted in the death of at least 36 religious pilgrims. It happened as people were pressing to get on a train.

The Box: “Identity Thief” won the weekend bringing in $36 million. “Warm Bodies” was second and the satisfying thriller “Side Effects” with Rooney Mara, was a low-selling third. We are partial to anything Rooney.

42-Percenters: Following the time-honored American tradition of cheapening a good thing, Maker’s Mark Bourbon has announced they are watering down their whiskey to alleviate a shortage. Bourbon has become so popular Maker’s can’t keep up. They are lowering alcohol content from 45% to 42% claiming it will taste the same.  And they thought there was a shortage before they made this announcement.

-30-