Put on Your Red Dress: Michelle Obama once again exercised her right to bare arms, appearing at the inaugural balls in a sleeveless ruby red dress designed by Taiwan-born Jason Wu. The Obamas danced to songs sung by Jennifer Hudson standing just a few feet away. After a long day, the Obamas were back at The White House by 10pm. Mrs. Obama’s daytime outfit, with the tight space-age coat and spiky heels designed by American Thom Browne, also caused quite a bit of conversation on the Internet.

World: The French military says that air and ground attacks in conjunction with Malian troops have pushed back Islamist rebels who control the northern part of Mali.

•  French authorities have charged an occasional driver with the murder of three Kurdish separatists in a Paris office earlier this month. The primary target of the killings was Sakine Cansiz, a woman who was a founding member of the Kurdish Workers Party, the PKK. The motive is unclear, but the Turkish government is among suspected parties.
•  Britain’s Prince Harry told journalists that as the gunner on an Apache helicopter he fired upon the Taliban in Afghanistan but did not say he had actually killed anyone. He has finished his tour and returned to England.

National: Retired Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahoney and other high church officials protected and covered for some molesting priests, while failing to take effective action against others, according to documents revealed in a lawsuit against the Archdiocese. The documents sometimes show Mahony praying for accused molesters rather than firing them or turning them over to the police.

• Cold and snowy weather is moving into the upper Midwest and Northeast. Snow and ice caused a 76-vehicle pileup on an Ohio highway. A 12-year-old girl was killed.

Passing: John Thomas, the American high jumper who was the first to clear 7 feet indoors and held the world outdoor record three times, has died at age 71. In the early 1960s Thomas had an international rivalry with Russian Valery Brumel, the equivalent of the Cold War of track and field. When Thomas first jumped 7 feet it was 11 inches more than Brumel’s best, but the Russian went on to win the Olympic gold in 1960 and 1964.

Truth and Consequences: A library in Manley, Australia posted a sign saying it was moving all Lance Armstrong’s books to the fiction section.

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