Egypt: In a tactical escalation of violence, Islamist militants in the Sinai Peninsula used a surface to air missile to shoot down an Egyptian military helicopter, killing five people on board. The militants released a video showing a man firing the missile, and the helicopter burning as it fell. The use of a weapon that could also be used to shoot down civilian aircraft is a startling development as political violence grows in Egypt. The missile is believed to have come from Libyan arsenals dispersed during the overthrow of Col. Muammar Qaddafi.

Syria: The government is expected to allow women and children to leave the embattled city of Homs in an agreement reached with the opposition at peace talks in Switzerland. If it comes to fruition, it would be the first concrete result of the talks. Syria’s foreign minister had said rebels were preventing innocent civilians from leaving. UN mediator Lakhdar Brahimi said the talks were going slowly but he “expected the two parties to make some general statement about the way forward”. They appear deadlocked over the issue of appointing a transitional government.

Drone Strike: The US launched a drone strike against an al-Qaeda affiliated militant leader in Somalia. The target was a senior leader of Shebab, which controls parts of Southern Somalia.

N. Korea: After executing his formerly powerful uncle, Kim Jong-un had the uncle’s entire extended family including children, put to death, according to reports from the Yonhap news agency. Jang Song-thaek was executed last month on charges of trying to overthrow the regime. The report about the death of his extended family appears to be true, but stories out of North Korea are notoriously unreliable. A report about Jang being executed by a pack of hungry dogs was completely bogus.

Colder: A renewed blast of arctic air is descending into the upper Midwest. It may be 40 in NY City, but its minus 17 in Fargo.

Nation: Marlise Munoz, the pregnant, brain-dead woman at the center of a two-month legal and ethical battle, was removed from life support yesterday in Houston and her body released to her husband. Munoz suffered a blood clot in her lungs last fall and her husband believes she was dead on arrival at the hospital. The John Peter Smith Hospital had argued that under Texas law it could not remove a pregnant woman from life support.

>The Royal Caribbean cruise ship Explorer of the Seas is on the way home with 300 sick passengers on board. The passengers appear to have been infected with the Norovirus, which tends to strike in enclosed quarters like cruise ships.

The Beat: Thirty-three same-sex couples were married on the Grammy stage last night in a tribute to the song “Same Love.”

Four Grammy awards each went to the French duo Daft Punk and rappers Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. The guys from Daft Punk wore white suits and space helmets as they accepted. They don’t speak. The 17-year-old “Lorde” from New Zealand won song of the year with “Royals.” If you’ve never heard of any of these people before, you have now.

Nanny State: California has a new law that requires all food workers who handle uncooked food to wear gloves. That includes the bartender who twists lemon into your martini. The authors of the law say it’s to keep customers safe and healthy, even though the fruit in a cocktail is being dropped into alcohol.

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