Stormy Weather: The latest icy winter storm is still expected to bring snow, sleet and freezing rain to northern Pennsylvania, upstate New York, and New England by late today and early tomorrow. Further north, snow. The storm that started in the West has brought the cancellation of hundreds of flights and knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of customers.

Mandela: Today in South Africa was a national day of prayer for the late Nelson Mandela. Planning is under way for what will be one of the largest state funerals of modern times attended by leaders from around the world. President Barack Obama and former presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton plan to be there.

National: In a setback to finding a cure for AIDS, two men who were thought to have been cleared of HIV with bone marrow transplants have had the virus return. The announcement came from a doctor from Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital. The two patients received marrow transplants to cure lymphoma, but the operation also reduced their HIV levels to undetectable levels for a few months. Despite the disappointment, researchers say they will continue looking at marrow transplants as a possible cure for HIV.

• The 85-year-old tourist held for seven weeks in North Korea was released and arrived home yesterday. The Korean War vet returned to San Francisco after touring the country where he fought as a young man. He had been stopped while trying to leave and accused of war crimes. Asked if he would ever go back to Korea again he dryly said, “No”.
• The Maine shrimping season has been cancelled for the first time in 35 years because of low stocks of shrimp in the ocean due to overfishing. Regulators are worried about near-extinction. Maine shrimpers generally catch those little “bay” shrimp served in salads.

World: Gunmen in Baghdad attacked 12 liquor stores yesterday and killed nine people. The attackers approached the stores in SUVs then shot the people inside. No one has claimed responsibility, but Shi’ite Muslim militias have expressed their objection to the legal sale of alcohol in Muslim Iraq.

• A surge of troops is moving into the Central African Republic to put the lid on ethnic fighting. About 400 people were killed in the last several days. The African Union is sending in 6,000 soldiers, and France is building its presence to 1,600. French soldiers patrolled the capital city Bangui, yesterday, but Muslim rebels controlled the city center.

All Ears: Playboy Magazine has turned 60, publishing an anniversary issue with 39-year-old model Kate Moss on the cover … in the traditional Bunny suit. Often criticized for having a 1950s take on sexuality and romance, Playboy is trying to survive in a world where pornography is available to anyone with the click of a mouse. Men really don’t have to read the articles now. Circulation is down to 1.25 million from a peak of 7 million. And the resident Playboy himself, Hugh Hefner, is 87.

Tiger Beat: Teenager Rebecca Black, whose song “Friday” may have been the most watched and most annoying viral video of all time, is back with a sequel. It’s titled, “Saturday.”

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