Shootout: A suspect in the killing of Colorado’s prison chief was shot and killed by Texas police yesterday after a 100 MPH car chase. One officer was lightly wounded. The man is described as a member of a racist prison gang. Prison boss Tom Clements was killed as he opened the door of his home Tuesday night in Monument, CO. The motive is still unknown.

World: A high-ranking cleric who supported Bashar al-Assad was killed along with at least 40 other people in an explosion at a central Damscus mosque. More than 80 others were wounded. The cleric, Mohammad Said Ramada al-Bouti, was one of the last major Sunni leaders to support the Syrian dictator Assad. In another Syrian incident, UN inspectors are expected to try to determine whether chemical weapons were used in an attack that killed about 25 people.

• The first black Miss Israel, Yityish Aynaw, attended a state dinner with President Obama at the home of Israeli president Shimon Peres. Aynaw is  Ethiopian Jewish. There are about 120,000 Ethiopian Jews in Israel who  at times experience racial discrimination. Aynaw is a stunner, but some Israelis have dubbed her “toffee queen” instead of “yoffee” queen, which is Hebrew for beauty.

National: NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo is already proposing to back off part of the state’s strict new gun law. The bill banned ammunition magazines with a capacity larger than seven bullets. But no one makes a seven-round magazine. Cuomo might accept 10-round magazines with a rule that you can’t put more than seven bullets in them. You can just hear the laughter at the gun ranges.

• Another major winter storm looks like it is gathering force in the Pacific Northwest to cross the country this weekend. Heavy snow could fall from Nebraska through Western New York with rain primarily in the Southern states.

Check Your Engine: The NY Times reports that Ford is developing a three-cylinder, 52-pound, energy-saving engine called a “Triple”. The engine is turbocharged, eliminating the need for a fourth cylinder, putting out about 123 HP. It’s small enough to fit into a carry-on suitcase.

Down Dog: Popular Yoga wear maker Lululemon Athletica suffered embarrassment this week because they had to pull $20 million worth of black pants off the shelves. It turns out that if you actually performed yoga in them, the pants were sheer. Lululemon’s CEO said, “The only way to test for the problem is to put the pants on and bend over,” which evidently no one did back at the factory.

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