World: The US has warned airlines flying to Sochi for the Olympics that explosives could be smuggled on board inside tubes of toothpaste and other toiletries. The reason for the warning was not given and no specific threat was identified. The US has placed two warships in the Black Sea in case of trouble at the Olympics, possibly to shoot down tubes of toothpaste.

>In a period of just 24 hours, the Italian navy picked up 1,123 North African migrants crossing the Mediterranean about 120 miles from the island of Lampedusa. They were packed into seven inflatable boats and a barge. Italian authorities say migration from North Africa has reached record levels.

Nation: A 300-year-old Stradivarius violin stolen outside Milwaukee last month has been recovered in good condition. The violin was found at the home of one of three people arrested in connection with the Jan. 27 theft. The robbers used a stun gun to disable musician Frank Almond in a church parking lot.

>Texas executed a 59-year-old Texas woman convicted of torturing and killing a man for his insurance and Social Security. Suzanne Basso was only the 14^th woman to be executed since the Supreme Court restored the death penalty in 1976. Roughly 1,400 men have been put to death in that time.

Winter: State and local governments all across snow country are running out of road salt, and money to buy more, as a brutal winter comes in wave after wave. From Wichita, Kan. To Chicago, New York, and Boston, road crews are being selective about how much salt they spread and where they put it. Extreme cold has moved in to the Midwest from the Canadian border to Kansas and Missouri with temperatures at or near zero. It’s in the teens and 20s on the East Coast. Flight cancellations: 558.

Political Note: American idol star Clay Aiken announced he’s singing a different tune. He’s running for Congress as a Democrat against an incumbent North Carolina Republican.  Aiken said, “I’m not a politician. I don’t ever want to be one, but I do want to help bring back — at least to my corner of North Carolina — the idea someone can go to Washington to represent all the people, whether they voted for you or not.” His opponent Renee Ellmers gave Aiken a warm Washington welcome saying, “As we know, he doesn’t always fare that well. He was runner-up.”

Sochi: Snowboarding gold medalist Shaun White pulled out of the new “slopestyle” event to focus on winning a third gold in the halfpipe. But in his announcement the daredevil snowboarder intimated that the slopestyle course is too dangerous.

A Matter of Scale: The Internet is aTwitter with people asking whether the latest winner of NBC’s “The Biggest Loser” weight-loss contest ended up losing too much. The 5-5 Rachel Frederickson entered at 260 lbs. and came to her final weigh-in at 105, officially underweight according to body mass index charts. Her face in particular appeared malnourished. She said she reduced her diet to 1600 calories a day, and of course, her bank account increased by $250,000 in prize money.

“Eat Fresh”: The Subway sandwich chain is changing the recipe for its bread. They are removing a chemical used in yoga mats and shoe soles. The chemical, with the delicious name “azodiacarbonamide”, traps air in the bread the same way it does in a yoga mat.

Last Night at Late Night: Jay Leno makes his last appearance tonight as host of “The Tonight Show.” In the words of a veteran standup comedian he said, “The 7th I’m in Sarasota. The 8th I’m in Clearwater. The 9th I’m in Naples, Fla. The 10th I’m in Miami …”

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