Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:
1. WHY US SANCTIONS AGAINST RUSSIA COULD BACKFIRE
Stiffer U.S. and EU penalties over Ukraine could sting Russia’s already slow-growing economy. And Russia could retaliate.
2. UKRAINE’S LEADERSHIP TURNS TO OLIGARCHS FOR HELP
The decision to appoint the country’s richest men as regional administrators has risks, but their wealth and influence could be key to calming tensions.
3. WHO’S DISTANCING HIMSELF FROM BITCOIN
Dorian S. Nakamoto, the man Newsweek points to as the creator of the digital currency exchange, denies he had anything to do with it.
4. PISTORIUS NEIGHBOR SAYS BANGS WERE GUNSHOTS
Johan Stipp testifies he heard a woman’s screams and a man’s shouts before a second group of sounds he identified as gunshots, not a cricket bat hitting the door.
5. WHAT MONTHLY JOBS REPORT COULD REVEAL
The Labor Department data could help confirm whether the economy is likely to rebound with warmer temperatures.
6. YOUNGER GENERATION LEANS LEFT
Young adults like to think of themselves as independent, but a new survey finds that half of American adults ages 18 to 33 are Democrats or lean toward the Democratic Party.
7. COLORADO TAKES A SWIPE AT DRIVING STONED
The state, which legalized marijuana in 2012, is spending $1 million on a Drive High, Get a DUI campaign to warn motorists against driving under the influence.
8. WAKE UP AND SMELL … THE BACON
Oscar Mayer says it has created a bacon-scented app for the iPhone that makes the sound of bacon sizzling. An external device is needed if you want to smell it.
9. EX-NFL SAFETY SEEKS RELEASE ON BAIL AFTER RAPE ACCUSATIONS
Darren Sharper will be in a Los Angeles courtroom, his lawyers arguing he should be released from jail because he has not been formally charged with the Louisiana rapes he’s being held for.
10. JUST HOW GOOD-LOOKING WAS JESUS
That’s the question being asked around Hollywood after an actor likened to a young Marlon Brando was cast to play Jesus in the popular new film Son of God.