A Rock and Roll legend passes – The humanitarian crisis worsens in Central African Republic – Chicago’s weather really stinks – Some idiot leaves a pot cookie out where a toddler gets it – AND: Vladimir Putin on skis.

Musician Phil Everly of the Everly brothers has died at age 74.  Phil and his brother Don made up the first of Rock and Roll’s great duos, influencing generations of performers who came after them, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Byrds included.  Among their three dozen hits are “Cathy’s Clown,” “Wake Up Little Susie,” “Bye Bye Love,” “When Will I Be Loved” and “All I Have to Do Is Dream.”  Phil Everly died in Burbank, California of complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The number of displaced persons in the war-torn Central African Republic has more than doubled and at 935,000 is rapidly closing in on a million.  Half a million of those internal refugees fled homes in the capital Bangui.  The United Nations is also warning that the violence between Christian and Muslim militias is hampering efforts to reach “those in need of urgent assistance.”

At least nine people were killed when a group of six armed men pretended to be public servants, bluffed their way into a prison in Mexico, and attacked inmates and guards.  Five of the attackers died in the melee and the sixth is in custody.  In the past, Mexican prison officials have been caught colluding with criminals, and drug cartel assassins have posed as police officers to carry out hits.

The first Indian Ocean Cyclone of 2014, “Bejisa”, slammed the French island La Reunion, killing one person, injuring 15, and causing all sorts of damage.  The storm cut water service to about a quarter of the population; air and ground transport and postal service are getting back to normal.

Cops in Colorado are investigating how a 2-year old girl wound up with THC in her system, the active ingredient in marijuana (as if you didn’t know that).  She’s okay now.  The mother brought the girl to hospital when she became lethargic, but says the kid ate a mysterious cookie found outside the family’s apartment.  Adult recreational use of marijuana became legal in Colorado the previous day.

A leftover explosive from World War II exploded at a construction site near Bonn, Germany, killing the driver of a bulldozer and wounding 13 others.  The blast shattered windows as much as 400 meters away.  These sort of ordnances are still occasionally discovered to this day in Germany and Japan, 70 years after the war.

Incredibly macho Russian President Vladimir Putin tested the ski slopes at Sochi, location of the upcoming 2014 Winter Olympic Games.  He did keep his shirt on, but the slope he used isn’t actually going to be used in next month’s events.  But even as the Russian leader performed for the cameras to prove that everything is safe, a building in downtown Sochi was evacuated because of a bomb threat.  No explosive was found.  And Russia remains on edge after two terrorist bombings in Volograd, which killed 31 people.

The weather in America’s northeast just stinks.  The temperature in Chicago in Sunday and Monday will range from -23 to -28 degrees Celsius.  And the winter storm that dumped more than 25 centimeters of snow on Chicago has moved on to New York and Boston, where well more than half a meter of accumulation is expected.  But hey, it’s good for drifting cops.. wait, aren’t the cops supposed to stop you from drifting?  Funny that.