NPR News

Well, here we are starting February, with the single most important day in sports upon us.

No, of course I don't mean a silly little thing like Super Bowl Sunday. But today, the first Wednesday of the second month, is by some sort of — what, pagan lunar calendar? –– officially decreed National Signing Day, when all over America, high school seniors can officially plight their troth to a college football program.

Even in the dead of winter, the Russian city of St. Petersburg, with its church spires, palaces and waterways, is one of the world's truly beautiful cities. It was here that the Russian revolution began, and it's here where Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev cut their teeth politically.

Two senators who have taken the lead on legislation aimed to help homeowners refinance at historically low interest rates were blunt this morning about how concerned they are by the news NPR reported earlier this week that Freddie Mac "has placed multibillion-dollar bets against American homeowners being able to refinance to cheaper mortgages."

For the fifth consecutive month, builders increased spending in December, the Commerce Department said today. The figures tempered yesterday's news that home prices in most markets tracked by the S&P/Case-Shiller index had slipped 1.3 percent in November.

The Los Angeles Police Department says Don Cornelius, the creator of "Soul Train," has died of a gunshot wound.

A spokesperson for the department said Cornelius was found at at his Mulholland Drive home and transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Cornelius was 75.

When it comes to birth control pills, it's really important to take the right ones at the right time to prevent pregnancy.

So Pfizer is recalling two kinds of oral contraceptives because some packages had the pills in the wrong order. Others had the wrong number of different pill types in the packages.

The errors could compromise contraception and leave sexually active women at risk for unintended pregnancy. About 1 million packages are covered by the recall.

Good morning!

Our early headlines:

-- Russia Says U.N. Draft Resolution On Syria Has 'No Chance' Of Adoption

-- Pakistan Denies NATO Report Connecting It To Afghan Taliban

The resolution in front of the United Nations Security Council that would call for the ouster of Syrian President Bashar Assad will be vetoed by Russia.

Reuters reports that as the violence continued in Syria, Moscow's envoy to the European Union Vladimir Chizhov said the resolution had no chance of adoption unless it explicitly rejected a military intervention.

According to a secret NATO report obtained by the BBC and The Times of London, Pakistan is actively supporting the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan.

The leaked classified report further highlights the complicated relationship between the United States and Pakistan. If you remember, back in September the then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff accused Pakistan of using extremist organizations as proxies to attack U.S. troops.

The big question coming off of Mitt Romney's decisive 14-point victory in Florida is, "What's next for Newt Gingrich?" If you go by what the former speaker said during interviews and his speech last night, the campaign will extend into the summer.

But as The New York Times sees it, Gingrich might have to recalibrate, and it may all come down to Super Tuesday.

The Times explains: