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Holiday News Roundup: Mardi Gras, Greece And John Glenn

An image captured on Feb. 20, 1962, by NASA shows astronaut John Glenn during his space flight in the Friendship 7 Mercury spacecraft, weightless and traveling at 17,500 mph. The image was made by an automatic sequence motion picture camera.
NASA
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AP

The Two-Way is formally off-duty for the Presidents' Day holiday. But not only does the news not take a holiday — often, holidays are the news. Here's a quick roundup of some of today's important and most-discussed stories:

  • Syria is reinforcing its military in what seems to be a bid to control Homs. (AP)
  • Sens. Lindsey Graham and John McCain are calling for the U.S. to arm the Syrian rebels. (The Hill)
  • An ESPN editor who was accused of making a racial slur against the NBA's Jeremy Lin — and who was fired this weekend — says his use of the word was an honest mistake. "I'm so sorry if I offended Jeremy," Anthony Federico tells The NY Daily News.
  • Europe is moving toward a second bailout of Greece, as the E.U.'s finance ministers meet Monday to discuss a possible $172 billion rescue. (Bloomberg)
  • It's Mardi Gras Eve (if we can use that term), which means Brazil's Carnival is running strong (The Independent) — and New Orleans, Mobile, Ala., and other places that value good times are letting them roll. (NOLA.com)
  • John Glenn and NASA are celebrating the 50-year anniversary of his becoming the first American to orbit the Earth. (Scientific American)
  • Near Belgrade, the busy Danube River is finally thawing — and huge chunks of ice are wreaking havoc on boats and water-based businesses. (The BBC)
  • U.N. nuclear inspectors are in Iran to try to determine if the country is moving toward making a nuclear weapon. (AP)
  • Foxconn Technology announced over the weekend that its workers will get raises, and more favorable overtime rules. (NY Times)
  • And Elizabeth Smart, 24, the former kidnapping victim who got engaged just a month ago, got married in "a dream wedding in Hawaii," The Los Angeles Times reports.
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    Bill Chappell is a writer and editor on the News Desk in the heart of NPR's newsroom in Washington, D.C.
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