Team Russia took the skating gold. In fact, it is the first gold medal the home country has won so far. The Russians did by combining the old and the new. First the old, OK, just the 31 years old Evgeni Plushenko dazzled out some his classic move for individual program. But everyone is talking about the new, the new comer, 15-year-old Yulia Lipnitskaya wowed the crowd with the stunting short program and then at own move free programs set the music from Schindler's List. Canada took the silver medal in team skating. The US got bronze supported by good performance from first time Olympic’s Jason Brown and Gracie Gold. Robert Smith, NPR News, Sochi.

 

A California company is recalling nearly 9 million pounds of beef product that is shipped to four states. NPR’s Nathan Rott reports. The company processed the diseased animals and did not undergo proper federal inspection. 

 

Over the last year, Rancho Feeding Corporation in Northern California processed more than 8.7 million pounds of beef product that includes everything from beef carcasses to just beef tongues. Some it does not know how much of those products came from diseased and unsound animals and none of those products received the full federal inspection. That is according to the US Department of Agriculture. The meat product was shipped to distribution centers and stores in California, Florida, Illinois and Texas but there have been no reports of illness to date. Nathan Rott, NPR News.

 

Residents in Portland again have begun to venture out under an ice storm crippled the city for several days. Conrad Wilson reports it virtually shutdown the city.

 

The early razors in Portland had scraped rail on Sunday but by mid-afternoon the ice was melting. The city issued an emergency alert, urging residents to stay indoors while at the same time the light rail and NNNN car network resume limited service. The storm entered the air travel in the area. Dozens of flights were cancelled and delayed on Sunday at the Portland International Airport. Residents are breathing. Forecasters say there is a chance of more freezing rain Monday, For NPR News, I am Conrad Wilson in Portland.

 

In Pennsylvania, estimated 44,000 thousand homes and business are still without power after last week’s ice storm. Utility crews have been working around the clock to get customers back on line. PECO Power Company’s spokesman Fred Maher calls last week’s weather event a perfect storm. 

 

Snow on Monday heavy snow onto the trees already then we got a little bit of rain on earlier Wednesday morning which soaked into the snow where still on the trees and then we got ice on top of that which just added so much weight to a lot of these already stressed trees. 

 

Most of the meteorologists were in the Philadelphia area.

 

This is NPR.

 

Officials in Homs, Syria say humanitarian teams have evacuated more than 600 civilians from the besieged center of the city and delivered the aid to those who remain. This as aid workers continue to come under fire for a second day, shelling yesterday, injured four aid workers and violated what was supposed to be a three-day pause in fighting.

 

The European Union is considering upgrading relations with Cuba. In Brussels tomorrow, EU foreign ministers are expected to seek a new framework for political exchanges but continue to NNNN to Cuba’s human rights record. Lauren Frayer report from Madrid.

 

The European Union lifted diplomatic sanction on Cuba in 2008 and Spain is leading efforts to lift commercial restrictions too. Carlos Malamud is the analyst at Madrid Elcano Royal Institute.

 

From the US point of view, Cuban efforts are internal US efforts especially in some states like Florida. In Europe is very different except Spain.

 

More than half of Cubans have Spanish ancestor. For years ago, Madrid intervened to get hundreds of Cuban dissidents from prison. Now the EU is poised to follow China and Latin America with increased trade with Cuba, looking ahead to a possible leadership transition on the communist island. For NPR News, I am Lauren Frayer in Madrid. 

 

Secretary of States John Kerry will make his 5th trip to Asia this week. He will travel to South Korea, China and Indonesia. The trip comes among high intensions between China and its smaller neighbors over territorial disputes in the east and south China seas.