The following stories are brought to you by the fine folks on the News4 assignment desk.
LUGER'S DEATH CASTS DARK SHADOW OVER VANCOUVER
Hours before the winter Olympics were to start, tragedy struck when a luger from the former Soviet Republic of Georgia died during a training run.
Nodar Kumaritashvili was killed after losing control of his sled, going over the track wall and hitting a steel pole near the finish line at the Whistler Sliding Center in Vancouver, according to the Toronto Sun.
"I've never seen anything like that," said Shiva Keshavan, a four-time Olympian from India said before knowing Kumaritashvili's fate. (NBC Washington)
ROUGH ROAD BACK TO WORK
Schools remained closed but more workers returned to their offices as the Washington region continued to dig its way out of record-breaking snowfalls.
Commuters still struggled with snow-covered side streets and longer-than usual commutes on highways that were generally clear but sometimes had huge potholes or snow piles that filled shoulders. (WTOP)
ROME HAS HEAVIEST SNOW FALL IN 25 YEARS
Tourists took rare pictures of snow falling on the Colosseum and the Trevi fountain on Friday, and the Pope reportedly appeared at a Vatican window to watch Rome's heaviest snowfall in nearly a quarter century.
In scenes usually only glimpsed in souvenir "snow domes" Italy's capital was blanketed in white, snarling road and air traffic but delighting many Romans who rode scooters with their feet on the ground and snapped pictures with mobile phones. (Yahoo News)
LOVE STINKS! FARMER CREATES MANURE VALENTINE
Nothing says "I love you" like a half-mile-wide heart made out of manure.
A southern Minnesota man created the Valentine's Day gift for his wife of 37 years in their farm field about 12 miles southwest of Albert Lea.
Bruce Andersland told the Alberta Lea Tribune that he started the project with his tractor and manure spreader Wednesday and finished Thursday. (MSNBC)
