MOSCOW — Rescue workers are searching for 49 men in freezing, remote waters off Russia’s east coast after their oil rig capsized and sank amid fierce storms on Sunday. By nightfall, four men had been confirmed dead, 14 others had been plucked alive from the churning, icy waters by the ship that had been towing the Kolskaya drilling platform. But the search for the remaining men was hampered by freezing temperatures, a driving blizzard and strong winds. Read full article > >

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Rescuers searching for 49 Russians in freezing, remote waters after platform capsizes; 4 dead

The Obama administration on Tuesday will wade into the increasingly divisive national debate over new voting laws in several states that could depress turnout among minorities and others who helped elect the president in 2008. A dozen states this year tightened rules requiring voters to present state-issued photo identification at the polls, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Although Democratic governors vetoed four of the measures, liberal and civil rights groups have been raising alarms about the remaining laws, calling them an “assault on democracy” and an attempt to depress minority voter turnout. Read full article > >

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Eric Holder wades into debate over voting rights as presidential election nears

Three weeks ago, it was brought to Virginia Coach Mike London’s attention that only two ACC Coastal Division teams could reach the conference title game by winning their remaining regular season contests: His Cavaliers and four-time ACC champion Virginia Tech .  “Maybe a couple years from now you talk about winning out and running the table and controlling our own destiny,” London said then. “That’s for teams that have been there and done that.” Read full article > >

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Virginia football vs. Virginia Tech: A chance for the Cavs to balance the scales in the commonwealth

Singer George Michael cancels the remaining dates of his tour while he is treated in Vienna for “severe” pneumonia, his publicist confirms.

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Sick George Michael shelves tour

Rescuers in China save the remaining 45 miners who were trapped underground for 36 hours after a cave-in, state media say.

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Dozens rescued from Chinese mine

With Greece’s government on the brink of collapse and its economy straining under the crushing weight of debt, many have reacted hysterically to the country’s decision to put the EU bailout to a vote. The Economist ’s Buttonwood’s Notebook , on the other hand, has opted to coolly lay out the remaining options for the Greek people. Voters have “every right” to “vote away [their] debts”—but they’d better be ready for the consequences. If they refuse bailout money from their European neighbors (with accompanying austerity agreements), they will either have to raise taxes, massively cut spending, or default outright. Of course, in their ideal world, Greeks would choose to take the money without any austerity measures. “But the Germans have to satisfy their own voters,” the author writes. “Democracy cuts both ways.”

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Let the Greeks Vote!

Adele cancels all her remaining live dates and promotional appearances for 2011 after suffering continuing problems with her voice.

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Adele cancels all 2011 live dates

Four days after presidents of the remaining Big East schools voted unanimously to rebuild through aggressive expansion , the league found itself braced for yet another defection, with Texas Christian poised to bail for the Big 12 before its much ballyhooed membership took effect. Confirmation of TCU’s change of heart wasn’t expected until Friday, when university officials were to vote on accepting the Big 12’s invitation. But Big East officials on Thursday began informing current and prospective members — Navy, among them — of TCU’s decision to renege on its pledge to join the league next year. Read full article > >

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Big East football future is uncertain with TCU’s likely departure to Big 12

A proposed congressional map in Ohio would draw six of the state’s House incumbents into districts with each other, but would leave Republicans with an advantage in 12 of the remaining 16 districts. The new map, which is set to be released Tuesday, comes courtesy of the state Republican Party, which controls all levers of the redistricting process in the Buckeye State. Read full article > >

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Ohio GOP looks to cement 2010 gains with overhauled congressional map

Duran Duran cancel the remaining dates on their UK tour after singer Simon Le Bon is told to rest his voice while his laryngeal problems are treated.

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Duran Duran cancel remaining tour

A court in Honduras drops the remaining corruption charges against ex-President Manuel Zelaya, clearing the way for his return from exile.

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Honduras dismisses Zelaya charges

People who study online life are familiar with the One Percent Rule . It says that if 100 people gather at a given site, about 10 percent will contribute anything at all, even a comment at a blog post, and less than one percent will become deeply engaged as a regular contributor. The rest will just use the service. There are two ways to come at that finding. One is to sneer at utopian projections like “everyone’s an author now.” And the One Percent Rule does, in fact, crash those illusions. It’s a double espresso of digital realism. Wakes you up fast. A different way to think about it is to do a little math. Today, nytimes.com draws in the neighborhood of 18 million unique visitors per month. They tend to be educated, informed, curious about the world. According to the One Percent Rule, about 180,000 of them would become serious contributors — if given a proper chance. As the Times tries to make its way in the new economy of news, it has no choice but to think about how to tap into that massive group, which is many times larger than the entire American press corps. Think of it this way: If the number one asset the Times has is its brand and reputation, and number two is the talent and experience of its professional staff, the third most important asset is, in fact, the knowledge and sophistication of its users and especially the 180,000, the one percent.  But how to get some of that knowledge flowing in, so as to make from it high quality editorial goods for the remaining 99 percent? This is a strategic puzzle for the New York Times . I believe they’re aware of it. Now in that puzzle, the single best place to turn for how something like that can be done is Wikipedia, which still calls itself “the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.” “Anyone can” doesn’t mean “everyone will.” Almost everyone won’t. But even then something great and powerful can be built. That’s what Wikpedia teaches us about organizing people online.

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Jay Rosen on Wikipedia’s 10th Anniversary

Colorado’s creative community bands together with a temporary retail space Taking a cue from the commercial world, a Colorado organization recently jumped on the pop-up bandwagon again with YesPleaseMore , a temporary store featuring locally-crafted goods from more than 70 Colorado-based artists and designers. The retail project is part of a three-pronged initiative to provide an economic development platform that gives credence and support to a recent report that the state’s creative industry is its fifth largest economic producer. (An unsurprising fact since Colorado ranks fifth nationally for it’s high concentration of artists.) The resulting shop offers a massive variety of made-in-Colorado products, including furniture, skis, jewelry, stationery, art prints and larger installation pieces. Founders Brian Corrigan and Samuel Schimek give 70% of the profits back to the original designers and artists, while the remaining 30% benefits YesPleaseMore’s ongoing development efforts, including a free work space for networking opportunities in an environment conducive to its participants’ working needs, as well as starter grants for creative entrepreneurs . Every three months, three local applicants whose projects earn the most public votes will receive $500 dollars in funding. Visit the shop, located at the Denver Pavilions , through the end of February.

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YesPleaseMore Pop Up Store

Artist-designed canvas totes offer a fun and colorful alternative to the boring shopping bag Today Threadless launches ten selected designs printed on Baggu Duck bags . With adjustable straps, snap closures and interior pockets, these canvas bags are large enough to carry groceries and strong enough to safely transport books or a a laptop computer. Designs by Ross Zietz include a rainbow umbrella, a swan music note and his “Infinity MPG” white bicycle. On the bag designed by Andy Gonsalves a dove flashes the peace sign. Ilia Ovechkin’s fuscia “Vampire Orthodontics” design boasts a white toothy grin with pointy fangs sporting silver wires and brackets. Tang Yau Hoong’s “Untitled: Impossible” challenges the viewer optically with connected white lines on navy blue for an Atari-like graphic. Made from 100% recycled cotton canvas, the $25 totes will be available for a limited time from Threadless . See the remaining six totes in the gallery below.

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Threadless and Baggu

If the remaining alternate juror — who passed a romantic note to a court officer — were to be dismissed, the possibilities for a mistrial in the Connecticut trial would be heightened.

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Alternate Juror’s Note Complicates Death-Penalty Case