VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT HUGO CHAVEZ DEAD AT 58: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, the leftist leader who often slammed the U.S. and American capitalism, died Tuesday
(March 5th) after a two-year battle with an unspecified cancer of the pelvic region. He was 58. Chavez's death comes just months after he was re-elected for a third term, having led his country for more than 14 years. The charismatic socialist leader won support among Venezuela's poor with government social programs paid for with the country's oil wealth and a nationalistic style. However, while poverty did decline under his leadership, critics said Chavez failed to use the oil boom money to develop Venezuela's economy, while inflation and crime
soared, and he concentrated power in his hands. Chavez, who formed alliances throughout Latin America and with more distant countries such as Russia, China and Iran, infamously labeled then-President George W. Bush the devil during a 2006 United Nations speech, saying the podium smelled of sulfur after Bush's address.

• Vice President Nicolas Maduro, who Chavez chose to succeed him, will lead Venezuela as interim president and be the governing socialists' candidate in an election to be called within 30 days.

DOW HITS RECORD HIGH: The Dow Jones industrial average hit a record high on Tuesday
(March 5th), completing a comeback from the Great Recession five-and-a-half years after it began, wiping out $11 trillion from stock portfolios. The Dow rose 125.95 points to close at 14,253.77, topping the previous record of 14,164.53 on October 9, 2007. But the good news for the stock market hasn't extended to the economy as a whole, with unemployment still high at 7.9 percent, a lot higher than its 4.7 percent level at the time of that last record. However, there are encouraging signs, with home sales rising, car sales at a five-year high and U.S. companies reporting big profits.

TSA TO ALLOW POCKET KNIVES ON PLANES: The Transportation Safety Association
announced Tuesday (March 5th) that starting on April 25th, it will allow small pocket knives and certain sporting goods on planes for the first time in more than a decade. Passengers flying on U.S. flights will be allowed to carry pocket knives with blades of less than six centimeters, up to two golf clubs, ski poles, and sticks used for hockey, lacrosse, and billiards. However, baseball bats will continue to be banned, as will razor blades and box cutters, like
those used in the 9/11 attacks. The move comes following a recommendation by a TSA working group that such items are not a security threat. However, the Flight Attendants Union Coalition condemned the policy change, calling it, quote, "poor and shortsighted."

ZIMMERMAN WAIVES RIGHT TO 'STAND YOUR GROUND' HEARING: George Zimmerman's attorneys stunned observers Tuesday (March 5th) when they waived their client's right to a "Stand Your Ground" hearing that might have led to a dismissal of the second degree murder charges against him in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.
However, they left open the possibility for that hearing, which had been scheduled for April, to be rolled into Zimmerman's murder trial this summer. Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law
allows a person to use deadly force if he believes his life is threatened, and doesn't require them to retreat from a confrontation, even if it's possible. If Zimmerman were to have his defense accepted under Stand Your Ground, all criminal charges against him would have been dropped.

ADMINISTRATION: CELL PHONE USERS SHOULD BE ABLE TO SWITCH TO ANY CARRIER: The Obama administration is siding with those who say cell phone users should be allowed keep their devices and switch to any carrier, responding to an online petition. More than 100,000 people signed the petition against the ban on switching that was imposed by the
Library of Congress in January. Many in the telecommunications industry say that cellphones should be "locked," meaning they can't be switched among carriers, because of the big price subsidies they give customers in return for them committing to lengthy contracts. But the petition contends that not allowing "unlocked" cellphones reduces consumer choice and the
resale value of phones, since it forces them to remain with the same carrier.  The Library of Congress, which sets rules and decides exemptions related to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, said the issue would benefit from further debate.

WHITE HOUSE TOURS FALL VICTIM TO SEQUESTER: Tourists visiting Washington, D.C., who want to take the White House tour are out of luck, with the news that they've been suspended because of the sequester spending cuts. The Yahoo! News blog The Ticket says
that the White House Visitors Office help line informed callers on Tuesday (March 5th) that starting on March 9th, tours of the White House will be canceled. The White House said the move was necessary because of staffing reductions due to the spending cuts. The White House has been contending that the sequester will be devastating to the economy as the cuts take effect over the weeks and months to come, while Republicans charge Democrats are exaggerating the impact of the $85 billion in sweeping cuts.

TRUMP TO SPEAK AT ANNUAL CONSERVATIVE GATHERING: Donald Trump is apparently not yet done with his involvement in politics, with the announcement that he'll be a featured speaker at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) next week, the largest annual gathering of conservatives in the country. Trump, who also spoke at CPAC
in 2011 was invited to speak by the American Conservative Union, who's chairman, Al Cardenas, said in a press release Tuesday , "Donald Trump is an American patriot and success story with a massive following among small government conservatives." Trump publicly flirted with a presidential run in 2012 before announcing he wouldn't do it, and has been particularly harsh on President Obama. Most notably, he aligned himself with the birthers, those
who believe Obama wasn't born in the U.S. despite the conspiracy theory having been totally debunked. Trump also endorsed Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney for president and appeared publicly with him, as well as helping fund his campaign.

SUGGESTION THAT PREGNANT WOMAN'S BREASTS PREDICT SEX OF CHILD: Science journalist Jena Pincott contends in her new book, Do Chocolate Lovers Have Sweeter Babies?, that a pregnant woman's breasts can help predict the gender of her baby. According
to the theory, the breasts of a woman carrying a girl will increase about 3.2 inches, while those of a woman carrying a boy will grow only 2.5 inches, with the difference due to the amount of testosterone a male fetus creates, which reduces the growth of expectant mother's breasts.

BASEBALL TO EXPAND USE OF INSTANT REPLAY: Major League Baseball executive vice president Joe Torre said Tuesday (March 5th) that the league intends to expand the use of instant replay for the 2014 season, and will be studying over the following year which
calls to review and how to do it. Torre, speaking before managing the U.S. team for the World Baseball Classic in an exhibition against the Chicago White Sox, said, "We're going to
increase replay next year. We just don't know how we're going to go about it yet." Commissioner Bud Selig has said he wants to add video reviews for trapped balls and "fair-or-foul" calls, but MLB officials also are considering reviewing close plays on the basepaths, such as tags, and other controversial calls.

WOMAN LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN TO GET OZZY OSBOURNE KNIGHTED: An
Australian woman has launched a campaign to have Ozzy Osbourne nominated for knighthood, according to the Birmingham Mail. Although Helen Maidiotis initially wanted to have all four members of Black Sabbath considered, she thought it was best to focus on
getting one particular member knighted first. Having gotten 500 signatures so far, Maidiotis recently wrote, "Ozzy has been an inspiration to many great musicians over the last 40 years. He is a credit to his country and I believe that a knighthood for Ozzy is one well deserved and long overdue."

• Maidiotis has created a Facebook page to support the campaign and posted the petition online for people to sign.

CHECK IT OUT: See the Facebook page for Maidiotis' campaign at https://www.facebook.com/TheKnighthoodOfOzz and sign the petition
at http://tinyurl.com/afo4u2z

LAMB OF GOD FRONTMAN ACQUITTED OF MANSLAUGHTER: Lamb Of God frontman Randy Blythe was acquitted of manslaughter charges in a Czech courtroom on Tuesday (March 5th), ending an ordeal that began last summer when Blythe was jailed for five weeks in a Prague prison. A not guilty verdict was handed down by the three-judge panel following a trial that found Blythe returning to Prague twice and possibly facing a 10-year prison sentence if he had been found guilty.

The singer was accused of throwing 19-year-old fan Daniel Nosek off the stage at a 2010 concert in Prague and causing injuries to him that led to his death two weeks later. Blythe was arrested when Lamb Of God returned to Prague last June.

• Prior to the verdict, Blythe addressed the court, stating, "I know I did not hurt or want to hurt anybody that night. I can understand the pain that the family of Daniel is
       experiencing. Daniel was a fan of my band. I had no wish to harm him. He
       was just a boy and I wish he was still here. If ultimately the Czech legal
       system sentences me to prison, I will do my sentence like a man."
• Presiding judge Tomas Kubovec said in delivering the verdict, "We did not find criminal responsibility in the actions of the defendant. We found moral responsibility. There has been the death of a young man who had not been guilty of anything. The acquittal does not prevent the defendant, if he feels some moral responsibility, to enter negotiations with the family of the victim and act accordingly."
• Blythe posted a statement on his Instagram account after the verdict was reached, saying, "I am a free man . . . Please remember the family of Daniel Nosek in your thoughts and prayers in this difficult time. I only wish for them peace. Thank you for your support."
• The state attorney said he intended to appeal the ruling and has eight days to file his appeal.

MARILYN MANSON TEAMING UP WITH ALICE COOPER FOR TOUR: Marilyn Manson and Alice Cooper are reportedly joining forces for a new tour dubbed the Masters Of Madness: Shock Therapy Tour, according to Blabbermouth.  Only two unconfirmed dates have been leaked so far, on June 4th in West Valley City, Utah and June 23rd in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Alice is touring behind his latest album, last year's Welcome 2 My Nightmare, while Manson is out in support of his eighth studio effort, Born Villain, which arrived last May.

• Although the trek has not been officially announced, a poster featuring both artists was posted at Cooper's website, perhaps prematurely.
• Manson's last U.S. tour was the Twins Of Evil run with Rob Zombie, a bill that looked
       good on paper but which did not go smoothly, leading to some verbal
       exchanges between the two shock rockers onstage.
• Both Zombie and Manson have acknowledged the legendary Cooper as an influence on their own careers.

JON STEWART TAKING A 12-WEEK HIATUS FROM 'THE DAILY SHOW': The Daily Show host Jon Stewart has announced that he will be taking a 12-week hiatus from the show to direct a movie called Rosewater based on the 2011 book Then They Came For Me: A Family's Story Of Love, Captivity, And Survival. John Oliver will guest host for eight weeks of new episodes during the hiatus.

'ARCHIE' COMICS TO HAVE A ZOMBIE STORYLINE: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa,
a Glee writer who also helped fix the Spiderman Broadway musical, has worked out a deal to create a new line of Archie comics where a zombie apocalypse hits Riverdale. Roberto recently wrote the script for the upcoming Carrie remake starring Chloe Moretz.

‘DALLAS’ SAYS GOODBYE TO J.R. EWING: One of television's most iconic villains, J.R. Ewing, was killed off of TNT's Dallas once and for all. J.R.'s days on the show were numbered ever since his portrayer, Larry Hagman, passed away back in November.

Hagman had filmed some of the episodes for the second season of TNT's reboot of the hit prime time soap before his death and the writers felt it necessary to come up with a fitting
exit for the character. Ultimately, they decided to revive the same question that took the nation by storm back in the 1980 third season finale of the original series -- Who shot J.R.?

WALMART SHOPPER PULLS GUN AFTER HER COUPON WAS REJECTED: A 61-year-old woman who had been shopping at a Walmart in Crawfordville, Florida was so angry that a store employee wouldn't honor her $1 coupon, that she got her handgun from the car and threatened employees. Police said Mary Frances Alday attempted to use an Internet coupon but was rejected by the store's assistant manager, Tracy Stockslager -- who said it is the store's policy to not accept those types of coupons. According to authorities, Alday
called the assistant manager a b*tch, "and other foul names," then rammed a shopping cart into her. Alday was escorted out of the store and allegedly warned Stockslager, "If you follow me, I have something in my car for you." Walmart employees watching from the store entrance saw Alday at her car, "waving the gun in the holster." She then removed the loaded
"Smith & Wesson .38 Special and pointed it at the store employees and stated, "I have something for Y'all," which sent the employees running into the store. The 61-year-old fled the scene but was pulled over and asked if she was carrying a firearm in her car. She told the deputy, "Yes, I have a concealed weapons permit, and you are not taking my gun." She
refused to give up the gun's location, despite the deputy asking her twice, and when she "reached over the console for something in the passenger seat," she was tasered. Alday was arrested and charged with four counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and one count of battery. (The Smoking Gun)

 SEX MAY MAKE YOU SMARTER: A new study from Princeton University finds a link between sex and brain power. For the study, researchers had two groups of rats, one group was only
allowed to have sex once every two weeks and the other group had sex daily. At the end of the study, scientists found that rats that had more sex experienced more nerve cell growth and had lower levels of stress hormones. In humans, nerve cell growth is associated with well-being and mental alertness. In fact, other studies have linked sex and exercise to growth in the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for memory and learning. Additionally, previous studies have have shown sex brings more oxygen and fresh blood to the brain. (Daily
Mail)

STEAK IS GOOD FOR YOU?: A recent study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that eating red meat or chocolate may not be as unhealthy as once thought. Scientists say foods that contain a certain type of saturated fat called stearic acid might actually benefit the body. One of the study authors, Dr. Michael Roussell of Pennsylvania State University, says that their study found that participants who ate lean beef daily for five weeks actually had a five-percent drop in their total cholesterol and a four-percent drop in "bad" LDL cholesterol. Roussell says that unlike processed meats such as sausages and ham, unprocessed red meat bring a unique, heart-healthy blend of fats to the table. Stearic acid can also be found in pork, skinless chicken, olive oil, cheese and milk. (Daily Mail)

THE PROBLEM WITH WEDDING REGISTRIES: New research from the University Of Notre Dame finds that wedding registries are leading to retailers handling wedding tasks traditionally taken care of by family members. Notre Dame marketing professor Tonya Williams Bradford interviewed and observed 72 registrants, gift-givers, and retail employees. She found that where grandparents and parents once played a big role in choosing what household items the newlywed couple would need, retailers now fulfill that role. Bradford says this means the couple ends up with generic gifts with very little meaning behind them, and that retailers are ending up with increased revenue. Bradford also says family members now only get to
plan the bridal shower and engagement party and little else. (Huffington Post)

STUDY FINDS NEW MOM OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER IS COMMON: A new study finds that about 11 percent of new mothers experience temporary symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder during the months after giving birth. Symptoms of OCD include repeated and unwanted thoughts as well as ritualistic behaviors that attempt to alleviate
those thoughts. For example, a mother may constantly worry about germs in her baby's bottle, or check to see that her baby is breathing constantly. Study researcher Dr. Dana Gossett, chief and assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, says it's not entirely clear yet as to when these behaviors are normal or when they cross the line into diagnosis of the disorder. (Live Science)