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From First Lady Michelle Obama handing out the Best Picture award to Best Actress winner Jennifer Lawrence taking a tumble, the 85th Academy Awards was full of surprises. Host Michel Martin recaps the evening with People magazine's movie critic, Alynda Wheat.

The Supreme Court says it won't hear a case that would have let candidates solicit money from corporations. By doing so, the court is reaffirming one strict ban on corporate political money, after easing other limits in its controversial Citizens United ruling three years ago.

In his State of the Union address, President Obama proposed a plan to boost federal minimum wage from 7.25 an hour, to 9 dollars. Columnist Robert Reich, Secretary of Labor under President Bill Clinton, argues that plan is "a no-brainer."

The White House is calling out Congress for a slowdown in voting on judicial nominees, saying it has left 10 percent of judgeships unfilled. The president also faces criticism from the left on the pace of his nominations. But recent White House moves and a new Senate rule could help get things moving.

Amarillo, Tex. has already seen 17 inches. By the time it's all over, it may break its all time snowfall record.

Text messages spreading false rumors helped spark postelection violence in 2007. This time, monitors will keep an eye on social media and will be in touch with government officials in a bid to prevent bloodshed.

The center-left was favored, but there was no clear winner as the ballots were counted. Silvio Berlusconi's center-right coalition was not expected to do well, but was leading in the upper house of Parliament.

There's no evidence that calcium supplements help prevent bone fractures in most people, a preventive services task force says. And calcium supplements boost the risk of kidney stones, and perhaps heart disease.

It's not just the heat — it's the humidity. Health experts actually apply that principle to workers, soldiers and sportsmen who toil outside and in places that lack air conditioning. A study in Nature Climate Change says that global warming will noticeably reduce the amount of time people can spend working and playing safely outside.

Several big retailers say the return of the full payroll tax is causing consumers to curtail spending, but so far the evidence is mostly anecdotal. Some analysts argue a variety of factors, and not any specific policy, contributed to slower growth in consumer spending in January.