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Roger Tomlinson, the man widely regarded as the father of GIS — Geographic Information Systems — has died at age 80. Tomlinson's 1960s innovation, using computer software to overlay different types of maps on top of one another, revolutionized industry and government.

Comcast, the nation's largest cable provider, is set to become even bigger. The Philadelphia-based company has reached an agreement to acquire Time Warner Cable, the nation's second-largest cable provider, in an all-stock deal valued at roughly $45 billion. Consumer groups oppose the deal on the grounds that it will hurt competition and raise prices. But the companies claim competition won't be harmed at all.

The U.S. and Russian men's hockey teams played at the same time on Thursday. The teams will meet on the ice Saturday, when they will renew a storied rivalry that includes such historic games as the Miracle on Ice.

Another spate of harsh winter weather has hit the East Coast, wreaking havoc with power lines and airline itineraries along the way. Cities unused to the snow and ice are having the toughest time coping with the storms. We hear first from Dwayne Cartwright, President and CEO of South Carolina-based Berkeley Electric Cooperative. He says that at one point about two-thirds of their customers experienced an outage. Then Ron Carlee, the city manager of Charlotte, N.C., joins us to discuss the ways his city is dealing with the weather.

Melissa Block speaks with an array of international correspondents covering the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, to hear what stories are playing big with their home audiences.

A 2007 fliers' revolt on Valentine's Day led to stiff fines for airlines that kept passengers waiting too long. Delays still happen, but new technology, better planning make them less inconvenient.

The U.S. is defending its gold medal in men's figure skating, but without the star power of previous games. Two skaters in Sochi, 19-year-old Jason Brown and 28-year-old Jeremy Abbott — represent the near future of the sport in America.

Last month, the best-selling writer told NPR that her new book, Ripper, which is itself a mystery novel, was written as a "joke." Fans of the genre, as well as booksellers and writers, weren't amused.

Penguin Books, India, withdrew Wendy Doniger's The Hindus: An Alternate History after a Hindu group's court challenge. The group said the book denigrated Hinduism. Doniger defended the publisher but said the Indian law that makes offending religious sentiment a crime should be changed.

In Geneva, Syrian government and opposition representatives are wrapping up a second round of peace talks. There have been no signs of progress at the peace conference, but international mediator Lakhdar Brahimi says he's planning to hold another round. Meanwhile, he'll be traveling to New York City to brief the U.N. Security Council.