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snowpocalypse
February 16, 2015
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Boston has now officially had its snowiest February on record, with a crazy 58.5 inches after another blizzard on Sunday, the National Weather Service says. And another 1 to 3 inches are expected to fall on Tuesday. The previous record for February, 41.6 inches, was set in 2003. People in Massachusetts are getting a little sick of the snow.

"People that have to shovel every day just to get out of the driveway, they're going crazy," Jon Maul, 37, tells the Los Angeles Times. "People are starting to get really bitter, and February's not halfway over." The snow is affecting business and hourly employees, too. It was so snowy on Sunday that the Great Brook Cross Country Ski Touring Center in Carlisle, Massachusetts, closed on Sunday. "That's right," says Matt Pearce at the L.A. Times: "A ski center was closed because there was too much snow." The weather in Los Angeles on Monday? 65 and sunny. Peter Weber

How low will you go?
2:35 p.m. ET
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If you had the choice between paying $32, $39, or $68 for that $75 sweater you've been lusting after, which price would you choose? Online retailer Everlane — a company that prides itself on "radical transparency" — is putting that exact choice into buyers' hands.

With the click of a mouse, shoppers can choose between three price points for an item, each marked with the profit amount that will go to Everlane for that purchase. The lowest cost only covers production and shipping; the middle cost covers all of that plus overhead for the company's 70-person team; the highest price covers everything the middle cost covers, plus a profit margin that allows the company to "invest in growth."

The choice might seem obvious, but buyers beware: Science of Us reports that what looks good on the price tag doesn't always work well in practice:

People feel bad paying less than what they feel the item is "worth," but at the same time they feel conflicted about choosing to pay more than they have to. And so the promotion, according to the research, often ends up backfiring, and people end up buying nothing at all. [Science of Us]

Everlane has yet to reveal what price is getting picked the most. The sale ends Thursday. Becca Stanek

crime watch
1:41 p.m. ET
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As tempting as it might be, it is in fact illegal to trap a computer technician inside your home and refuse to allow him to leave until your computer gets fixed. The law, however, did not deter one Arlington, Virginia man who was arrested and charged with abduction on Monday after allegedly attempting to keep a computer technician in his home "until his computer was fixed." Joseph Nestor Mondello, 50, "allegedly had a gun in his possession," according to police, and threatened to kill the technician if his computer problems weren't resolved.

The Washington Post reports that it was not immediately clear what the computer problem was. Jeva Lange

'Just like me'
1:31 p.m. ET

For years, parents have been able to buy their child virtually any accessory imaginable for their American Girl doll — except, that is, a diabetic care kit. But after years of parents writing letters and a Change.org petition created by then-11-year old Anja Busse in January 2014, the Mattel-subsidiary company known for making dolls that look like you since 1986 is finally making a dream come true for kids with diabetes: As of January 1, the company will begin selling a diabetic care kit accessory both online and in stores.

The kit comes complete with an insulin pump, a glucose meter, an insulin pen, glucose tablets, a medial alert bracelet, insulin pump skin stickers, and a log book, Daily Mail reports. "I have two American Girl dolls, but there's now diabetic supplies so they look just like me," Busse said in a video posted to Change.org. "I want my doll to be just like me."

The diabetes care kit will join an array of other specialized accessories for the $115 dolls, including doll-sized iPhones, iPads, wheelchairs, scooters, helmets, hearing aids, and — soon — doll crutches. Becca Stanek

you've got our r-e-s-p-e-c-t
1:11 p.m. ET

Aretha's still got it. Paying tribute to Kennedy Center honoree Carole King, Aretha Franklin, 73, stunned the audience at the Dec. 6 ceremony with an unforgettable performance of "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman." Franklin herself was named a Kennedy Center honoree two decades ago.

King, for one, found Franklin's rendition of "A Natural Woman" quite literally jaw-dropping — and even President Obama got a little misty-eyed. Watch below. Jeva Lange

terror attacks
12:59 p.m. ET
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Turkish police arrested two men Wednesday believed to be Islamic State militants planning a bombing attack on Turkey's capital of Ankara on New Year's Eve. The Ankara governorship said the two men, both Turkish nationals, had allegedly scoped out potential attack locations in the capital and were found to have "a suicide vest armed with a bomb, an explosive device that was fortified with ball bearings, and metal sticks placed inside a backpack as well as bomb-making equipment," The Associated Press reports.

The investigation is ongoing. Governments worldwide are on heightened alert for potential New Year's Eve attacks. Becca Stanek

ready for 2015 to be over
11:46 a.m. ET

Donald Trump's spokeswoman, Katrina Pierson, faced blistering criticism for wearing a rather interesting statement piece during an interview with CNN:

Pierson's response? Be glad she only wore bullets, because the necklace situation could have been much, much worse:

Thankfully, fetus necklaces are hard to come by — but there are some pretty good imitations out there if Pierson indeed decides to add to her macabre collection. Jeva Lange

The Niño
11:19 a.m. ET
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El Niño is showing no signs of weakening, prompting NASA to warn that the 1997-1998 El Niño might soon have a rival as the strongest ever on record. The weather phenomenon, which Discovery News reports brings about a shift in climate patterns caused by the "sloshing of warm ocean water from its normal home in the western tropical Pacific to the east," so ubiquitously affected the U.S. in the late '90s that it gained household name recognition.

NASA says that that this December's El Niño bears a "striking resemblance" to the "Granddaddy of El Niños" that was brewing in December of 1997. The winter of 1997-98 similarly produced "intense ice and snow storms, flooding, and even some unlikely tornado landings," and unrelenting rain in California that caused mudslides resulting in "hundreds of millions of dollars in damages."

Already in 2015, the weather phenomenon that occurs every two to seven years has caused some of the worst flooding in 50 years in Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil. At least 13 people in the U.S. have died in floods caused by tornadoes and storms. In Africa, 31 million people are facing potential food shortages caused by droughts, and in the North Pole, temperatures are expected to be 50 degrees higher than usual. Becca Stanek

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