NPR News

Even in the dead of winter, the Russian city of St. Petersburg, with its church spires, palaces and waterways, is one of the world's truly beautiful cities. It was here that the Russian revolution began, and it's here where Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev cut their teeth politically.

Two senators who have taken the lead on legislation aimed to help homeowners refinance at historically low interest rates were blunt this morning about how concerned they are by the news NPR reported earlier this week that Freddie Mac "has placed multibillion-dollar bets against American homeowners being able to refinance to cheaper mortgages."

New video from NASA gives us a fresh view of the far side of the moon (or the technically incorrect but way cooler sounding "dark side").

It's from NASA's Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) lunar spacecraft.

The celebrated alt-country group Centro-Matic hails from Denton, Texas. What began as a side project for singer-songwriter and guitarist Will Johnson in the 1990s soon grew into a full-fledged band. With 20 albums in just 14 years, Centro-Matic has built a solid reputation for playful yet masterful, country-infused rock. With Matt Pence, Scott Danborn and Mark Hedman supporting Johnson's quick wit and pop influences, Centro-Matic's catalog exudes both boundless energy and emotional restraint.

The Los Angeles Police Department says Don Cornelius, the creator of "Soul Train," has died of a gunshot wound.

A spokesperson for the department said Cornelius was found at at his Mulholland Drive home and transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Cornelius was 75.

When it comes to birth control pills, it's really important to take the right ones at the right time to prevent pregnancy.

So Pfizer is recalling two kinds of oral contraceptives because some packages had the pills in the wrong order. Others had the wrong number of different pill types in the packages.

The errors could compromise contraception and leave sexually active women at risk for unintended pregnancy. About 1 million packages are covered by the recall.

Good morning!

Our early headlines:

-- Russia Says U.N. Draft Resolution On Syria Has 'No Chance' Of Adoption

-- Pakistan Denies NATO Report Connecting It To Afghan Taliban