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What the 'snow' moon foretold

Laura L. Davis   | Paste BN
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Drug cartels are threatening the avocado supply. A snowboarder withdrew from the big air event at the Olympics after she was forced to color in the logo on her board. And it looks like last night's "snow" moon foretold a whopper of a storm.

👋 It's Laura. I'm cold. It's hard to type with gloves on, so here's the news!

But first, have you ever wanted to live at Disney? 🏰 I'm from central Florida, so that sounds like an actual nightmare to me, but if you're the type who'd ask the Genie for an idyllic house-of-mouse-inspired community in California, here's your chance.

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Massive looming storm could pack a major punch

Buckle up: A large-scale, multihazard storm will make life wet and miserable for the central, southern and eastern U.S. through Friday morning. Heavy snow, drenching rain with potential flooding and severe thunderstorms with possible tornadoes are all on tap, the National Weather Service said. Snow is likely into Thursday all the way from northern Texas to northern New England, AccuWeather said. The Weather Service said the greatest chance for disruptive snow extends from south central Kansas through central Missouri, northern Illinois and into central Michigan. Slippery, potentially dangerous travel and school delays or cancellations are possible in Kansas City, St. Louis and Chicago, where up to half a foot of snow is possible. 

A medication mix-up or a performance-enhancing 'cocktail'?

Another day, another development in the evolving drama surrounding Olympic Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva. The 15-year-old will return to the ice Thursday for the second half of the women's individual competition and, in all likelihood, clinch a controversial gold medal. But the saga surrounding her positive drug test will keep rolling on. With each new day, it seems like more information emerges about Valieva's positive test for the banned heart medication trimetazidine. Most recently, her team argued that she was inadvertently exposed to the medication through her grandfather, though two other legal substances used to improve heart function were listed on an anti-doping control form – an indication that it could be part of a sophisticated performance-enhancing strategy by the Russians. Either tha, or she has heart problems at age 15 while still claiming she took one of those heart medications by accident. Latest updates on the doping case.

What everyone's talking about

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Snowboarder says sketchy cover-up forced her to withdraw

Snowboarder Julia Marino opened up about why she suddenly withdrew from the big air qualifier after earning Team USA's first Olympic medal of the Beijing Games a week earlier. She hit out at the International Olympic Committee in an Instagram post saying it required her to cover the Prada logo on her snowboard – the same red-and-white board she used to claim silver in the snowboard slopestyle on Feb. 6 – to avoid disqualification. She said the red marker used to draw over the Prada logo on the base of her board impacted the board's speed and performance to the point she "felt unstable and unsteady," prompting her to pull out of the big air event to prevent further injury. Read more.

Judge temporarily restricts details of Bob Saget's death 

Comedian Bob Saget was found dead in his Orlando hotel room in January, his death a mystery until his family weeks later announced that the cause was severe head trauma. Now, after his family filed a lawsuit Tuesday, his wife and children have temporary protection from authorities releasing any more information. A Florida judge agreed Wednesday with a request from Saget's family to temporarily block the release of photos, video or other records related to the "Full House" actor's death investigation,  saying that doing so would cause them irreparable harm. Circuit Judge Vincent Chiu said the temporary injunction was in the public’s interest as he decides whether the family’s privacy concerns outweigh any claims for the records to be released.

Real quick

This avocado news is the pits

If you're trying to get your guac on, you might have to wait a minute. Because of the cartel. Until further notice, avocados will not be imported from Mexico to the U.S. after a U.S. plant safety inspector in Mexico received a threatening message on his official cellphone, Mexico’s Agriculture Department said. And it's not the first time that the violence in Michoacan – where the Jalisco drug cartel is fighting turf wars against a collection of local gangs known as the United Cartels – has threatened avocados, the state's most lucrative crop. News of the suspension may affect avocado prices and supply chains in the U.S. since 8 out of 10 avocados bought into the country the U.S. are from Michoacán, said Michael Swanson, Wells Fargo’s chief agricultural economist. The Association of Avocado Exporting Producers and Packers of Mexico said it was working with authorities to resolve the suspension. Gee golly, what's a millennial to do without avocado toast? Maybe I'll finally be able to buy a house (yeah, right).

A break from the news

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