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Syrian President Bashar Assad's Instagram account includes images of his smiling first lady. It makes no mention of the country's civil war. Instead, it show his wife helping out in a soup kitchen, and congratulating top achieving students.

The Global Language Monitor's Top Word of 2014 is not a word, it's an emoji of a heart. The company says the spread of pictures in place of words reflects a broader transformation of English.

In Erie, Pa., firefighters rescued a cat and the woman who tired to get it out of a tree. Stuck in the top branches was Tara Dennis, according to the Erie Times-News.

The former sports doctor who admitted to molesting some of the nation's top gymnasts for years was sentenced Wednesday as the judge declared: "I just signed your death warrant."

Guinness World Records recognized her as the female artist with the most hits on Billboard's Hot Country songs charts and for the most decades with a top 20 hit on Billboards Hot Country Songs Chart.

NPR's Tom Goldman reports on the economics of small-market baseball. Unlike major league football, professional baseball revenues aren't widely shared among franchises. Teams like the New York Yankees and the Atlanta Braves earn significant money from TV contracts, and that allows them to afford the sport's top talent. But smaller-market teams must rely on fan loyalty to fill the ballpark. And while they may nurture young, rising stars, these teams know that talented players are likely to go where the money takes them.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg mounts a campaign against noise pollution, the top complaint on a police "quality of life" hotline. New Yorkers are annoyed by the racket from car horns and personal stereos -- and from loudspeakers coaxing people into bars and restaurants. NPR's Margot Adler reports.

They discuss one of this season's top players, Center Tim Duncan of Wake Forest, who has resisted offers to go professional before finishing college. Wake Forest is ranked number two in the nation, largely because of Duncan. Tomorrow, he and his teammates take on the University of Maryland, which is ranked number five.

Southern California Edison, one of California's cash-strapped electric utilities, defaulted to some of its creditors today. It failed to repay, at least temporarily, a 596-million-dollar wholesale electricity bill. The move brings the company a step closer to bankruptcy. The utility said the action was necessary to allow it to continue operations while state and federal officials seek a regulatory solution to California's power crisis. The state, meanwhile, declared another top level power emergency today, citing a shortage of natural gas needed to generate electricity. Scott Horsley reports.

Noah Adams talks with reporter Tom Gibb about a massive fire which has crippled an enormous 40-story offshore oil rig located 75-miles off Brazil's Atlantic coast. Officials are trying to prevent a spill of the 400,000 gallons of oil on board. The rig may sink within 48 hours. Three explosions on Thursday damaged a pillar supporting the rig; the explosions killed one worker and left nine others missing and presumed dead. The offshore rig was Brazil's top oil producer in the rich Campos Basin.