Top News Stories –

Solo hopes for better time –
Hope Solo, The US women’s team goalkeeper is suspended for 30 days by US Soccer following an “incident” during a training camp. The teams head coach Jill Ellis said “Hope made a poor decision that has resulted in a negative impact on US Soccer and her team-mates.” Solo’s husband, former Seattle Seahawks NFL player Jerramy Stevens, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in Los Angeles in the early hours of January 19th 2015. Solo who appeared in the 2011 Body Issue of ESPN The Magazine tweeted:

Rick puts dicks on the runway –
Rick Owens the American designer sent four of his models down the catwalk at his Paris fashion show wearing clothes with peepholes that showed full-frontal male nudity underneath. His possibly unique idea earned him the Instagram hashtag: #dickowens.
Rick Owens

Rihanna wins court case over t-shirt-
Rihanna wins her long running legal challenge against Topshop over selling a t-Shirt with a picture from her Talk That Talk album promotional work.
Singer Rihanna has won a legal battle against high street store Topshop over a t-shirt bearing her image. Rihanna sued Topshop’s parent company Arcadia for $5m (£3.3m) back in 2013 and the Court of Appeal in London upheld a ban on the store selling the t-shirt.

A man’s right to pee stands up in court –
A German court has ruled in favour of a man’s right to urinate while standing up after his landlord demanded €1,900 (£1400; $2,200) for damage to the marble bathroom floor caused by urine. But the Duesseldorf judge ruled that the man’s method was within cultural norms, saying “urinating standing up is still common practice” even though some public toilets in Germany have signs forbidding the standing position – but those who choose to sit are often referred to as a “Sitzpinkler”, implying it is not masculine behaviour.

Stars out against Tescos in Haverstock Hill –
Damian Lewis, Old Etonian star of Homeland has joined up with Emma Thompson, James Corden and Tom Conti and other residents of Belsize Park in London to attempt to stop Tesco building an Express branch in Haverstock Hill. This follows Russell Brand campaigning to stop building work in Hackney, London on December 1st 2014.

Video of the Day –

Batman Evolution from ThePianoGuys on Vimeo.

Top Twitter Trends –

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

• War in Donbass:
  • An explosion near a civilian trolleybus in the city of Donetsk kills at least thirteen people. Separatists and pro-government forces blame each other for the incident. (BBC)
• Shia insurgency in Yemen:
  • Yemeni President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi, Prime Minister Khaled Bahah, and the Yemeni cabinet resign. (CNN)

Business and economy

• The European Central Bank announces an aggressive money-creation program, printing more than one trillion neweuros. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

• Edgewater Police Chief William Skidmore says that workers doing plumbing work accidentally started the January 21 fire in The Avalon at Edgewater apartments in Edgewater, New Jersey that caused the destruction of 240 units and displaced 1,000 residents. (AP)

Politics and elections

• Zambian presidential election, 2015:
  • Heavy rains in Zambia cause delays in voting and counting in the presidential election with announcements to resume today. (AP via Mediacom)

Sports

• Four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon announces that the upcoming 2015 season will be his last as a full-time driver. (ESPN)

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