Your look at the five biggest and most buzz-worthy stories of the morning.
1. Pope Francis urges protection of nature, weak
Pope Francis urged princes, presidents, sheiks and thousands of ordinary people gathered for his installation Mass on Tuesday to protect the environment, the weakest and the poorest, mapping out a clear focus of his priorities as leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics.
2. Storms pummel US South, Northeast
More than 340 storm reports, including softball sized hail and wind gusts near 90 miles per hour, have been called in from Arkansas to South Carolina. A winter storm is forecast to dump 6 to 12 inches of snow in parts of New England.
3. Wave of Iraq blasts kill 56 decade after invasion
A wave of bombings tore through Baghdad on Tuesday morning, killing at least 56 people in a spasm of violence on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion.
4. Steubenville girls suspended for alleged threats to rape victim
Authorities announced Monday evening that two 16-year-old girls from Steubenville, Ohio have been arrested after they were suspected of making threatening comments on social media against a girl who accused two high school football players of raping her. The girls will appear before a judge today.
5. AP: Costs of US wars linger for over 100 years
If history is any judge, the U.S. government will be paying for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars for the next century as service members and their families grapple with the sacrifices of combat. The AP reports the government still makes monthly payments to Civil War veterans and spends more than $40 billion a year compensating survivors of other wars dating to 1898.
