From the Wires

Reuters: Ulrich Hackenberg isn’t yet a household name but if Volkswagen’s $70 billion bet on his big idea pays off, he may join the likes of Henry Ford, Alfred Sloan.

New York Daily News: Growing popularity has led to a scarcity of bourbon, so Kentucky-based Maker’s Mark plans to cut alcohol content by 3%.

Reuters: Pope Benedict became the first pontiff to step down since the Middle Ages, saying he no longer had the strength to cope with his ministry.

KTVZ: While dining in a Bend-area McDonald’s on Thursday, a woman’s gun fell out of her pocket and shot her husband in the abdomen.

BBC: Scientists have determined the most precise date yet for dinosaur extinction, using dating techniques on rock and ash samples. Dinosaurs died 66,038,000 years ago, give or take 11,000 years.

Reuters: The northeastern United States braced for a possibly historic blizzard that could drop up to three feet of snow over the weekend.

Financial Times: Hewlett-Packard has issued new guidelines to its Chinese suppliers aimed at reducing the long hours worked by temporary student workers.

The Wall Street Journal: Solid returns no longer satisfy investors in Apple Inc. A hedge fund manager is suing the company to try to boost shareholder returns with some of the $137 billion in cash it’s sitting on.

New York Times: The sharp increase in payroll taxes that went into effect in January could be causing the broader economy to suffer.

YahooNews: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday he was ready to be the first human sent into orbit by Iran’s fledgling space program, Iranian media reported.