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Jim Marshall, founder of Marshall Amplification and creator of the amplifiers that provided a raw, overdriven, and loud sound to purveyors of early Rock ‘n’ Roll, has died of cancer at age 88 in London. After deconstructing an American Fender amp in his London drum shop in 1962, Marshall was positive he could make a louder and cheaper amp. The resulting JTM 45 was a hit, and soon young rockers John Entwistle and Pete Townshend approached Marshall to create an amp loud enough that they could actually hear themselves over drummer Keith Moon. For them, Marshall created the classic two cabinet stack, which has become possibly the most iconic form of rock amplification—worthy of both praise and parody. Favorited by everyone from Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix to Angus Young and Slayer, Jim Marshall was known as “the Father of Loud” for single-handedly changing the sound of rock music from across the pond. His legacy? The shredding of generations of rockers. Not a bad way to be remembered.

The New York Auto Show is kicking off with some slick vehicle rollouts that might help it rival Detroit’s big annual event. Among the ranks of shiny new autos: Fisker’s Atlantic luxury electric car, Nissan’s winning design for the new New York yellow taxi, and a revamped 2014 Chevy Impala from General Motors. A more cushy interior and more quiet ride, GM hopes the new Impala will wow purchasing customers, even though a large portion of recent versions of the classic model have gone to rental agencies. And Nissan’s new taxi, the NV200, got a glowing intro from New York City’s Mayor Mike Bloomberg. But the biggest splash at the event may be made by the Transition—a flying car from a Massachusetts company that costs a mere $279,000. Better keep stuffing that car-shaped piggy bank!

Humility—do great quarterbacks have it? Not if the Ravens’ Joe Flacco is defining “great.” Asked if he considers himself a “top five” QB, Flacco did an interviewer one better. “What do you expect me to say?” Asked Flacco. “I don’t think I’m top five, I think I’m the best. I don’t think I’d be very successful at my job if I didn’t feel that way.” Former first-round draft pick Flacco—who recently has been more famous on Twitter for sporting a unibrow—is about to finish serving out his rookie contract, and is looking for a new one that matches his opinion of his own abilities. Of course, the QB efficiency metric used by Football Outsiders ranks him somewhere between 15th and 18th among his NFL peers. But a sense of ultimate self-worth may be part of the football head game.

The Murdoch media empire continues to lose blood and leadership from self-inflicted wounds. James Murdoch, whose position at BSkyB has been threatened since last year's phone hacking scandal broke, has decided to step down as chairman of the British pay-TV group. He will remain on the company’s board. In 2011, News Corp's tabloid News of the World admitted to hacking the cellphones of numerous celebrities, crime victims, even people killed during the attacks on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11 in order to generate news stories. Though acknowledging that his role could be a “lightning rod” in a letter to the board, Murdoch, the 39-year-old son of Rupert Murdoch and supposed heir to his media empire, has repeatedly maintained his innocence in the scandal. In removing the younger Murdoch, BSkyB hopes to distance itself from its 39-percent owner News Corp. He was re-elected to the broadcaster’s board last November.

Students diligently studying for finals at Oaksterdam University, California’s unaccredited cannabis industry training school, are getting a lesson in Federal Law 101 this week, after agents raided the institution. The raid comes as DEA officials are increasing pressure on medical marijuana dispensaries, which they claim violate national restrictions. University head Richard Lee, a prominent Oakland citizen and marijuana activist who was instrumental in pushing California legalization effort Proposition 19, was not arrested during the raid and his lawyers appear confident his school and coffee shops will reopen. Despite increasing federal attention, local support for the medical marijuana learning institutions and dispensaries remains strong, and just three weeks ago, city officials approved four new dispensaries. Too bad they may now face a lack of trained staff.

Open mouth … insert foot ... make apology ... open mouth again … Geraldo Rivera knows the drill. The gaffe-prone Fox News anchor made an on-air apology to the parents of Trayvon Martin, less than a week after claiming on-air that Martin's hoodie was just as responsible for the teenager's death as alleged killer George Zimmerman. Many have protested Rivera’s comments—from LeBron James and the Miami Heat to Illinois Congressman Bobby Rush. Martin's parents have since accepted Rivera's apology. An apology, however, isn't likely to appease the growing movement calling for George Zimmerman's arrest, stoked further last week when surveillance footage allegedly showed Zimmerman unharmed after the shooting that left Martin dead. Thousands rallied in Martin's hometown to protest over the weekend, including Rev. Jesse Jackson, Alonzo Mourning, and Rev. Al Sharpton. They likely aren’t going anywhere soon—new analysis suggests screaming on a 911 call was not Zimmerman, casting further doubt into his story of being attacked before he shot the teenager.

The 47th Academy of Country Music Awards took the stage in Vegas and offered plenty of drama, musical performances, and even some rock, with surprise appearances by U2's Bono and the rock group KISS. Taylor Swift took home her second consecutive entertainer of the year award, while Miranda Lambert won female vocalist and album of the year with Four the Record, beating out Kenny Chesney, Lady Antebellum, and Eric Church. Lambert's husband Blake Shelton, who co-hosted the evening with country-loved Reba McEntire, won his first male vocalist award. KISS presented Lady Antebellum with their award for vocal group while Bono introduced Dierks Bentley's performance of "Home." But the biggest winners of the night may have been Christina Davidson and Frank Tucci, who were married during the evening’s festivities to the tuneful voices of Martina McBride and Train’s Pat Monahan. We thought country music was supposed to be about marriages going wrong—but hey, good luck newlyweds!

Move over Wayne and Garth. Canadian Robert Wilkinson drunkenly serenaded his arresting police officers with the entirety of Queen's hit song “Bohemian Rhapsody” from the backseat of their squad car after being picked up for drunk driving. And now he’s famous—or infamous. When they finally make it to the station and the officer comes around to let the home brewer out, the Freddie Mercury wannabe asks if he has to be handcuffed, assuring the policeman that, "Physical violence is the least of my priorities." Apparently neither was driving under the legal limit. Hopefully he was able to hold it together for processing. Once in the station, we can only assume he was given a Dixie cup and told, "If you're gonna spew, spew in this."

Move over Wayne and Garth. Canadian Robert Wilkinson drunkenly serenaded his arresting police officers with the entirety of Queen's hit song “Bohemian Rhapsody” from the backseat of their squad car after being picked up for drunk driving. And now he’s famous—or infamous. When they finally make it to the station and the officer comes around to let the home brewer out, the Freddie Mercury wannabe asks if he has to be handcuffed, assuring the policeman that, "Physical violence is the least of my priorities." Apparently neither was driving under the legal limit. Hopefully he was able to hold it together for processing. Once in the station, we can only assume he was given a Dixie cup and told, "If you're gonna spew, spew in this."

Unless it's an April Fools’ joke, Katie Couric is returning to mornings—for a week, at least. ABC announced that the former Today anchor will guest host on Good Morning America, taking the place of a vacationing Robin Roberts.

There's a storied ratings competition between Good Morning and Today. The NBC show has been on an incredible streak since December1995, winning the ratings battle for 850 consecutive weeks.

The tide may be turning though, as Today awaits a decision from Matt Lauer about whether or not he'll continue with the show.

Couric co-hosted Today for 15 years before leaving the network in 2006 and it remains to be seen if her presence on GMA will be enough to break its decades-long ratings drought.

As calls increase for justice after the death of Florida teen Trayvon Martin, questions continue regarding the story of his shooter George Zimmerman. Newly released surveillance video of Zimmerman on the night he says he shot Martin in self-defense shows the neighborhood watch volunteer at the Sanford, Fla. Police Department—and he doesn’t look very beat up. Police reports had suggested the 28-year-old Zimmerman had a bloody nose and blood on the back of his head, but the admittedly gritty surveillance footage doesn’t seem to show evidence of those wounds. Police reportedly gave medical attention to Zimmerman—who has yet to be charged with a crime. But the new video is likely to further anger those who believe the shooter’s claims that Martin attacked him are false. Investigations by local prosecutors, along with the Justice Department and the FBI, are ongoing.

We don’t know how to put this, but it’s kind of a big deal. Will Ferrell appeared on Conan as the legendary Ron Burgundy, hilariously overstaying his welcome on set to announce big news: a sequel to broadcast news parody, Anchorman 2. Though director and former SNL writer Adam McKay had said as recently as 2010 the film was a no-go, the ever-gentlemanly Burgundy declared that a deal had been struck with Paramount to get the gang back together. Anchorman, released in 2004 to tepid critical praise, has gone on to be one of the most memorable comedies of the last decade (Empire’s 100 Greatest Characters, 500 greatest films, EW praise). Equally exciting is the possibility of reuniting a cast that has gone on to become some of the top names in comedy, including: Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, Chris Parnell, Seth Rogen, and Fred Armisen. So rub on some Sex Panther cologne and comb your mustache, the film will be arriving … eventually. Until then, there’s plenty of jazz flute to listen to.

Is JetBlue where flight crewmembers go to go bonkers? The company is reeling from its second public meltdown, after a flight from New York’s Kennedy airport to Las Vegas was diverted to Amarillo, Texas because captain Clayton Osbon began acting erratically, had to be expelled from the cockpit and subdued by passengers. Osbon, who has been a commercial pilot since 1989, reportedly started flipping switches in the cockpit and yelling about al-Qaida and a possible bomb on board the plane. Six passengers and flight crewmembers, including a former corrections officer, had to subdue the disturbed captain while his partner landed the plane. The incident recalled another public blow-up, from JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater, who berated a passenger, grabbed a beer, and deployed the emergency exit and inflatable slide while on the Kennedy tarmac in 2010. If you ask us, Slater’s got Osbon beat on style points. Nobody likes a bomb scare, especially if it starts with “this is your captain, speaking.”

Alcohol is a heckuva drug—just ask Dennis Rodman’s outstanding child support payments. The former NBA star, who for years has publicly struggled with addiction, may face prison time if he can’t come up with $860,376 by the end of May, according to an Orange County court commissioner. But representatives for the 50-year-old tattooed Chicago Bulls rebound machine say his ongoing battle—combined with the depression felt by a painful divorce and not seeing his kids—has made the amount of money owed “unjustified.” With a history like Rodman’s—a marriage to Carmen Electra, a relationship with Madonna, a memoir, and a turn on Celebrity Apprentice, the hard-partying Rodman can hopefully get some help from friends in high places. Has he liquidated his assets yet, like that 47-foot speedboat named “Sexual Chocolate” ? Playing the addiction card only works when you’re truly down and out.

Beauty apparently IS more than skin deep for the Miss Universe Canada competition. The pageant organization has decided to disqualify contestant Jenna Talackova, who was born male and underwent gender reassignment surgery at age 19. The Donald Trump owned organization, which feeds into the international Miss Universe competition, stated that though they “respect her goals,” Miss Talackova can’t compete in 2012 “because she does not meet the requirements … despite having stated otherwise on her entry form.” Said requirements are not more specific than stating contestants must “be female” and never have been married or pregnant. But the contestant from Vancouver says she won't give up the fight against being excluded and discriminated against. Talckova described herself at a 2010 Transgender Pageant by saying “I regard myself as a woman—with a history.”