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Hopefully everyone got their fill of gluttony and revelry during Mardi Gras and Fat Tuesday because today’s observance of Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent and a 40-day period of penance, prayer, and self-denial for Christians around the world. Christian faithful are getting down with penance, from a Mass in Rome’s Basilica of St. Sabina presided over by Pope Benedict, to a Methodist church in Cincinnati offering drive-thru blessings to on-the-go parishioners. A moveable fast occurring annually 46 days before Easter, Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of a 40-day liturgical period of prayer and fasting meant to symbolically correspond with the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert, fasting and fighting temptation by Satan. Modern observers place ash crosses on their heads to signify repentance, as well as attempting to forego various vices and indulgences.

Every quarterback needs to master the art of backpedaling, and Brady Quinn appears to have that down. The Denver Bronos free-agent backup QB is apologizing to Tim Tebow for comments he made about the star quarterback in an article printed in GQ. In the piece, written by Michael Silver and titled “The Year of Magical Stinking: An Oral History of Tebow Time,” Quinn suggests the team’s quarter-final finish last season was due to “a lot of luck.” He also suggests that fans were the reason Tebow passed up Quinn in the line for starting quarterback, and even hints that his fellow Christian’s expression of faith doesn’t “seem very humble to me.” But now Quinn’s saying the article doesn’t accurately depict his level of respect for No. 15. He took to Twitter for damage control, writing his fellow Bronco QB “deserves a lot of credit for our success, and I’m happy for him and what he accomplished.” Is forgiveness part of Tebowing? Time will tell.

Older doesn’t necessarily mean wiser—especially when another birthday means collaborating with a guy who physically abused you. Case in point: Rihanna and Chris Brown have a new song together, called “Birthday Cake.” Released just in time for Rihanna’s 24th birthday, the tune features sexually explicit lyrics that production duo Da Internz told MTV News would “shock the world.” They might be right. In 2009 Chris Brown was arrested for assaulting then-girlfriend Rihanna and eventually sentenced to 5 years probation, community service and anger management classes. A judge recently called his ongoing rehabilitation “ commendable.” But the court of public opinion may have a different verdict. Since his recent Grammy win, Brown has been sounding off on Twitter. "HATE ALL U WANT BECUZ I GOT A GRAMMY Now! That's the ultimate F**** OFF!" Some say Brown deserves a second chance. Artistically, Rihanna seems to be giving him one. But this “Birthday Cake” may have been baked in poor taste.

NATO in Afghanistan is trying to contain violent protests at military bases near Kabul, after reports of personnel burning a load of Korans and other Islamic religious material. General John Allen, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, issued a candid apology and indicated an investigation was already underway at Bagram Air Base, where the incident reportedly occurred. "I offer my sincere apologies for any offence this may have caused, to the president of Afghanistan, the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, and most importantly, to the noble people of Afghanistan," he said. Protesters have fired slingshots and firebombs at the base; guards have responded with rubber bullets. Last year, similar violent protests left 12 dead and more injured in Afghanistan, after American pastor Terry Jones publicly burned the Koran in Florida.

Get out your beads and prepare for poor decision-making. Fat Tuesday, otherwise known as Mardi Gras, is just around the corner, and plenty of people in New Orleans and beyond will be celebrating with the help of fatty foods and alcoholic drinks before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. Along with colorful parades and outrageous outfits, the holiday started in 1857 has one particularly traditional fatty food to offer: the king cake. Baked in an oval shape with the colors purple, green, and gold it’s a pastry confection often filled with fruit and cream cheese. A small plastic baby Jesus and some trinkets are part of the fun; they’re baked into the cake. Whoever gets baby Jesus in their piece of cake can be king for a day. King of what? Your guess is as good as ours, but with hundreds of thousands sold each year, it’s a sweet—and popular—deal.

Fans wanting to pay their respects to Whitney Houston can get into church after all—as long as they have Internet. Houston, who passed away last week from unknown causes, will be memorialized in a closed ceremony at New Hope Baptist Church in New Jersey, where she used to sing in as a child growing up. But the platinum-selling singer’s private funeral will be streamed online so that fans around the world will have a chance to say their goodbyes, according to the Washington Post. Her godmother Aretha Franklin, as well as Stevie Wonder, have been invited to sing, while ex-husband Bobby Brown, Oprah Winfrey, and Houston's Bodyguard co-star Kevin Costner are expected to be in attendance. Newark police director Samuel DeMaio reportedly has asked fans to avoid the church services and to “stay home and watch the service on television.” With a several block radius already being blocked off around the church, it may be good advice—unless you love a spectacle.

Only a guy as popular as Jason Mraz could rock a goatee like that and get away with it. The acoustic pop singer has released the video for new single “I Won’t Give Up,” including all the ingredients of a sensitive-yet-pensive monster ballad. Pretty woman crying? Check. Old guy in a suit shuffling around? Check. Wounded soldier posing with his uniform? Check. Mraz, whose 2008 hit “I’m Yours” was ubiquitous on pop radio and peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, has based his latest attempt at a hit around the acoustic guitar again—a winning combination in the past for the blue-eyed soul balladeer. His new album, Love is a Four Letter Word, comes out April 17.

You know the buzz around Jeremy Lin isn’t going away any time soon when the New York Knicks star continues a winning streak by hitting a game-winning three pointer. That’s what the point guard did Tuesday night, bringing his team a 90-87 victory over the Toronto Raptors. The Harvard grad’s sudden rise in the headlines has been fueled by social media and stellar stats; in six starts, Lin has managed to tie the Knicks’ all-time team record for most consecutive games with over 20 points and seven assists. But it doesn’t hurt that a narrative about being overlooked in a sport with few Asian players to begin with continues to interest fans and reporters—and landed the 23-year-old on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Add to that the fact that two men in California are already in a trademark battle over a growing social media vocabulary standout—“Linsanity”—and you’ve got a recipe for a Cinderella story that’s far from over. Stay close to the phone, Jeremy—Fruit of the Loom could call any minute.

At least 272 inmates have died in a massive prison fire that tore through a Central Honduras jail Tuesday night. Many more of the 800 held there are missing and unaccounted for. Many prisoners were burned or suffocated in the blaze, the BBC reports—some beyond recognition. Others broke through the roof of the Comayagua prison and jumped off of it in order to survive. Families of those incarcerated at the facility flocked to the site desperate for news of survivors. Many expressed anger by throwing rocks at police and military guarding the prison. A spokesman for firefighters who reported to the blaze said prisoners were stuck in their cells. “We couldn’t get them out because we didn’t have the keys and couldn’t find the guards who had them,” the spokesman said. Forensic workers speculate that inmates may have started the fire in a riot, or that an electrical short circuit is to blame.

Sensing there just may be some gold left to be mined from Hasbro’s ’80s Plastic Toys, Paramount and Michael Bay will team up again for another entry in the Transformers film franchise behemoth. The news was leaked by producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura at this weekend’s New York Toy Fair. The studio and profitable director confirmed Monday night that Transformers 4 will be produced for 2014 as the second of a two-picture deal for Bay, following the bodybuilding crime caper film Pain and Gain, which stars Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The new Transformers film may start Jason Statham, and has already been labeled a “reboot,” since Shia LaBeouf’s has stated he would not return. MichaelBay.com states the next film “will bring audiences a new take on the Transformers franchise.” Will the fourth film finally offer more than meets the eye? We’re not holding our breath.

Move over Tyra and Heidi: the 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition has leaked online and cover girl Kate Upton is all smiles. Forgoing the traditional path to model superstardom, the curvaceous 19-year-old landed on everyone’s radar after a video she posted on YouTube went viral. In it, Upton is seen doing the “Dougie” at a Los Angeles Clippers game—a dance popularized by hip-hop group Cali Swag District. A New York Times article exploring Upton's swift rise via social media—which is becoming more of a driving force behind movies, music, and other cultural endeavors—notes that "If you become a YouTube star among teenagers, you have even more recognizability than a TV star. Kate Upton is the perfect example of that." Maybe that’s why SI moved Upton from the inside pages to the cover. If that’s the route they're going, we can't wait for the Star Wars kid to be featured.

It's time for the 136th annual Westminster Kennel Club pageant! 2,000 purebred dogs have gathered in New York for the showing at Madison Square Garden, where one lucky dog will trot home with the best in show blue ribbon. Looking forward to the contest, an article in the Wall Street Journal profiled one dog favored to win, and his daily routine rivals that of any Manhattan socialite: Oscar, or the Greater Swiss Mountain No. 18—as he'll be known at Westminster—eats a carefully selected diet of raw foods, sleeps in a special bed with his Mickey Mouse plush toy, and is adorned with expensive jewelry. Some dogs go to heaven on earth apparently—at least when they’re in the K-9 1 percent. Asked what he wants to be when he grows up, Oscar replied via his owner, "an investment barker." Sorry Oscar, the correct answer is Underdog.

Bon Iver has won the Grammy for best new artist, and the Twitterverse wants to know: Who the heck is Bon Iver? Within hours of lead man Justin Vernon accepting his award, that question spawned a dedicated Tumblr site of angry or confused tweets featuring the artist, and a new twitter handle, @whoisbonniebear, playing on peoples' mispronunciation of the band's name. Vernon—who randomly collaborated with Kanye West on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy —accepted the award with an awkward and unpolished speech, sparking further questions how the indie music darlings band beat Nicky Minaj, Skrillex, and The Band Perry. The Arcade Fire sent a similar maelstrom across the Web last year after winning the Grammy for best album for the Suburbs. Sorry, J. Cole fans—maybe next year?

Tired of hearing the same half-dozen songs in every waiting room, grocery store, and hotel lobby? The Recording Academy certainly isn’t! This Sunday the 54th annual Grammy awards are set to honor popular music’s biggest stars, with hip-hops temper tantrum Kanye West, British songstress Adele, Hawaiian crooner Bruno Mars, and grunge rock stalwarts Foo Fighters all tapped for six or more awards. The show’s best new artist category also contains crowd pleasers like rapper Nicki Minaj and dubstep prophet Skrillex, as well as folk rockers Bon Iver, who prove releasing your first album in 2007 is no reason not to be a new artist in 2012. Bon Iver actually declined to perform at the ceremony after they were asked to play other groups’ music, saying “We kind of said ‘fuck you’ a little bit, and they sort of acted like they wanted us to play, but I don’t think they wanted us to play.” Artists ACTUALLY performing at the show this Sunday will be a smorgasbord of chart-toppers including Coldplay, Bruce Springsteen, Maroon 5, Chris Brown, Tony Bennett, Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj, Foo Fighters, Taylor Swift, and a newly reunited Beach Boys.

Posing with Nazi symbols might be fine if it’s part of a ridiculous movie like Iron Sky, but what if it’s in a real war zone? A U.S. Marine sniper unit is under fire for posing next to a logo that closely resembles that of the Nazi S.S., in a photo taken in Afghanistan’s Helmand province in 2010. The Marine Corps decided this week the soldiers in the photo would not be punished, saying the behavior was unacceptable but that it was a naive mistake. Apparently, the unit intended the lightning bolt “SS” logo banner as a shout out to sniper scouts, not as a glorification of atrocities committed by the S.S. in World War II. Some groups say the Marine explanation is not believable, and that the soldiers—no longer with the unit in question—should be investigated. Meanwhile the Marines have added the photo to a long list of training exercises about what NOT to do.