(image: WBUR Boston)

With literally nowhere to put all its snow, Boston postponed until Wednesday the New England Patriots’ Super Bowl victory parade, as more record-breaking storms and extreme cold battered the region.

With 34.1 inches of snow since last Tuesday, it’s now the snowiest week — seven-day period — in Boston since modern weather records began in 1891, the Weather Channel reported.

Erik Wemple writes at the Washington Post on how CNN – again – drives in a snowstorm to show how ‘treacherous’ it is.

Meanwhile, as for the game itself (Dave Zirin at The Nation writes about the conspiracy surrounding the Seahawks’ last play while The Upshot at the NYT applies game theory to Pete Carroll’s call) it turned out to be  the most-watched television show in US history, with more than 114m viewers tuning in.

In less good news for the NFL, a proposed $765m settlement over concussions affecting former players was rejected by a court as being insufficient.

In alternate weather reporting, for the first time since records began – 1849 – San Francisco recorded zero rainfall for the entire month of January, while the Mayor of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin found out all about the biting cold during the city’s Groundhog Day ceremony.

 (image NBC News)

* POLITICS * President Obama sent a $4trillion Budget to Congress, with the Washington Post saying he may have “unexpected leverage” in the upcoming negotiations. The Wall Street Journal said the President’s proposals have “dropped any quest for fiscal grand bargains…but also laid out narrower domestic priorities that may appeal to Republicans.”

With the growing measles outbreak – now at 102 confirmed cases in 14 states – continuing to focus attention on parents’ approaches to vaccinations, here’s what some of the potential GOP presidential candidates have to say.

And what their possible opponent thinks…

With one of those Republicans, Gov Chris Christie currently on a trip to London, the New York Times reports on his “fondness for luxe benefits when others pay the bills.”

* WORLD * US officials floated the idea of military assistance to the Ukrainian government as the crisis there continued to escalate. Violent clashes worsened after the failure of peace talks at the weekend, with  both sides looking set to mobilize more forces.

Meanwhile, the Washington Post reports that Russia’s economy is so bad, it has cut vodka prices to keep the masses calm.

* MEDIA * Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp and 21st Century Fox said they had been informed that the US Department of Justice would not be bringing prosecutions against them for phone hacking. The companies made the announcement in separate regulatory filings.

Al Jazeera journalist Peter Greste gave his first interview since being released from prison in Egypt at the weekend, telling his network he feels “incredible angst” about leaving behind his two colleagues, Baher Mohamed and Mohamed Fahmy.

A Dutch journalist working in Turkey could face up to five years in jail after being accused of “terrorist propaganda.”

Here are the winners of the 2015 National Magazine Awards announced Monday, courtesy of Catherine Taibi at the HuffPo. Vogue is Magazine of the Year. (Especially pleasing to see an honor for Roger Angell’s beautiful New Yorker essay This Old Man.)

* BUSINESS * Bloomberg reports that Google may be developing its own ride-hailing service – likely in conjunction with its driverless car project.

The Korean Air Lines heiress who was charged over the “nut rage” incident  could face a three-year prison sentence.

* SPORTS *  With hosts Australia celebrating their victory in the Asian Cup, ESPN‘s John Duerden asks if this could be the most significant Asian Cup tournament yet.

Perhaps it could even lead the tournament to move ahead of the African Cup of Nations in the global standings? Running concurrently in January, the Asian competition looks to be the better of the two even if the African meet still gets more play in the international media.

The African Cup of Nations itself comes to a conclusion next weekend.

Transfer deadline day came and went with comparatively little fanfare and significantly fewer on-air sex toys than this time last year.

* CULTURE * Rap mogul Suge Knight has been charged with murder and attempted murder following an incident last week where he struck two men with his pickup truck. The Guardian‘s Ben Westhoff looks at “the truth outta Compton.”

A new study shows that feelings of attraction between two people are “increased significantly” if music is playing at their first meeting.

Finally, to file under “very cool stuff” – Jay Cassano writes at Fast Company CoExist on how the New York Public Library is using old maps to create a “time machine” of the city and how the work is being helped by a grant from the Knight Foundation.

(image: Independent Press/Japan Times)

Japanese journalist Kenji Goto has apparently been murdered by Islamic State, following a protracted and agonizing hostage saga.

His mother has led the tributes, as all of Japan has reacted with shock and anger. Family and friends spoke of their anguish, yet pride in Kenji Goto’s work and influence as a caring and courageous reporter.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said: “I will never forgive these terrorists.”

The Economist‘s Henry Tricks, who knew Kenji Goto, wrote recently:

..His courage and commitment to broadcasting humane stories from some of the world’s most dangerous conflict zones would put him at the pinnacle of his profession anywhere in the world. It was such courage that took him to Syria last year, where he was taken hostage.

…He covers wars with a difference. Instead of focusing on who is winning or losing, he tells the stories of ordinary people, especially children, who are forced to endure conflict and the horrors surrounding them. It is their resilience that inspires him, he says.

Separately, there was no further word early Sunday on the status of the Jordanian pilot Muath al-Kasaesbeh, also apparently being held by IS.