Lolo Jones wishes she had 'one of those stray dogs' for company

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SOCHI, RUSSIA - FEBRUARY 03: (BROADCAST-OUT) Bobsledder Lolo Jones of the United States visits the set of The Today Show ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympics in the Olympic Park on February 3, 2014 in Sochi, Russia. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)

How does a sick Olympian find comfort in Sochi? (A mere cold sends an athlete into “quarantine” — or a single room away from the condom party.)

Track star-turned-bobsledder Lolo Jones offered one way to combat boredom:

[Video: Russia claims first gold in Sochi games]

The two-sport Olympian — who jumped hurdles in Beijing and London before qualifying last month for the U.S. women's bobsled team — has candidly tweeted her thoughts since landing in Sochi:

We just wish she’d tell us more about this mysterious Olympic quarantine. Are athletes intentionally locked inside hotel rooms? (Instead of, you know, getting trapped inside a Sochi bathroom and breaking down the door.)

[Photos: #SochiProblems: a glossary]

Jones isn’t the only Olympian who seeks solace in dog form. Alpine skier Lindsey Vonn, who had to sit out this year’s Games because of a knee injury, recently adopted a homeless pooch in Florida.

Michelle Obama Gets All Motherly About Justin Biebe

What would first lady Michelle Obama, a mother of two girls, do if she also had a son - or more to the point, a 19-year old international pop star with a penchant for fast cars, private jets and alcohol named Justin Bieber?

"I would pull him close. You know, I don't know if it would be advice as much as action," Obama said in a recent interview with Univision Radio host Enrique Santos. "I would be very present in his life right now. And I would be probably with him a good chunk of the time, just there to talk, to figure out what's going on in his head, to figure out who's in his life and who's not, you know."

And Obama is not the only one at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. being asked to weigh in on Bieber's case.

A petition created on the White House's "We the People" site calling for the government to deport Bieber and revoke his green card has garnered more than 250,000 signatures - far exceeding the 100,000 signature threshold to require an official response.

"That response will come I'm sure relatively soon," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said last week.

The petition, which was filed on the day Bieber was arrested for an alleged DUI and drag racing, says: "We the people of the United States feel that we are being wrongly represented in the world of pop culture. We would like to see the dangerous, reckless, destructive, and drug abusing, Justin Bieber deported and his green card revoked."

Michelle Obama, who was not asked about the petition during her radio interview, was nothing but motherly when it came to the famous wayward teen who could face a trial in Florida as early as March 3.

"I found that to be the case with my kids," she said. "They just want you near, you know - they want that advice from a parent. They want to see you on a daily basis, you know, because the thing is he's still a kid. He's still growing up. So, I would pull him close."

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Michelle Obama and Justin Bieber

Wife of Russian skater Evgeni Plushenko wants the world to know just how much she loves her husband (Photo)

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Russian skater Evgeni Plushenko evokes mixed feelings from a lot of skating enthusiasts. Some people love his brash and cocky style while others think he’s a whiner, but no matter what everyone thinks about Plushenko, the 31-year-old skater knows his wife Yana Rudkovskaya will always be his biggest fan.

[Related: Julia Lipnitskaia shines in Sochi]

She made sure to show the word as much Sunday by holding up a giant – and we mean giant – picture of her and her husband nuzzling nose-to-nose in a nauseatingly-sweet picture that appears to have come from their wedding.

Below the photo are the words: “My heart is with you!”

All together now (and don’t forget to let your voice get higher as you say it): “Awwwwwwww!”

Sure, a simple "GO Evgeni!" probably wold have done the trick, but this is the Olympics and the Plushenko family plays to win even when it comes to their signage. Ignore for a minute that this is probably one of the more embarrassing signs we’ll see during these Games, you have to appreciate the support of a loving wife.

And, so far, it’s helped. Plushenko’s performances in the team figure skating completion helped with Russia a gold medal in the inaugural event.

Israel PM slams Iran move to send ships towards US

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Jerusalem (AFP) - Israel on Sunday denounced an Iranian announcement that it was sending naval ships towards the United States as further evidence that loosening sanctions on Tehran was counterproductive.

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The move to send warships to the Atlantic was announced by the commander of Iran's northern naval fleet on Saturday, who described it as a "message."

The ships "have already started their voyage towards the Atlantic Ocean via the waters near South Africa," said Admiral Afshin Rezayee Haddad, in remarks quoted by Iran's semi-official Fars news agency.

Iranian media reported that two ships -- a destroyer and a helicopter transport vessel -- had been dispatched on January 21.

It was not clear how close the ships would travel towards the US maritime border or when they would arrive.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the dispatch of the warships was clear evidence of Iran's "aggression" and proof it had not moderated its policies following a landmark deal with world powers to roll back its nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief.

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Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, on Fe …

"The easing of sanctions against Iran by the international community has not caused Iran to moderate its international aggression - the complete opposite has occurred," Netanyahu told the weekly cabinet meeting in remarks relayed by his office.

Israel, the region's sole if undeclared nuclear-armed state, has long viewed Iran's controversial atomic programme as a threat to its existence and has not ruled out military action to prevent Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon.

Iran has always insisted its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful, and President Hassan Rouhani, a moderate elected last year, has vowed to allay Western concerns about it.

In September 2012, Iran said it was planning to send naval forces to the Atlantic to deploy along US marine borders to counter a beefed up US naval presence in the Persian Gulf, Fars reported, with the navy chief saying the buildup would begin within several years.

In December, the Pentagon said it was not planning to scale back its vast military presence in the Gulf despite the six-month interim nuclear deal.