Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check

He's dead, Jim:

RONALD HOWES was 83 years old. You probably don't know the name, but little girls will remember him fondly because he's the guy who invented the Easy Bake Oven. The Cincinnati Enquirer says he worked for Kenner toys in the early 1960s when a salesman asked if the company should develop a toy version of the chestnut roasters on carts you could see on many New York City street corners. Ron decided to use a light bulb as a heat source... and the rest is well, history... cupcake!

Filling a need:

Starting today, new rules for credit card issuers that some say will protect consumers.
   Your interest rate, for instance, cannot increase unless it's a variable rate. Other protections include outlawing double-cycle billing and retroactive rate hikes.
   But critics point out that big banks have found ways to get around this. Some are charging a whole host of new fees for various things.
   For instance, this month, Citigroup notified many of its cardholders that they would be charged a $60 annual fee unless they use their card for at least $24-hundred worth of purchases a year. Annual fees had become rare during the past decade in the competitive card business.
   FYI: Four tips about new credit card rules. (Maiman)

Fashion Emergency:

LINDSEY VONN and HANNAH KEARNEY are getting a lot more perks than just a medal for skiing their way to gold in the Winter Olympics --they get to smell good for free, too! In Touch Weekly reports the PR geniuses over at Hanae Mor Parfums made sure the ladies got the very first samples of their new fragrance, a product that is simply called "No. 1." (Lee)

Reality Round-Up:

A&E has picked up STEVEN SEAGAL's reality show for a second season. The Hollywood Reporter says filming for the 16 episodes took place during last week's Mardi Gras festivities in New Orleans.

Grace notes from Vinny Marino:

The offices of Philadelphia International Records were severly damaged yesterday morning in a fire. The Philadelphia Inquirer says the building on Broad Street where KENNY GAMBLE & LEON HUFF created the Philly soul sound went ablaze on the third floor where tons of memorabilia including many gold records were dispayed. Firefighters tried to save as many of those items as possible. One man was rescued from the building and taken to the hospital where he was questioned. (Marino)

Olympics:

Russian figure skater YEVGENY PLUSHENKO is being accused of sour grapes for whining that American gold winner EVAN LYSACEK didn't do a quadruple jump.
   Editor's note: Just my opinion, but I think Lysacek put it best when he responded, "If it was a jumping competition, they'd give you 10 seconds to go do your best jump. But it's about 4 minutes and 40 seconds of skating and performing from start to finish. That was my challenge tonight, and I feel like I did quite well." (RB)