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The Only Five Things You Need To Know About The Super Bowl 2013

CNN, LA TIMES

Worldcrunch

NEW ORLEANS- Super Bowl XLVII was held Sunday at the Superdome in New Orleans - the 10th time it has been played there. For those who didn't watch the four-hour American sports extravaganza, we've compiled a short list with all you need to know.

1. THE RAVENS WON - The Baltimore Ravens beat the San Francisco 49ers 34-31. This is their third win (2000, 2012, 2013) since the team was formed in 1996.

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2. BLACKOUT- For 34 minutes there was a blackout in the stadium, and play was suspended. It was actually the biggest hit of the night on twitter, generating 231,000 tweets per minute according to CNN. No answers have yet been given as to why the outage occurred.

whatever. who HASN'T blacked out in New Orleans?

— hailee justine (@haileejustine) February 4, 2013


3. MVP EXPLETIVES - MVP Joe Flacco, of the Ravens, was so excited at the end of the game he screamed a little too close to some microphones "F-ing Awesome!." Flacco's enthusiasm would probably be classified as a "fleeting expletive" says The LA Times. The Federal Communications Commission in the past has gone after networks for similar incidents.

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4. QUEEN BEY- Beyoncé performed the halftime show and reunited Destiny’s Child on stage for the first time since 2006 (7:51). Even though there was controversy surrounding whether she sang the national anthem live at Obama’s inauguration, she proved what an amazing performer she truly is in the Superdome singing live - while dancing.

5. COMMERCIALS - Among the vast array of commercials there were, of course, the good, the bad and the downright weird. Amy Poehler went to Best Buy, model Bar Rafaeli made out with a geek and PSY sang Gagnam Style to some pistachios. Honorable animal mention goes to the Budweiser’s Clydesdale.

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FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War

That Man In Mariupol: Is Putin Using A Body Double To Avoid Public Appearances?

Putin really is meeting with Xi in Moscow — we know that. But there are credible experts saying that the person who showed up in Mariupol the day before was someone else — the latest report that the Russian president uses a doppelganger for meetings and appearances.

screen grab of Putin in a dark down jacket

During the visit to Mariupol, the Presidential office only released screen grabs of a video

Russian President Press Office/TASS via ZUMA
Anna Akage

Have no doubt, the Vladimir Putin we’re seeing alongside Xi Jinping this week is the real Vladimir Putin. But it’s a question that is being asked after a range of credible experts have accused the Russian president of sending a body double for a high-profile visit this past weekend in the occupied Ukrainian city of Mariupol.

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Reports and conspiracy theories have circulated in the past about the Russian leader using a stand-in because of health or security issues. But the reaction to the Kremlin leader's trip to Mariupol is the first time that multiple credible sources — including those who’ve spent time with him in the past — have cast doubt on the identity of the man who showed up in the southeastern Ukrainian city that Russia took over last spring after a months-long siege.

Russian opposition politician Gennady Gudkov is among those who confidently claim that a Putin look-alike, or rather one of his look-alikes, was in the Ukrainian city.

"Now that there is a war going on, I don't rule out the possibility that someone strongly resembling or disguised as Putin is playing his role," Gudkov said.

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