Ford has been waiting months to mount a more rigorous defense of its botched handling of the crucial launch of the Lincoln MKZ, and finally today's monthly sales numbers provided the company with the ammunition to do so: Sales of the radically restyled new version of MKZ more than doubled from the old version sold in April 2012 to more than 4,000 units.

It's impossible to say yet whether last month's performance represented the beginning of a long-term upswing in the nameplate's fortunes after the brand suffered quite a rough start as it tried to launch the new version, suffering from supply and quality problems. But it's a good start in getting away from the dismal position in which Ford found its launch reputation, and its rebirthed Lincoln brand, about a month ago. Ford's overall sales for the month rose by 18 percent over a year ago, part of a good total month for the US industry, while Lincoln's total sales rose by 21 percent.Continue reading...

Pope Benedict XVI plans to resign due to poor health in move that hasn't been seen for centuries.

Grammys honors Mumford & Sons and FUN, as Chevrolet bows new "Find New Roads" campaign, Honda launches music-related campaign with the show, and Miracle Whip launches video campaign.

American Airlines and U.S. Airways are seen as likely to obtain U.S. approval of a merger.

Apple sees buzz develop about potential "iWatch."

Cadillac targets 35-percent gain in retail sales this year.

Chrysler donates $1 million to Future Farmers of America after Super Bowl spot scores with viewers as its dealers hunger for more Jeep Wranglers and Grand Cherokees.

Coca-Cola plans to relaunch Vanilla Coke in U.K.Continue reading...

GM is buying back $200M shares from the U.S. government.

UBS fined $1.5 billion in growing Libor scandal.

Instagram backpedals following outcry on terms of service change enabling user images for ad purposes.

CW pulls plug on major placement platform with end of Gossip Girl.

DirecTV expands cross-platform reach.

Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg donates $500M to charity.

Grammys launches new social trivia game.Continue reading...

Target's 30-second spot that debuted during the Grammy Awards ceremony on Sunday night touts its enhanced version of Adele's Grammy-sweeping 21 album — and a talented 11-year-old named Denise Bestman belting out her hit tune, "Rolling in the Deep."

The young New Yorker's connection to Adele dates back to last April when, as a member of at Staten Island's famed PS22 Chorus, she sang the tune in a YouTube video that was tweeted by the British singer. Bestman, now a sixth grader and PS22 alum, was one of 64 students from PS22 who performed during the Oscars telecast last February.

Watch her PS22 breakout performance that caught Target and Adele's attention below.Continue reading...

Oprah Winfrey made a major faux pas during Sunday's Grammy Award broadcast on Sunday night by tweeting: “Every 1 who can please turn to OWN especially if u have a Neilsen box,” as OWN debuted the latest episode of Winfrey's flagship series, Oprah’s Next Chapter.

Not only did Oprah violate Nielsen rules, (and misspell its name as "Neilsen"), she surprised and offended many. In fact, social media experts like Ian Schafer, CEO of Deep Focus, Gary Vaynerchuk and New York Times media reporter Brian Stelter all questioned if the tweet really came from Oprah.

Indeed it did. She also defended the action after a Twitter follower called the request "desperate" by responding: "'desperate' not ever part of my vocab." Is this what Brand Oprah has come to?Continue reading...

Amazon expands into original programming for web and TV, while Senate bill may close Virginia's "Amazon loophole."

Angry Birds lands on Facebook.

Apple shares close above $500, breaking more records, while brand announces iPad 3 release for March 7, testing "iPad Mini" tablet with smaller screen.

Burt's Bees launches spinoff aimed at Gen Y.

Chipotle steals buzz at Grammy's with Willie Nelson/Coldplay commercial.

Ford may have last laugh over Chevrolet with Super Bowl truck ad.

Google sees Motorola Mobility acquisition approved by EU and US.Continue reading...

Alleghany to buy Transatlantic.

American Apparel acting president quits.

Apple leapfrogs Argos to become 2nd biggest online retailer in the U.K., as textbooks and photography tops its new product priorities and Grand Central NYC store prepares to open and iPhone 4S heads to China.

Berkshire Hathaway to invite Wall Street analysts to annual meeting for once as Warren Buffett, excited about Japan, says company could spend $10 billion on its next acquisition.

Best Buy sees shoppers in Florida camping out since last week for Black Friday.

Chevron accepts responsibility for oil spill off Brazil.Continue reading...

AT&T promotes its 4G network with a commercial that rewinds a football player's life back to the moment his dad first bought him tickets to a game, purchased (of course) with his AT&T phone.

Watch more new spots — from Audi, Coca-Cola, TurboTax, Intel and other brands — after the jump.Continue reading...