People photograph the Roman numerals for NFL Super Bowl XLVII as they are silhouetted against the morning sky in New Orleans. The city will host Sunday’s game between the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

HERE ARE THE things we learned, loved and shared today.

THINGS WE LEARNED:

#KALYDECO: The Department of Health has reached an agreement with the manufacturer of the Cystic Fibrosis drug Kalydeco, clearing it for use for Irish patients. The drug had previously been refused on the basis of its cost (some €234,804 per patient per year) but a deal has been reached to lower the cost and enable it for use in about 120 Irish patients.

#PROMISSORY NOTES: The Dáil will vote next week on whether Ireland should make the next €3.06 billion repayment on the promissory notes, after the technical group forced a vote on the issue. TDs will vote on Wednesday night on whether to back a call for the repayment not to be made.

#COURTS: A woman who gave birth to a baby boy with a fatal illness – having undergone a failed sterilisation procedure – has been awarded €100,000 in damages by the HSE. Karen Hurley, who has a genetic blood clotting condition, underwent surgery to block her fallopian tubes – but still conceived again, giving birth to a child with severe defects who died at six months.

#ALLOWANCES: Ireland’s TDs received about €7.2 million in travel and allowance expenses in 2012, figures released today show. TheJournal.ie has compiled the monthly figures published by the Oireachtas, and turned them into an enormous interactive spreadsheet for you to poke around at.

#TIGER KIDNAPPING: Gardaí in Cavan and Meath are investigating a tiger kidnapping where a postmistress and her husband were tied up overnight at their home in Virginia, Co Cavan. One person has been treated in hospital over the attempted raid on the post office in Oldcastle, Co Meath.

#TROIKA: Representatives of the Troika met with members of the Dáil technical group today. Stephen Donnelly was among them – and having asked for the input of our readers this morning, he put their questions to the ECB, EC and IMF. Here’s how they answered our readers’ questions.

THINGS WE LOVED:

• This validation from Netflix – via the New York Times – that “binge-viewing” is a totally acceptable pastime. Excuse us: we’re off to watch the second season of Borgen in one sitting.
• This isn’t something we ‘loved’, but rather something we didn’t: the Times of London says the Iranian space monkey was a fake.
• This video from Sportsfile’s Ray McManus, who’s over with the Special Olympics team at the World Winter Games. Ireland won bronze in floorball, and this video will show you what it means to them.

They say February 1 is the first day of spring… well, here’s hoping. Pictured are some crocuses getting ready to bloom at St Stephen’s Green, Dublin. (Photo: Mark Stedman/Photocall Ireland)

THINGS WE SHARED:

• This nifty – albeit tricky-to-use – tool which shows you exactly what’s on the other side of the world from where you are. So, if you dug down and through the centre of the earth (pfft! Good luck to you), now you can find out whether you really WOULD end up in China.
• Breaking news from North Korea! Kim Jong-Un has become the first person to walk on the moon! Maybe.
• Finally, this video – despite its awful, awful quality – has been doing the rounds again in the last few hours. It’s what happens in a rarely-aired clip where Oprah Winfrey visited Springfield to meet the Simpsons. We missed when it was funny too.

(YouTube: simpspin)

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