News & Sports

Revelers flood the streets of the French Quarter in New Orleans, La., to celebrate Fat Tuesday, the annual bash that marks the end of the Mardi Gras season. NBC News' Jay Gray reports. (NBC News)

Daredevil climber Alain Robert scales Cuba's Havana Libre Hotel without safety equipment in just 28 minutes. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports. (NBCNews.com)

Three weeks after French troops began their assault on northern Mali, Timbuktu is no longer controlled by an extremist group linked to al-Qaida. NBC's Rohit Kachroo reports. (Nightly News)

President Francois Hollande went on a sort of victory tour through Timbuktu, in Mali, recently held by extremists connected with al-Qaida. NBC's Rohit Kachroo reports from Mali. (Nightly News)

French actor Gerard Depardieu has been granted citizenship by Russian President Vladimir Putin. CNBC's Robert Frank reports Russia has tax rates of 13%, far lower than France's 75%. (CNBC)

Belgians pride themselves on their fries, served with mayonnaise, so they gathered up historians and gastronomists to determine who really invented the treat. NBC's Michelle Kosinski reports on their findings. (TODAY)

French president Francois Hollande vowed to help ease the country's stagnation and deficit by a 75 percent tax on incomes over a million euros, sparking outrage among entrepreneurs, who say it would kill any innovative spirit. NBC's Michelle Kosinski reports. (TODAY)

TODAY's Willie Geist brings up the actor's fluency in French, joking, "When is enough enough for you?", after which both demonstrate their superb French-speaking skills. Ooh la la! (TODAY)

French officials are preparing for a potential violent backlash as a satirical magazine defends its decision to publish cartoons mocking the Prophet Muhammad. NBC's Michelle Kosinski reports. (TODAY)