Welcome to this morning's edition of "First To Know," a series in which we keep you updated on what's happening in the world. Here are the stories we're reading today.
After Italian newspaper La Stampa asked Pope Emeritus several questions about rumors he resigned due to “pressures and conspiracies," he responded, calling the speculations absurd. "There is absolutely no doubt regarding the validity of my resignation from the ... ministry. The only condition for the validity of my resignation is the complete freedom of my decision. Speculations regarding its validity are simply absurd,” he said.
Google Glass wearer, Sarah Slocum, posted a message on her Facebook page, saying she was verbally and physically assaulted at a bar because her attackers were “Google Glass haters.” The Telegraph reports Slocum was able to recover her Glass device from the thieves, but they got away with her purse and phone.
In response to Afghan President Hamid Karzai's refusal to sign a Bilateral Security Agreement, President Obama warned that the U.S. will remove its troops from the country. White House press secretary Jay Carney says the agreement should be signed soon.
Missouri inmate Michael Taylor died by lethal injection on Wednesday. Taylor was convicted of kidnapping, raping, and killing 15-year-old Ann Harrison in 1989. He is the fourth inmate in Missouri to be “executed in a little more than three months,” according to Missourinet.
BlackBerry CEO John Chen has a price for BlackBerry Messenger, and it's a hefty one at that. Chen says he'd sell BBM — and its 85 million monthly active users — for $19 billion, which is more than three times BlackBerry’s market cap.