5 Things to Know This Morning

— -- Your look at the five biggest and most buzz-worthy stories of the morning.

1. Real-Life 'Notebook' Couple Dies Hand-in-Hand

"They weren’t fancy. They were just decent people that were always committed to each other, no matter the situation."

That's how Donna Scharton remembers her beloved parents, Floyd and Violet Hartwig, before they died on Feb. 11.

The couple, who had been married for 67 years, died in their home in a very "Notebook"-like situation.

2. Weed The People: What You Need to Know About Pot Legalization in Washington, DC

The citizens of the District of Columbia in November voted to pass Initiative 71, which legalized the possession of up to two ounces of marijuana and the cultivation of up to three marijuana plants for individuals over the age of 21. That measure is scheduled to take effect at midnight Thursday.

However, the initiative did not create funding for the regulation of the substance, which would be required to legalize sales. The measure was put on the ballot through citizen initiative, and in D.C., citizen initiatives cannot mandate spending.

3. United Airlines Officials Highlight 'Near-Misses' in Safety Message to Pilots

United Airlines officials recently sent a "brutally honest" safety bulletin to pilots following four incidents involving flight crew errors that were classified as "major safety events and near-misses."

The Jan. 9 message – which was obtained by ABC News – was sent by Howard Attarian, Sr. Vice President Flight Operations, and Mike Quiello, Vice President Corporate Safety. The Wall Street Journal first reported about the message.

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Two of the events occurred near the ground, according to the bulletin – with a pull-up maneuver issued in one of the incidents. One of the incidents involved an “Undesired Aircraft State on departure,” with the flight crew contributing to a safety lapse.

4. Ex-Police Chief: JonBenet Ramsey Crime Scene Was Mishandled

In his most extensive comments on the JonBenet Ramsey case, the former Colorado police chief who led the investigation into the high-profile 1996 slaying of the 6-year-old beauty queen acknowledged online that officers botched the initial handling of the crime scene.

Mark Beckner, former chief of the Boulder Police Department, participated Saturday in an "Ask Me Anything" session on the social-networking and news site Reddit. He told the Daily Camera on Tuesday that he didn't realize his comments would filter out to the rest of the world.

"I talked to the organizer, and my impression was that this was a members-only type group that talked about unsolved mysteries all around the world," said Beckner, 59.

5. LeBron: Stop recruiting LeBron Jr.

LeBron James is not thrilled that his son and young basketball standout, 10-year-old LeBron James Jr., has already received letters and even scholarship offers from college coaches.

"Yeah, he's already got some offers from colleges," James told CBS Detroit before the Cleveland Cavaliers' matchup against the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday. "It's pretty crazy. It should be a violation. You shouldn't be recruiting 10-year-old kids."