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SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine (AP) — Local government buildings in Ukraine's Crimea region are in the hands of heavily armed pro-Russia gunmen as the country's political crisis escalates. Kiev has put its domestic security forces on high alert. Meanwhile, fugitive President Viktor Yanukovych (yah-noo-KOH'-vich) says in a statement published by three Russian news agencies that he is asking Russia's protection from "extremists" and that he's still the leader. a0535 a0552
MOSCOW (AP) — A report by a respected Russian news organization suggests fugitive Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych (yah-noo-KOH'-vich) made it out of his country after fleeing the capital amid massive unrest. RBK reports that Yanukovych has been seen in a Moscow hotel and is staying in a Kremlin sanatorium just outside the city.
MIAMI (AP) — More than 15 years behind bars ends today for a member of the "Cuban Five" spy ring. The men were convicted in 2001 in Miami on charges including conspiracy and failure to register as foreign agents. They're part of a group sent by Cuba's then-President Fidel Castro to spy in South Florida. Authorities say 50-year-old Fernando Gonzalez will be turned over to immigration officials and deported.
PHOENIX (AP) — Some say Republican Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer's veto of a so-called religious freedom bill seen by many as anti-gay is pushback against the extreme right in her own party. Brewer rejected the measure yesterday saying the broadly worded bill could "divide Arizona in ways we cannot even imagine and nobody could ever want." The bill attracted a broad range of critics.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A group of science, higher education and business organizations is urging Congress to fix a deficit of a different kind. The group has produced a video it hopes will go viral about what it calls the "innovation deficit" brought on by cuts in federal research dollars. It says there's a widening gap between what is spent on research and what should be spent.
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