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SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine (AP) — There have been conflicting reports today from Ukraine's Crimean peninsula, about whether two airports there are under Russian or Ukrainian control. Ukraine's interior minister said earlier today that Russian navy troops were blocking access to the airports. He described it as a "military invasion and occupation." But Ukraine's Security Council chief was later quoted by the Interfax news agency as insisting that the airports were still under Ukrainian control -- even though gunmen had tried to "seize" them and had set up checkpoints outside.
ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia (AP) — Fugitive Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych (yah-noo-KOH'-vich) is pledging to fight for his country's future but says he will not ask for military assistance. His news conference today in southern Russia marked his first public appearance since disappearing from Ukraine. Yanukovych said he supports Crimea's residents who are worried about what he called "nationalists" in Kiev but that use of force is "unacceptable."
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — NATO says a roadside bomb has killed one of its service members in southern Afghanistan. So far this month, five members of the U.S.-led international coalition have died in Afghanistan. Bombs in vehicles, along roadsides and carried by suicide bombers are the Taliban's weapons of choice and the leading cause of civilian casualties in Afghanistan.
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks have opened mixed, following a report that showed that the U.S. economy grew at a slower-than-expected pace in the last three months of 2013. The reduced figure of 2.4 percent reflected slower consumer spending than had been initially estimated. Economists expect severe winter weather to slow growth further.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Today marks the end of the two-week period within which U.S. Sen. Bob Corker promised Volkswagen would announce another line at its factory in Tennessee if workers rejected representation by the United Auto Workers union. The workers did reject the UAW -- but so far there's little sign of any pending announcement. The union last week filed a challenge with the National Labor Relations Board, seeking to have results voided and a new election to be held. Corker blames that appeal — and the delay in certifying the results of the union vote — for putting a hold on expansion talks at the plant.
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