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Morning Must Reads: February 27

In the News: Armed men seize government headquarters in Crimea, Ukraine President makes appeals to Russia, First Lady and FDA announcing new nutrition labels, Obama launching initiative for young minorities, Jan Brewer vetoed controversial bill

By Feb. 27, 2014
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Mark Wilson / Getty Images

The early morning sun rises behind the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC.

  • “The residents of Crimea, a region of southern Ukraine, woke up on Thursday to find their country’s flag over the regional parliament replaced with the Russian tricolor. Overnight, dozens of gunmen had seized the building, taking advantage of the power vacuum that has emerged in Ukraine since last week’s revolution ousted the ruling government.” [TIME]
  • “Viktor F. Yanukovych, the ousted president of Ukraine, declared on Thursday that he remained the lawful president of the country and appealed to Russia to “secure my personal safety from the actions of extremists.” Russian news agencies reported that he had already arrived in Russia, but officials did not immediately confirm that.” [NYT]
  • Protest leaders pick activists for ‘government of unity’ in Ukraine [WSJ]
  • The First Lady and the Food and Drug Administration will announce an overhaul of  nutrition labels on Thursday, the fourth anniversary of the ‘Let’s Move’ campaign. The new labels will stress calories, sugar, and serving sizes in an effort to fight obesity. [USA Today]
  • President Obama will launch a new initiative aimed at providing more opportunities for young minority men [TIME]
  • “Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) vetoed a controversial bill Wednesday that would have allowed businesses in the state to deny service to gays and lesbians if they felt that serving them would violate their religious rights.” [Washington Post]
  • What Jan Brewer’s gay bill veto means for Arizona—and the country [National Journal]
  • “A headline from The Week declared, “There is nothing Christian about Arizona’s anti-gay bill.” It would be more accurate to say that there was nothing anti-gay about Arizona’s anti-gay bill.The legislation consisted of minor clarifications of the state’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which has been on the books for 15 years and is modeled on the federal act that passed with big bipartisan majorities in the 1990s and was signed into law by President Bill Clinton.” [Politico Magazine]
  • Hillary Clinton Defends Obamacare [Politico]
  • “Sen. Rand Paul is trying to block the nomination of President Obama’s surgeon general nominee, Dr. Vivek Murthy, over what he calls “serious concerns” about Murthy’s leadership in a group that promotes ObamaCare and gun control. Paul, R-Ky., told Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in a letter that he objects to Murthy’s nomination because he questions Murthy’s ability to impartially serve as “America’s Doctor.” The letter marks an escalation in a simmering fight over the nominee, for a post that is typically not so controversial.” [Fox News]
  • Cruz angers colleagues again [CNN]

 

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