Objects Spotted: A Chinese satellite has spotted a large floating object in the Southern Indian Ocean about 75 miles from two objects earlier seen by a commercial satellite. The new object spotted Tuesday is estimated to be 73 feet by 43 feet about 1500 miles west of Perth, Australia. The search today involved at least seven aircraft, some with highly sophisticated equipment to search the Ocean surface. The investigation has been plagued by false sightings.

Ukraine: Movements of  Russian troops east of the Ukraine border have US  leaders worried. Russia says the 20,000 troops in a threatening position are on maneuvers. But National Security advisor Susan Rice said to reporters at The White House yesterday, “Obviously given their past practice and the gap between what they have said and what they have done, we are watching it with skepticism.” Rice said, “This is obviously a very worrying and fragile situation.”

The BBC reports that Ukrainian solders have been ordered to battle stations at Belbek airbase in Crimea, which is surrounded by Russian troops and armored vehicles. A Russian demand to surrender has expired.

Despite a dip in the Russian stock market, Western economic sanctions appear to have little influence on the Russian leadership. In response to the sanctions against his political cronies and an influential bank, Russian President Vladimir Putin hit back where it hurts, issuing his own list of big time Americans banned from Russia. They include; House Speaker John Boehner; Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid;  Sens. John McCain of Arizona, Daniel Coats of Indiana, and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana.

Nation: A federal judge in Detroit struck down Michigan’s ban on same-sex marriage yesterday. “The guarantee of equal protection must prevail,” said Judge Bernard A. Friedman in his decision. The state’s attorney general immediately said he would file an emergency appeal with the US Supreme Court.

Clerks in several counties already issued marriage licenses today to same-sex couples. Two women who said they had waited 27 years to marry got hitched shortly after 8AM. Judge Friedman, who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, said in his decision that state-commissioned studies concluding that prospects for children of same-sex marriage are not good, were religiously motivated and “deeply flawed.”  It was the third time this year that a state’s same-sex marriage ban was overturned in court.

World: Michelle Obama veered off a tour of pandas and Ping-Pong to urge freedom of speech and religion in China. Mrs. Obama said to an audience of Chinese and American students at Peking University, “When it comes to expressing yourself freely, and worshiping as you choose, and having open access to information – we believe those are universal rights that are the birthright of every person on this planet.”

Hoop Dreams: Warren Buffett’s billion dollar NCAA bracket challenge is over. A couple of upsets yesterday destroyed anyone’s chances of predicting a perfect March Madness basketball bracket and winning Buffett’s bucks.

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