Ukraine: Russian troops flown in by helicopter seized a natural gas terminal and a village just over the Crimean border inside Ukraine yesterday. There were no reports of shots fired.

 Russian-occupied Crimea is voting today on whether to secede from Ukraine and join the Russian Federation, a move western countries have denounced as illegal and destructive to Russian relations with the world. It’s expected the vote will be overwhelmingly in favor.

The ballot offers no choice for a voter to say “No.” The two ballot questions are: “Are you in favor of the reunification of Crimea with Russia as part of the Russian Federation?” or “Are you in favor of restoring the 1992 Constitution and the status of Crimea as a part of Ukraine?” The second is kind of a trick question that would still grant Crimea independence from Ukraine.

Russia vetoed a UN resolution that would have condemned the Crimean vote. Samantha Power, the US representative to the UN later said, “Under the UN Charter, the Russian Federation has the power to veto a Security Council resolution, but it does not have the power to veto the truth.”

Flight 370: Malaysia revealed that a signaling system aboard Malaysia Airlines flight 370 was disabled before the crew’s last communication with controllers. The system known as ACARS monitors the engines and other equipment that might need repair when the plane lands. The revelation indicates that the crew knew the system was off, or were under duress when they reported no trouble with the plane.

Malaysia is now asking more than a dozen countries for flight data in an effort to narrow the search for the plane. The potential end point for the jet includes 11 countries and thousands of miles of ocean.

World:  In his last address as president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai said he will not sign a peace agreement that will allow US troops to stay in his country. Karzai said his own military already protects 93 percent of the country and is prepared to take over entirely.

Nation: Three people have been arrested in the still-unexplained murder of 57-year-old Aspen socialite Nancy Pfister last month. Police are holding Kathy Carpenter, 56, who works at a local bank, and retired physician William Styler, 65, a retired physician, and his 62-year-old wife, who had been renting the Pfister home. Pfister, whose father founded the Buttermilk ski area, was a fixture in Aspen society. She had been travelling when she posted on Facebook that she was going home because her tenants were not paying the rent. It was Kathy Carpenter who reported finding Pfister’s body in her home.

Still Winter: A winter weather advisory has been issued all the way from Southern Missouri to Washington, DC. Rain and snow is expected in the capital tonight.

The Obit Page: Comedian David Brenner, Johnny Carson’s favorite guest on The Tonight Show, died of cancer at age 78. A standup who poked fun at everyday life, he was from the era of polyester leisure suits, gold chains, and spread collar shirts. Brenner recently told CBS news why Carson had him on the show 150 times. “He said, ‘Because I like to sit back, smoke a cigarette and laugh for six minutes.’”

TatNews: Miley Cyrus had a crying cat emoji tattooed on the inside of her lower lip. Good thing it wasn’t her tongue or we’d have to look at it all the time.

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