Ukraine: Pro-Russians appear ready to go ahead with an independence referendum tomorrow, despite discouragement from Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Ukraine government. Ukraine’s acting President Oleksander Turchinov said the vote “would be a step into the abyss for these regions.” He said, “Those who stand for self-rule do not understand that it would mean complete destruction of the economy, social programs and life in general for the majority of the population in these regions.”

World: The government has revealed that two weeks ago in Yemen a CIA officer and an American special ops soldier killed two civilian gunmen who tried to kidnap them in a barbershop. The two Americans were quickly whisked out of the country. The NY Times reports that both the Pentagon and the CIA declined to say what the two Americans were doing in Yemen. Tensions are ratcheting up in Yemen over the government’s cooperation with drone strikes on Al Qaeda targets. Yesterday four Yemeni soldiers were killed in a gun bottle outside the presidential palace.

> Thailand’s embattled Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra was ousted this week by the constitutional court on charges of nepotism. Her brother was put out in a military coup in 2006. A day after she was put out of office she was indicted by the Thai anti-corruption agency in connection with a rice subsidy scheme.

Nation: One person is dead and two missing in a hot air balloon accident last night 25 miles north of Richmond, Va. Witnesses said the balloon drifted into a power line and its gondola caught fire. The occupants could be heard screaming for help and one or two of them fell out. The remains of the balloon haven’t been found yet.

>Michelle Obama took over the weekly presidential address today to express her outrage over the kidnapping of hundreds of teenage schoolgirls in Nigeria. “Like millions of people across the globe, my husband and I are outraged and heartbroken,” she said. “This unconscionable act was committed by a terrorist group determined to keep these girls from getting an education – grown men attempting to snuff out the aspirations of young girls.”

Nigeria says it has dispatched two divisions to hunt for the girls in a remote area of the country. 

Wedding News: Add Arkansas to the states in which a court has struck down the ban on same-sex marriage. Arkansas county circuit judge Chris Piazza said in a 13-page decision yesterday that his state’s marriage laws“do not advance any conceivable legitimate state interest necessary to support even a rational basis review.” What that means is that the judge thinks the ban is so insupportable it’s not worth an argument. The state’s attorney general said he will ask for the ban to stay in place while he appeals.

Measured Diagonally: The Daily Show’s “Senior Black Correspondent” Larry Wilmore has been named to take the time slot to be left by Stephen Colbert when he leaves the network for The Late Show next year. The new Comedy Central show to be called ‘The Minority Report with Larry Wilmore” will have a scripted faux talk show format with a panel of comedians holding forth on events of the day. If you don’t now Wilmore, he’s dry, painfully on point, and seriously funny.

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