Ukraine Crisis: Russian parliament leaders are saying they welcome Crimea breaking away from Ukraine and joining the Russian Federation. They are unlikely to have said it without the approval of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

  A Kiev court ruled that the Crimean Parliament’s vote to secede from Ukraine and join Russia is illegal. President Obama said in Washington, “Any discussion about the future of Ukraine must include the legitimate government of Ukraine. We are well beyond the days when borders can be redrawn over the heads of democratically elected leaders.”

The Russians are keeping up the pressure, though. Overnight Wednesday they sank a junked ship in the mouth of a harbor to block Ukrainian naval vessels into their port.

Semper Infidelis: The Senate yesterday shot down a bill that would have removed military commanders from decision-making regarding sexual assault and misconduct in their units. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) pushed the bill arguing that sexual assaults are under reported, and under prosecuted, because victims are afraid to approach a commanding officer who often knows the assailant. She landed five votes short of the 60 she needed.

By coincidence, a US Army general pleaded guilty yesterday to sexual misconduct that could get him 15 years in prison. The married Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair admitted an adulterous affair, asking female officers for nude photos, and having  porn on his laptop while deployed in Afghanistan. He continues to deny assaulting a female captain with whom he had a three-year affair. Conviction for that could send the 51-year-old father of two to prison for life.

Econ 101: The economy added more jobs than expected last month, 175,000, but unemployment ticked up to 6.7 percent. Unemployment is measured in a separate survey.

Nation: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell gave a muzzle-loading flintlock to Oklahoma’s retiring Sen. Tom Coburn yesterday at the opening of the Conservative Political Action Conference. It was given as a “lifetime achievement” award from the National Rifle Assn. Coburn has a 100% rating from the NRA, which means he never votes against them. He appeared pleased and familiar with an artifact from the 18^th Century.

The Obit Page: Sean Potts, a master of the tin whistle and a founding member of the traditional Irish band The Chieftains, died Feb. 11 in Dublin. He was 83. Potts played with the group from 1962 to 1979, just when the Chieftains were reaching their peak international popularity. They made the quaintness of Irish music into a sound that could play the same stage with The Rolling Stones, Madonna, and The Grateful Dead.

>Dr. Frank Jobe, the Los Angeles orthopedist who pioneered the Tommy John surgery to fix a pitcher’s ruptured elbow, died at age 88. In 1974 Dodger pitcher Tommy John suffered a career-ending injury when he ripped a ligament in his pitching elbow. Dr. Jobe took a tendon from John’s right wrist and used it in the left elbow as a ligament. John went on to win another 164 games in 14 seasons. Similar surgery put many pitchers back in the game.

Money Man: Reporters and camera crews have been chasing a Los Angeles man identified by Newsweek as the mysterious creator of the Bitcoin global virtual currency. Satoshi Nakamoto, 64, who is estimated to be worth $400 million, denies the Newsweek report. He told the Associated Press he has nothing to do with Bitcoin, “And even if I was, when we get hired, you have to sign this document, contract saying you will not reveal anything we divulge during and after employment.” And he would know that because …..

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