Nation: Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki is under the gun with the Veterans Administration accused of letting veterans die while they wait months for medical appointments and treatment. Shinseki has been subpoenaed to testify before the House Veterans Committee and …

Ukraine: Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he is pulling back his troops from the eastern Ukraine border. “We have pulled them back. Today they are not at the Ukrainian border but in places of regular exercises, at training grounds.” …

Ukraine: Thirty-four rebels and four Ukrainian soldiers were killed in fighting to re-take the city of Sloviansk from pro-Russian gunmen. The fighting in Sloviansk has been the government’s biggest effort to reassert control in Eastern Ukraine as rebels control key …

Ukraine Warming: A series of events is ratcheting up the tension in the Ukraine crisis. The US says Russian fighter jets have violated Ukrainian airspace at least half a dozen times in recent days. It’s not clear what might be …

Ukraine: In the biggest firefight so far, Ukrainian forces killed three pro-Russian protesters, wounded 13 and captured 63 in the eastern city of Mariupol. The government said the separatists tried to storm a base occupied by the Ukrainian National Guard. …

Ukraine: Russian President Vladimir Putin called President Obama on the phone yesterday to talk about a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine crisis. It’s too soon to know whether Putin has blinked in the international standoff. Diplomats will meet to talk …

Debris: Malaysia’s defense minister says new satellite images show 122 objects floating in the Indian Ocean that might come from the missing Flight 370. The objects, some of them 75 feet long, are scattered over an area of 154 square …

Ukraine: Russian President Vladimir Putin signed papers today formalizing the annexation of Crimea while Ukraine signed a deal for closer economic ties with Europe.   Putin made jokes about Western sanctions. He said he was considering opening an account at the …

Ukraine: Russian President Vladimir Putin immediately defied Western economic sanctions and condemnation today by annexing Crimea as a part of Russia. “Crimea has always been an integral part of Russia in the hearts and minds of people,” Putin said. The …

Ukraine: Russian-occupied Crimea declared itself independent today after an overwhelming vote to separate from Ukraine. The vote was 97 percent in favor of secession sparking a surge of Russian flag-waving nationalism both within Crimea and Russia itself. The Crimean parliament …