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Friday's Mini-Report

Today's edition of quick hits.
Today's edition of quick hits:
 
* Diplomacy was a longshot: "An 11th-hour bid by Secretary of State John Kerry to ease the escalating crisis over the Kremlin's intervention in Crimea ended in failure on Friday, raising the likelihood of sanctions against Russia and deepening the most serious East-West rift since the end of the Coild War."
 
* Limited options: "Crimea will vote on Sunday in a ballot referendum that leaders of the regional Parliament expect will ratify their decision to break away from Ukraine and become part of Russia." The choices: 1) "Are you in favor of the reunification of Crimea with Russia as a part of the Russian Federation?" 2) "Are you in favor of restoring the 1992 Constitution and the status of Crimea as a part of Ukraine?"
 
* Hmm: "Sen. John McCain implied Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin will one day have to run away from Moscow."
 
* For-profit colleges: "The Obama administration is proposing to tighten oversight of for-profit colleges through new rules that seek to limit how much debt students can amass in career-training programs. The proposal, announced Friday, is the administration's second try at regulations setting standards for what colleges must do to ensure that graduates of career programs get 'gainful employment.'"
 
* Compelling suggestion: "Democratic strategist Paul Begala has some advice for Dems who are worried about their 'messaging' on Obamacare after the special election loss: Stop being so damn defensive about the law and show people it's worth fighting for, already."
 
* Powerful piece from Adam Serwer: "Among the many things to be said about the CIA's Bush-era interrogation program, one of the most important is that they got away with it."
 
* Caroline Krass confirmed, 95 to 4: "The Senate on Thursday voted overwhelmingly to confirm President Obama's nominee to become the C.I.A.'s top lawyer, as senior lawmakers escalated pressure on the agency's director to make public a voluminous report on the C.I.A.'s defunct detention and interrogation program."
 
* Measles: "Of all the things to be nostalgic for, infectious diseases probably don't make it onto many lists. However, if you happen to pine for the good old days when measles was an active public health threat, I have good news for you. The anti-vaccine crowd is bringing it back. There is currently an outbreak of measles in New York City."
 
* More guns near schools: "Indiana lawmakers approved a controversial bill late Thursday to allow guns in parked cars on school property, despite objections from school groups and gun reform advocates."
 
* Capitol Hill: "House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) would like Nancy Pelosi to apologize for her remarks suggesting that Republicans don't care about 'struggling families and really hungry children.' But that's not going to happen."
 
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.