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Friday's Mini-Report

Today's edition of quick hits, including the latest reports from Ukraine.
Today's edition of quick hits:
 
* Crisis in Ukraine: "Several hundred troops in green camouflage, without insignia and carrying military-style automatic rifles, entered and secured areas of the civilian airport in Crimea's regional capital of Simferopol early Friday and deployed elsewhere, drawing protests from the new Ukrainian government against what it called a Russian invasion."
 
* White House reaction: "President Obama expressed concerns on Friday over reports that Russian troops are meddling in Ukraine as armed men took up positions in Ukraine's Crimean region. 'We are now deeply concerned by reports of military movement taken by the Russian Federation inside Ukraine,' Obama said."
 
* The AP is reporting that a spokesperson for the Ukrainian border service "says eight Russian transport planes have landed in Crimea with unknown cargo. Serhiy Astakhov tells The Associated Press that the Il-76 planes arrived unexpectedly Friday and were given permission to land, one after the other, at Gvardeiskoye air base, north of the regional capital, Simferopol. Astakhov says the people in the planes refused to identify themselves and waved off customs officials, saying they didn't require their services."
 
* This has to be the most John McCainish thing John McCain has ever said: "In response to reports of a Russian takeover in parts of Crimea, Arizona Senator John McCain declared Friday, 'We are all Ukrainians,' before calling for swift U.S. economic aide to Ukraine, new moves to condemn Russia at the United Nations, sanctions against Russian officials and the installation of U.S. missiles in the nearby Czech Republic as a show of American regional strength."
 
* Economy: "The U.S. economy expanded at a 2.4% annual pace in the fourth quarter instead of 3.2% as originally reported, mainly because consumers did not spend quite as much, the government said Friday. The revised figure matched the MarketWatch forecast."
 
* Kim Jong-un must want attention again: "North Korea launched four short-range missiles off its eastern coast on Thursday in what appeared to be a show of force while South Korea and the United States were conducting their annual joint military exercises, officials here said."
 
* Remember him? "For the first time, a convicted congressional candidate has stated in federal records that former U.S. Rep. David Rivera was a part of the conspiracy to funnel illegal contributions to his campaign."
 
* Oh my: "Maine State Rep. Lawrence Lockman (R) this week walked back his past remarks comparing legal abortion to the idea of letting men rape women, according to the Morning Sentinel."
 
* Some of the interest in the Clinton Library documents seems misplaced:" If you're still reading about the history of the Clinton administration and haven't gotten to 1994 yet, the following is a SPOILER ALERT: The Clinton health-care bill did not pass Congress. It was already obvious at the time that the Clinton health-care bill faced huge challenges passing Congress. Perhaps the funniest thing about this revelation from the Clinton files is that the author of the unsigned memo prefaces with 'To restate the obvious....'"
 
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.