Russia Says It Would Retaliate For U.S. Sanctions Over Ukraine

MOSCOW, March 4 (Reuters) - Russia said on Tuesday that it would retaliate if the United States imposed sanctions over Moscow's actions in Ukraine.

"We will have to respond," Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said in a statement. "As always in such situations, provoked by rash and irresponsible actions by Washington, we stress: this is not our choice."

"We have frequently explained to the Americans ... why unilateral sanctions do not fit the standards of civilised relations between states," Lukashevich said.

Lukashevich did not describe any measures Moscow might impose in retaliation but said the Russian response would not necessarily mirror the U.S. sanctions.

The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee is consulting the Obama administration on possible measures including visa bans and asset freezes against individuals, suspension of military cooperation, and economic sanctions.

In Kiev on Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday condemned Russia's "act of aggression" in Ukraine and said Moscow, which has taken control of the Crimea region, was looking for a pretext to invade more of the country. (Writing by Steve Gutterman; Editing by Alistair Lyon)

UN Envoy Forced Out Of Crimea By Hostile Pro-Russian Crowd

SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine, March 5 (Reuters) - A U.N. special envoy was forced to abandon a mission to Ukraine's Russian-occupied Crimea region on Wednesday after being stopped by armed men and besieged inside a cafe by a hostile crowd shouting "Russia! Russia!"

A reporter for Britain's ITN television, James Mates, said the envoy, Dutch diplomat Robert Serry, had taken shelter in the cafe to escape the armed men who stopped him. He agreed to leave Crimea to end the stand-off.

A Reuters photographer saw him being escorted by police through a crowd of about 100 angry demonstrators, some waving Russian flags, near the headquarters of a foreign observer mission.

Crimea is under control of Russian forces who seized it last week, although Moscow says "self defence" units of men in uniform without insignia are not under its command.

"UN special envoy Robert Serry with me in coffee shop. Outside local militia block the door," Mates tweeted.

"He refused to go with men blocking car, got out and walked until he found coffee shop. He's asked ITV News team to stay with him," Mates said.

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Kerry on Ukraine: Solution is tough, but situation better than yesterday

Kiev, Ukraine (CNN) -- Foreign ministers from around the world didn't strike a deal over the Ukraine crisis Wednesday, but U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said they agreed on one key thing: They'd rather talk than fight.

"All parties agreed today that it is important to try to resolve these issues through dialogue," Kerry told reporters after a series of meetings in Paris with foreign ministers from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ukraine and Russia.

Kerry described the talks as "the beginning of a negotiation" and called them "very constructive." Finding a resolution will be difficult, he said, "but I'd rather be where we are today than where we were yesterday."

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius offered an optimistic assessment.

"For the first time, something has moved in the process," he said, "and we will continue to talk."

Meanwhile, Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement that an agreement with the United States had been reached to help implement a February 21 deal over the transition of power in Ukraine. But Kerry did not mention that agreement in his remarks.

The closely watched talks between top diplomats came after days of simmering tensions in Ukraine's Crimean peninsula.

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PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer was holding a series of private meetings Wednesday with opponents and proponents of legislation adding protections for people who assert their religious beliefs in refusing service to gays, a proposal that has focused national attention on the state as business groups, gay rights supporters and even many fellow Republicans urged her to use her veto power.

The governor faces a Saturday deadline to either sign Senate Bill 1062 or use her veto stamp. In a tweet from her official twitter account late Tuesday, the governor said: "I assure you, as always, I will do the right thing for the State of Arizona."

Brewer has been under increasing pressure to veto the proposal passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature. The proposal passed with support from all but three House Republicans and all 17 GOP state senators. Three of those senators, however, reversed course Monday and called for the governor to veto the SB1062.

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Chris Christie's Top Aide Linked To Traffic Jam Payback Against Democratic Mayor

WASHINGTON -- New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's (R) deputy chief of staff was directly involved in a mean-spirited effort to create "traffic problems" for a mayor who declined to endorse the governor's reelection bid, according to newly released emails.

"Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee," Deputy Chief of Staff Bridget Anne Kelly wrote in an email on Aug. 13.

"Got it," replied David Wildstein, who was then one of Christie's top aides at the Port Authority, which is run jointly by New York and New Jersey.

A month later Wildstein did indeed create the traffic problems that Christie's office requested. He closed down two of Fort Lee's access lanes leading to the George Washington Bridge, the busiest bridge in the country. The closures came on Sept. 9, the first day of school in Fort Lee, leading to massive traffic jams as bridge traffic backed up into local streets. As a result, police and emergency vehicles were delayed in responding to reports of a missing child and a cardiac arrest.

The closures came just weeks after Fort Lee's mayor, Democrat Mark Sokolich, had appeared to decline to endorse Christie's reelection bid. Sokolich told The Huffington Post in an interview Wednesday morning that he never explicitly told Christie's team that he wouldn't endorse the governor.

"There were overtures that were made to the effect like, 'Is this something you would consider?' And I don't ever recall getting back and saying no," he said. "I think that was a conclusion that they, in the infinite wisdom of the folks in Trenton, must have reached the conclusion that I wasn't going to. But I never specifically said no."

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Obama administration has zero patience for zero-tolerance policy

The Obama administration has called on public school officials to rein in the use of “zero-tolerance” policies and law enforcement in giving out discipline to students, a practice that has ensnared minority and special needs students disproportionately.

“Too often, so-called zero-tolerance policies, however well-intentioned, make students feel unwelcome in their own schools.  They disrupt the learning process and they can have significant and lasting negative effects on the long-term well-being of our young people – increasing their likelihood of future contact with juvenile and criminal justice systems,” Attorney General Eric Holder said on Monday, during an event at Frederick Douglass High School in Baltimore, where he and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced a slew of new guidelines for school discipline.

“We’ve seen that severe discipline policies often increase the numbers of suspensions and expulsions without effectively making schools safer or creating better learning environments,” Holder continued. “And we’ve seen that the impacts of exclusionary policies are not felt equally in every segment of the population – with students of color and those with disabilities often receiving different and more severe punishments than their peers.”

African-American and special-education students, particularly boys, are far more likely than their white peers to be suspended for minor or similar infractions, according to a number of recent studies, including one by the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights, which found that black students without disabilities are suspended or expelled at a rate three times that of their white peers.

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Utah will not recognize same-sex marriages performed before high court stay

(CNN) – Utah will not recognize the hundreds of same-sex marriages that were temporarily allowed by a federal judge's ruling but before the Supreme Court issued an injunction, the state announced Wednesday.

Officials say more than a thousand marriage licenses between gay and lesbian couples were issued in the 17 days between the initial ruling and the high court's Monday order blocking enforcement.

"Based on counsel from the Attorney General's Office regarding the Supreme Court decision, state recognition of same-sex marital status is ON HOLD until further notice," said the governor's Chief of Staff Derek Miller in a letter to cabinet officials.

"Please understand this position is not intended to comment on the legal status of those same-sex marriages– that is for the courts to decide. The intent of this communication is to direct state agency compliance with current laws that prohibit the state from recognizing same-sex marriages."

U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby concluded on December 20 the decision that a state law banning same-sex marriage, approved in 2004, conflicted with the constitutional guarantees of equal protection and due process. That prompted many counties to begin issuing marriages licenses, but the state then appealed to the Supreme Court.

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