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break away from Ukraine and join Russia, Crimeans of all ethnicities waited with deepening anguish and fear about the vote that at best, will yield months or years of uncertainty, and at worst, will spark war.
• Among those facing the greatest and most fraught uncertainty were Ukraine's military forces on the peninsula, who have been hemmed in by heavily armed Russian troops and warned by the region's pro-Russian leader that they would be considered "illegal" if they didn't surrender.
• With the new government in Kiev struggling to respond to a threatened Russian invasion in the east, build international support and stave off economic disaster, soldiers and sailors have lamented openly that they don't know what they're supposed to be doing. And, more importantly, what they're going to do if shooting breaks out.
• Russia effectively took control of Crimea, where it has a large naval base, late last month after Moscow-friendly President Viktor Yanukovych fled the country in the wake of months of protests. The Kremlin says he was the victim of a coup and refuses to recognize the authorities who took over.
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• NEW YORK (AP) -- With most of the rubble of two New York City apartment buildings cleared away, investigators hope to uncover the cause of an explosion that flattened them, killed eight people.
• City Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano said Saturday that investigators should be able to get to the gas pipes and meters in the front of the buildings' basements Sunday, adding, "We'll be in full swing with the investigation."
• Arson detectives and fire marshals have been waiting to enter the basements to examine meters, check pipes and inspect any possible ignition sources, such as light switches, that might have caused the blast.
• Cassano said all but 15 percent of the rubble from the buildings had been cleared away late Saturday.
• The theory that Wednesday's explosion was due to a gas leak gained momentum Friday after the National Transportation Safety Board, which investigates pipeline accidents, said underground tests conducted in the hours after the explosion registered high concentrations of natural gas. The NTSB will conduct its own inquiry after police and fire officials determine what might have caused the explosion.
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