NBC

Yes, They're Doing It To Americans As Well...

It has not been a good month for Boeing: first one of its 777s disappears in the now infamous Malaysian Airlines MH370 heist, which is increasingly looking as a hijacking commited by the pilots, and yesterday, a Delta Airlines Boeing 757, Flight 2412 from Orlandon to Atlanta, saw an entire panel tear off from its wing forcing the plane to make an emergency landing. At least this time the plane was tracked for the duration of the flight, perhaps because there was nothing that would be considered extraordinary in its cargo manifest, speaking of which, perhaps it is time for Malaysia Airlines to reveal just what was held in flight MH370's cargo hold. The detached panel did not impact the aircraft's ability to fly or land, Delta spokesman Anthony Black said of Flight 2412. "The crew, knowing that, followed procedure by declaring an emergency to air traffic control as they were landing, which gave them priority clearance to land and alerted ground crews." The airline is inspecting the plane to determine why the panel came off.

"President Putin has started a game of Russian roulette and I think the United States and the West have to be very clear in their response," states Sen. Foreign Relations Committed Chair Robert Menendez among a slew of Sunday morning talk-show rhetoric from US politicians with the White House's Dan Pfeiffer adding "President Putin has a choice about what he's going to do here. Is he going to continue to further isolate himself, further hurt his economy, further diminish Russian influence in the world, or is he going to do the right thing?" As the "sham referendum" continues, Reuters, however, reports that Ukraine's acting defense minister believes Russia and Ukraine have agree a truce until March 21st.

While most understand that Ukraine owes Russia a few billion here or there for its energy bills that are past due, there is a more concerning issue. The Ukraine owes $3 billion to Russia in bonds that have been issued under UK law. One of the stipulations of the bonds is that if the Ukraine's debt-to-GDP ratio should exceed 60%, the bonds will become immediately callable. Once the Ukraine gets funding from the IMF, this is of course going to happen right away – its debt-to-GDP ratio will then most definitely exceed 60%, so the first $3 billion of any aid the Ukraine receives in the form of loans will right away flow into Russia's coffers. The American and European tax cows will no doubt be thrilled.

What You DON'T KNOW About CIA Fight with Congress

Emergency crews are reportedly on the scene of a possible building explosion in East Harlem.  Details are limited but the incident reportedly happened this morning in the area of East 116th Street and Park Avenue. NY1 has a crew heading to the scene and will have more information as it becomes available.

Poor Obama - the president can't get anything right these days. Obama's job approval ticked down to 41% in March from 43% in January, marking a new low. Some 54% disapproved of the job he is doing, matching a previous high from December, when the botched rollout of his signature health law played prominently in the news. The latest survey also showed the lowest-ever approval in Journal/NBC polling for Mr. Obama's handling of foreign policy.

• China worries chill markets, copper slumps (Reuters)
• Peak dot com dot two idiocy: Candy Crush Saga maker King seeks $7.56 bln valuation from IPO (BBG)
• Obama Meeting With Yatsenyuk Raises Stakes in Ukraine (BBG)
• Federal prosecutors open criminal probe of GM recall (Reuters)
• Pimco Cuts Government Debt on Outlook for Fed Buying (BBG)
• Missing Malaysian Jetliner Confuses World That’s Online 24/7 (BBG)
• Mortgage Giants Face Endgame (WSJ)
• Russia Calls U.S. Aid to Ukraine Illegal Amid Standoff (BBG)
• U.S. judge freezes assets of Mt. Gox bitcoin exchange boss (Reuters)
• Ousted Libyan PM flees country after tanker escapes rebel-held port (Reuters)
• Senate-CIA Dispute Erupts Into a Public Brawl (WSJ)

An ECONOMIC Expert – Rather than a NUCLEAR Expert – Briefed Japanese Prime Minister on Condition of Fukushima Reactors as the Disaster Unfolded ... Nuclear Regulatory Commission BLATANTLY Covered Up Significance of Fukushima

If the U.S. economy is getting better, then why are major retail chains closing thousands of stores?  If we truly are in an "economic recovery", then why do sales figures continue to go down for large retailers all over the country?  Without a doubt, the rise of Internet retailing giants such as Amazon.com have had a huge impact.  Today, there are millions of Americans that actually prefer to shop online. But Internet shopping alone does not account for the great retail apocalypse that we are witnessing.  In fact, some retail experts estimate that the Internet has accounted for only about 20 percent of the decline that we are seeing.  Most of the rest of it can be accounted for by the slow, steady death of the middle class U.S. consumer.  Median household income has declined for five years in a row, but all of our bills just keep going up.  That means that the amount of disposable income that average Americans have continues to shrink, and that is really bad news for retailers.

The dismal news overnight that a Malaysian Airlines jet, carrying over 200 passengers and crew, had "gone missing" appears to have become considerably more troublesome. News this morning of pools of oil off the Vietnam coast - suggestive of a crash - are dreadful but, as NBC News reports, perhaps more crucially, U.S. officials told NBC News on Saturday they are investigating terrorism concerns after two people listed as passengers on the missing Malaysia Airlines jet turned out not to be on the plane and had reported their passports stolen (while in Thailand).

CIA Goes to EXTREME Lengths to Cover Up Its Illegal and Counter-Productive Acts

Having "condemned Russia's incredible act of aggression" which markets now appear to have forgotten about, we wonder just what Secretary of State John Kerry will have to say in this speech. Markets appear to think it's all over and east and west Ukraine can all sing Kumbayah with Putin leading the melody but other leaders continue to call for "crushing" sanctions against Europe's largest gas supplier. We are sure Kerry will clear it all up and explain where the line that was not crossed is... and for goodness' sake don't mention the Russian boots on the ground in Crimea...

The bizarre events in the Crimea continued overnight, after unidentified masked men but dressed like those who took over the parliament in Simferopol yesterday, took over two airports by blockading one near the Russian naval base in Sevastopol and another in the capital of Simferopol. This prompted the Ukraine's interior minister Arsen Avakov, to accuse Moscow's military of blockading the airports, and in a Facebook post, he called the seizure of the Belbek international airport in the Black Sea port of Sevastopol a "military invasion and occupation." He added: "It is a breach of all international agreements and norms." As NBC reports, the Interfax news agency quoted Russian military sources as saying the incident at Belbek airport was intended to stop "fighters" flying in. However, Interfax later quoted a Russian official as saying that no units had approached the airport or blockaded it. In a nutshell, Russia continues to push with escalation ever further, and is testing just how far it can and will go without Ukraine responding.

Is the groundwork for the "transitioning out" of the US Attorney General being laid? From Reuters: U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder was taken to a Washington, D.C., hospital as a precaution on Thursday after he felt faint and was short of breath during a morning meeting with his staff, his office said in a statement. "He is currently resting comfortably and in good condition. He is alert and conversing with his doctors," according to the statement. Please get well soon Eric: how else will this nation sleep easy at night knowing there are still so many "Too Big To Prosecute" banks out there whose wrists you still have to slap?