Foreign:
UKRAINE — BELBEK, Crimea — Russian forces use at least four armored vehicles to break into an air base here, seizing control of one of the last Ukrainian military outposts in Crimea. Developing, by Carol Morello, Will Englund and Griff Witte (Post).
AFGHAN-RUSSIA — KABUL — Russia ramps up its investment in Afghanistan, rebuilding Soviet-era relics and promoting its own political and cultural prowess. 1,520 words, by Kevin Sieff (Post). Three photos.
BRAZIL — RIO DE JANEIRO — A Brazilian government operation to clear a reserve in the Amazon for an Indian tribe is in danger of backfiring as criticism grows over the treatment of farmers being evicted. 890 words, by Dom Phillips (Post special).
NATIONS-WOMEN — UNITED NATIONS — While women diplomats are still far from a majority at the U.N., they have reached a critical mass.1,560 words, by Sangwon Yoon (Bloomberg). One photo.
UKRAINE-EAST — KHARKIV, Ukraine — Ukraine's eastern industrial belt is bracing for the worst after watching helplessly as Russian President Putin swiped the Black Sea Crimean peninsula. 1,105 words, by Jake Rudnitsky and Volodymyr Verbyany (Bloomberg). Moved Friday.
PUTIN-ECON — Russian President Putin has been called many things, but he's rarely been called an economist. How do his Ukraine arguments hold up? U.S.-based experts on Russia and Ukraine don't dispute many of his facts but do disagree with his conclusions. 1,550 words, by Steven Mufson (Post). Moved Friday.
PLANE-TIMELINE — HONG KONG — The puzzle of what happened to Malaysia Air Flight 370, the longest disappearance of a passenger-airline flight in modern aviation, leaves friends and relatives of the 239 people on board trying to make sense of conflicting information, false leads and fanciful theories. 1,930 words, by Frederik Balfour (Bloomberg). Moved Friday.
PLANE-PILOTS — SINGAPORE — Investigators' focus on the role of pilots on the missing Malaysian jetliner casts a spotlight on how commercial aviators are screened for mental health. 1,175 words, by Mary Schlangenstein, Michelle Fay Cortez and Kyunghee Park (Bloomberg). Moved Friday.
FRANCE-WOLVES — PARIS — Wolves are approaching the gates of Paris, and while they don't pose an immediate danger to the city's residents, they have been spreading out north and west in France since crossing over from Italy in 1992. 895 words, by Gregory Viscusi (Bloomberg). Moved Friday.
National:
BUREAUCRACY — BOYERS, Pa. — Inside the Pennsylvania mine where 600 employees of the Office of Personnel Management process retirement benefits. The system has a spectacular flaw. It still must be done entirely by hand, and almost entirely on paper. Developing, by David A. Fahrenthold (Post). Three photos and one graphic.
COLLEGE — WASHINGTON — An inside look at the admissions office at George Washington University as high school seniors nationwide wait to hear whether they've been accepted. Developing, by Nick Anderson (Post). With two photos.
MICHIGAN — In the wake of Friday's gay marriage ruling, county clerks open their doors for weddings while state officials rush to try to appeal. Developing, by Lisa Rein (Post).
BRATTON — NEW YORK — It's been dubbed the New York Miracle. Bill Bratton, who returned to his former job as the city's police commissioner in January, says he wants Los Angeles, Chicago and London to experience it too. 1,305 words, by Henry Goldman (Bloomberg).
OBAMA-LOBBY — WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is breeding new power players for Washington's influence industry. Just don't call them lobbyists. Developing, bby Mike Dorning (Bloomberg). Moved Friday.
NY-CHARTER — NEW YORK — The evolution of Success Academy illustrates a growing debate nationwide over charters serving higher-income families. 2,400 words, by Laura Colby (Bloomberg). Moved Friday.
Financial:
MORTGAGE — The low mortgage rates that tens of millions of Americans locked in during the refinancing boom are discouraging many of them from buying another home and giving up those loans. 1,180 words, by Dina ElBoghdady (Post).
ROUTE11CHIPS — MOUNT JACKSON, Va. — Being a small fry can have its advantages, as the Route 11 Potato Chip company has learned. The environmentally consciousness Virginia company's sweet potato, dill pickle and other chips have developed a cult-like following. 2,120 words, by Don Harrison (Post special). Six photos.
INDIA-GOLD — MUMBAI — While Prime Minister Singh's increase in gold levies was intended to help fix India's record current-account deficit, the move is also fostering the black market for smuggled metal to a country that was the world's largest buyer in 2012. 1400 words, by Swansy Afonso (Bloomberg). One photo.
ORTEGA — Amancio Ortega Gaona, the world's fourth-richest person based on his successful Zara fashion stores with a real estate empire worth $10 billion, emerges as a formidable competitor for prime properties from London to Beverly Hills. 1600 words, by Jesse Drucker (Bloomberg). Three photos.
CANADA-TRAPPERS — OTTAWA — Just 455 of a population of 35 million Canadians surveyed called hunting and trapping their job, the least common occupation in a nation that had its origins as a fur-trading colony under Hudson's Bay Co. 1500 words, by Greg Quinn (Bloomberg). One photo.
CHEESEMAN — ZURICH — Accidental entrepreneur Michael Fontana-Jones is making stinky British cheese pay in Switzerland, a country renowned for domestic varieties such as holey Emmental and nutty Gruyere. 790 words, by Patrick Winters and Zoe Schneeweiss (Bloomberg). One photo.
LEGO — Crowdsourcing is helping Danish toymaker Lego create new products. 915 words, by Katarina Gustaffson (Bloomberg). Two photos.
GM — DETROIT — The cars at the center of General Motors' recent recall were still on the drawing board when a top engineer gathered more than a dozen managers and delivered a fateful message: Build them for less. 1,865 words, by Keith Naughton, David Welch, Jeff Green and Mina Kimes (Bloomberg). Three photos. With GM-HEARING.
INVEST-VALUATION — Are stocks cheap or pricey? Valuation is a tougher question than many realize, and analysts' estimates are at best an informed guess. 1,150 words, by Barry Ritholtz (Post special). Moved Friday.
Feature:
OREILLY — WASHINGTON — Fox News star Bill O'Reilly declares his faith and talks about the role in plays in his life. 845 words, by Sally Quinn (Post).
MUSEUM-SLAVERY — RICHMOND, Va. — As the Richmond City Council Slave Trail Commission considers plans for a historical site about slavery in the area, a question hangs over the project: could former Gov. Douglas Wilder — whose own national slavery museum proposal collapsed — join the commission's effort or compete with it? 1,790 words, by Susan Svrluga (Post). Four photos.
Opinion:
UKRAINE-COMMENT — The West's strategy should note that Putin's view of the world is rooted in dangerous fictions. 1,145 words, by Madeleine Albright and Jim O'Brien (Post special).
RELIGION-COMMENT — The outcome of Tuesday's Supreme Court case Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby will affect every American because any religion allowed to be practiced only inside a house of worship, and not in the day-to-day business of life, is a worthless faith. 880 words, by Rick Warren (Post special).
PHELPS-COMMENT — WASHINGTON — Fred Phelps, the face of hate, advanced the cause of love. 650 words, by Alexandra Petri (Post.)
CORRUPTION-COMMENT — Should a little corruption matter to voters? 1,750 words, by Hilary Krieger (Post).
RACISM-COMMENT — Georgia Democrats need to take a stand against custom license plates embossed with Confederate flags. Too often, Democrats have dealt with racial issues by avoiding them. 1,560 words by Drew Westen (Post special). Moved Friday.
TAIWAN-COMMENT — Is Taiwan's equivalent of the Beatles opposed to reunification with mainland China? That's the question for young Chinese contemplating the loyalties of Mayday, the most popular rock band in Taiwan and China this past decade. 840 words, by Adam Minter (Bloomberg). Moved Friday.
DICKERSON — WASHINGTON — How will candidates reach voters when they don't watch TV and are too busy tweeting to care? 1,210 words, by John Dickerson (Slate). Moved Friday.
HEALTH-RELIGION-COMMENT — The Supreme Court will soon hear oral arguments in Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, consolidating two challenges to the Affordable Care Act's contraceptive mandate that affects coverage for various forms of birth control in employee health plans, but it's about far more than birth control. 1,000 words, by Amy Sepinwall (Post special). Moved Friday.
COLLEGE-COMMENT — So much of the American college admissions process seems to be about checking the right boxes — and knowing the right boxes to check. 1,500 words, by Pia de Jong (Post special).
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