Secretary of State John Kerry met with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov at the US ambassador's residence in London. They spoke for 6 hours. Afterwards, Kerry told reporters that Russian President Vladimir Putin would not allow his foreign minister to negotiate on Crimea. On Sunday, people in Crimea are scheduled to vote on whether to join Russia. The west sees that vote as illegitimate. And Kerry warned Russia yet again there would be consequences. 

And everybody have said, if the referendum takes place, there will be some sanctions. There will be some response put it that way.

World leaders have been vague about exactly what the response will be. European foreign ministers are meeting in Brussels on Monday, where the details may become clear. Ari Shapiro NPR News London. 

 

 

More documents from the Clinton administration. NPR's Brian Naylor reports that the National Archives and the Clinton Library released some 4,000 pages of previously withheld records. 

The documents include drafts of Clinton's statement after the 2000's Supreme Court ruling in favor of George W. Bush, which resolved that year's presidential election. There is advice from aids on everything from how to cloud violence in Los Angeles, prior to the anniversary of the Rodney King Verdict, to dealing with what one aid called the new tikes--the Republicans who led by Newt Gingrich won control of Congress in 1994. Some of the documents show the White House grappling with a threat of terrorism after a 1996 truck bomb explosion outside the US military facility in Saudi Arabia. The documents are the second batch of a total of some 30,000 pages of records in masked during Bill Clinton's two terms in office. Brian Naylor NPR News Washington. 

 

 

All of the people reported missing in the apparent gas explosion Wednesday in New York that leveled two buildings have been recovered. New York fire officials say most of the debris has been removed which will allow firefighters to get into the basement and look for what may have caused that blast. The National Transportation Safety Board is also investigating. Robert Sumwalt, an investigator with the NTSB says utility test found natural gas at concentrations of up to 20% near the explosion site. 

That's a pretty good concentration of natural gas in that area. That further leads to the hypothesis that this may well have been a natural gas leak. We still need to analyse that, but that is giving a suggestive indication. 

The NTSB investigates pipeline accidents. 8 people died, dozens of others were injured in the blast. 

 

 

Wall Street was lower by the closing bell. The Dow down 43 points at 16,065. The NASDAQ down 15 points at 4,245. And the S&P 500 down 5 points at 1,841.

 

 

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A Federal judge has granted a preliminary injunction against Tennessee's ban on the same sex marriages of three couples who wed in other states. The injunction requires the state to recognize marriages pending a final decision on the constitutionality of the state's ban on same sex marriage. The limited decision echos a similar case in neighboring Kentucky.

 

 

Northern Ireland's richest man, billionaire Richard Haughey has been killed in a helicopter crash in eastern England. Larry Miller reports he'll be remembered for the thousands of jobs he created in the economically hard pressed British province.

Richard Haughey founded the world's largest private pharmaceutical company Norbrook Laboratories, deliberately placing it in the Northern Ireland. He also had a range of other business interests. Politicians across the sectarian divide have praised Haughey, and the contribution he made to the economy. Northern Ireland's Enterprise Minister describes him as a man of leadership, integrity and global vision; a one of a kind in a self-made businessman. The 70-year-old was also a member of the British House of Lords, with the title of Lord Ballyedmond, and a former member of the Irish Senate. An investigation into the helicopter crash is under way. For NPR News, I'm Larry Miller in London.  

 

 

According to their union that tens of thousands of workers at the Los Angeles international airport had no idea what to do when a gunman opened fire last year in a terminal killing one person and wounding three others. The SEIU United Service Workers West reports that the workers were not properly trained to deal with an emergency, and that they were hampered by poor communications, as panicked, fleeing passengers ran onto the tarmac and jumped onto the luggage conveyer belts.

 

 

Crude oil prices are higher by the closing down.