Morning Must Reads: March 11

March 11, 2014 8:35 AM EDT

“Voters on Florida’s Gulf Coast head to the polls Tuesday to fill a vacant U.S. Congressional seat in a special election watched by both major parties for what it portends for November when all 435 congressional seats will be up for grabs.” [Reuters]

From Politico: “The stakes are particularly high for Democrats. The party has bet big on Alex Sink, Florida’s former chief financial officer and the Democrats’ 2010 gubernatorial nominee, in the race for the swing 13th Congressional District, which encompasses part of the St. Petersburg area. A win, Democrats hope, will deflate the conventional wisdom that 2014 is destined to go south for them.”

President Obama: Between Two Ferns [Funny or Die]

Senate easily passes McCaskill’s sexual assault bill [Washington Post]

Congress to investigate GM recall [WSJ]

“Today, 61% of Republicans and Republican leaners under 30 favor same-sex marriage while just 35% oppose it. By contrast, just 27% of Republicans ages 50 and older favor allowing gays and lesbians to marry.” [Pew Research]

Harry Reid plots to block potential 2016 foe [Politico]

“Thirty Senate Democrats are scheduled to stage an all-night talkathon to address climate change and its deniers, but notably missing from the extensive roster of speakers are moderate Democrats, especially those who are up for re-election in 2014. According to a list of participating senators provided by Democrats, the most politically vulnerable among them will not speak: Mark Begich of Alaska, Kay Hagan of North Carolina, Mary L. Landrieu of Louisiana, Mark Pryor of Arkansas and John Walsh of Montana.” [Roll Call]

Malaysia Airline Flight MH370: “The Malaysian police said on Tuesday that one of the two passengers known to have used stolen passports to board the missing Malaysian airliner was a 19-year-old Iranian who wanted to migrate to Germany and appeared to have no connection to terrorist organizations.” [NYT]

From TIME: “We’ve made no progress, we don’t have a clue,” Izhar Bahari, air traffic controller at Malaysia’s Department of Civil Aviation, tells TIME. He went on to deny an earlier report that the search has now shifted focus to the Strait of Malacca. “We focus our search both on the east and the west coast, and we will expand the areas for tomorrow.”

“The US Secretary of State has rejected a talks offer with Russian President Vladimir Putin until Moscow engages with US proposals on Ukraine’s crisis. John Kerry told his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov that Moscow’s military intervention in Crimea had made any negotiations extremely difficult.” [BBC]

“As Russia tightened its grip on Crimea, Ukraine’s ousted president appealed on Tuesday to the country’s military units to refuse to follow the orders of the new interim authorities, declaring that he remained commander in chief and would return to the country as soon as conditions permitted.” [NYT]

“The European Union told Russia it must switch course in Crimea by next week or risk more sanctions as Ukraine’s deposed president warned of a possible civil war.” [Bloomberg]

Syria’s Children Suffering, Dying Three Years into Conflict [NBC News]

“Colorado made roughly $2 million in marijuana taxes in January, state revenue officials reported Monday in the world’s first accounting of the recreational pot business.” [Fox News]

Prosecutors say D.C. mayor knew of ‘shadow campaign’; mayor says it’s all a lie [Washington Post]

“Pro-life groups say the Girl Scouts are selling something else along with their Thin Mints, Trefoils and Samoas: abortion.” [Politico Magazine]

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