A.M. Links: U.S. Builds Case Against Russia Over Malaysian Jet Attack, Death Toll Climbs in Gaza, Florida Jury Awards $23.6 Billion in Smoking Lawsuit

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  • The Obama administration says that an "enormous amount of evidence" links both Ukrainian separatists and Russian forces to the missile attack that brought down a Malaysian Airlines jet over eastern Ukraine. The MH 17 crash site, meanwhile, remains under the control of pro-Russian separatists.

  • The Palestinian death toll in Gaza has climbed to 476 after heavy fighting between Israel and Hamas on Sunday.
  • "Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters marched in French cities on Saturday to condemn violence in Gaza, defying a ban imposed after demonstrators marched on two synagogues in Paris last weekend and clashed with riot police."
  • According to a new report, the Obama administration was first warned about long wait times and other problems at Veterans Affairs hospitals in 2008.
  • A Florida jury has awarded $23.6 billion in damages to a widow who sued tobacco company R.J. Reynolds over her husband's death.