How to Punish Putin  —  MOSCOW — AS I write this, I am under house arrest.  I was detained at a rally in support of anti-Putin protesters who were jailed last month.  —  In September, I ran for mayor of Moscow as a pro-reform, pro-democracy opposition candidate and received almost a third …

Reporter: WH Press Secretary Gets Questions from Reporters Before Press Briefing  —  A CBS reporter from Arizona reveals that President Obama's press secretary, Jay Carney, receives questions from the press in advance of his daily press briefing.  In fact, she says, the reporters often receive …

Scott Brown Confounded By Republican Who Benefitted From Obamacare  —  It seems Scott Brown, the once (and future?)  U.S. senator, didn't have an answer when confronted with one of his fellow Republicans who has benefitted from Obamacare.  —  The Huffington Post flagged the Wednesday story from the Coos County Democrat.

Children Confirm Fred Phelps Dead At 84  —  Westboro Baptist Church founder Fred Phelps died before midnight Wednesday at age 84, his children Tim Phelps and Shirley Phelps-Roper confirmed to Kansas news outlets.  —  Phelps's estranged son Nate had announced last weekend that the church founder …

Supreme Court faces wave of free-speech cases from conservatives  —  Once embraced by liberals, 1st Amendment arguments are now being applied to contest campaign contribution limits, union dues and no-protest zones at abortion clinics.  —  Antiabortion demonstrators protest in Washington.

Starbucks to Bring Alcohol Sales to Thousands of Stores  —  Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) is going big on booze.  —  Starbucks will expand its evening alcohol and light bites menu, which includes bacon-wrapped dates and Malbec wine, to thousands of stores, Chief Operating Officer Troy Alstead said in a phone interview.

Tucker Carlson Forced To Apologize For His Reporter's Disgusting Tweets  —  A conservative reporter and his high-profile boss extended an apology to Buzzfeed's Rosie Gray on Wednesday night for a pair of crude and sexist tweets that immediately set off an uproar.

The biggest lease holder in Canada's oil sands isn't Exxon Mobil or Chevron.  It's the Koch brothers.  —  David Koch, executive vice president of Koch Industries (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)  —  You might expect the biggest lease owner in Canada's oil sands, or tar sands …

Kos Folds Up the Big Tent  —  If Markos Moulitsas had his way there'd be no Affordable Care Act, no Dodd-Frank, no economic stimulus package.  That's the price when purity tests are applied to Democrats.  —  In a remarkable post yesterday, Moulitsas, founder and publisher …

This Video Of Rep. John Lewis Dancing To “Happy” Is The Best Thing You Will See Today  —  A video uploaded late Wednesday night shows Georgia Democratic Rep. John Lewis, a civil rights icon, dancing to Pharrell's “Happy.”  A spokesman for the congressman didn't immediately return a request …

Right to Life: Gary Peters ‘wants to make sure abortion is accessible and cheap for his daughters’  —  Students from Michigan State University and Lansing Community College protest the state's new abortion insurance law outside of the state Capitol on Tuesday, March 18.

Teen sneaks past guard to reach WTC spire  —  A New Jersey teen captivated by 1 World Trade Center sneaked out of his home in the dead of night, got past the wall of security — and a sleeping guard — making it all the way up to the spire, The Post has learned.

Are the Long-Term Unemployed on the Margins of the Labor Market?  —  ABSTRACT  —  The short-term unemployment rate is a much stronger predictor of inflation and real wage growth than the overall unemployment rate in the U.S. Even in good times, the long-term unemployed are on the margins …

ACA at Age 4: More Disapproval than Approval  —  But Most Opponents Want Politicians to Make Law Work  —  As the four-year anniversary of the Affordable Care Act approaches, the law remains unpopular with the public.  Currently, 53% disapprove of the 2010 health care law while 41% approve of the law.

The Overprotected Kid  —  A preoccupation with safety has stripped childhood of independence, risk taking, and discovery—without making it safer.  A new kind of playground points to a better solution.  —  A trio of boys tramps along the length of a wooden fence, back and forth, shouting like carnival barkers.

WTF CNN, Part II  —  OK, seriously, so what gives with CNN anchor Don Lemon?  His coverage of the missing Malaysian jet this week would be comical if it wasn't about such a tragic event.  —  It's looking more likely this morning that the plane crashed in the ocean when it disappeared almost two weeks ago.