U.N. Approves Airstrikes to Halt Attacks by Qaddafi Forces  —  UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations Security Council approved a measure on Thursday authorizing “all necessary measures” to protect Libyan civilians from harm at the hands of forces loyal to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.

Reid trashes House vote to defund NPR, adjourns Senate  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) seized an opportunity Thursday night to criticize a House vote earlier in the day to defund National Public Radio.  —  Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who had come to the floor …

O'Keefe's Latest NPR Bombshell Instantly Falls Apart  —  Discredited conservative activist James O'Keefe is out with yet another NPR video, and its auteur took to Twitter to tease its SHOCKING REVELATION:  —  Yep, that's the big story, and in his narration to the tape O'Keefe delivers this breaking news …

Support for Gay Marriage Reaches a Milestone  —  More Than Half of Americans Say Gay Marriage Should Be Legal  —  More than half of Americans say it should be legal for gays and lesbians to marry, a first in nearly a decade of polls by ABC News and The Washington Post.

Anthony Weiner Sarcastically Mocks GOP NPR Defunding Bill (VIDEO)  —  Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) thinks the House bill to defund NPR is completely ridiculous.  And he thinks the Republicans who rushed it to the floor Thursday are wasting everyone's time.  —  The way he expressed his feelings to the nation?

The Forgotten Millions  —  More than three years after we entered the worst economic slump since the 1930s, a strange and disturbing thing has happened to our political discourse: Washington has lost interest in the unemployed.  —  Jobs do get mentioned now and then — and a few political figures …

Anti-teacher climate humbles the conservative husband of a Cleveland educator: Connie Schultz  —  It's a question on a lot of parents' minds these days: How do we teach character?  —  New York Times columnist David Brooks was in Cleveland on Monday to talk about his new book, “The Social Animal …

Cable reaches Japan nuclear plant  —  Engineers at Japan's stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant have managed to lay a cable to reactor 2, the UN's nuclear watchdog reports.  —  Restoring power should enable engineers to restart the pumps which send coolant over the reactor.

War  —  I got on a plane in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where I spent the morning trying to explain the war in Afghanistan to students and alumni of my high school — how the war started, why we are still there after nine years, how the war has changed since 2008, and where I see the war headed in 2011.

Stimulus-backed station honoring Biden overshoots budget  —  As a thank-you to its most famous customer, Amtrak is renaming the train station in Wilmington, Del. after stimulus “sheriff” Vice President Joseph R. Biden — after the project received $20 million in stimulus money, and came in $5.7 million over the initial announced budget.

Union thuggery against Althouse and Meade: “We will hang up wanted posters of you everywhere you like to go.”  —  “We will picket on public property as close to your house as we can every day.  We will harrass the ever loving s**t out of you all the time.  Campus is OCCUPIED.  State street is OCCUPIED.

Eight Out of Ten Illegal Aliens Apprehended in 2010 Never Prosecuted, Says Border Congressman  —  Washington (CNSNews.com) - An illegal alien apprehended by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency during the last fiscal year had an estimated 84 percent chance of never being prosecuted …

Democrats argue party failing to humanize cuts, losing message war  —  A growing chorus of Democratic loyalists argue their party is losing the messaging battle over spending by failing to put a human face on cuts proposed by the GOP.  —  Instead of shining the spotlight on the programs slashed …

House passes bill to defund NPR  —  In the latest Republican attack on public broadcasting, the House passed a bill Thursday that would block federal funding from reaching NPR.  —  The vote — which passed 228 to 192, with one voting present — came a week after a video sting …

Frantic Repairs Go On at Plant as Japan Raises Severity of Crisis  —  HONG KONG — Japanese engineers battled on Friday to cool spent fuel rods and restore electric power to pumps at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station plant as new challenges seemed to accumulate by the hour …

Tim Pawlenty Hires Video Prodigy Lucas Baiano To Spice Up Image … WASHINGTON — Tim Pawlenty is smart, articulate and has a strong conservative record.  He's a super-nice fellow, supporters say, personable and down to earth.  —  But he's also kind of boring.

20 Days of Left-Wing Thuggery in Wisconsin: When Will Obama, Democrats, and MSM Call for Civility?  —  Below, you'll find a compilation of 20 days worth of the death threats, vandalism, and intimidation practiced by pro-union thugs opposed to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's budget repair bill.

Kapanke hit by property damage  —  By Lee Bergquist of the Journal Sentinel  —  The office of Sen. Dan Kapanke (R-La Crosse) said the senator has been subjected to damage of personal property and has received threatening statements in the wake of mass protests in recent weeks over Gov. Scott Walker's budget-repair bill.

Sen. Paul Unveils 5-Year Budget Plan: Eliminates Four Federal Agencies  —  ABC News' Mary Bruce reports:  —  Senator Rand Paul, R-Ky., unveiled today his five-year path to a balanced budget, leaving several federal agencies behind.  Among the items on the cutting room floor are the Departments …