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 …

During NPR Funding Debate, Rep. Jim McGovern Proposes No Federal Funding Should End Up At Fox News  —  Today, the House of Representatives will vote on a bill that would strip all federal funds from NPR.  Conservatives have long targeted NPR because they believe it has a liberal bias …

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.

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.

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 …

Palin trails Sheen with independents  —  We've found a lot of brutal poll numbers for Sarah Palin so far in 2011: down in South Dakota, down in South Carolina, down in Arizona, only up by 1 point in Texas, only up by 1 point in Nebraska to name a few.  But this has to be the worst- independent voters …

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.

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 …

Frustration With Obama Builds  —  President Barack Obama's laissez-faire approach to the ongoing spending debate is winning him few friends on Capitol Hill.  —  Republican and Democratic Members alike are becoming increasingly critical of the president and are demanding the White House immediately step …

The NYT paywall arrives  —  The NYT paywall has arrived: it's going up in Canada today, and then worldwide on March 28.  The most comprehensive source for the gritty details is this FAQ, which does things like explain the difference between an item and a pageview.

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 …

House rejects resolution calling for Afghanistan troop withdrawal  —  The House on Thursday voted down a resolution that would have instructed the Obama administration to remove U.S. troops from Afghanistan, but the measure won more support than a similar resolution did in 2010.