Dalai Lama Opens Senate Session With Prayer  —  By DONNA CASSATA Associated Press And on Thursday, the Dalai Lama prayed in the U.S. Senate.  —  With dozen of lawmakers listening raptly, the Nobel laureate from Tibet opened the session with his favorite prayer and words of advice.

How the Ukraine crisis ends  —  Henry A. Kissinger was secretary of state from 1973 to 1977.  —  Public discussion on Ukraine is all about confrontation.  But do we know where we are going?  In my life, I have seen four wars begun with great enthusiasm and public support …

McCain Least Popular Senator in Country  —PPP's newest Arizona poll finds that John McCain is unpopular with Republicans, Democrats, and independents alike and has now become the least popular Senator in the country.  Only 30% of Arizonans approve of the job McCain is doing to 54% who disapprove.

McConnell gets lukewarm CPAC reception  —  Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) received a lukewarm reception from conservatives gathered for the annual Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday, despite delivering a speech full of conservative red meat.  —  The Senate minority leader's …

The Next Ailes: Newsmax's Chris Ruddy Preps TV Rival to Fox News  —  Christopher Ruddy, 49, the chief executive officer and founder of conservative media company Newsmax Media, is giving a tour of his neighborhood in an Acura driven by his chauffeur, Hector.  The car heads south on I-95 from West Palm Beach to Boca Raton.

Exclusive: RT Anchor Liz Wahl Explains Why She Quit  —  Liz Wahl wasn't just disgusted by the Kremlin-funded TV network's handling of Ukraine, she says in an exclusive interview.  RT's coverage of the entire world “made me feel sick.”  —  American journalist Liz Wahl just made Vladimir Putin's enemies list.

Why most conservatives are secretly liberals  —  A couple months ago, a Gallup poll recorded a small uptick in the percentage of Americans who identify as “liberal” — to 23 percent, or what Gallup, eliding the margin of error in the poll, called a “new high.”

Boehner: Issa Was ‘Within His Rights’ To Cut Off Democrat's Mic  —  House Oversight Committee Chair Darrell Issa (R-CA) was “within his rights” to cut off the microphone of Elijah Cummings (D-MD), the ranking member of the committee, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said Thursday.

Why I can't stand white belly dancers  —  Whether they know it or not, white women who practice belly dance are engaging in appropriation  —  Google the term “belly dance” and the first images the search engine offers are of white women in flowing, diaphanous skirts, playing at brownness.

Fury Erupts Over Racially-Charged Tweets After Westchester High School Basketball Game  —  MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) — Some high school students in Westchester County were under fire Wednesday evening, after their basketball team lost a close game.  —  As CBS 2's Don Champion reported …

National Council of La Raza abandons smart immigration strategy  —  You could almost hear a crack in the immigration-activist universe as Janet Murguia, president of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), called President Obama the “deporter-in-chief.”  —  Murguia has been on the front lines fighting for immigration reform for years.

How Nate Silver Hires  —  Forget H.R. The ESPN stats star uses a graph to measure his future employees  —  Read about Nate Silver and his plans for FiveThirtyEight at ESPN in the March 17 issue of TIME.  —  Since joining ESPN in late July, Nate Silver has spent an estimated 90% …

(EXCLUSIVE) IRS Currently Employing Convicted Terrorist Associate … While IRS officials were targeting Tea Party groups for special scrutiny of their 501(c)3 tax exempt applications, the IRS also hired a policeman who had been prosecuted by the Justice Department — and convicted in federal court …

Hillary walks back Putin-Hitler comparison  —  Hillary Clinton on Wednesday pulled back from comparing Russian President Vladimir Putin's actions in Ukraine to those of Hitler.  —  She said comments made the night before at a private event were meant only to bring “a little historical perspective” …

Former IRS Official Lerner Gave Interview to DOJ  —  A former Internal Revenue Service official who declined to answer questions at a congressional hearing, citing the Fifth Amendment, gave a full interview to the Justice Department, her lawyer said.  —  That's raising questions among Republican lawmakers …

Ted Cruz tells CPAC: ‘Stand on principle’  —  NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Texas Sen. Ted Cruz opened the Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday morning by outlining how conservatives can win in 2014 and beyond, saying GOP candidates need to “stand for principle” and draw clear contrasts with Democrats.

Bait-and-Switch Liberalism  —  Obamacare and the politics of deception  —  In June 2009, as health-care reform was being debated vigorously across the country, President Obama told the American Medical Association's convention that, whatever the provisions of the health-care bill he would sign …