Australia plane searchers investigate debris  —  Amsa's John Young said the objects spotted were a “reasonable size”  —  Australia is investigating two objects seen on satellite images that could potentially be linked to the missing Malaysia Airlines plane, officials say.

Obama doesn't grasp Putin's Eurasian ambitions  —  IT'S EASY to conclude that Vladi­mir Putin's passionate defense of Russia's takeover of Crimea “just didn't jibe with reality,” as Secretary of State John F. Kerry put it.  In a speech on Tuesday, the Russian ruler repeated mendacious charges …

Republican Rand Paul fires up a Berkeley crowd  —  Cheered by a youthful audience in one of the country's most liberal enclaves, Sen. Rand Paul - one of the Republican Party's leading contenders for the White House in 2016 - delivered a scathing rebuke to the U.S. intelligence community Wednesday, calling it “drunk with power.”

CNN's Don Lemon: ‘Is It Preposterous’ to Think a Black Hole Caused Flight 370 to Go Missing?  —  CNN's Don Lemon has been entertaining all sorts of theories about the missing Malaysian Airlines Flight 370, including the chance something “supernatural” happened, but on Wednesday night …

A Special Prosecutor for the IRS  —  Despite her denials, it's now plain that Lois Lerner was deeply involved in targeting conservative nonprofit groups.  —  The House Oversight Committee's investigation of the IRS is at an inflection point.  The president's congressional supporters realize …

An Ecosystem of Super PACs Forms Around Hillary Clinton, Some With Dubious Goals  —  Both for and against her, groups are sprouting up more than two years in advance.  —  The prospect of a Hillary Clinton presidential candidacy hasn't just fostered the network of semiofficial outside groups …

Everything You Need To Know About The Supreme Court Taking On Birth Control  —  On Tuesday, the Supreme Court will hear two landmark cases about the validity of a rule under Obamacare that employer health plans must cover emergency contraceptives for female employees without co-pays.

Paul Ryan's white hood  —  What notorious racist said the following?  “Fewer young black and Latino men participate in the labor force compared to young white men.  And all of this translates into higher unemployment rates and poverty rates as adults.”  — The rich strike back

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.

NECN EXCLUSIVE: Alison King interviews President Barack Obama at the White House  —  To view this site, you need to have Flash Player 9.0.115 or later installed.  Click here to get the latest Flash player.

First Climate Article On Nate Silver's Data Website Uses ‘Deeply Misleading’ Data, Top Climatologists Say  —  Nate Silver sits on the stairs at a hotel in Chicago on Friday, Nov. 9, 2012.  —  CREDIT: AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh  —  One of the first articles on Nate Silver's highly anticipated …

Our criminal justice system has become a crime: Column  —  Prosecutors too often abuse unrestrained powers.  —  Here's how it's supposed to work: Upon evidence that a crime has been committed — Professor Plum, found dead in the conservatory with a lead pipe on the floor next to him, say — the police commence an investigation.

Norridgewock man with gun tattoo wakes up to armed police  —  Police said workers with Lucas Tree Experts mistook Michael Smith's tattoo for a real gun when he appeared outside shirtless Tuesday morning.  —  NORRIDGEWOCK — Michael Smith went outside shirtless after being awakened Tuesday morning …

The Tea Party's Over  —  Outside conservative groups are experiencing the limits of their influence.  —  FreedomWorks issued an unusual round of endorsements this week.  The conservative group, which won publicity for backing intraparty challenges to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell …

Bernie Madoff speaks: Politics, remorse and Wall Street  —  BUTNER, N.C. - From his office on the 17th floor of midtown Manhattan's red enameled Lipstick Building, Bernard Madoff often handled billions of dollars in a single day.  —  These days, at the medium-security prison here …

A New Large-Bodied Oviraptorosaurian Theropod Dinosaur from the Latest Cretaceous of Western North America  —  Abstract  —  The oviraptorosaurian theropod dinosaur clade Caenagnathidae has long been enigmatic due to the incomplete nature of nearly all described fossils.

For immediate release  —  Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in January indicates that growth in economic activity slowed during the winter months, in part reflecting adverse weather conditions.  Labor market indicators were mixed but on balance showed further improvement.