How to Stop Putin in His Tracks  —  He knows he's weak.  The West must show we know it, too.  —  Is the crisis in Ukraine almost over or just beginning?  The answer depends on what Vladimir Putin really wants and what the West does next.  —  Fred Kaplan  —  FRED KAPLAN

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 …

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.

WATCH: Black Constituent Confronts Paul Ryan Over ‘Inner City’ Remarks  —  RACINE, Wisconsin — If you could pinpoint the moment when Paul Ryan lost control of his message on Wednesday, it was when he began explaining to an African American constituent why his recent comments about lazy …

Scott Brown Awkwardly Finds Out That Obamacare Is Also Helping Republicans  —  Obamacare Saves Money Scott Brown Obamacare Obamacare New Hampshire Scott Brown Herb Richardson Chris Brown Obamacare Savings Fergus Cullen Affordable Care Act Barack Obama Scott Brown Obamacare Scott Brown Republicans …

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.

The Myth of the Science and Engineering Shortage  —  Everyone knows that the United States has long suffered from widespread shortages in its science and engineering workforce, and that if continued these shortages will cause it to fall behind its major economic competitors.

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 …

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 …

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.”

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 …

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.

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 …

While America Spars Over Keystone XL, A Vast Network Of Pipelines Is Quietly Being Approved  —  Andrew Breiner contributed the ThinkProgress graphics for this piece.  —  After countless marches, arrests, Congressional votes, and editorials, the five-and-a-half year battle over the controversial Keystone XL pipeline is nearing its end.

Rahm Emanuel Says D.C. Is Denying Oxygen To Chuck Todd's Brain  —  Things got a little testy between Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D) and MSNBC's Chuck Todd during an interview on Thursday.  —  At one point, while Todd was asking Emanuel about charter schools, the MSNBC host asked if public schools …

Cory Booker: My dinner with Ted Cruz  —  Sen. Cory Booker said Thursday that when he met last week with Republican firebrand Sen. Ted Cruz for dinner, they had a “great intellectual discussion” and “no filibusters.”  —  The New Jersey Democrat said he's trying to work with Republicans …

‘Meet The Press’ finishes distant third  —  NBC's “Meet The Press” finished a distant third-place in both total viewers and the 25-54 demo this week, according to newly released Nielsen ratings.  The poor showing marked the program's fourth consecutive week out of first-place on both fronts.

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 …