How to Punish Putin  —  MOSCOW — AS I write this, I am under house arrest.  I was detained at a rally in support of anti-Putin protesters who were jailed last month.  —  In September, I ran for mayor of Moscow as a pro-reform, pro-democracy opposition candidate and received almost a third …

Your Dashed Hopes  —  Fred W. Phelps, Sr. Has Gone The Way of All Flesh, And Has Died on March 19, 2014  —  Westboro Baptist Church Issues the Following Commentary:  —  Psalm 2:1 ¶  Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?  —  The world-wide media …

News Anchor Retracts Claim That Jay Carney Gets Questions In Advance  —  Phoenix news anchor Catherine Anaya acknowledged on Thursday that she didn't have things quite right earlier this week when she said White House press secretary Jay Carney gets questions in advance from reporters.

The biggest lease holder in Canada's oil sands isn't Exxon Mobil or Chevron.  It's the Koch brothers.  —  David Koch, executive vice president of Koch Industries (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)  —  You might expect the biggest lease owner in Canada's oil sands, or tar sands …

Tucker Carlson Forced To Apologize For His Reporter's Disgusting Tweets  —  A conservative reporter and his high-profile boss extended an apology to Buzzfeed's Rosie Gray on Wednesday night for a pair of crude and sexist tweets that immediately set off an uproar.

Starbucks to Bring Alcohol Sales to Thousands of Stores  —  Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) is going big on booze.  —  Starbucks will expand its evening alcohol and light bites menu, which includes bacon-wrapped dates and Malbec wine, to thousands of stores, Chief Operating Officer Troy Alstead said in a phone interview.

Kos Folds Up the Big Tent  —  If Markos Moulitsas had his way there'd be no Affordable Care Act, no Dodd-Frank, no economic stimulus package.  That's the price when purity tests are applied to Democrats.  —  In a remarkable post yesterday, Moulitsas, founder and publisher …

The Overprotected Kid  —  A preoccupation with safety has stripped childhood of independence, risk taking, and discovery—without making it safer.  A new kind of playground points to a better solution.  —  A trio of boys tramps along the length of a wooden fence, back and forth, shouting like carnival barkers.

Iranian Ship, in Plain View but Shrouded in Mystery, Looks Very Familiar to U.S.  —  WASHINGTON — Iran is building a nonworking mock-up of an American nuclear-powered aircraft carrier that United States officials say may be intended to be blown up for propaganda value.

Are the Long-Term Unemployed on the Margins of the Labor Market?  —  ABSTRACT  —  The short-term unemployment rate is a much stronger predictor of inflation and real wage growth than the overall unemployment rate in the U.S. Even in good times, the long-term unemployed are on the margins …

Scott Brown Confounded By Republican Who Benefitted From Obamacare  —  It seems Scott Brown, the once (and future?)  U.S. senator, didn't have an answer when confronted with one of his fellow Republicans who has benefitted from Obamacare.  —  The Huffington Post flagged the Wednesday story from the Coos County Democrat.

This Video Of Rep. John Lewis Dancing To “Happy” Is The Best Thing You Will See Today  —  A video uploaded late Wednesday night shows Georgia Democratic Rep. John Lewis, a civil rights icon, dancing to Pharrell's “Happy.”  A spokesman for the congressman didn't immediately return a request …

Federal Judge Denies Tennessee's Request To Halt Recognition Of Same-Sex Couples' Marriages  —  As of now, Tennessee officials must recognize three same-sex couples' marriages.  —  Jay Paul / Getty Images  —  WASHINGTON — A federal judge has denied Tennessee's request to put …

ACA at Age 4: More Disapproval than Approval  —  But Most Opponents Want Politicians to Make Law Work  —  As the four-year anniversary of the Affordable Care Act approaches, the law remains unpopular with the public.  Currently, 53% disapprove of the 2010 health care law while 41% approve of the law.

Students Who Do Sex Work  —  A freshman at Duke University was outed as a porn performer by a fellow classmate earlier this year.  The story was quickly picked up by national outlets.  When the student revealed her porn alias, Belle Knox, a few weeks ago, she spurred another flurry of coverage.