Thousands flock to Dalai Lama in US as he turns 76

WASHINGTON — Thou­sands of expa­tri­ate Tibetans joined a 76th birth­day cel­e­bra­tion Wednes­day for Bud­dhist spir­i­tual leader the Dalai Lama, who told fol­low­ers he is happy and proud to be giv­ing up his polit­i­cal power. The Dalai Lama is in Wash­ing­ton for an 11-day Bud­dhist rit­ual, known as a kalachakra, draw­ing fol­low­ers from Amer­ica, Asia and Europe.