My $29 Food Stamp Challenge—and the Recipes (& Brouhaha) That Ensued  —  Last week, chef (and great man) Mario Batali challenged me to raise awareness and money for the Food Bank For New York City by trying to live on $29 dollars for the week (what low income families on SNAP are trying to survive on).

U.S. Republican Huckabee to announce 2016 presidential decision May 5  —  (Reuters) - Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, a Republican, said on Friday that he will make an announcement on May 5 about whether or not he will run for president in 2016.  —  Huckabee said in an interview …

Jeb Bush Thinks GOP Should Confirm Loretta Lynch, Show ‘Deference’ to Obama  —  President Obama is clearly pissed about how long it's taking for the Republican-led Senate to confirm Loretta Lynch as the next Attorney General.  Harry Reid said yesterday he will force a vote if necessary …

Jeb Bush Proposes Requiring Medicare End-of-Life Directives  —  Jeb Bush, center, mingled at a “Politics and Eggs” event in New Hampshire on Friday.  —  Elise Amendola/Associated Press  —  MANCHESTER, N.H. — Jeb Bush, defending his efforts to keep alive Terri Schiavo, a brain-damaged woman …

Washburn University frat suspended after ‘sexually vulgar’ texts between members surface  —  ACLU says speech protected by 1st Amendment  —  TOPEKA, Kan. - A Washburn University fraternity has been suspended by its national leadership after sexually vulgar text messages between its members were discovered.

The politics of tipping  —  Do you tip at fast food restaurants?  —  It's an ethical dilemma tailor made for HBO's “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and thrust into the 2016 spotlight when Hillary Clinton left an Ohio Chipotle without leaving a tip.  —  When to tip can be a difficult decision …

Veterinarian Fired After Bragging About Killing Cat with Bow and Arrow (WARNING: Graphic Photo) … BRENHAM, Texas (KBTX) -  —  A Texas veterinarian is at the center of a social media firestorm, and could face charges, after bragging about killing a cat with a bow and arrow.  —  Story Updates:

At Global Economic Gathering, U.S. Primacy Is Seen as Ebbing  —  WASHINGTON — As world leaders converge here for their semiannual trek to the capital of what is still the world's most powerful economy, concern is rising in many quarters that the United States is retreating from global economic leadership just when it is needed most.

Lucas strikes back - against his neighbors!  Director to build hundreds of affordable homes in millionaire neighborhood after they blocked him from building a studio  — With huge support from low-income community, his neighbors will be hard-pressed to block the proposal

Carly Simon ex pens book about his coming out  —  Carly Simon and ex-husband James Hart in 2005  —  Carly Simon hasn't got time for the pain.  She's in a race with her second husband, James Hart, to see who can publish an autobiography first.  —  While Carly got a $2 million advance three years ago …

Brownback signs spectacularly punitive Kansas welfare bill  —  Brownback did it.  —  Not satisfied with cratering his state's economy, cutting education budgets and rescinding long-established job protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender workers, Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback …

U.S. Antitrust Lawyers Said to Be Leaning Against Comcast Merger … Staff attorneys at the Justice Department's antitrust division are nearing a recommendation to block Comcast Corp.'s bid to buy Time Warner Cable Inc., according to people familiar with the matter.

Trump Lets His Followers Know 'Hillary Clinton Can't Satisfy Her Husband'  —  Real estate mogul Donald Trump might want to check whatever reflex makes him compulsively retweet his supporters' #Trump2016 messages.  —  The potential presidential hopeful on Thursday shared a fan's tweet that read …

What It Was Like at the First Gay Rights Demonstration Outside White House 50 Years Ago  —  Paul Kuntzler said that when he and nine other people picketed the White House 50 years ago today, protesting the government's treatment of gays and lesbians, he could not imagine how far the gay rights movement would come in five decades.

Limbaugh Links ESPN's Britt McHenry to Hillary: ‘Mean-Spirited Superiorists’  —  ESPN's Britt McHenry flipped out on a towing attendant, in video leaked yesterday, in which she drops a number of profanities and gets really angry when her car was reportedly impounded.

Saddam aide, Iraqi insurgent leader al-Douri reported killed  —  (Reuters) - Ezzat Ibrahim al-Douri, former right-hand man to late Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and a leader of Iraq's Sunni insurgency, has been reported killed by Iraqi forces and Shi'ite militias.

Saban hints: Clinton opposes the Iran deal  —  Just minutes before Hillary Clinton announced her candidacy for the 2016 presidential election, Israeli Channel One News interviewed Haim Saban, an American-Israeli media magnate and long-time Clinton supporter.