Witless Ape Rides Escalator  —  Donald Trump is in the race.  —  Donald Trump may be the man America needs.  Having been through four bankruptcies, the ridiculous buffoon with the worst taste since Caligula is uniquely positioned to lead the most indebted organization in the history of the human race.

Blumenthal says he didn't write Libya intel he sent Clinton  —  Sidney Blumenthal did not write or know the source of any of the Libya intelligence he passed on to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Blumenthal told House Benghazi investigators on Tuesday, according to sources in the room.

China rebuffs Trump comments on stealing U.S. jobs  —  China on Wednesday rebuffed comments by U.S. real estate mogul and presidential contender Donald Trump that China is stealing U.S. jobs through crafty business practices, saying trade between the two countries was win-win.

Meet The Valedictorian Who Turned Graduation Into A ‘Shake It Off’ Flashmob  —  Their parents had no idea what was coming.  —  The commencement speech arms race is no joke this year.  It takes something pretty special to grab attention during a season when one valedictorian got …

Black Like Who?  Rachel Dolezal's Harmful Masquerade  —  Rachel A. Dolezal, who stepped down Monday as president of the Spokane, Wash., chapter of the N.A.A.C.P., could have been a powerful ally to African-Americans.  The participation of white allies has always been important to anti-racism work.

Walker, Bush, Rubio lead GOP field; Clinton Still Dominant  —  PPP's newest national Republican poll continues to find a bunched up race at the top.  Scott Walker leads with 17% to 15% for Jeb Bush, 13% for Marco Rubio, 12% for Ben Carson, 11% for Mike Huckabee, 8% for Ted Cruz and Rand Paul …

Senate votes to ban use of torture  —  The Senate on Tuesday overwhelmingly voted to ban the U.S. from ever again subjecting prisoners to waterboarding, “rectal feeding” and other brutal interrogation practices widely condemned as torture.  —  In a 78-21 vote, lawmakers on both sides …

Male Teen Has Consensual Sex with Female Teen.  He Gets 25 Years as Sex Offender, Banned from Internet.  —  Computer science student Zach Anderson, 19, met a girl, 17, on the “Hot or Not?” app.  He was from Elkhart, Indiana.  She was 20 minutes over the border in Niles, Michigan.  They hooked up.

Senate Dems give GOP 45-day highway deadline  —  Senate Democrats are giving Republicans 45 days to negotiate a long-term highway funding extension.  —  And while they aren't ruling out supporting another short-term fix when funding runs out at the end of July, they suggest it will be difficult …

Teacher, vice principal resign over gay fable  —  Teacher Omar Currie reads a copy of a complaint a parent filed after he read the book 'King & King" to his third grade students at Efland-Cheeks Elementary School.  The school has upheld the use of the book, but a parent has appealed the superintendent.

From Nieman Reports: Newsrooms find a diverse masthead means better coverage and new audiences  —  “Until the mastheads at the top of organizations understand how critical this reporting is for our democracy, it's not going to change.”  —  Editor's note: Our sister publication Nieman Reports …

What I learned from covering the Bushes for more than 30 years  —  If anyone should be feeling an overwhelming sense of Groundhog Day this presidential election, c'est moi.  —  Frankly, I've been covering Bushes for so long, I feel like I ought to be parachuting out of airplanes.

Escaped tiger from flooded Tbilisi zoo kills man, ‘is liquidated’  —  TBILISI, Georgia — An escaped zoo tiger was shot dead in central Tbilisi Wednesday after killing a man working on flood relief efforts, a Georgian Interior Ministry spokeswoman said.  —  The dramatic deaths …

What Pope Francis should do to really help the poor: Bjorn Lomborg  —  How can we best aid the world's most vulnerable?  —  Pope Francis's concern for the poor is clear, so it is understandable that climate change is the topic of his forthcoming Encyclical — a Papal letter that is sent out to the world.