How Obama Threw A Curveball With The Safest SCOTUS Pick Imaginable  —  President Obama's choice of Merrick Garland to succeed justice Scalia on the Supreme Court was not the nominee progressives were dreaming of a month ago, when Scalia's unexpected death opened up a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform the Supreme Court.

Obama Privately Tells Donors That Time Is Coming to Unite Behind Hillary Clinton  —  In unusually candid remarks, President Obama privately told a group of Democratic donors last Friday that Senator Bernie Sanders is nearing the point where his campaign against Hillary Clinton will come to an end …

Candid Marco Rubio blasts Trump and media, calls Cruz ‘only conservative left in the race’  —  Former presidential candidate Marco Rubio told a group of Minnesota supporters Wednesday he is hoping one of the remaining candidates for president will stop Donald Trump from winning the Republican nomination.

How the GOP Elite Plan To Rob Donald Trump  —  Cleveland, ladies and gentlemen, won't be for the faint of heart  —  Shhhh.  I've just come from a meeting of the Republican Establishment.  You know, those guys who want to replace what the voters want with what they want.  That Republican Establishment.

Nun Charged with Shoplifting Coffee, Soap … BRIAR CREEK — State police in Columbia County say they nabbed a very unlikely thief: a nun.  —  Troopers tracked the nun at her convent in Danville after she allegedly shoplifted from a store.  —  Workers at the Surplus Outlet near Berwick …

Op-Ed SeaWorld CEO: We're ending our orca breeding program.  Here's why.  —  A killer whale raises its head out of the water during the first show since an orca killed a trainer at the SeaWorld theme park in Orlando, Fla. on Feb. 27, 2010.  —  Americans' attitudes about orcas have changed dramatically.

GOP reality check: Trump or convention fight  —  In a crushing rout in the Florida primary Tuesday, Donald Trump  —  , the candidate who once symbolized the future of the GOP.  Trump notched wins in five of six states voting that night, securing a more direct path to the nomination …

Cruz Assembles an Unlikely Team of Foreign-Policy Rivals  —  In a year when the Republican Party is breaking apart because of Donald Trump, the only man left with a chance to beat him is trying to build a big tent — by GOP standards — when it comes to foreign affairs.

Bumble Bee tuna recalled because of possible deadly bacteria in cans  —  SAN DIEGO — San Diego-based Bumble Bee Foods announced Wednesday a recall of more than 31,500 cases of canned chunk light tuna because the tuna may have been contaminated during processing.

Updated, 10:54 a.m., to add new observations based on reader response.  —  Bernie Sanders supporters have been unhappy with The Times in recent months, but it looked as if they were beginning to have their moment in the sun on Monday morning.  —  An article by Jennifer Steinhauer …

GOP operatives, conservative leaders meet to thwart Trump … A secretive group of Republican operatives and conservative leaders convened Thursday morning for more than three hours to discuss ways to unite the right against Donald Trump, with a presentation about the feasibility of mounting …

John Kerry: ISIS responsible for genocide  —  (CNN)Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday that the United States has determined that ISIS' action against the Yazidis and other minority groups in Iraq and Syria constitutes genocide.  —  “My purpose here today is to assert in my judgment …

Ryan admonishes Trump for ‘riot’ remark  —  It's becoming more and more clear: Donald Trump and Paul Ryan simply don't see eye to eye.  —  Ryan on Thursday criticized Trump for saying that riots would erupt if the New York billionaire doesn't become the party's presidential nominee.

Rabbis call for boycott of Trump's speech to pro-Israel group … A group of rabbis is planning to boycott Donald Trump's speech next week before a leading pro-Israel advocacy group, a sign of growing unease among many Jewish leaders about the populist campaign being waged by the Republican presidential front-runner.

I feel bad, on one hand, to be so focused on (some would say, obsessed by) the Trump phenomenon.  And it is my intention to write my next column or two on different topics.  There is, in fact, a world outside of the GOP primaries.  Two Republican friends I talked with yesterday told …

Facebook Post Leads To Police Ticket  —  An important lesson to be careful about what you post on Facebook and other public sites.  One local man ended up getting a ticket after a video he posted on Facebook was viewed by police.  —  Michael Dalton told 11 News he loves making Facebook videos in his free time.

NIKE HYPERADAPT 1.0 MANIFESTS THE UNIMAGINABLE  —  “Innovation at Nike is not about dreaming of tomorrow.  It's about accelerating toward it,” says Tinker Hatfield.  “We're able to anticipate the needs of athletes because we know them better than anybody.  Sometimes, we deliver a reality before others have even begun to imagine it.”

The new battle cry: Why can't the media ‘stop’ Trump?  —  As Donald Trump's detractors grow increasingly loud and desperate, they are aiming their ire at a new target:  —  The media.  —  Trump must be stopped, they declare, and it's the media's mission to halt him in his tracks.