Backlash builds against N.C. law on transgender bathroom use  —  North Carolina on Wednesday passed a sweeping law overturning gay and transgender protections at the local level and requiring students to use restrooms that correspond to the sex listed on their birth certificates.

Democrats Evenly Split Over Clinton, Sanders in Bloomberg Poll  —  Sanders trusted on defending middle class, reining in Wall St.  —  Clinton stronger on foreign policy, security experience  —  More than halfway through a nomination race that she entered as the clear favorite …

World's oldest living animal, 184-year-old tortoise named Jonathan, has first ever bath  —  A giant tortoise living on the British outpost of St Helena is given a clean-up ahead of Royal visit.  —  The world's oldest living animal, a 184-year-old giant tortoise, has had its first ever bath.

Obama's tango ripped on ‘Morning Joe’  —  On Wednesday evening, President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama danced the tango at a state dinner in Argentina.  By the next morning, a bipartisan chorus of disapproval of the optics was bursting out on MSNBC's “Morning Joe.”

Assessing Trump's Path to 1,237  —  A look at the remaining contests shows how he could get there  —  About a month ago, after Donald Trump won the South Carolina primary and all of its delegates, we headlined a piece “The Hour is Growing Late to Stop Trump.”

Shadow campaign to deny Trump his delegates begins  —  When South Dakota's Republican activists convened in Pierre to pick their delegates to the Republican National Convention, they got an unexpected visitor.  —  Merle Madrid, senior aide to Ohio Gov. John Kasich, had flown in from Columbus …

Microsoft is deleting its AI chatbot's incredibly racist tweets  —  Microsoft's new AI chatbot went off the rails Wednesday, posting a deluge of incredibly racist messages in response to questions.  —  The tech company introduced “Tay” this week — a bot that responds to users' queries …

Trumpism After Trump  —  There is now no possibility that the Republican Party will survive its rendezvous with Donald Trump unbroken.  —  If Trump is the party's nominee, the best-case scenario — the best case! — for G.O.P. unity probably involves a host of Republican officials withholding …

In N.F.L., Deeply Flawed Concussion Research and Ties to Big Tobacco  —  The National Football League was on the clock.  —  With several of its marquee players retiring early after a cascade of frightening concussions, the league formed a committee in 1994 that would ultimately issue …

Concord man arrested for not returning VHS rental 14 years later  —  CONCORD, N.C. —  A Concord man was arrested for failing to return a 2002 VHS rental movie, “Freddy Got Fingered.”  —  James Meyers showed Channel 9 the arrest warrant Wednesday.  It shows Meyers is charged with failure to return rental property, a misdemeanor.

Brussels bombers DID plan to attack nuclear power station as police uncover 12 hours of footage jihadists filmed outside a plant director's home  —  The Brussels terrorists were preparing an attack on a nuclear power plant and had recorded 12 hours of reconnaissance footage, it has been reported.

FBI director: Brussels attacks could deter others from joining Islamic State  —  The terrorist attacks that ravaged Brussels through a series of explosions Tuesday is unlikely to inspire copycat attacks in the homeland, FBI Director James Comey said Thursday.

This is why Trump's winning, and why I won't vote for Hillary  —  GOP needs to wake up and realize Trump is its fault.  But the Trump/Clinton death match is a national nightmare  —  This week's horrific terrorist attacks on the Brussels airport and metro raised the pressure in the already tight U.S. presidential campaign.

Ga. parents offended by the ‘Far East religion’ of yoga, get ‘Namaste’ banned from school  —  “We need to direct our attention inward and connect to the breath,” yoga instructor Rachel Brathen writes in her New York Times best-selling book about the practice.

A PR boss who asked a Muslim woman to ‘explain Brussels’ has been arrested on suspicion of inciting racial hatred.  —  Matthew Doyle, an LSE alumnus and partner at a south London-based talent agency, sparked outrage on social media after he ‘confronted’ a Muslim woman about the Brussels attacks which killed 34 people.

Disney threatens to stop filming in Georgia if anti-gay bill becomes law  —  Shown are the Walt Disney Co. headquarters in Burbank.  —  Delivering a potentially serious blow to one of the fastest growing production hubs in the country, Walt Disney Co. is threatening to no longer film …

Madonna — Busted For Posting Fake Signs to Hoard NYC Parking Spaces  —  BUSTED FOR POSTING FAKE SIGNS  —  To Hoard NYC Parking Spaces

Trump-Backing Congressman: “Many Members Are Supporting Trump Quietly”  —  Rep. Chris Collins of New York says his House colleagues don't like Ted Cruz and are withholding formal endorsements of Trump for “reasons unique to their particular congressional districts.”  —  Joshua Roberts / Reuters

There Were 5-Hour Lines to Vote in Arizona Because the Supreme Court Gutted the Voting Rights Act  —  Reducing the number of polling places in Phoenix had catastrophic consequences in the March 22 primary.  —  By ,  —  Aracely Calderon, a naturalized citizen from Guatemala …

There May Be One Major Reason Why a Third Party Is a Terrible Idea to Stop Trump  —  There may be on major, serious reason why those of us who will never vote for Trump should refrain from voting for a third party.  No, the answer is not “because it would get Hillary elected.”

Jian Ghomeshi not guilty, topless protester disrupts Crown's statement  —  Judge says inconsistencies in complainants' stories were key in acquittal of former CBC broadcaster  —  Former CBC radio host Jian Ghomeshi has been acquitted on four counts of sexual assault and one count of overcoming resistance by choking.

Biden Says Stalemate Over Garland Risks Constitutional Crisis  —  Vice president steps up pressure to confirm high court nominee  —  Republicans cite ‘Biden rule’ as justification for inaction  —  Vice President Joe Biden argued Thursday that Senate Republicans' decision not to confirm …

Columbia Professor Files Sexual Harassment Suit Against University  —  Enrichetta Ravina thought the professor was her mentor, helping her get access to an invaluable trove of data for her research into how workers allocate their retirement savings.  It was scholarship, she believed …