New York Republicans Ignore Ted Cruz at GOP Gala  —  NEW YORK — A stunningly distracted crowd of hundreds of Republicans almost entirely ignored Ted Cruz's speech at the New York City GOP gala on Thursday night, instead chattering at their dinner tables, standing and taking selfies.

The Pastrami Principle  —  A couple of months ago, Jeb Bush (remember him?) posted a photo of his monogrammed handgun to Twitter, with the caption “America.”  Bill de Blasio, New York's mayor, responded with a picture of an immense pastrami sandwich, also captioned “America.”  Advantage de Blasio, if you ask me.

This is the worst argument about the national debt you'll ever find  —  The United States government has $13 trillion in debt, and I feel fine.  —  You should too.  That's because, despite what Jim Grant tells us on the cover of Time magazine, this doesn't mean that every man, woman, and child has to pay $42,998.12 themselves.

Thinking Outside the Cable Box: How More Competition Gets You a Better Deal  —  Today, building on efforts over the last seven years, the President is launching a new initiative to stoke competition across our economy, so that no corporation can unfairly squeeze their competitors, their workers, or their customers at everyone's expense.

Why I Haven't Felt The Bern  —  Today's column offers an opportunity to say, for the record, why I haven't been the Bernie booster a lot of people apparently expected me to be.  For the business about discounting Clinton support as coming from “conservative states” in the “Deep South” …

Jokes About Erdogan Aren't Funny in Germany  —  Chancellor Angela Merkel gave German authorities the go-ahead to pursue action—if they choose to do so—against the satirist on charges of personal defamation and insulting a foreign head of state—both illegal under German law.

Facebook Employees Asked Mark Zuckerberg If They Should Try to Stop a Donald Trump Presidency  —  This week, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg appeared to publicly denounce the political positions of Donald Trump's presidential campaign during the keynote speech of the company's annual F8 developer conference.

Here's What Happened When A Group Of Scientists Went To Confront Their Congressional Tormentors  —  It turns out their “wasteful” research serves a purpose.  —  The worlds of science and politics came together twice on Wednesday afternoon, and the collisions couldn't have been more diametrically at odds.

Billions of cicadas will descend upon the northeastern United States as another 17-year cycle concludes  —  The eighth biblical plague that tortured Egypt was a plague of locusts.  —  As described in Exodus 10:5, “And they shall cover the face of the earth, that one cannot be able to see the earth …

The Post endorses Donald Trump  —  Donald Trump is a rookie candidate — a potential superstar of vast promise, but making rookie mistakes.  The nominee Republicans need for the fall campaign is often hard to make out amid his improvisations and too-harsh replies to his critics.  —  New Yorkers vote Tuesday.

Failed North Korea missile launch prompts Chinese ‘saber-rattling’ jibe  —  North Korea attempted and failed to launch what experts believe was an intermediate-range ballistic missile on Friday in defiance of U.N. sanctions and in an embarrassing setback for leader Kim Jong Un, drawing criticism from major ally China.

Sharon Stone on Trump's “Hubris” and Bernie: “How Much Acid Has This Guy Taken?”  —  EMAIL ME  —  “We have leaders and people who are trying to be leaders who are running campaigns based on fear, and that's a contagion,” said the actress.  “Holocausts have occurred when that fire catches loose.”

How Brazil, the darling of the developing world, came undone  —  BRASILIA — It was called the “Brazil model,” or simply “the Lula model,” back when this country's economy was roaring and its president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, was a superstar of the developing world.

House passes bill barring FCC from regulating internet rates  —  The House on Friday passed a bill to ban the Federal Communications Commission from setting or reviewing the rates that companies charge for internet service.  —  The largely party-line vote is a win for Republicans …

Christian parents angry that Bible verse was taken off district website dress kids in ‘Our God is bigger’ shirts  —  DON'T MISS STORIES.  FOLLOW RAW STORY!  —  Texas parents are upset that a public school district has taken a Bible verse off its website after atheists complained, according to the Tyler Morning Telegraph.

Full transcript: CNN Democratic debate  —  (CNN)The full transcript from the CNN Democratic debate between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in Brooklyn, New York, on April 14, 2016.  —  BLITZER: Secretary Clinton and Senator Sanders, you can now move to your lecterns while I explain a few ground rules.

Insurers warn losses from ObamaCare are unsustainable  —  Health insurance companies are amplifying their warnings about the financial sustainability of the ObamaCare marketplaces as they seek approval for premium increases next year.  —  Insurers say they are losing money on their ObamaCare plans …

Documents confirm Eric Holder's role in Fast and Furious cover-up  —  “Fast and Furious” is back in the news.  The reason?  In January, Judge Amy Berman, an Obama appointee, ordered the Department of Justice to produce documents relating to the “gun walking” scandal that Congress had been seeking for four years.

D.C. mayor calls for citywide vote to make nation's capital the 51st state  —  D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser on Friday called for a citywide vote in November to make the nation's capital the 51st state, resurrecting a decades-old plan to put the issue before Congress and to raise awareness across …

CIRQUE DU SOLEIL WILL NOT PERFORM IN NORTH CAROLINA  —  Cirque du Soleil strongly believes in diversity and equality for every individual and is opposed to discrimination in any form.  The new HB2 legislation passed in North Carolina is an important regression to ensuring human rights for all.

Mississippi governor signs law allowing guns in churches  —  Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant on Friday signed into law a bill that will allow members of some churches in the state to undergo training to carry guns inside houses of worship for protection, in response to last year's massacre at a South Carolina church.