Bill Clinton jabs at Bernie Sanders, cracks joke at Wall Street's expense  —  Bernie Sanders surrogates have made headlines lately with a number of off-message gaffes, but on Friday, former President Bill Clinton — arguably Hillary Clinton's top surrogate — cracked a jaw-dropping joke of his own while stumping in the Bronx.

Corporate tax dodging costing US billions in annual income  —  Big multinational companies that shelter overseas profit from federal taxation cost the U.S. economy more than $100 billion a year by withholding more than $1 trillion collectively, according to a new study that may inflame the debate over tax fairness.

Ted Cruz Says He Won't Ban Dildos If He Becomes President  —  “What people do in their own private time with themselves is their own business and it's none of government's business.”  —  w.soundcloud.com  —  Ted Cruz says he will not ban dildos and other sexual toys if he becomes president.

Gulf Coast  —  THESE days, in the thick of the American presidential primaries, it's easy to see how the 50 states continue to drive the political system.  But increasingly, that's all they drive — socially and economically, America is reorganizing itself around regional infrastructure lines …

G.O.P. Chief Discourages Rule Changes That Seem to Block Donald Trump  —  WASHINGTON — The chairman of the Republican National Committee has privately urged members of the party's rules committee not to make changes to the guidelines governing the presidential nominating process …

Bernie Sanders secures five minutes with Pope Francis  —  The US presidential hopeful managed to sit down with pontiff after all.  —  ROME — Bernie Sanders privately met with Pope Francis at the pontiff's residence in Vatican City on Saturday morning before the pope left on a trip for Greece.

Trump likely to win West Virginia but lose delegates  —  Donald Trump has a new enemy in the fight for national convention delegates: the alphabet.  —  Trump is well-positioned for a resounding victory in West Virginia's May 10 primary, but his win will be accompanied by a delegate selection process stacked …

Beverly Hills to Develop Autonomous Vehicles  —  EMAIL ME  —  The driverless municipal shuttles are part of larger program to upgrade the city's tech infrastructure.  —  The Beverly Hills City Council voted unanimously this week to adopt a resolution to develop driverless vehicles …

Exclusive: Army approves first 22 female officers for ground combat jobs  —  WASHINGTON — The Army announced Friday the first 22 women to be commissioned as infantry and armor officers under new rules that open all ground combat jobs to females this year.  —  The move is a major step toward …

Saudi Arabia Warns of Economic Fallout if Congress Passes 9/11 Bill  —  WASHINGTON — Saudi Arabia has told the Obama administration and members of Congress that it will sell off hundreds of billions of dollars worth of American assets held by the kingdom if Congress passes a bill that would allow …

Michelle Fields: Trump Campaign Should Apologize for ‘Defaming My Character’  —  The ex-Breitbart journalist who was grabbed, and bruised, by Trump's campaign manager is adamant she wants him to say sorry—even though the authorities won't prosecute him.  —  After being called “delusional …

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.

In Texas, some local GOPs call for statewide vote on secession  —  A handful of Texas Republican district or county conventions in March passed resolutions calling for a vote on secession, paving the way for a potentially awkward debate at the state GOP conference in May.

The tax man cometh, and California rich - getting richer - pay most  —  Top fifth of taxpayers only ones with real income growth from 1994 through 2013  —  Wealthy's share of state tax burden also has grown  —  Snapshot of California's 15.5 million taxpayers shows returns

Coachella promoters look to book Dylan, Stones, McCartney and Young for mega-concert  —  Top row (L to R): Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger and Neil Young.  Bottom row (L to R): Bob Dylan; Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend of The Who; and former Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters.