Venezuela: how the socialist paradise turned into debt and hyperinflation hell  —  They call them bachaqueros.  Venezuela's army of black market shoppers descend every day at dawn outside Caracas's biggest stores.  —  Named after the bachaco leaf-cutting ant that carries several times its weight …

Clinton feels no pressure to debate Sanders  —  say the Democratic front-runner should feel no pressure to appear in another debate against Bernie Sanders  —  Sanders accepted an invitation by Fox News earlier this week to take part in an upcoming debate ahead of the California primary.

The Dangerous Acceptance of Donald Trump  —  “Vice is a monster of so frightful mien, / As, to be hated, needs but to be seen,” the poet Alexander Pope wrote, in lines that were once, as they said back in the day, imprinted on the mind of every schoolboy.  Pope continued, “Yet seen too oft …

Column: Lessons gleaned from a web of lies in Iowa  —  Marcus Owens, 19, a 2015 graduate of Waubonsie Valley High School in Aurora, told police he was attacked Saturday night outside an Iowa City lounge.  —  Change of Subject  —  Let's take a look at the recent statement issued …

Eat This Now, Before They Tell You Not To  —  Why the U.S. dietary guidelines keep changing and how to read them.  —  As Jerry Seinfeld might say, what's the deal with nutrition science?  One day eggs are bad, next day they're good.  Or good in moderation.  Who knows?

Why Donald Trump's poll numbers are surging  —  The Trump Bump has arrived.  —  After wrapping up an acutely fractious primary in which Donald Trump and his opponents lobbed scores of personal, playground insults at one another, the presumptive GOP nominee has quickly unified the vast majority …

Hypocrite!  Leo takes private jet to collect environmental award  —  Leo DiCaprio picked up an environmental award in NYC this week — but hypocritically expanded his carbon footprint by 8,000 miles when he obtained the honor, by taking a private jet from Cannes, then flying straight …

Donald Trump Tells N.R.A. Hillary Clinton Wants to Let Violent Criminals Go Free  —  LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Donald J. Trump accused Hillary Clinton on Friday of wanting to let violent criminals out of prison and “disarm” law-abiding citizens in unsafe neighborhoods, and warned that women …

Trump campaign admits it did not raise $6 million for veterans  — Donald Trump skipped a GOP debate and instead held a fundraiser in Iowa, where he said he raised $6 million  — But now his campaign manager says the actual amount raise is less, although he's not sure by how much

Sting of Myself  —  Amateurish spies like James O'Keefe III attempt to sway the 2016 campaign.  —  As Dana Geraghty recalls it, March 16th was a “rather quiet Wednesday.”  That afternoon, she was in her cubicle at the Open Society Foundations, on West Fifty-seventh Street …

The World's Largest Solar Plant Just Torched Itself  —  Misaligned mirrors are being blamed for a fire that broke out yesterday at the world's largest solar power plant, leaving the high-tech facility crippled for the time being.  It sounds like the plant's workers suffered through a real hellscape, too.

Gov. Fallin Vetoes Unconstitutional Anti-Abortion Bill  —  OKLAHOMA CITY - Governor Mary Fallin, who has a long history of championing and signing pro-life and pro-family legislation, today vetoed a measure that would have banned abortion in the state because the bill was vague and would not withstand …

How the West (and the Rest) Got Rich  —  The Great Enrichment of the past two centuries has one primary source: the liberation of ordinary people to pursue their dreams of economic betterment  —  Why are we so rich?  An American earns, on average, $130 a day, which puts the U.S. in the highest rank of the league table.

The Hamptons are this summer's orgy hotspot  —  Orgies for profit are coming to the Hamptons.  —  Killing Kittens, the London-based club for swingers, is holding its first East End party June 18 at an undisclosed private estate.  —  Member couples shell out $400, while single women pay $150.

Clinton mocked for misuse of Venn diagram  —  Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton  —  was mocked Friday for tweeting a graphic that didn't appear quite right.  —  The former secretary of State's campaign tried to illustrate the support for background checks for gun sales by using a Venn diagram.

Facebook ‘Trending’ List Skewed by Individual Judgment, Not Institutional Bias  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Last July, in a seventh-floor conference room at Facebook's Lower Manhattan offices, a small group met to discuss the future of news media on the social network.

Group that helped sell Iran nuke deal also funded media  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — A group the White House recently identified as a key surrogate in selling the Iran nuclear deal gave National Public Radio $100,000 last year to help it report on the pact and related issues, according to the group's annual report.

Exclusive: Evangelical Leaders Plan Meeting to Test Donald Trump's Values  —  A step that could lead to an eventual embrace of the presumptive Republican nominee  —  Top evangelical and social conservative leaders are planning a private meeting with Donald Trump to see if they will be able …

We have announced that we will be canceling our upcoming shows in Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina  —  We have announced that we will be canceling our upcoming shows in Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina because of the recent passage of the HB2 legislation.  This was a difficult decision for us to make as a band.

Honolulu Settles Suit From Lesbians Jailed For Kissing  —  HONOLULU (AP) — Honolulu has agreed to pay $80,000 to settle a lawsuit from two gay women who allege a police officer wrongfully arrested them after seeing them kissing in a grocery store.  —  Details of the settlement were announced Friday in federal court in Honolulu.

Are You Successful?  If So, You've Already Won the Lottery  —  Chance events play a much larger role in life than many people once imagined.  —  Most of us have no difficulty recognizing luck when it's on conspicuous display, as when someone wins the lottery.

Erick Erickson: ‘Mitt Romney should run for president again’  —  Conservative blogger and radio host Erick Erickson wants Mitt Romney to launch a third-party bid for president.  —  Erickson wrote Friday that he would “gladly work for a Romney presidency given the choices between Clinton and Trump.”

Playing Chicken in the South China Sea  —  By the Pentagon's account, two Chinese fighter jets performed an “unsafe” maneuver this week by flying within 50 feet of an American surveillance plane over the South China Sea.  That's not much more than a hairbreadth, aeronautically speaking …