For the Record

‘Donald Trump may be a rat, but I have no desire to copulate with him.’

Ted Cruz, GOP presidential candidate, blasting Trump by somewhat bizarrely alluding to an unprintable political slang term for dirty tricks; Cruz blamed his rival for a “garbage” National Enquirer story alleging Cruz had extramarital affairs

Batman v Superman

The superhero flick soared to the sixth best box-office opening ever

GOOD WEEK

BAD WEEK

Batman v Superman

The movie was widely panned by critics across the U.S.

‘Unless something radical takes place, it’s going to be a bloodbath this summer.’

The Rev. Ira Acree, Chicago pastor, lamenting an 84% increase in the city’s homicide rate since last year and looking ahead warily to the typically more violent summer months

15,000

Number of eggs used to make a giant omelette in the French town of Bessières

10 billion

Number of times people have viewed Justin Bieber’s music videos on Vevo, setting a record for the site

‘There is no Biden rule. It doesn’t exist.’

Vice President Joe Biden, rejecting Republican claims that a speech he gave in 1992 set a precedent for the GOP’s refusal to consider President Obama’s nominee for the Supreme Court

‘Palmyra has been liberated.’

Mamoun Abdelkarim, Syria’s director of antiquities, after Syrian military forces routed ISIS from the ancient city; ISIS militants ransacked historical sites and destroyed artifacts during the 10 months they occupied the city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

13

Length in feet (4 m) of a python left at a Los Angeles sushi restaurant, allegedly by a disgruntled customer

‘Our values have been hijacked.’

Jennifer Roberts, mayor of Charlotte, after North Carolina enacted a law that blocks local LGBT antidiscrimination ordinances; Roberts argued that the law, one of several similar proposals advancing across the country, will hurt the city financially

SOURCES: MSNBC; NEW YORK TIMES; REUTERS