The Most Astonishing Stories You Need To Read This Week

For decades, students at Spelman — the elite historically black women’s college — have spoken out about instances of sexual assault committed by students from Morehouse College, their unofficial brother school. Now, in the wake of a petition, protests, and a federal investigation, their messages are ringing louder than ever. Why haven’t we heard them? Read it at BuzzFeed News.

You may not know Diane Warren’s name, but you’ve belted out a chorus of one of her dozens of megahits at karaoke. With an unexpectedly viral Lady Gaga hit now up for an Oscar, Warren explains to Doree Shafrir how it feels to be in her fourth decade of writing definitive mainstream pop songs without ever quite feeling part of the mainstream. Read it at BuzzFeed News.

In November 2014, Akai Gurley was shot and killed by a rookie police officer in the stairwell of a Brooklyn housing project. As the officer’s trial begins, Gurley’s family and friends tell Alex Ronan the definitive story of the man they lost. Read it at BuzzFeed News.

A former Russian spy, Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned by a cup of a tea he drank in a London hotel in 2006. Luke Harding traces the astounding events that led Litvinenko to find the man who ultimately killed him — all from his hospital bed. Read it at The Guardian.

Alex Kantrowitz chronicles Facebook’s highly controversial, completely audacious, and possibly best-intentioned program, Free Basics. "In short, Facebook’s massive push to bring the world online has hit a wall of activists and government regulators who argue that its free service violates basic principles of an open, free, and fair internet." Read it at BuzzFeed News.

Chris Heath pens the only profile of R. Kelly you will ever need to read. "I wonder whether he's been around so many people for so long who either pretend to believe him, or who simply don't care, that he's learned to take that as evidence of his own innocence." Read it at GQ.

After a 15-year career behind the camera, The Wonder Years star talks to Louis Peitzman about the role that brought him back in front of it and what he learned from playing Kevin Arnold. "Everyone’s saying, ‘Is it so weird going back to acting?' ... It feels like putting on a great pair of jeans." Read it at BuzzFeed News.

In two grueling years, Target Canada lost billions and put thousands of people out of work. Joe Castaldo discovers what led to the retail giant's difficult rise and colossal fall. “Nobody wanted to be the one to say, ‘This is a disaster.'” Read it at Canada Business.

Betting worth billions. Elite players. Violent threats. Covert messages with Sicilian gamblers. And suspicious matches at Wimbledon. Heidi Blake and John Templon reveal the match-fixing evidence that tennis authorities have kept secret for years. Read it at BuzzFeed News.