A few months ago, a handful of reporters were shown a video that allegedly showed Toronto Mayor Rob Ford hanging out with drug dealers and smoking crack. Ford has denied the allegations. The individuals who owned this video told the reporters that they would sell them copies of it for the price of $200,000. In a guerilla journalism, crowd-sourcing experiment, Gawker then asked its readers to donate the funds needed to obtain and release the tape, in what they dubbed the ‘Crackstarter’ campaign.

As it turns out, people who own videos of politicians using drugs and conversing with dangerous drug dealers are evidently not all that reliable. The individuals who owned the tape weren’t very happy about the unexpected international media attention and revoked the offer, informing Gawker the tape was now “gone.” So, what’s Gawker going to do with the nearly $200,000 in cash it raised to bring down Rob Ford? They’re taking suggestions on which Canadian nonprofit benefiting “people suffering from addiction and its consequences” they should give it to. The existence of the video itself is still a mystery, though Anonymous now claims to have it in their “crosshairs” … Discuss

The instructions to the baker were clear: We want the graduation cake to say “Congratulations Laura” and for you to draw a tiny cap on the picture of Laura featured on the cake. How could they possibly mess that up? … Discuss

Unlocking the Truth isn't exactly new news, but their star continues to burn brighter as 12-year-olds Malcolm Brickhouse and Jarad Dawkins are becoming something of a thing in certain corners of the Internet where people are OK with sixth graders being awesome. Such places don't necessarily occur in Unlocking the Truth's day-to-day existence, where the trio gets bullied for their clothes and music. But as Malcolm tells Avante/Garde "I know a lot of people doubt me, but then I really don't listen to those people, because I know I'm going to be famous anyway." Rock on, dudes ... Discuss

Paula Cooper was 16 when she was sentenced to death row for murdering a 78-year-old Bible school teacher. She and a few friends told Ruth Pelke they were interested in a Bible school lesson, and then stabbed her 33 times with a butcher knife while Pelke prayed the Lord's Prayer—the teens drove off in Pelke's car with $10. After they were caught, Cooper's controversial death sentence resulted in international outrage and even a plea for mercy from the Pope. And now, nearly 30 years later, Cooper is being released from prison and given a second shot. "There are second chances," says her sister, Rhonda Labroi. "It seems like God has given her another chance. I think if people give her a second chance, she'll do fine" ... Discuss

In a clip making the rounds today, Marissa Powell—Utah's candidate for Miss USA—attempts to answer a question on gender wage inequality. She's getting a lot of flack for not being able to give a sensible answer, but most of us probably can't even make it through this video without having a nervous breakdown ourselves, so let's cut her some slack ... Discuss