The Taj Mahal, one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites, is set to receive a luxurious "mud-pack" facelift this month as a means to clean the tomb in Agra of its pollution. The iconic monument has received the treatment three times before.

Christie's auction house has begun accepting sealed bids for a precious Stradivarius violin that had been hidden in the closet of reclusive heiress Huguette Clark for roughly twenty-five years. Christie's estimates its worth is between 7.5 and 10 million dollars.

At today's memorial service for poet Dr. Maya Angelou, former president Bill Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, and Michelle Obama were among the guests who paid tribute to the legendary figure. The First Lady talked poignantly about her friend and the influence Angelou's poem "Phenomenal Woman" had on her as a child.

Hunter Gandee, a fourteen-year-old from Michigan, has begun a 40-mile trek while carrying his seven-year-old, 50-lb brother on his back. Braden Gandee, who is a first grader, has cerebral palsy and typically uses braces, a walker, or a power chair to get around.

The following is a True Stories conversation between Kameelah Janan Rasheed and Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah.

Couples in Wisconsin arrived at courthouses as early as 6 a.m. this morning for an opportunity to wed their loved ones after a federal judge struck down the ban on gay marriage. The ruling is likely to be put on hold as soon as Monday, reports say.

A deck at an oceanfront inn on Pawleys Island, near tourist hotspot Myrtle Beach in South Carolina, collapsed while over twenty-five people attempted a selfie in front of a rainbow over the ocean. Over a dozen people have been injured.

The 12-year-old girl who was stabbed 19 times and left for dead by two friends in Waukesha, Wisconsin has been released from the hospital, her parents say. A spokesperson for the girl's family say she went home Friday night.

A farmer in western Pennsylvania found 150 marijuana plants growing right alongside corn on his farm, police say. The farmer won't be charged because investigators are saying he didn't plant them himself.

Actor and comedian Tracy Morgan is in critical condition after his limo bus was involved in a six-car accident on the New Jersey Turnpike early Saturday morning, according to state police. One person was killed and four others are in critical condition.

A member of a right-wing anti-government movement died in a frenetic exchange of gunfire with deputies outside a Georgia courthouse this afternoon, potentially preventing a killing spree, and it was all caught on amateur video.

When he was 8, a boy from Kentucky promised his dad that he would buy him a '57 Chevy Bel-Air for his 57th birthday. His father had grown up as one of seven children in a poor family. Although he talked about his dream car often, he never expected to own one. Watch what happened when he realized that his son, now an adult, had followed through on that long-ago promise.

The New York Times reports on a recent wedding:

The 19-year-old student killed in yesterday's shooting at Seattle Pacific University has been identified as Paul Lee, a freshman from Portland. Sarah Williams, a 19-year-old student, remains in critical condition. A third student is in stable condition.

Capitalism sucks. Here is a clip of Pharrell, who is extremely rich, singing "Happy" at today's Walmart shareholders meeting. It's definitely uplifting and inspiring and in no way very depressing and dystopian, especially when Pharrell says "put your hands together for Walmart, guys, for making the world a happier place."

A new study finds that the most nutrient-dense vegetable is watercress. Also, the best fruit is blueberry, and the best pie is sweet potato.

People either really, really love the Central Intelligence Agency or really, really fear it. It's hard to tell which.

Blogger Liesl Testwuide missed her son, who was off at summer camp—his first experience being away from home for longer than a night. She wrote to him every day, and couldn't wait to hear about the wholesome activities he was obviously doing with the new friends he'd surely make. The letter she got back was not the letter she expected.

One day an oafish bug set foot upon a fragile leaf. Being clumsy, he fell. The next day, a gluttonous bug set foot upon the same leaf. Being portly, he fell. Turns out there was a bird overhead the whole time who wanted to eat bugs, but couldn't, cause they fell off the leaves. Do you like that story Y/N.

Conservative culture warriors may want to skip Saturday's big gay pride parade in Washington, seeing as how Dykes With Bikes will be joined by a Pentagon-approved U.S. military color guard—believed to be a first in the nation's history.