Our 9 Favorite Feature Stories This Week: A Cartel Leader's Capture And Fake Hate Crimes

This week for BuzzFeed, an investigation into why a gay teenager perpetrated an elaborate series of fake hate crimes against herself. Read that and these other stories from around BuzzFeed and the web.

1. Why Would a Gay Teenager Commit Hate Crimes Against Herself? — BuzzFeed

Jeff Vendsel / Marin Independent Journal

Ten years ago, a liberal San Francisco suburb was traumatized by a rash of hate crimes against a 17-year-old lesbian. But when it was revealed that the victim herself had staged the attacks, the entire community turned on her and she never spoke about the incidents publicly. Until now. Read it at BuzzFeed.

2. The Hunt for El Chapo — New Yorker

AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File

Patrick Radden Keefe with a riveting, in-depth look at the hunt for — and capture of — infamous Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquín Guzmán Loera. Read it at The New Yorker.

3. Paul Ryan's Inner City Edcuation — BuzzFeed

buzzfeed.com

The 2012 Republican vice presidential candidate is trying to challenge the notion that his party is out of touch with poor people the old-fashioned way: by talking to some. McKay Coppins reports. Read it at BuzzFeed.

4. What is Hillary Clinton Afraid Of? — Politico Magazine

Dan Habib/Concord Monitor/Corbis / Via politico.com

Glenn Thrush and Maggie Haberman on why Hillary's not yet committed to a 2016 presidential bid: "If she doesn’t run, the single biggest factor holding her back will be the media, according to an informal survey of three dozen friends, allies and former aides interviewed for this article." Read it at Politico Magazine.

5. The Istanbul Derby — SB Nation

Illustration by Dylan Lathrop for SB Nation

Spencer Hall travels to Istanbul for an epic match between the city's biggest rivals, Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe: "To be in the midst of a city that is avowedly Muslim and stumble into a hornet's nest of shot bars full of Iranians who flew in just to get trashed clear and legal, locals pregaming two days early for a soccer game, and tipsy expats asking all the wrong people for hash ... it is all very life-affirming." Read it at SB Nation.

6. The Rapid Rise and Fall of Dylan Avery — Vocativ

Photograph by Philip Montgomery for Vocativ

Mike Spies speaks with the director, who was just 21 when "Loose Change" was released — and soon viewed more than 10 million times online. "Suddenly, Avery became a youth icon and a kind of national celebrity, galvanizing the 9/11 Truth Movement—those who fervently believed the Sept. 11 attacks were coordinated by the U.S. government." Read it at Vocativ.

7. University of Alabama's Sororities Remain Largely Segregated — BuzzFeed

Photograph by Anna Soldner

Seven months after allegations of racism were raised, little has changed, writes Anna Soldner: "If the campus seems quiet, it’s because aside from a select group of rabble-rousers, nobody is talking. Not only are sorority members themselves not talking to the press, the administration has failed to provide straight answers." Read it at BuzzFeed.

8. The Sting — The Weather Channel

Photograph by John Schreiber for The Weather Channel

Lorraine Boissoneault visits California's Central Valley, where 800,000 acres of almond orchards depend on millions of beehives. But with beehives come bee thieves. Read it at The Weather Channel.

9. The Secret History of Britney Spears' Lost Album — BuzzFeed

Elizabeth Arden / Christina Lu / BuzzFeed

Ten years ago, Britney Spears said she was working on an album called Original Doll, but her label denied its existence. Hunter Schwarz searches for Britney’s “lost album,” and the freedom that still eludes her. Read it at BuzzFeed.