9 Feature Stories You Can't Miss This Week: Confederates, Climbers, Killers, And Conspiracies

This week for BuzzFeed News, David Kushner chronicles the meandering, mysterious tale of Matt DeHart. Read that and these other great stories from BuzzFeed News and around the web.

1. "I Might Have Some Sensitive Files" — BuzzFeed News

BuzzFeed News

The government says Matt DeHart is an online child predator. He says that’s a ruse created because he discovered shocking CIA secrets and claims he was tortured by federal agents. The only thing that’s clear is that he’s in deep trouble. Read it at BuzzFeed News.

2. The Killer in the Blue Dress — GQ

Handout / Getty Images

A must-read, 2002 piece by Robert Draper about none other than Robert Durst, written in the aftermath of Durst's arrest for the murder and dismemberment of Morris Black. "What would compel a millionaire to viciously kill a featherweight senior citizen?" Read it at GQ.

3. How a Rumor Sent a Teen to Prison for Murder in Vegas — The Intercept

Illustration by Pat Kinsella for The Intercept

Jordan Smith investigates the twisted case of a homeless man who was found killed and castrated behind a Las Vegas dumpster in 2001, and how a 19-year-old woman ended up convicted for murdering him. Did a deeply flawed investigation send an innocent woman to prison? Read it at The Intercept.

4. A Black Girl’s History with Southern Frat Racism — BuzzFeed Ideas

Flickr: Jimmy Emerson/Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND http://2.0) / Via Flickr: auvet

Tracy Clayton was one of few black students at a small college in Kentucky in the early 2000s. Every day, she was reminded just how unwelcome she was there. Read it at BuzzFeed Ideas.

5. The Heart-Stopping Climbs of Alex Honnold — The New York Times Magazine

Peter Bohler for The New York Times

Alex Honnold spends his days scaling thousand-foot cliff sides — without any ropes or a harness. Daniel Duane explores Honnold's life lived on the edge. Read it at The New York Times Magazine.

6. The History of Europe Lies in British People’s DNA — BuzzFeed News

seligr / Via Flickr: seligr

Scottish, Cornish, Welsh, Orcadian — Brits hailing from specific regions of the country have telltale genetic signatures, finds a groundbreaking new study. Christine Kenneally explores how this gush of DNA data offers a time-machine ride through the history of Britain. Read it at BuzzFeed News.

7. How Betabrand is Making it Cool to be Uncool — Matter

Photograph by Peter McCollough for Matter

Brian Moylan finds out how Betabrand turned a single joke into a multi-million dollar fashion phenomenon. "Instead of making people long for things they didn’t know they wanted and probably couldn’t afford, Betabrand makes people long for the thing they always wanted and never thought possible." Read it at Matter.

8. The Trials and Triumphs of Heidi Cruz — BuzzFeed News

LM Otero / AP

Ted and Heidi Cruz have always had big ambitions for public service. Yet, as McKay Coppins finds, uprooting Heidi's career was a difficult detour a decade ago. Read it at BuzzFeed News.

9. Freaknik: The Rise and Fall of Atlanta's Most Infamous Street Party — Atlanta Magazine

AP Images

An oral history, compiled by Errin Haines Whack and Rebecca Burns, recounts how an Atlanta picnic grew into a 90s hip hop sensation. "The streets were full. The venues were full. The hotels were full. Everything was full. Where in America had we seen, prior to this, that number of African American youth in one place? Nowhere." Read it at Atlanta Magazine.

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