The Circus: Donald Trump is defending himself against stories that he acted as his own PR agent under false names and that he has a long history of demeaning women. Saturday Night Live began with a skit of Trump making a phone call identifying himself as “Joey Pepperoni.” Trump denies making the phone calls, but it’s unlikely that he will ever produce the PR men named John Miller and John Barron.

Mix it all up with Trump’s refusal to release his tax returns and you have a candidate who defies political gravity. Nothing hurts him. Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus said, “I think one thing for sure, Donald Trump has rewritten the traditional playbook in politics.”

A Word to Graduates: Taking a swipe at Republican politicians, and indirectly at Donald Trump, President Obama told graduates of Rutgers University yesterday that “In politics and in life, ignorance is not a virtue.” He went on, ‘”Facts, evidence, reason, logic, an understanding of science: these are good things. These are qualities you want in people making policy. … That might seem obvious. … We traditionally have valued those things, but if you’re listening to today’s political debate, you might wonder where this strain of anti-intellectualism came from.”

Juice: Russia’s sports minister has apologized for its athletes and coaches caught using performance-enhancing drugs. Vitaly Mutko wrote in an article published in the Sunday Times in London, “Serious mistakes have been made by the federation management, along with athletes and coaches.” But despite the mea culpa, Mutko was arguing in favor of lifting the ban on Russian participation in the upcoming summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. “Doping is a global problem, not just a Russian problem.” But it’s a big Russian problem. They still deny systematic doping at the winter games in Sochi.

Medical Journal: The NY Times reports that a Massachusetts man who lost his penis to cancer has become the first man to receive a penile transplant. It’s expected to work normally in all respects. Thomas Manning, 64, a bank courier from Halifax, Mass., told the Times, “I want to go back to being who I was.”

Permawar: As if there are already enough factions fighting over Syria and Iraq, al Qaeda is getting help from Pakistani tribal forces to fight the Islamic State.

Murder, Inc.: More than 20 US cities have had a dramatic increase in murders. The leaders are Chicago, Dallas, Jacksonville, Fla., Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Memphis. It’s a mixed picture. Murder is down 25 percent in New York, but in Las Vegas it has nearly doubled.

The Obit Page: Julius La Rosa, the handsome crooner who rose to prominence on the Arthur Godfrey radio variety show in the 1950s and was famously fired live on the air, has died at age 86. LaRosa’s signature song was “Eh, Cumpari,” but it was how he left the Godfrey show that made broadcast history.

Godfrey discovered LaRosa just out of the Navy. LaRosa became very popular, receiving thousands of fan letters. And Godfrey didn’t like the competition. One day when LaRosa finished a song, Godfrey said, “Well, that was Julie’s swan song with us.” LaRosa went into the writers’ room and said, “I think I’ve just been fired.” The writers agreed with him. “Yes, you have.”

Basebrawl: A simmering feud between the Texas Rangers and the Toronto Blue Jays broke into open violence yesterday when the Rangers’ second baseman Rougned Odor landed a brutal punch to the face of the Jays’ Jose Bautista. Players from both teams left the bench. “I was pretty surprised,” Bautista said. “I mean, obviously, that’s the only reason that he got me, and he got me pretty good, so I have to give him that. It takes a little bit bigger man to knock me down.”

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