Must Reads: An alleged bribe in an Alabama Senate race and an alleged conspiracy to assassinate Martin Luther King Jr.

Compelling, ambitious reads you can’t afford to miss.

For a long time, investigative reporter Shawn Boburg wasn't sure he'd be able to recount an effort by two Roy Moore supporters to discredit Leigh Corfman, a woman who had accused the Alabama Senate candidate of sexual misconduct. Eddie Sexton, who briefly served as Corfman's attorney, said the two men offered him $10,000 to say he didn't believe her. Sexton had evidence to back up his claims, including text messages and recordings of his conversations with the men. But it was complicated by the fact that they were Sexton's clients in a separate legal case, and the attorney was worried that he could be putting his license to practice law at risk by exposing an alleged bribe. 

"He wasn't sure he wanted a story at first," said Boburg, who came to The Post in 2015 after exposing New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's "Bridgegate" scandal. "He ignored my phones calls and texts for long stretches." Boburg, who worked on the story with video reporter Dalton Bennett, made three trips to Alabama to talk to Sexton in person. Everything hinged on getting Sexton on the record. That required patience and persistence, but also honesty. "He's not above scrutiny in the story," Boburg said. "I'm trying to gain his trust, but I'm also making it clear to him that I'm looking into his background." Finally, earlier this month, Sexton decided he was ready to go public. "He realized how important it was," Boburg said. Even so, he told Boburg a few days ago that he still hadn't read the story.

 — Lynda Robinson, Local Enterprise Editor

Attorney says Roy Moore supporters offered him $10,000 to drop client who accused the Senate candidate of sexual impropriety Recorded phone conversations and text messages show how far some of Moore’s most fervent supporters were willing to go to salvage the campaign in Alabama. Shawn Boburg and Dalton Bennett  •   Read more »

Trouble in candy land How Peeps, pensions and a lawsuit threaten to upend the American retirement system Damian Paletta  •   Read more »

Who killed Martin Luther King Jr.? His family believes James Earl Ray was framed. Coretta Scott King described “a major, high-level conspiracy in the assassination of my husband.” The King children remain certain of that, too. Tom Jackman  •   Read more »

Michael Avenatti, the adrenaline-fueled lawyer taking on President Trump The man who represents porn star Stormy Daniels moves fast in the courtroom, the TV studio and on the racecourse. Manuel Roig-Franzia  •   Read more »

Her son is being called an ‘alt-right killer.’ This mother blames herself.  A Virginia woman is facing a reckoning after police said her son killed his girlfriend’s parents, just days after they accused him of being an “outspoken Neo-Nazi.” Justin Jouvenal  •   Read more »