The Big Stories We Covered This Week

Third Time’s A Charm?
Trump walked away from this week a three-time victor, after securing a win in the Nevada Republican caucuses. But following a heated exchange in Thursday’s night debate, it’s anybody’s guess where the race is headed. Earlier this week, Ronald Brownstein detailed how Trump is “redefining the Republican party.”
On the Democratic front, Clinton and Sanders are vying for the minority vote ahead of South Carolina’s Democratic primary tomorrow and differing in their approaches, as David Graham explored in his dispatch from the state.
Next week, all eyes are on Super Tuesday when a host of states hold their contests, and delegate rules could affect the outcome.
The Oscars Are Coming, The Oscars Are Coming
Brace yourself: This Sunday, television networks break their best in celestial puns for the. night. of. the. year. The Oscars! It’s basically Christmas, except with Leonardo DiCaprio (and you’re not invited). Christopher rounded up his predictions, while Megan took on the infamous bags o’ swag.
On more serious notes, Spencer wrote on new diversity statistics that reveal just how bleak the picture is, while Lenika covered “the missing piece” of the #OscarsSoWhite conversations. Readers started to debate the issue.
Meanwhile, updates from the small screen: ABC’s Black-ish aired an episode on police brutality. Adrienne looked into Judd Apatow’s new Netflix series, Love, and its so-called-nice-guy lead, Gus.
Like, Love, Laugh, Cry—on the Interwebs
Facebook expanded the “like”—breaking the preeminent unit of social media affirmation into six different emotion-based reactions (like, love, wow, angry, sad, and haha). The company is also building a mega-map of the world’s populations. Meanwhile, court documents revealed that the the conflict between Apple and the FBI isn’t just about a single iPhone.
Your Stories
Readers described the moment when they became an adult, debated whether prostitution should be a crime, and confessed to pretending to be Canadian.
Eleven Things You Shouldn’t Miss
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Alana on San Jose, California: “the place where the poor once thrived.”
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Olga on a gender gap in housework—and its consequences.
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Weston on “the global black market for cacti.”
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Spencer on the importance of #FreeKesha.
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Russell on four members of Congress who road the Tea Party wave to office, only to washed back home after three terms.
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Julie on the science of coincidences.
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Jacoba Urist on the art of an apology.
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Moisés Naím on “ideological necrophilia.”
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Matthew Van Meter on Judge John Coughenour.
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Whitney Benns and Blake Strode on “debtors' prison in 21st-century America.”