It’s Monday morning, so don’t do too much, too fast. Wake up slowly with these news headlines.
1. Only 47 more states to go
Now that the dust has settled after Saturday’s decisive win for Donald Trump in South Carolina, the question has turned to who, exactly, is going to be able to knock him out of first place in the presidential primary race. Jeb Bush dropped out; Marco Rubio, who finished in second place in South Carolina and Ted Cruz, who came in third, are vying to be the “establishment” — read, not a reality TV star — candidate best positioned to overtake Trump. Both are arguing that the fight has only just begun. Tell that to those of us who’ve been watching this since last summer. — The New York Times
2. The establishment and women’s health
More on what “the establishment” wants for women: Governor John Kasich of Ohio, one of the Republican presidential contenders, yesterday signed into law a bill that strips funding from Planned Parenthood in Ohio. The $1.3 million would go for breast cancer screenings, STD tests, domestic violence programs and more — but not abortions, which state and federal law already prevents. Kasich, responding to protests that greeted him at campaign events, said he liked seeing young people being passionate about something and not always glued to their devices. No, that’s not condescending at all. — NBC News
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3. Murdering spree
Police are trying to identify a motive for the Uber driver who killed six people on Saturday night. Jason Brian Dalton drove around downtown Kalamazoo over the course of some hours on Saturday evening, apparently selecting his victims deliberately, including a father and son at a car dealership, but without leaving any clues as to why he chose these particular people for his gruesome spree. He picked up Uber fares between the murders. Dalton was arrested without incident about two hours after his last victims were killed, and law enforcement says there is no evidence that this was terrorism. Police called him “an average Joe.” Well, an average mentally ill Joe with a gun. — NBC News
4. As Nevada goes…
Hillary Clinton‘s win in the Nevada caucuses on Saturday has pundits declaring that her nomination is all but guaranteed. Clinton had long counted Nevada in her column, but recent unexpected gains by Sanders caused her camp to walk back expectations for that state last week. Nonetheless, her support from black and Latino voters helped her pull it off, and columnists are predicting that we’re back where we started: with Clinton in a comfortable lead heading into South Carolina. — Slate
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5. Inhale
The Apple versus the FBI news story is being framed — at least by Apple — as big government overreach against freedom fighters for privacy rights. (Last week, a judge ordered Apple to help law enforcement get into the San Bernardino terrorists’ phone, which is locked. Apple has refused to comply.) The FBI director waded into the fray yesterday, making a personal plea “to take a deep breath” and treat this as an isolated request to solve a crime rather than setting a precedent or permanently breaking the company’s encryption. — NBC News
6. Onward
The Supreme Court is back in session today for the first time since the death of Antonin Scalia, whose funeral was held on Saturday. Scalia’s chair will be draped in black, and the court will operate with eight justices until the president and Senate can nominate and confirm a replacement. The case most likely to come down to a 4-4 split is on the power of unions, specifically, if workers who aren’t part of unions can nonetheless be compelled to pay union dues. The case was argued in January and likely will leave in place the California decision, a victory for the unions. — The New York Times
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