For the Record

‘A nation without borders is not a nation.’

President Trump, announcing that the White House would work alongside the Department of Homeland Security to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico; Trump spoke six days before a scheduled meeting with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto

alternative facts

Noun. A euphemism for lies.

Usage: On Jan. 22, Trump counselor Kellyanne Conway characterized White House press secretary Sean Spicer’s falsehoods about attendance at the Inauguration as “alternative facts”

‘Act normal, or go away.’

Mark Rutte, Dutch Prime Minister, telling immigrants to assimilate, in a blunt campaign ad ahead of a March 15 election, in which he faces a challenge from far-right populist Geert Wilders

23%

The percentage more gun violence found in PG-13 movies than in R-rated ones, according to new research in Pediatrics

$1 million

The reward offered by the Michigan department of natural resources, which is seeking a way to prevent invasive Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes

‘It makes my head spin even more than it’s spinning.’

Damien Chazelle, director, responding to the news that his film La La Land received 14 Oscar nominations, tying the record set by All About Eve and Titanic

Venus

The Williams sister became the oldest Australian Open women’s semifinalist, at age 36

GOOD WEEK

BAD WEEK

Mars

The U.S. confectioner is investigating how thousands of Skittles spilled onto a highway

‘You’ve got mobile-home frames that look like spaghetti noodles.’

Jeff Lane, county commissioner in Adel, Ga., surveying the damage in the wake of Jan. 21 storms that also tore through Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, killing at least 18

‘I have thought an awful lot about blowing up the White House.’

Madonna, singer, voicing her postelection frustration during the Women’s March on Washington; after the comment generated controversy, she clarified that she had been speaking “in metaphor”

SOURCES: BBC; DETROIT FREE PRESS; NEW YORK TIMES; VARIETY