The Biggest Stories You Can't Miss This Week

Over the last three decades, massive sulcata tortoises have become a popular American family pet. Meet the people who made that happen — and the ones that are begging you not to buy one. Read it at BuzzFeed News.

Eli Saslow chronicles, in harrowing detail, an opiate addict's struggle to stay clean in preparation for a potentially life-changing new treatment. “Days are forever...Do you even know how hard it is to go for one minute?” Read it at The Washington Post.

Before the mothers of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and Eric Garner took to the streets in protest, there was Iris Baez, a homemaker who became an activist after an NYPD officer killed her son Anthony in 1994. Esther Wang chronicles her, and too many others', fight for justice. Read it at BuzzFeed News.

The conservatism of Goldwater, Reagan, and Buckley and its romantic notions of limited government dominated Republican politics for half a century. Katherine Miller explores how the rise of Trump marks a seismic shift for those for whom conservatism wasn’t just a philosophy — it was an identity. Read it at BuzzFeed News.

Jesse Barron examines how apps like Yelp, Seamless, and Venmo employ infantilizing language to carry out the very grown-up task of data collection. "When adults act like kids, you can take their money like candy." Read it at Real Life.

Three of the former Libyan dictator’s top officials, who are living comfortably in Britain — despite being wanted in Tripoli for allegedly embezzling millions from the collapsed state. Jane Bradley and Richard Holmes investigate. Read it at BuzzFeed News.

To understand Drake’s proximity to reggae, and all tings Caribbean, it’s important to acknowledge who shapes the culture of Toronto. Sajae Elder asks: is that enough? Read it at BuzzFeed Reader.