A housewife who became the first woman to fly around the world. The boxer who integrated Louisiana. A deep-dive into the 60-word basis for the war on terror and an exploration of whether elementary schoolers should be locked up for plotting to kill their classmates. A debauched week in the world’s largest retirement community, a weekend at a clown convention, and 36 hours on the fake campaign trail with Donald Trump. Here’s a look back at some of the great feature stories BuzzFeed News published in 2014.

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60 Words and a War Without End — Gregory D. Johnsen

Written in the frenzied, emotional days after 9/11, the Authorization for the Use of Military Force was intended to give President Bush the ability to retaliate against whoever orchestrated the attacks. But more than 12 years later, this sentence remains the primary legal justification for nearly every covert operation around the world. Here’s how it came to be, and what it’s since come to mean.

John Gara / BuzzFeed

Why Is the World's Gayest Sport Stuck in the Closet? — Blair Braverman

Men’s figure skating has always been caught between its public image and its conservative culture. But with anti-LGBT policies haunting the Sochi Olympics, the sport’s biggest stars were under more pressure than ever to set the record straight.

From left: Chung Sung-Jun / Getty, Cameron Spencer / Getty, Jared Wickerham / Getty, Claudio Villa / Getty, Jared Wickerham / Getty, Jonathan Daniel / Getty

What Does Pussy Riot Mean Now? — Miriam Elder

Two members of Russia's most notorious band of shit-stirrers were free after nearly two years of political imprisonment and enjoying the rock star treatment during their first trip to the U.S. But the group’s unlikely journey from art school project to international icons shows just how rotten Russia has become and how much the mission has changed.

John Gara / BuzzFeed

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