Click here to listen to our full broadcast from Friday, March 2, 2012:

Jackie Mader brings us the news at 4:00 p.m.

Sean Trende, a senior elections analyst for Real Clear Politics, says the Republican primary campaign is “an even bigger mess” than people realize. With Super Tuesday looming, he thinks the GOP still needs to get it together.

In 2010, the Supreme Court declared restrictions on political donations unconstitutional. The justices confirmed that spending money is an expression of free speech, but critics feared the decision would corrupt the political process. As candidates prepared for Super Tuesday, corporate donations seemed to be lower than expected.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo vowed in January to get rid of a practice he thinks is invasive and unfair: fingerprinting recipients of food stamps. The state started doing this in 1996 to prevent fraud and clerical errors, but stopped in 2007. New Yorkers are divided on the issue, but there’s at least one strong advocate of fingerprinting: Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Every year, New York courts incarcerate hundreds of youths under the age of 16, placing many in facilities more than 200 miles from home. Advocates and criminal justice experts say keeping youths in these facilities makes them more likely to repeat their offenses. The New York State legislature is considering reforms.

After five weeks of publicity, Google’s new privacy policy — which has been criticized as invasive — took effect yesterday. Think tanks, attorneys general, and European officials are voicing concern, but Google says the changes will improve searches.

Developing applications for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computers is one of the nation’s fastest growing industries, employing nearly half a million people, a recent report by TechNet says. New York has a large share of those jobs — almost 10 percent.

It’s a greenhouse full of beats — but not the edible kind. Music producer Willie Green creates a beat in his Brooklyn studio.

Annie Russell brings us the news at 4:30.

New numbers from the Department of Labor show that fewer people are applying for unemployment than in previous months. Last month’s average of 351,000 per week was the lowest in four years. These numbers are the latest in a string of indicators that may mean the labor market is gaining momentum. But some New Yorkers aren’t seeing much improvement.

This week was a tough one for city comptroller and mayoral candidate John Liu. On Tuesday, federal agents arrested his campaign treasurer. Now Liu faces questions about the future of his mayoral bid, and whether he can hold on to his position as comptroller. In Liu’s home neighborhood of Flushing, residents had mixed reactions.

After being confined to house arrest and banned from directing for 20 years, Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi used his digital camera to create a documentary self-portrait, cheekily titled “This Is Not a Film.” Panahi’s documentary was smuggled out of Iran on a USB drive inside a cake. Three days later, another Iranian film, “A Separation,” won the country its first Foreign Film Oscar.

The besieged city of Homs has emerged as the geographical center of opposition to President Bashir al-Assad. But members of the Syrian diaspora are also working from abroad to further the opposition’s cause. Music is playing a role in that movement.

Some people measure their self-worth in terms of what they own. But for commentator Jacqueline Guzman, getting rid of excess baggage and going with the flow is liberating.

For cross-country skiing enthusiasts, the lack of snow this year is a disappointment. But competitive skiers aren’t fazed. Skiers based in New York are especially used to training without snow, and word is spreading that one of the best places to train — snow or not — is right in Manhattan.