The Week: Most Recent from Jessica Hullinger

13 things I learned hanging out at the Wheel of Fortune set

The Week — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 09:00:00 -0400

When I was in elementary school, my uncle told me he'd met Vanna White on a plane once. I was amazed — and jealous! I had endless questions: What was she like? Was she tall? Was she wearing one of her signature gowns? Did she have an entourage?

Like so many Americans, I grew up adoringly watching Wheel of Fortune. And so, when the show ditched its normal Los Angeles studio to tape several episodes at Madison Square Garden in honor of Wheel's 30th anniversary, I was immediately and completely in.

I had the distinct honor of meeting one-on-one with both Pat and Vanna, along with members...

Live coverage: Two explosions rock the Boston Marathon

The Week — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 15:21:00 -0400

These were the latest updates as of 5:30 p.m. EST. For continued coverage, please follow our updates here.

Argentina's Jorge Mario Bergoglio is the new pope: Live updates on the papal conclave

The Week — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 14:10:00 -0400

The 2013 Oscars: Live-blogging the awards

The Week — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 19:00:00 -0500

One of the longest and strangest Oscar seasons in recent memory draws to a close tonight with the 85th annual Academy Award ceremony – which begins on ABC starting at 8:30 p.m. (See our predictions for the Academy Awards here, and read a collection of The Week’s other Oscar-related stories below.) Will Argo fend off tough competition to win Best Picture? Will host Seth MacFarlane be a hit or a dud? Will anyone be able to pronounce Best Actress nominee Quevazhane Wallis' name correctly? (For the record: Kwah-VAN-jeh-nay.)

Join us in real time as we find out. Tonight, entertainment...

Everything you need to know about meteor strikes

The Week — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 12:02:00 -0500

On Friday, a meteor exploded 32,000 feet above the Chelyabinsk region of Russia, lighting up the sky and producing a shockwave that shook buildings and shattered windows. At least 1,000 people were injured in the blasts, the highest toll ever caused by an object from space. Video footage of the meteorites, while mesmerizing, is also terrifying. It "appeals to our most primitive fears," tweeted The Week's D.B. Grady. "It's an astonishing glimpse at the end of the world." Here's what you should know about Russia's meteor blast, and others like it:

First off: What exactly is a meteor?...

Is the hole in the ozone closing?

The Week — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 15:23:00 -0500

Since the 1980s, a hole in the ozone layer has loomed over Antarctica for three months of every year. During these months, the concentration of the ozone decreases, and harmful ultraviolet light, which causes sunburn and skin cancer, seeps through to the Earth's surface. Environmentalists have long looked to the ozone hole as evidence of man's negative impact on the atmosphere, but recent findings may ease their minds: Measurements indicate the hole in the ozone layer is the smallest it has been in 10 years, and could be completely gone within a few decades.

So why is it shrinking? The hole was...

WATCH LIVE: Alleged cop-killer Christopher Dorner engaged in shootout

The Week — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 17:05:00 -0500

Former LAPD officer and alleged cop-killer Christopher Dorner was reportedly spotted in the remote area of Big Bear, Calif., on Tuesday afternoon. According to the Los Angeles Times, Dorner broke into a home and held a couple hostage before stealing their car. He then engaged in a shootout with federal authorities, reportedly injuring two deputy officers. CBS has a live feed of the event:

A social media guide to the State of the Union

The Week — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 09:35:00 -0500

Tonight, President Obama will address Congress and the nation in his fourth State of the Union address, which is set to begin at 9 p.m. EST. If you won't be in front of a television — and even if you will be — be sure to follow along via social media. Here's how:

Before the speech:

At 7:30 p.m., chat live with White House reporter Paul Brandus on The Week's Facebook page. He'll give you the lowdown on what to expect from tonight's address.

During the speech:

On Twitter, subscribe to @TheWeek's list of key political players, which includes both reporters and...

Why the Great Lakes are shrinking

The Week — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 11:00:00 -0500

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced this week that two of America's Great Lakes, Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, are at their lowest water levels since recording began in 1918. The lakes were 29 inches below their long-term average, and down 17 inches since this time last year. "We're in an extreme situation," the Corps' Keith Kompoltowicz told USA Today.

The causes are threefold:

* Below-normal levels of rain and snowfall

* Record-high temperatures

* Dredging (the process of deepening navigational channels by removing layers of the bottom sediments)

Why should we...

Next year's Super Bowl might not have a halftime show

The Week — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 12:22:00 -0500

We hope you liked Beyonce's Super Bowl halftime performance, because it could be the last one for a couple years. Next year's big game will be played in New Jersey's open-air MetLife stadium, where the temperature is currently a frigid 27 degrees. And with next year's Super Bowl likely to be similarly cold, NFL officials reportedly aren't sure how to plan for the halftime show, as freezing temperatures could make the already-daunting task of quickly setting up and tearing down a massive stage even more difficult.

"It's not only the acts and the singers but [also] the crews that have to put...

Discovered under a parking lot: The body of King Richard III

The Week — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 10:35:00 -0500

History buffs, rejoice! Archaeologists say a skeleton found beneath a parking lot in 2012 belongs to England's King Richard III. "Beyond reasonable doubt it's Richard," lead archaeologist Richard Buckley announced on Monday. Richard reigned for two years, from 1483 until he was killed in battle in 1485 at the age of 32. He was buried unceremoniously in the town of Leicester, beneath a church that was demolished in the 16th century, its exact location forgotten over the many years since.

In late 2012, researchers began their search for the medieval king by using radar to scan for buried remains...

Did Iran fake its space monkey mission?

The Week — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 15:34:00 -0500

On Monday, Iran proudly announced to the world that it had launched a monkey into space and successfully brought it back to Earth alive. But something is amiss: Upon further inspection, it appears the monkey that returned from space doesn't match the monkey that left. Images newly released from a press conference prior to the launch show a monkey with light fur and a conspicuous red mole above its eye. The mole is mysteriously missing on the monkey that returned, which also has notably darker hair.

"It looks like a very different monkey, the nose, the features, everything is different,"...

WATCH: The first-ever footage of a thought being formed

The Week — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 11:15:00 -0500

In what is being called a "fundamental leap forward in our understanding of how brains work," Japanese researchers have successfully caught on film a thought being formed in the brain. And while the brain in this study belongs to a zebrafish, not a human, the footage is captivating, and sheds light on how researchers could use a similar technique to see how our brains work.

To observe the zebrafish brain's neurons in real time, researchers used a fluorescent probe that makes neurons light up when they're active. What was the zebrafish thinking about? Something we humans obsess about all...

Is it exploitative to have Sandy Hook students perform at the Super Bowl?

The Week — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 11:05:00 -0500

At Sunday's Super Bowl, 26 Sandy Hook Elementary students will sing "America The Beautiful" before Alicia Keys performs the national anthem. "Is there a touch of exploitation in the move?" asks Toni Monkovic at The New York Times, in a question she's surely not alone in posing.

The key to answering Monkovic's question is in asking two more: Who does this benefit? And is it doing any harm?

At least arguably, this benefits the performing children by letting them express their grief through song. Then again, traveling the country, appearing on morning shows, and singing in front of millions of people...

The Russian family that lived in isolation for 40 years

The Week — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 13:30:00 -0500

In today's world of increasing inter-connectivity, the idea of living off the grid, in the middle of nowhere, with no contact with the outside world is almost inconceivable. We're constantly updated on the lives of our friends, both far and near. We get instant reports on the world's wars and financial woes. And that's why a new article in Smithsonian magazine about a family that lived in isolation for decades is so fascinating. Mike Dash tells the extraordinary story of the Lykovs, a Russian family that — fearing increasingly hostile religious persecution &mdash...

WATCH: Gabrielle Giffords calls for gun control

The Week — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 10:50:00 -0500

On Wednesday, Gabrielle Giffords gave the opening statement at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on gun safety, urging lawmakers to act on gun control. The former Arizona congresswoman, who was nearly killed in a mass shooting two years ago that left six people dead and thirteen people injured, stood next to her husband Mark Kelly on Wednesday, and told the committee that while speaking is still difficult, she had something important to say:

Thank you for inviting me here today. This is an important conversation for our children, for our communities, for Democrats and Republicans...