The Week: Most Recent from Ryu Spaeth

WATCH: Brave Boston bombing victim opens up about her leg amputation

The Week — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 09:45:00 -0400

Heather Abbott, one of the more than 260 victims injured in the Boston Marathon bombings, opened up about her recovery at a press conference on Thursday, saying her decision to amputate her left leg below the knee was "what I needed to do." Displaying a remarkable degree of stoicism and good cheer, the 38-year-old native of Providence, R.I., said that without the operation she would have been left with a "mangled" foot that may never have fully healed.

Abbott fielded questions on an array of topics, from her memories of the blast ("I felt like my foot was on fire") to meeting Michelle Obama...

Apple beats expectations: Is it enough for Wall Street?

The Week — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 20:32:00 -0400

Apple CEO Tim Cook must feel like he's taking crazy pills.

The tech giant on Tuesday evening announced a staggering $9.5 billion profit for the second quarter, on $43.6 billion in revenue, narrowly beating analysts' expectations.

In addition, the company announced that it was boosting its stock dividend by 15 percent, and increasing its stock buyback program to $60 billion, from $10 billion, which Apple claims is the largest share repurchase plan in history. In total, the company will spend $100 billion through 2015 to please its investors.

And yet Apple's stock price, which has tumbled to the...

WATCH: Uncle of Boston bombing suspects calls them 'losers'

The Week — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 11:47:00 -0400

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The uncle of the two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing — identified as 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev — on Friday delivered a riveting, impassioned press conference in which he called his two nephews "losers" and claimed they had shamed the Chechen people and their family. The uncle, Ruslan Tsarni, also pleaded with Dzhokhar, who is on the run, to turn himself into the police. "Dzhokar!" he cried. "If you're alive, turn yourself in! And ask for forgiveness...

The Boston Marathon bombings and Chechnya's long history of terrorism

The Week — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 10:15:00 -0400

After a dramatic night that saw law enforcement officials engage in a running battle with two terrorism suspects in the suburbs of Boston, reports emerged this morning that the suspects — identified as brothers Dzhokdar Tsarnaev and Tarmerlan Tsarnaev — originally hailed from Chechnya, a restive region in southern Russia that has a long history of using terrorist tactics in its war against the Russian state.

Of course, we still know very little of the Tsarnaev brothers' personal histories, motivations, or potential ties to terror groups. But we do know a lot about the part of...

WATCH LIVE: The FBI holds press conference on Boston Marathon investigation

The Week — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 16:55:00 -0400

The media coverage of the Boston Marathon bombings has been characterized by a dizzying whirlwind of confusion. Conflicting reports? Check. Embarrassingly premature claims that a suspect has been arrested? Check. The misidentification of two completely innocent teenagers as possible suspects? Check.

What's missing are some actual answers about a devastating attack that killed three people and wounded more than 170 others. The FBI on Thursday scheduled a press conference to update the public on the status of its investigation, which is expected to offer at least some clarity. The presser is set...

WATCH: Obama eulogizes victims of the Boston Marathon bombings

The Week — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 14:05:00 -0400

President Obama today paid tribute to the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings — which killed three people and injured more than 170 others on Monday — at an interfaith service in Boston's Cathedral of the Holy Cross. "The spirit of this city is undaunted," Obama said. "You will run again."

It is, unfortunately, hardly the first time that Obama has had to play the role of comforter-in-chief in the wake of a tragic act of violence. As recently as December, Obama eulogized the 26 victims of the mass shooting in Newtown, Conn.

However, Obama also pledged that the victims in...

Narcissistic, broke, and 7 other ways to describe the Millennial generation [Updated]

The Week — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 12:25:00 -0400

Who are the Millennials? Aside from being born in the 1980s and 1990s, they comprise a generation that continues to elude a neat definition. With the popularity of HBO's Girls, whose main character thinks she's the voice of this new generation ("Or at least a voice. Of a generation."), Millennials have come under renewed focus in the media, among the literati, and in the boardrooms of marketers trying to pinpoint what this demographic wants. Here, nine ways that Millennials have been described:

1. They're natural entrepreneurs...
Call it "Generation Sell" — Millennials are less inclined...

WATCH: Obama blasts NRA for 'willfully' lying to public

The Week — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 18:45:00 -0400

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

President Obama on Wednesday used a press conference in the Rose Garden to excoriate the National Rifle Association, following the defeat of an amendment in the Senate to expand background checks for gun buyers. Visibly angry and frustrated, Obama said the gun lobby "willfully lied" about the measure, which is the most modest of the three main proposals the White House has put forth to reduce gun violence in America.

Citing polls showing 90 percent support for universal background checks, Obama said the NRA's...

Boston Police: No arrest made in Boston Marathon bombing [Updated]

The Week — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 14:05:00 -0400

Two days after improvised explosives rocked the Boston Marathon, killing three and injuring at least 170 more, investigators have reportedly arrested a suspect in the attack. [UPDATE: The Boston Police and federal officials have stated that no arrest has been made in the Boston Marathon bombing case, despite numerous news reports claiming otherwise. However, reports that a suspect has been identified have held up thus far.]

CNN, the Boston Globe, the Associated Press, and Fox News report that a suspect is in custody. However, NBC and CBS maintain that no one has been arrested...

How U.S. conservatives and liberals are spinning Margaret Thatcher's death

The Week — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 15:43:00 -0400

It turns out that Margaret Thatcher is as divisive in death as she was in life. News of the former British prime minister's death has prompted tributes from around the world, as well as criticisms of a formidable legacy that includes introducing free-market reforms to Britain, taking a tough line against the Soviet Union and communism in general, and going to war to reclaim the Falkland Islands from Argentina.

American commentators were quick to define her legacy in ideological terms, a reflection of her enduring impact — along with that of her close ally, Ronald Reagan — ...

Is this ancient Roman ring the inspiration for The Lord of the Rings?

The Week — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 15:51:00 -0400

The ring at the center of The Lord of the Rings, the classic fantasy epic by J.R.R. Tolkien, may have been inspired by an ancient Roman artifact currently on display in a Tudor mansion in England.

The exhibition at the mansion, known as The Vyne, is jointly sponsored by Britain's National Trust and the Tolkien Society. Tolkien reportedly did some research on the ring in 1929, long before the publication of The Hobbit in 1937 and the first installment of The Lord of the Rings in 1954.

In 1929, Tolkien was a professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford, and was consulted by archaeologist Sir Mortimer Wheeler...

WATCH: President Obama bricks a lay-up

The Week — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 15:45:00 -0400

There was a time when President Obama's basketball prowess was a source of adulation for both the press and his fans. (Remember that time he hit a three?) But the baller-in-chief has gotten a little rusty — as evidenced by his abysmal 2-for-22 performance at the White House Easter Egg Roll this weekend.

Obama could not buy a bucket. According to the White House pool report, his shoot-around went like this: "Miss. Miss. Off the rim. Miss. Miss. Off the rim. Airball."

And for good measure, he bricked a lay-up, which we didn't even think was possible.

(via CBS)

5 new revelations about Adam Lanza and the Sandy Hook massacre

The Week — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 15:24:00 -0400

On Thursday, Connecticut authorities unsealed search warrants and police reports pertaining to the Sandy Hook Elementary school massacre in Newtown, Conn., offering a trove of new information about shooter Adam Lanza to the public. Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy had been pressing for their release, saying the details could be useful as state lawmakers try to craft legislation to limit gun violence. However, Danbury's state attorney, Stephen Sedensky, successfully won a court order redacting the personal information of certain witnesses, the disclosure of which, he claimed, could compromise...

Why the GOP should want to lose the Supreme Court's gay-marriage cases

The Week — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 21:22:00 -0400

Most members of the Republican Party hope that the Supreme Court will not use the two gay-marriage cases it heard this week to issue a broad ruling affirming the constitutional right of gays and lesbians to marry. However, top officials in the GOP are reportedly praying for precisely that outcome, calculating that it would be the most effective way to remove gay marriage as a political liability.

Republican analysts see the party's opposition to gay marriage as a massive drag on their electoral prospects going forward. A solid majority of Americans now support marriage equality, and most worryingly...

The Supreme Court and gay marriage: Why DOMA may be doomed

The Week — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 15:58:00 -0400

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court heard the second of two gay-marriage cases scheduled for oral arguments this week, this time focusing on the constitutionality of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as being between a man and a woman. How the court will rule in yesterday's case, which centered on California's Proposition 8 ban on gay marriages, remains something of a mystery. Today's case was more clear-cut: A majority of justices voiced strong skepticism of DOMA's constitutionality.

At issue is a portion of the law that prevents the government from providing same-sex couples...

LISTEN: Audio of the Supreme Court's oral arguments on the Defense of Marriage Act

The Week — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 14:10:00 -0400

The Supreme Court has released an audio recording and transcript of the oral arguments in the case over the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, the federal law that defines marriage as being between a man and a woman.

It's the second of two landmark cases regarding marriage equality that have come before the court this week. Yesterday, the justices argued the constitutional merits of Proposition 8, a California referendum that banned same-sex marriage.

According to initial accounts, a majority of justices on Wednesday expressed strong skepticism about DOMA's constitutionality.

Listen to audio...