The Week: Most Recent Home Page Posts

Lake Vostok: The Antarctic's 15-million-year-old time capsule

The Week — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:24:00 -0600

After more than 20 years of drilling, Russian scientists have finally opened a vertical channel to Lake Vostok, an ancient freshwater lake sealed for at least 15 million years under more than two miles of polar ice. Here's what you should know about one of Earth's best-preserved time capsules:

Hold on. They drilled for two decades?
You read that right. Drilling began in 1989 — before scientists could even confirm the 160-mile-long lake's existence — and "dragged on slowly due to funding shortages, equipment breakdowns, environmental concerns, and severe cold," says Vladimir Isachenkov...

Robo-mule: The military's rugged new wilderness beast

The Week — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:52:00 -0600

The video: Move over, PetMan. The military has a new walking robot: The LS3 (Legged Squad Support System), a big, fast, "rugged" machine that can carry over 400 pounds of supplies (without refueling) over 20 miles of tough terrain where wheels wouldn't cut it. The robo-mule, designed by the government's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), is equipped with sensors that allow it to auto-correct its balance. (Watch a video below.) The machine's creators say they'll soon teach their robotic pack animal how to understand spoken commands like "stop," "sit," and "come here" — and...

Good day, bad day: February 9, 2012

The Week — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:19:00 -0600

GOOD DAY FOR:

Kicking and screaming
Security cameras catch a 7-year-old girl successfully fighting off a would-be kidnapper in Walmart. [Opposing Views]

Lovers who love carbs
Pizza Hut offers $10,010 engagement packages, complete with ruby ring, limo service, fireworks, a photographer, and a $10 Pizza Hut dinner box (including a pizza, breadsticks and cinnamon sticks). [The Daily What]

Chinese worker rights
More than 250,000 Apple users sign two petitions demanding that Foxconn, the world's largest electronics manufacturing company, improve working conditions for employees. [The Consumerist]

BAD DAY FOR...

The Steve Jobs FBI dossier: 5 surprises

The Week — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:25:00 -0600

On Thursday, the FBI released its once secret 191-page file on late Apple visionary Steve Jobs. The dossier details the extensive background check performed on Jobs in 1991 when he was being considered for a spot on the President's Export Council in the George H.W. Bush administration. The report includes interviews with friends and colleagues, who all offer their opinions on the Apple co-founder. Here, five of the most surprising revelations:

1. He might not have been a very nice guy
I've read a lot of background FBI investigations, says John Cook at Gawker, and I've rarely encountered one in which...

Wikileaks: Does Bradley Manning deserve a Nobel Peace Prize?

The Week — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:10:00 -0600

Three members of the Icelandic parliament have nominated accused WikiLeaks informant Army Pfc. Bradley Manning for the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize. Manning allegedly put 250,000 Department of State diplomatic cables, Department of Defense gun camera videos, and other classified documents onto CD-RWs, and sent them to WikiLeaks, which posted them online for all to see. The Icelandic politicians say Manning, who is being court-martialed for aiding the enemy, did the world a favor by exposing America's "long history of corruption, war crimes, and imperialism." Does Manning really...

The $26 billion foreclosure fraud settlement: By the numbers

The Week — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:00:00 -0600

After months of difficult negotiations, government authorities announced Thursday that they have reached a $26 billion settlement with five of the nation's biggest banks over their flawed and fraudulent foreclosure practices. The deal is intended to help troubled borrowers by lowering their mortgage rates and the amounts they owe on their homes. It also will provide restitution to people hit by mortgage-related abuses, such as the "robo-signing" of documents to speed up foreclosures. Who will the deal help, and how much relief will they get? Here, a brief guide to the settlement, by the numbers...

Does Amazon's Viacom deal make it a real competitor to Netflix?

The Week — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:40:00 -0600

More bad news for Netflix: On Wednesday, one of the streaming service's chief rivals, Amazon Prime, announced a lucrative new partnership deal with cable company Viacom. The blockbuster deal lets Amazon stream programming from Comedy Central, MTV, and Nickelodeon — including shows like Jersey Shore, Chappelle's Show, and Dora the Explorer — and increases Amazon's streaming library to 15,000 titles. Considering Netflix's recent inability to hold onto crucial content partnerships with companies like Starz, does this deal signal that Amazon is poised to topple...

Can dessert for breakfast help you lose weight?

The Week — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:02:00 -0600

A new study from Tel Aviv University finds that eating a small dessert as part of a balanced breakfast can actually help you shed unwanted pounds. Wait, says Madeline Davies at Jezebel. "Staying skinny and eating chocolate?" Here, a brief guide to what sounds, frankly, impossible:

Dessert with breakfast?
Why not? "Morning is the best time to consume sweets because that's when the body's metabolism is most active," says Britain's Telegraph. And if you indulge in, say, a bit of chocolate after your eggs and bacon, you have the rest of the day to work off the extra calories.

Wouldn't it be better to...

The 'disturbing' rise of super PACs: By the numbers

The Week — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:50:00 -0600

President Obama got some grief this week when he reversed course on super PACs, suddenly encouraging wealthy supporters to contribute to the political spending behemoths that can accept unlimited donations from individuals and organizations. (Read a quick primer on super PACs here.) Obama campaign manager Jim Messina explained the change of heart as a nod to reality, saying Democrats can't "unilaterally disarm" while cash pours into Republican coffers. How much cash? A lot, say Kenneth Vogel and Abby Phillip at Politico. A new report from two public-interest groups confirms fears "that...

The Bourne Legacy trailer: Can Jeremy Renner make people forget Matt Damon?

The Week — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:15:00 -0600

"There was never just one," teases the newly released trailer for The Bourne Legacy, the latest installment in the blockbuster film franchise. (Watch the clip below.) In this fourth Bourne film (hitting theaters August 3), Hurt Locker star Jeremy Renner (Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol) plays Aaron Cross, a new agent giving himself over to a super-secret spy program. Renner, Hollywood's latest go-to action star, is stepping in for Matt Damon, who, as titular character Jason Bourne, helped the franchise's first three films rake in more than $1 billion worldwide. Will Renner be able to...

The 12-year-old who saved his grandmother from foreclosure

The Week — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:36:00 -0600

Noah Lamaide is not your average 12-year-old. Since he was 9, the Wisconsin boy has been active in community service, largely inspired by his grandmother, Janice Sparhawk, who has served as a foster parent to hundreds of local children. When foreclosure threatened his grandmother's century-old house recently, the young altruist leapt into action. Here, a short guide to this unusual story:

What exactly happened?
After taking out a 2010 loan to put a new roof on her circa 1900 home, Janice Sparhawk, 72, fell behind on the mortgage payments. Eye surgery and complications from asthma forced Sparhawk...

Will the culture war shape the 2012 race?

The Week — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:06:00 -0600

"Everyone thought that the 2012 election would be about jobs, jobs, jobs," says Michael Brendan Dougherty at Business Insider. "They were wrong." The unemployment rate has dropped for five straight months to its lowest point in three years (8.3 percent), and, for the moment, headlines are dominated by social issues, from Komen vs. Planned Parenthood to Catholics vs. President Obama's birth-control coverage mandate. And social warrior Rick Santorum just trounced business-savvy Mitt Romney in three GOP presidential nominating contests. Will the culture war define the campaign in unexpected ways?...

Did CNN's Roland Martin deserve a suspension for 'homophobic' tweeting?

The Week — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:34:00 -0600

CNN prides itself on reporting breaking news as quickly as possible, says Erik Wemple at The Washington Post. But "it's apparently a little slower in responding to in-house crises." CNN political analyst Roland Martin sent out "unequivocally homophobic tweets" during Sunday's Super Bowl, but CNN didn't suspend him until Wednesday. One tweet in particular — "If a dude at your Super Bowl party is hyped about David Beckham's H&M underwear ad, smack the ish out of him!" — provoked the ire of gay rights groups. Martin apologized, claiming he was mocking soccer players, not...

The Romney revolt: Has the GOP base turned on him?

The Week — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:19:00 -0600

What was behind "Mitt Romney's terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad night on Tuesday"? asks Eric Kleefeld at Talking Points Memo. That's simple: "A deep-seated dissatisfaction among conservative base voters." When Romney won Nevada and Florida last week, he was supported by a broad cross-section of the GOP electorate, including the conservative base. In Tuesday's contests in Missouri, Colorado, and Minnesota, conservatives — the same pool of GOP base voters who gave Romney huge 2008 wins in the latter two states — fled en masse. Is Romney really facing a revolt from his party's rank...

4 ways Rick Santorum can hang onto his momentum

The Week — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:37:00 -0600

Rick Santorum roared back into the Republican presidential race on Tuesday with a stunning sweep of contests in Colorado, Minnesota, and Missouri. Santorum spent Wednesday raising money and brainstorming ways to build on his momentum — and avoid a replay of Iowa, where his win produced only the smallest and short-lived of bumps. "We are smart enough to know that this is no time to celebrate," senior Santorum strategist John Brabender tells The Washington Post. Facing a much better-funded, better-organized rival in Mitt Romney, and a tenacious splitter of the conservative vote in Newt Gingrich...

10 things you need to know today: February 9, 2012

The Week — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 08:30:00 -0600

1. VIOLENCE ESCALATES IN SYRIA
Syrian forces continue to bombard the opposition in the city of Homs, while world leaders debate how best to help rebel forces and civilians. In the last week, Homs residents and activists say hundreds have been killed as President Bashar al-Assad tries to stamp out the country's pro-democracy uprising with military force. [Reuters]

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