Good week for:
President Barack Obama, who was officially re-elected for his second term by the Electoral College, with 332 electoral votes to Mitt Romney’s 206. Three Republican electors from Arizona, however, registered objections, insisting that Obama had never submitted a “legitimate” birth certificate.
Buying a carry-on suitcase, after new federal data showed that the major U.S. airlines collected $924 million in revenue from bag-check fees over just three months—a major source of their profits.
A visit from E.T., after astronomers discovered several planets orbiting a sun-like star called Tau Ceti just 12 light-years away, including one that might have Earth-like temperatures and water.
Bad week for:
Conservative spending, after Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign was challenged by nine media organizations over “exorbitant charges” to reporters covering the campaign. The campaign charged reporters up to $812 for a single meal and a place to file their stories, and $1,000 for a seat on the bus.
The steal of the week, after a California condo failed to attract any buyers despite being listed for $1. The condo, located in a luxury retirement complex, carries $1,718 in monthly charges, and is “a good deal, but not a good investment,” a realtor says.
Charlie, a mixed-breed dog in Southampton, England, with a penchant for eating things, after surgeons had to remove a foot-long string of Christmas lights from his stomach. “I have never known a dog to act like this before,” sighed his owner.
