Mark Zuckerberg makes a donation, and more

last updated 8 January 2015

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced last week that he is contributing $100 million to the public schools of Newark, N.J. Zuckerberg, 26, has no ties to Newark. But the billionaire says he has faith in Mayor Cory Brooker. His five-year grant will help reform the district of 40,000, where only 54 percent of high school students graduate. Zuckerberg, the subject of the new film The Social Network, said he had wanted to make the donation anonymously, but was talked out of it by Oprah Winfrey.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

In 1994, electrician Philippe Croizon was hit by a 20,000-volt charge on a job, requiring all four of his limbs to be amputated. Now, the Frenchman has become the first limbless person to swim the English Channel, crossing the 21-mile expanse in just over 13 hours. “I did it! It’s mad!” said Croizon as he arrived on the shore of Wissant, France. Croizon used specially designed prosthetic flippers to make the journey. “I’ve done this for myself, for my family, and for all those who have suffered tragedy and lost their taste for life,” he said.

Game 7 of the 1960 World Series, in which Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Bill Mazeroski hit a game-ending home run to beat the New York Yankees 10–9, is considered one of the greatest ever played. But with no video record, it appeared lost to history. At least until Robert Bader, vice president of Bing Crosby Entertainment, discovered a stack of film canisters in the late singer’s wine cellar. Crosby, a part owner of the Pirates, had been too nervous to watch in person, but he arranged to have it filmed. The five reels, labeled “1960 World Series,” have been transferred to DVD.