Good Week, Bad Week
Bus drivers and billboard renters performed well over the past seven days, but express-lane drivers and online video watchers met their matches
Listen in as John Hockenberry and Celeste Headlee, co-hosts of "The Takeaway," bring you an audio version of The Week's "Good Week, Bad Week.” You can call in with Good Week, Bad Week nominations of your own at 877-8-MY TAKE, or e-mail them to mytake@thetakeaway.org. See more from "The Takeaway."
Good week for:
Overtime, after it was revealed that the highest-paid city employee in Madison, Wisc., was bus driver John E. Nelson, who earned $159,258 in 2009, including $109,892 in overtime and other extra pay. Seven city bus drivers made more than $100,000 last year.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

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.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Bush nostalgia, after a group of business owners caused a furor by erecting a billboard on Minnesota’s I-35 of George W. Bush smirking and waving, with the words “Miss me yet?” The people who paid for the billboard, said the advertising firm that created it, are not fans of the current administration.
The New Orleans Saints, whose Super Bowl victory last week was witnessed by 106.5 million viewers—the most-watched television event in U.S. history.
Bad week for:
Riding shotgun, after Long Island, N.Y., resident Kathleen Frascinella was ticketed for driving in the high-occupancy-vehicle lane of the Long Island Expressway with an elaborately dressed dummy. A police officer became suspicious because the dummy was wearing sunglasses on a cloudy day.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Productivity, after an industry study found that in December, Americans viewed 33.2 billion online videos, with an average duration of 4.1 minutes. That’s a combined total of well over 250,000 years.
Akbar Zib, a respected, high-ranking Pakistani official, who was rejected as ambassador to Saudi Arabia because his name translates to “Biggest Dick” in Arabic.
-
June 29 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include the AI genie, Iran saving face, and bad language bombs
-
A tall ship adventure in the Mediterranean
The Week Recommends Sailing aboard this schooner and exploring Portugal, Spain and Monaco is a 'magical' experience
-
How drone warfare works
The Explainer From Ukraine to Iran, it has become clear that unmanned aircraft are rapidly revolutionising modern warfare
-
Good week, Bad week
feature Making amends, Justice, Saying ‘cheese’
-
Good week, Bad week
feature Reptile experience; Painless budget cuts; Driving with kids
-
Good week, Bad week
feature Closing the sale; Calling 911; Going to the circus
-
Good week, Bad week
feature Asking Google anything; Misanthropes; Persistence
-
Good week, Bad week
feature Torture, Irritating the cat, Being cheap
-
Good week, Bad week
feature Strolling in Naples; Infallibility; Mississippi
-
Good week, Bad week
feature Tesla; Entrepreneurship; Fortune-tellers
-
Good week, Bad week
feature The miracles of science; Wild times in Wisconsin; Holding hands