Briefing

THE WEEK

WE MOURNED ROBIN WILLIAMS

‘The country is in your hands.’

FUAD MASUM, Iraqi President, formally nominating Haider al-Abadi to be Prime Minister despite opposition from longtime Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki

‘There is a high probability.’

ANDERS FOGH RASMUSSEN, NATO Secretary-General, on whether the Russian military will intervene in eastern Ukraine

10 million

Number of Americans who changed how they identify their race or ethnicity when asked by the Census Bureau over the course of a decade

$4 million

Amount raised by the ALS Association from July 29 through Aug. 12, thanks to a viral fundraising challenge asking people to douse themselves with ice water; that’s up from $1.1 million in the same period last year

GOOD WEEK

Burger King

The fast-food giant is reintroducing “chicken fries” because of popular demand

BAD WEEK

McDonald’s

Shares are down 3.4% this year, in part because of trouble attracting millennials

‘”DON’T DO STUPID STUFF” IS NOT AN ORGANIZING PRINCIPLE.’

HILLARY CLINTON, former U.S. Secretary of State, criticizing President Obama’s approach to foreign policy as overly cautious during an interview with the Atlantic

$2 billion

Amount the U.S. Postal Service lost in its spring quarter, up from $740 million during the same period last year

‘No one knows more about dramatic males than I do.’

TAYLOR SWIFT, poking fun at her dating history before presenting Choice Actor in a Drama Movie at the Teen Choice Awards

‘A lot of people saw this as Noah’s Ark.’

DR. BRUCE RIBNER, infectious-disease physician, on those who did not believe his unit at Emory University Hospital–which has led the care of American patients with the Ebola virus–would prove useful

Sources: AP (2); New York Times (2); TIME; CARRA; Reuters; CNN; ALS Association; USA Today