For the Record

‘The suggestion that I participated in any collusion … is an appalling and detestable lie.’

Jeff Sessions, U.S. Attorney General, testifying to the Senate Intelligence Committee on June 13 that he played no part in Russian efforts to sway the 2016 presidential election in Donald Trump’s favor

‘It was hell to watch.’

Alison Evans, London resident, describing the fire that engulfed a 24-story public housing complex on June 14, killing at least 12 and injuring dozens more

‘You start to forget about cars, and jobs and families … all the things that make up a society.’

Chelsea Manning, describing life in solitary confinement during her first interview since being released from prison, after serving seven years for leaking U.S. diplomatic and Army documents in 2010; President Obama commuted her 35-year sentence in January

Bread

The International Space Station will begin to experiment with baking in space

GOOD WEEK

BAD WEEK

Butter

The French Bakers’ Federation said rising prices threaten croissant production

$850,000

Amount of money a diamond ring bought for about $13 at a London flea market sold for at a Sotheby’s auction

JUNK TRAY

‘I don’t want to be sad.’

Novel Baswedan, Indonesia’s top corruption investigator, maintaining his optimism while healing from an April 11 attack in which someone threw a vial of hydrochloric acid in his face; the day before the assault–the sixth one Baswedan has suffered as a result of his work–an investigation of his caused the speaker of one of Indonesia’s two legislative bodies to be barred from leaving the country

‘The things that make you strange are the things that make you powerful.’

Ben Platt, star of Broadway’s Dear Evan Hansen, accepting the 2017 Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical on June 11; the show won in six categories, including Best New Musical

23%

Percentage of Puerto Ricans who voted in a June 11 referendum on whether the territory should become the 51st U.S. state, which received 97% approval; the unusually low turnout was a result of a boycott by those supporting independence

300,000

Estimated age, in years, of fossils now believed to be the oldest known remains of Homo sapiens; the fossils, discovered in Morocco, are more than 100,000 years older than the previous record

SOURCES: CNN; NATURE; NBC NEWS; NEW YORK TIMES; TELEGRAPH.CO.UK; TIME.COM