Briefing

THE WEEK

BOKO HARAM ESCALATED ITS THREATS

€3 million

Amount France will spend in order to save an endangered hamster species

‘She is 100%. Period.’

NICK MERRILL, spokesman for Hillary Clinton, dismissing remarks by Karl Rove questioning whether the 2016 presidential front runner suffered a brain injury in 2012

Lockheed Martin

Signed a contract to help build U.S. presidential helicopters

GOOD WEEK

BAD WEEK

Ford

Recalled 700,000 cars because of issues with air bags and door handles

‘You will not see them again until you release our brothers.’

ABUBAKAR SHEKAU, leader of the Boko Haram terrorist group, in a video demanding the release of prisoners in exchange for the nearly 300 Nigerian girls it kidnapped

$3.2 billion

Amount Apple is reportedly planning to spend to acquire Beats Electronics, famous for its sleek headphones

‘North Korea isn’t a real country, is it?’

KIM MIN-SEOK, spokesman for the South Korean Ministry of Defense, blasting officials in Pyongyang for making sexist comments about South Korean President Park Geun-hye

‘I am going to give everything I’ve got to the St. Louis Rams.’

MICHAEL SAM, after becoming the first openly gay athlete to get drafted by the National Football League; his jersey quickly became a top seller among rookies

1 in 5

Ratio of people who would have sex with a robot, according to a U.K. study

‘What an honor it was to see my groundbreaking career in journalism be reduced to a cartoon character with a ridiculous voice.’

BARBARA WALTERS, appearing on SNL to lampoon the show’s long-running “Baba Wawa” impressions

Sources: ESPN; SNL; Reuters; Washington Post; Politico