For the Record

‘It should be a wake-up call to this nation.’

Andrew Cuomo, governor of New York, announcing on Jan. 3 a plan to offer free state-college tuition to hundreds of thousands of middle- and low-income New Yorkers; if it passes the state legislature, it will become the first program of its kind in the country

$587

Amount of money (€560) that Finland will start giving 2,000 randomly selected unemployed citizens per month through 2019 as part of a social experiment intended to reduce poverty and increase employment rates

‘I acted dead so he didn’t keep shooting me.’

FrançOis Al-Asmar, Lebanese citizen, describing a gunman’s rampage in and around the Reina nightclub in Istanbul early on New Year’s Day that left at least 39 dead and dozens wounded

‘I always knew he was very smart!’

Donald Trump, U.S. President-elect, praising Russian President Vladimir Putin on Dec. 30 for not retaliating after President Barack Obama sanctioned Kremlin officials and expelled 35 of its diplomats; the U.S. government did so because it suspects that Russian hackers aimed to influence the 2016 presidential election

Alexis Ohanian

The Reddit co-founder got engaged to tennis star Serena Williams

GOOD WEEK

BAD WEEK

Alexa

An Arkansas murder led police to ask Amazon for data from the device, raising privacy concerns

‘The status quo is leading toward one state and perpetual occupation.’

John Kerry, U.S. Secretary of State, after the U.S. abstained from voting on a U.N. resolution that condemned Israel’s creation of new settlements as a threat to Middle Eastern peace; Kerry’s Dec. 28 speech was a rare and controversial diplomatic denunciation of the U.S. ally

762

Number of homicides in Chicago in 2016, the most in two decades, according to data released by the Chicago police department

96 years, 5 months

The time between the publication of the initial proposal for the Second Avenue subway line in New York City and its opening on Jan. 1

‘That was … amazing.’

Mariah Carey, pop star, poking fun at her own performance on the Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve television special, throughout which she lip-synched and complained about technical malfunctions

SOURCES: CHICAGO TRIBUNE; NBC; NEW YORK TIMES; REUTERS