Briefing

2 minute read

THE WEEK

BOKO HARAM TERRORIZED NIGERIA

‘Rutgers’ invitation to me … has become a distraction for the university.’

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, former U.S. Secretary of State, withdrawing from her commencement speech after students protested over her role in George W. Bush’s Administration

60 million

Approximate number of songs that could fit onto a 185-terabyte cassette tape using new technology developed by Sony

12%

The stake Alibaba plans to sell to the public in its upcoming IPO, which could generate as much as $20 billion

‘If you want to get paid while not working, you should have to run for Congress just like everyone else.’

PRESIDENT OBAMA, mocking gridlock in Washington during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner

GOOD WEEK

Amazon

Broadened business by allowing people to tweet products into their shopping carts

BAD WEEK

Twitter

Stock fell to a post-IPO low as early investors were finally permitted to trade shares

‘I’M A FREE MAN, AND YOU’RE ALL SLAVES … TO YOUR GADGETS.’

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, Israeli Prime Minister, lamenting incessant cell-phone use and picture taking

1,000

Ounces of gold (28,350 g) retrieved from a ship that sank in 1857 off South Carolina; it’s worth about $1.3 million

‘It’s time to burn the beret and bury the blue dress.’

MONICA LEWINSKY, in Vanity Fair, writing for the first time about her late-1990s affair with President Bill Clinton, which she “deeply regrets”

‘I abducted your girls. I will sell them in the market, by Allah.’

A MAN CLAIMING TO BE ABUBAKAR SHEKAU, leader of Islamist militant group Boko Haram, which kidnapped more than 200 Nigerian girls last month

Sources: C-SPAN; Facebook; Times of Israel; CNN; Vanity Fair

More Must-Reads from TIME

Contact us at letters@time.com