Weekly Review

Guns, the big game, and circular fast-food logic Read More

Inauguration week politics, Aramaic vowel preservation, and Canadian foreskin awareness Read More

West African extremists, Obama's gun challenge, and tragic Belgian twins Read More

Australian wildfires, Giant Peach arithmetic, and Russian zorb misadventures Read More

A (relatively) diverse new Congress, Brigitte Bardot's elephant empathy, and life on Ezie Street Read More

Fiscal cliffhanger Read More

2012 in three paragraphs Read More

Apocalypse Not, an NRA nut, and Nutella shopping at the Vatican Read More

Yet another tragic mass shooting in the United States Read More

Typhoon tears, undiplomatic leg-crossing, and a fashionable Canadian macaque Read More

Syria’s communications blackout, North Korea’s unicorn lair, and Iceland’s ram-penis economy Read More

“There has never been a battle,” said a general of the Free Syrian Army, “with this much booty.” Read More

Turmoil in Gaza, Republican hand-wringing, and a narcoleptic goat named Voldemort Read More

The U.S. presidential election, Sandy sex, and the super perv powder of an antivirus pioneer Read More

Americans prepare to choose a president, a blindfolded Egyptian child chooses a pope, and Siri refuses to help you find a prostitute in China. Read More

“San Diego is gorgeous this time of year!” tweeted Cindy McCain. “I’m in heaven!” Read More

“A paleoanthropologist determined that prehistoric man ate pandas, researchers disproved the Five-Second Rule, and a cat discovered 2,000-year-old catacombs in Rome.” Read More

“Jean-François Copé, the secretary general of France’s center-right opposition, lamented what he said was widespread bullying of French youths by devout Muslims. ‘There are areas,’ said Copé, ‘where children cannot even eat their pains au chocolat because it’s Ramadan.’” Read More

“A pro-Kremlin youth group made a video for Vladimir Putin’s sixtieth birthday, set to 'Blueberry Hill,' that showed attractive young women riding on horseback, scoring in a hockey game against the United States, and retrieving an urn from the sea.” Read More

“Authorities in Idaho traced a finger discovered inside a trout to Haans Galassi, who lost four fingers in a wakeboarding accident two months ago. ‘There’s still three more,’ said the detective who identified the finger. ‘It’s hard to say where those are going to end up.’” Read More

“Two hunters, one in Utah and another in Bordeaux, France, were shot by their own dogs. ‘It wasn’t the dog’s fault,’ said the French sportsman, whose hand had to be amputated. ‘He’s adorable!’” Read More

"The Birmingham National Sea Life Center in England reported that a nurse shark named Florence had become a vegetarian following surgery three years ago to remove a rusty hook. 'We’re having to hide pieces of fish inside celery sticks, hollowed out cucumbers, and between the leaves of lettuces to get her to eat them,' said curator Graham Burrows." Read More

Barack Obama accepted his party’s nomination for the 2012 presidential race at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. “Times have changed, and so have I,” said Obama in his acceptance speech. “I’m no longer just a candidate. I’m the president.” Obama drew 35.7 million television viewers,… Read More

Mitt Romney formally accepted the Republican presidential nomination at the party’s national convention in Tampa, Florida. “What America needs is jobs,” said Romney. “Lots of jobs.” John Boehner suggested that Romney would be helped by low turnout among Hispanic and African American voters; Romney’s campaign held a party for… Read More

As Tropical Storm Isaac accelerated northward through the Gulf of Mexico, officials at the Republican National Convention in Tampa postponed the formal nomination of Mitt Romney as the party’s presidential candidate from Monday to Tuesday, and Florida governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency. “Preparation is a key… Read More

In Moscow, a hundred-year moratorium was placed on gay-pride parades, and Judge Marina Syrova sentenced members of the punk band Pussy Riot to two years in a prison camp for felony hooliganism related to an impromptu anti-Putin performance at a Russian Orthodox cathedral in February. Before delivering her verdict,… Read More

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney announced that Wisconsin congressman Paul Ryan would be his running mate. “Someone is in a backroom, fanning Biden and breaking out the smelling salts,” tweeted one Romney supporter. “Oh yes Team Obama. Sh*t just got real.”… Read More

A gunman with a semiautomatic pistol attacked a Sikh gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, killing six people and seriously injuring three more. The shooter, Wade Michael Page, entered the temple before a Sunday morning service and began firing on priests as others ran for cover. Police killed Page in… Read More

The Games of the XXX Olympiad began in London. The opening ceremony, which was directed by filmmaker Danny Boyle, celebrated the United Kingdom’s pastoral history, the Industrial Revolution, and the National Health Service, as well as soccer star David Beckham, who piloted a motorboat bearing the Olympic torch up… Read More

In Aurora, Colorado, a man wearing a gas mask and other tactical gear entered a midnight screening of Batman: The Dark Knight Rises, set off a tear-gas canister, and fired hundreds of bullets at the audience, killing 12 people and injuring more than 50. The suspected shooter, 24-year-old former… Read More