The Week in Brief

Queen Elizabeth II Marks Record 65 Years on Throne

Queen Elizabeth II has become the first British monarch to reach the milestone of 65 years on the throne.

The queen’s Sapphire Jubilee was marked on Feb. 6 with a 1 1-gun salute by World War I-era field guns in London’s Green Park, and another 62-round gun salute at the Tower of London.

The 90-year-old monarch herself does not celebrate the anniversary of the date she became queen, known as Ascension Day, as it is also the anniversary of her father’s death.

Elizabeth became queen upon the death of her father, King George VI, from lung cancer at age 56 on Feb. 6 1952.

Here are some significant numbers in the lye of the queen:

She has been the world’s oldest monarch since the death of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah in 2015.

She has had 13 British prime ministers serve during her reign, from Winston Churchill to Theresa May.

She has met 12 U.S. presidents, from Herbert Hoover (after he had left office) to Barack Obama.

She has traveled more than 1 million miles on official trips.

She has four children, eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

[Tom Brady] has given us every single ounce of effort, blood, sweat, and tears that he has in him.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick after his team’s 34-28 win over the Falcons in the Super Bowl.

PHOTO BY GETTY IMAGES

A lot of that toothpaste is already out of the tube.

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan talking about why the deal on Iran's nuclear program negotiated by the Obama administration is likely to remain in place.

PHOTO BY GETTY IMAGES

JUSTIN TANG/THE CANADIAN PRESS VIA AP

Tennis Player Fined $7,000 for Angry Spare Ball

Canadian tennis player Denis Shapovalov was fined $7,000 after unintentionally striking umpire Arnaud Gabas in the eye and immediately ending the Davis Cup tie against Britain.

The 17-year-old Shapovalov was trailing Kyle Edmund in the decisive fifth rubber 6-3, 6-4. 2-1 when he hit a spare ball in frustration and struck Gabas in the left eye. Shapovalov was immediately defaulted for unsportsmanlike conduct.

“It’s unacceptable behavior from me,” Shapovalov said. “I feel incredibly ashamed and embarrassed. I feel awful for letting my team down, for letting my country down, for acting a way that I would never want to act.

“I can promise that’s the last time I will do anything like that.”

Britain won 3-2 to advance to a quarterfinal in France in April.

Norwegian zoologists found about 30 plastic bags and other plastic waste in the stomach of a beaked whale that had beached on a southwestern Norway coast. The 20-foot-long, 2-ton goose-beaked whale was visibly sick, leading authorities to euthanize it. The U.N. estimates that 8 million tons of plastic trash are dumped into the world’s oceans each year.

PHOTO BY SHUTTERSTOCK

22%

INCREASE IN TORONTO

Home prices in Toronto jumped by 22 percent in January compared to the same time last year. Meanwhile, the number of active listings is half of what it was last year, and the average time on market fell to only 19 days.

7%

OF PRIESTS ACCUSED

Statistics revealed as part of an inquiry by Australia’s Royal Commission that 7 percent of priests in Australia’s Catholic Church were accused of sexually abusing children over the past several decades—underscoring for the first time the extent of the crisis.

RANDALL BENTON/THE SACRAMENTO BEE VIA AP

Republican Congressman Needs Police Escort to Leave Town Hall

A California Republican congressman had to be escorted by police from a town hall meeting where he talked about his party’s agenda.

U.S. Rep. Tom McClintock spoke at the event in the Northern Californian city of Roseville about his party’s efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare, the importance of the temporary ban on refugees, and the importance of securing the southern border.

McClintock was constantly interrupted and booed as he talked, and was later followed by protesters shouting “Shame on you!” as he was escorted by police.

“It’s the first time I’ve ever had a police department have to extract me from a town hall, and I’ve done well over 100 of them in Congress,” McClintock told the Los Angeles Times.

900

CHILDREN KILLED

According to the United Nations, more than 900 children were killed in Afghanistan’s conflict last year. The nearly 25 percent increase compared to the previous year was largely caused by land mines and munitions left over from decades of conflict.

$ 332

Million

FOR FIRE DAMAGES

Emaar Properties, known as the developer of the world’s tallest building, says it will collect $332.4 million from its insurer to cover damage sustained during a fire on New Year’s Eve at one of its Dubai hotels.

French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen is making “Made in France” a key part of her campaign.

Announcing her campaign platform for this spring’s election, the populist canidate vowed to put French citizens first in line for state services. She also advocates for France to leave the European Union.

Under Le Pen’s plans, the French would guard their own borders, spend francs instead of euros, and defend themselves. Immigration, especially by Muslims, would be contained.

“The entire world—it’s true for Brexit, it’s true for Mr. Trump—is becoming conscious of what we’ve been saying for years,” Le Pen said in a television interview.

Unlike Trump, Le Pen isn’t new to politics; she has headed France’s National Front party since 2011 and came in third in the presidential vote in 2012.

$1.2 Million

FAKE CHECK

TAIGA/SHUTTERSTUCK

A Pennsylvania woman tried to buy a house by forging a $1.2 million check from a credit union. Investigators say the suspect used the internet to copy a business logo from Members First Federal Credit Union to create the check.

AP PHOTO/DANIEL ESTRIN

Teaching Kids Cyberskills Now a National Mission in Israel

In some Israeli schools, fourth-graders learn computer programming while gifted 10th-graders take after-school classes in encryption tactics, coding, and stopping malicious hacking. The country even has two new kindergartens that teach computer skills and robotics.

The training programs are part of Israel’s quest to become a world leader in cybersecurity and cybertechnology by placing its hopes in the country’s youth.

To that end, Israel announced this week the establishment of a national center for cybereducation, meant to increase the talent pool for military intelligence units and prepare children for eventual careers in defense agencies, the high-tech industry, and academia.

Israel has long branded itself the “Cyber Nation,” but authorities say they have been facing a shortage of experts to keep up with the country’s defense needs and keep its cybersecurity industry booming.

AP PHOTO/ELIZABETH WILLIAMS

Notorious Mexican Drug Lord Complains of Strict NYC Jail

Lawyers for Mexican drug lord and escape artist Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman are complaining that conditions are too strict for their client in a high-security federal jail in Manhattan.

El Chapo escaped twice before from prisons in Mexico, the second time via a mile-long tunnel dug to the shower in his cell. The drug lord was extradited to the United States on Jan. 19.

His lawyers argued it is unfair that he is locked up to 23 hours a day, that his wife can’t visit him, and he can’t call anyone, except his lawyers.

Guzman has been charged with running a massive drug trafficking operation that laundered billions of dollars and oversaw murders and kidnappings.

EVOO,

Conlang, and Photobomb Make It
Into the Dictionary

Merriam-Webster just added over 1,000 new words to its online dictionary, in its first online update since 2014. Words qualify if they “have demonstrated frequent and increasing use in a variety of sources.” Here’s a selection; you’ll have to read the dictionary to find the rest.

EVOO

evoo, abbreviation or noun

Extra-virgin olive oil

HUMBLEBRAG

hum·ble·brag, verb

To make a seemingly modest, self-critical, or casual statement or reference that is meant to draw attention to one’s admirable or impressive qualities or achievements

BINGE-WATCH

bing·watch, verb

To watch many or all episodes of (a TV series) in rapid succession

PHOTOBOMB

pho·to·bomb, verb

To move into the frame of a photograph as it is being taken as a joke or prank

GEEK OUT

geek out, verb informal

To become excited or enthusiastic about a favored subject or activity

ARANCINI

aran·ci·ni, plural noun

Rounded balls of cooked rice with savory fillings (such as mozzarella cheese) that are coated with bread-crumbs and deep-fried

NET NEUTRALITY

net neu·tral·i·ty, noun

The idea, principle, or requirement that internet service providers should or must treat all internet data as the same regardless of its kind, source, or destination

CONLANG

con·lang, noun

An invented language intended for human communication that has planned and cohesive phonological, grammatical, and syntactical systems (e.g. like Elvish, Klingon, and Dothraki)

WARNER BROS/NEW LINE CINEMA

Reporting by Epoch Times and The Associated Press