Innehållsförteckning för Issue 141 från The Week Junior US

On February 24, Russia invaded the neighboring country of Ukraine in the largest military attack in Europe since World War II (1939–1945). Russian president Vladimir Putin wanted control of the nation. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky vowed that he and his people would fight back, which they have done throughout the year as the war has devastated their country. From 1922 to 1991, Russia and Ukraine were both part of the Soviet Union, a group of 15 countries that were run as one state. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Ukraine declared its independence, but Putin says that the nation is part of Russia. World leaders condemned the invasion and placed heavy economic sanctions (punishments) on Russia. Many nations, including the US, have supplied Ukraine with hundreds of millions of…

Two baseball players swung their way into the Major League Baseball (MLB) history books this fall. On October 4, in a game against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge hit his 62nd home run of the 2022 MLB season after weeks of anticipation. With that, he broke the record for the most home runs in an American League (AL) season, which had stood since 1961. Judge is only the fourth player to hit at least 62 home runs in a single MLB season. “I had a good feeling off the bat,” he said of his record-breaking hit. The ball was caught by a spectator in the outfield and was sold at auction in December for $1.5 million. Judge’s milestone came…

MARIO + RABBIDS SPARKS OF HOPE Nintendo Switch In this crossover game, a villain plots to steal creatures called Sparks, a combination of Lumas (magical star creatures in the Mario franchise) and goofy, bunny-like Rabbids. Mario and his friends must solve puzzles and win battles to save them. STRAY PlayStation systems and the PC A city full of robot people is the setting for this puzzle platform adventure. You play as a cat that has been separated from its family. Much of the exploring and puzzle solving requires pushing and pulling things with the cat’s claws and using its small size to find hidden secrets. The game’s creators studied their own cats for inspiration. BEAR AND BREAKFAST Nintendo Switch and PC In this simulation game, a bear named Hank and…

On March 9, scientists announced that they had discovered the wreck of a famous ship called Endurance, solving one of the biggest mysteries in exploration. Endurance sank near Antarctica 106 years ago. Many people have tried to find it since then, but the icy, dangerous conditions in the water where it was known to have sunk made the search extremely challenging. In August 1914, British explorer Ernest Shackleton and a crew of 27 men set sail in a 144-foot-long wooden ship from England to Antarctica. They wanted to be the first people to cross Antarctica on foot. But less than 100 miles from the world’s southernmost continent, Endurance became trapped in ice in the Weddell Sea. The crew lived on board for nearly 10 months until, in October 1915, ice…

Harini Logan On June 2, Harini Logan, a 14-year-old from Texas, won the 94th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee. It was the first time in the bee’s history that a competition came down to a lightin-ground spell-off to break a tie. Logan spelled 22 words correctly in 90 seconds—seven more than her competitor, 12-year-old Vikram Raju. Logan told The Week Junior that competing in bees has taught her to learn from mistakes. “Having a growth mindset is vital in life, not just in bees,” she said. In September, Logan was invited to the White House by First Lady Jill Biden. José Andrés For more than a decade, Spanish chef José Andrés has been on a mission to feed the world with his nonprofit organization World Central Kitchen (WCK). WCK serves…

A July survey of tigers in Nepal found that there are an estimated 355 of them living in the wild, nearly three times the number in 2009. Tiger populations throughout Asia have been decreasing, mainly because of poaching (illegal hunting) and habitat loss. To help reverse the decline, Nepal’s government enacted harsher punishments for poaching. Protected national parks were also created to safeguard the tigers and bring money to local communities. And conservationists created pathways through forests to connect populations of tigers and increase opportunities for mating.…

An aircraft built by aerospace company Rolls-Royce hit a top speed of 387.4 miles per hour and set three world records. The plane, called Spirit of Innovation, became the world’s fastest electric vehicle, traveling 345 mph over a distance of 1.86 miles—132 mph faster than the previous record. For its other two records, the aircraft traveled 331 mph over 9.32 miles and made the fastest climb to an altitude of 1.86 miles, in 3 minutes, 22 seconds. Experts in the aviation industry hope that electric aircraft could one day reduce the harmful pollution produced by air travel.…

On June 16, the Golden State Warriors beat the Boston Celtics to become the 2022 National Basketball Association (NBA) champions. This was the team’s fourth title in eight seasons and the first time Warriors guard Stephen Curry was named NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP). On September 18, the Las Vegas Aces won their first Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) championship. They beat the Connecticut Sun. Aces point guard Chelsea Gray averaged 18.3 points per game throughout the series and was named Finals MVP.…

Several of the biggest stars in sports said goodbye to competing this year. The departures began in February, when National Football League legend Tom Brady said he was retiring—and changed his mind 40 days later. In July, American track star Allyson Felix ran her final competitive race at the 2022 World Championships. During her career, she won 11 Olympic medals, more than any other female track and field athlete in history. In the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), Sylvia Fowles of the Minnesota Lynx and Sue Bird of the Seattle Storm stepped away from the court when their teams’ seasons ended. Both women hold WNBA records, won championships and several Olympic golds, and made multiple All-Star Game appearances. Roger Federer, one of the best tennis players in history, played his…

Experts from the worlds of wildlife films, science, and Hollywood teamed up to create the series Prehistoric Planet, which premiered on Apple TV+ in May. The show imagines dinosaur life about 66 million years ago by mixing computer-generated 3D imagery (CGI) with actual nature footage. The goal was to make it seem like a film crew went back in time and observed dinosaurs’ natural behaviors. Producer Tim Walker said the creators wanted viewers to see how similar the creatures were to today’s animals. “They weren’t monsters,” he said. “They were magnificent.”…

CARDBOARD TUBE ELEPHANT What you need • Paper towel tube• Scissors• Craft knife• Black marker or paint• Hot glue, white glue, or adhesive dots Instructions 1. Print out the elephant template from tinyurl.com/TWJUSElephantCraft. Follow the template’s instructions to trace the elephant onto a paper towel tube and cut it out. 2. With an adult’s help, use a craft knife to carefully saw into the tube for the ears. Fold the ears forward. Paint or draw on eyes with a marker. 3. To make the legs, cut a ½-inch ring off another paper towel tube. Cut the ring in half. Glue the legs under the elephant’s torso. For a baby elephant, shorten the torso length and cut the legs shorter. Reprinted with permission from Toilet Tube Treasury by Jodi Levine, a…

Let in fresh air On New Year’s Eve, many cultures around the world open a window at the stroke of midnight to let out the old year’s air, usher in the new air, and bring good luck. Wish for something On sticky notes, write down what you hope will happen in 2023—for yourself, your family, or the world. Then stick them on a bulletin board or bedroom wall where you can read them for inspiration. Set a goal Challenge yourself to learn something new in 2023. For example, if you want to learn to cook, you could offer to help your family prepare dinner every Friday night in January. You could help choose the recipe, grocery shop for the ingredients, and then do the prep and cooking. Show gratitude Write…

Painting pig amazes with artwork A painting made by a pig has sold for about $27,300. The pig, who goes by the name “Pigcasso,” was rescued by an animal shelter in South Africa in 2016. The shelter’s founder, Joanne Lefson, noticed that Pigcasso ate or destroyed just about everything in her path—except for some paintbrushes. Lefson put a canvas in the pig’s stall and encouraged her to paint, and now the 1,500-pound animal has created more than 400 works of art. Lefson said the recently sold painting is a sign of how amazing Pigcasso and other farm animals are. “You can’t look at it and not place greater value on their intelligence…and creativity,” she said. Artist sculpts fish out of broccoli A sculpture of a leaping fish made from a…

We received so many amazing photos from our readers in 2022. Thank you! You told us inspiring stories of how you are helping others. You showed us the recipes and crafts you made from our How To section. You wrote to us about your love of reading. And you visited exciting places and took The Week Junior with you! As a fun look back, here are some of the reader photos we featured in 2022. We can’t wait to see what you send us in 2023! Your photos and stories can be emailed to us at hello@theweekjunior.com. We love hearing from you! YOU FOUND WAYS TO HELP OTHERS! YOU MADE RECIPES AND CRAFTS! YOU VISITED EXCITING PLACES! YOU SHOWED US YOUR LOVE OF READING! IT’S YOUR TURN Email your news,…

May 30 marked the 100th anniversary of the Lincoln Memorial, which was dedicated in 1922. Built to honor Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the US, the memorial stands on the National Mall in Washington, DC. Lincoln became President in 1861. During the Civil War (1861–1865), he led the Northern states, which had mostly outlawed slavery, against the Southern states, which wanted to keep slavery. Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation to end slavery in 1863, and the North claimed victory in 1865. He was assassinated (killed for political reasons) that same year. To heal the nation, Congress proposed a memorial. Its centerpiece is a 19-foot-tall marble sculpture of Lincoln. On its walls, two of President Lincoln’s most famous speeches are inscribed beneath murals depicting “Emancipation” and “Unity.” The National Park…

Millions of Americans voted in the midterm elections on November 8. A midterm happens halfway through a President’s four-year term and determines whether Republicans or Democrats (the two major political parties) control the House of Representatives and the Senate (the two parts of Congress). Other state and local races were also determined on November 8. In the House, all 435 seats were up for election. Many of the races were too close to call on Election Day, but by November 16, it was determined that the Republicans had won the majority of seats. This means that the House changed from being controlled by the Democrats to being controlled by the Republicans. The final count was 222 Republicans to 213 Democrats. In the Senate, 34 of the 100 seats were on…

The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, celebrated the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the first giant pandas at its National Zoo on April 16, 1972. It was the beginning of the zoo’s program to celebrate and conserve (save) the species. The first pandas at the National Zoo, Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing, were a gift from China to the US. Today, there are three at the zoo: Tian Tian and Mei Xiang, and Xiao Qi Ji, their cub born in August 2020. Tian Tian and Mei Xiang came to the zoo in 2000. In July 2005, the Smithsonian’s first surviving giant panda cub, Tai Shan, was born. Tian Tian and Mei Xiang have produced four cubs. The three oldest were given to China after they turned 4, as part of the…

The most powerful space telescope in history sent its first images back to Earth this year. The James Webb Space Telescope, which launched in December 2021, is run by NASA with support from the European and Canadian space agencies. On July 11, NASA and the White House released Webb’s first image, which was of thousands of galaxies, including some of the earliest to ever form. Images released the next day depicted a cloud of gas and dust where stars are born, a distant planet’s atmosphere, and a dying star. On August 2, NASA revealed images of the Cartwheel Galaxy, which is 500 million light years (the distance light travels in an Earth year, about 6 trillion miles) from Earth. In August and September, NASA shared images of Jupiter, Mars, and…

Under strict Covid-19 restrictions, the world’s top athletes met in Beijing, China, for the Winter Olympics and Paralympics (for athletes with physical, visual, or intellectual impairments). At the Olympics, which ran from February 4 to February 20, the US won 25 medals, including eight golds. One star was figure skater Nathan Chen, who set a record with his score in one part of his competition and completed five quadruple jumps in the other. Another winner was Erin Jackson, who became the first Black woman to earn an individual medal in speed skating at the Winter Olympics. At the Paralympics, from March 4 to March 13, Team USA earned 20 medals. American skier Oksana Masters won seven medals and set US career records for most Winter Paralympics medals and most medals…

This summer was extra hot at the box office thanks to Minions: The Rise of Gru, the fifth film in the Despicable Me franchise. The animated comedy-adventure broke the record for a July 4th holiday weekend opening, taking in more than $123 million over four days. Many of the moviegoers were teens who were inspired by the #GentleMinions trend on TikTok and wore formal clothing to theaters. The film has gone on to earn nearly $370 million in the US, making it one of the top 10 highest-grossing movies of 2022. In the Despicable Me films, Gru is a genius and supervillain, and the Minions are his helpers. The franchise began in 2010 with Despicable Me and was followed by sequels in 2013 and 2017. In 2015, a spin-off, Minions,…

Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is a sci-fi adventure game for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation platforms, Xbox systems, and the PC. Released last April, it was the biggest launch in Lego games history. The Skywalker Saga was the sixth entry in the main Lego Star Wars video game series. It is the first Lego Star Wars game to have playable levels set in the nine films (called episodes) of the main Star Wars story. The films were released as three trilogies. Players can kick off their adventure at the start of any trilogy. If you want to play through the saga from Episode One, you can begin as Obi-Wan Kenobi. To kick the game off in the original trilogy, you hop into an X-Wing Starfighter with a young Luke…

KITCHEN SINK BARS Ingredients • Parchment paper or foil• 2 sticks unsalted butter, cubed• 1 cup light brown sugar• 1 cup granulated sugar• 2 large eggs• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract• 2 cups all-purpose flour• 1 teaspoon baking soda• 2 teaspoons cornstarch• ¼ teaspoons salt• 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate• ½ cup broken pretzel pieces• ½ cup potato chip pieces• ¼ cup toffee bits (such as Heath) Instructions 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F and line a 9-by-13- inch baking dish with parchment or foil. Allow it to overhang on two sides. 2. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides as needed, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla, and beat one minute more. 3. In a separate bowl,…

The end of the year is a time when many people reflect on their life over the past 12 months, as well as look to the future. It can be fun to reminisce about awesome things that happened, interesting things you did, fun places you went, and goals you accomplished. Reviewing your past year can also help you start to consider what you might like to try doing in 2023. Here are some ways to mark 2022 before you ring in a fresh new year. Compile a review At the end of the year, many newspapers, magazines, and websites create a “Year in Review” that rounds up the most popular news stories they published. (We’re doing that in this issue of The Week Junior!) Consider creating your own version by…

Super 2022 Crisscross Each of these names and events from 2022 fits into this grid. Can you find where each one goes to complete the grid? When you’re done, read the highlighted letters, in order from top to bottom, to get a word that describes everything you’ve filled in. 3 letters CDC FDA GAS MLB TUT 4 letters K-POP NATO VOTE 5 letters BIDEN BISON FAUCI ROVER TIGER 6 letters ASTROS GENOME RIGHTS SCOTUS TIKTOK WORDLE 7 letters ARTEMIS BEIJING ECONOMY EL DEAFO ENCANTO MINIONS TURKIYE UKRAINE 8 letters JEOPARDY PENGUINS WORLD CUP 9 letters BLACK HOLE CHOCO TACO CORAL REEF ENDURANCE 10 letters NATHAN CHEN PICKLEBALL WEDDELL SEA 11 letters SIMONE BILES SPELLING BEE SUPPLY CHAIN 12 letters HURRICANE IAN 13 letters CLIMATE CHANGE OLIVIA RODRIGO 14 letters QUEEN…

When we were putting this special year-end issue together, I was reminded of all the incredible things that happened in 2022. A new Supreme Court justice was confirmed (p2), and Americans voted in the midterm elections (p4). The National Zoo marked 50 years of panda conservation (p8), and the James Webb Space Telescope sent back stunning images (p10). Athletes achieved spectacular feats (p14–15), and a Minions movie broke box-office records (p16). That’s a fraction of what you can read about and remember in this issue. We are also pleased to include two bonus sections as our gift to you: extra pages of recipes and crafts (p20–25), plus a brain-bending section of puzzles (p26–31). Have fun! A highlight for me this year was seeing our staff in person after two years…

1 A dog named Trumpet was the first of which breed to win Best in Show at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show? a) Bloodhound b) Poodle c) Golden Retriever a □ b □ c □ 2 True or false? NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope captured an image of columns of gas and dust called the Pillars of Creation. True □ False □ 3 Harini Logan spelled how many words correctly in 90 seconds to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee? a) 12 b) 16 c) 22 a □ b □ c □ 4 How many giant pandas currently live at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo? __________ 5 Who won the Golden Ball award for most outstanding player at the FIFA World Cup? a) Kylian Mbappé b) Lionel Messi c) Luka…