The Week That Was: Gitmo Clash Rages; Swine Flu Recurs
President Barack Obama repeated his vow Thursday to shut down Guantanamo, saying he can protect Americans as well as their cherished values, but he had barely finished his speech before former Vice President Dick Cheney blasted back with a fierce rebuttal.
View GalleryThe Week That Was: Gitmo Clash Rages; Swine Flu Recurs
President Obama went up against opposition, including former veep Dick Cheney, in his pursuit of closing Guantanamo, several more American deaths were attributed to the swine flu, and Kris Allen was named "American Idol." President Barack Obama repeated his vow Thursday to shut down Guantanamo, saying he can protect Americans as well as their cherished values, but he had barely finished his speech before former Vice President Dick Cheney blasted back with a fierce rebuttal. The number of U.S. deaths related to the swine flu jumped to nine this week -- a stark reminder that the wrath of the rapidly spreading flu is far from over. Kris Allen, the 23-year-old guitar playing college student, was announced the Season 8 winner of "American Idol" on Wednesday, after a hard-fought battle with San Diego's Adam Lambert. Four New York men were arrested Wednesday in connection with an alleged plot to blow up area Jewish centers and military targets. The plot, however, was foiled by undercover agents. Sarah Jessica Parker said this week that she was "outraged" over the invasion of privacy of the surrogate mother carrying her and hubby Matthew Broderick's twin babies. The surrogate mother has been chased by paparazzi and tabloid reporters, and Jessica feels they could be endangering her babies. Sen. Ted Kennedy's Democratic colleagues, as well as his friends and family said the Massachusetts Senator's health has improved and he will return to Washington after the Memorial Day recess to lead a fight for health care reform. Former NFL quarterback Michael Vick was released Wednesday from federal prison in Kansas to begin serving out the final phase of his sentence at home in Virginia. Vick was convicted on a federal charge of paying for a dogfighting operation out of one of his homes in Virginia. Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, a top al-Qaida suspect held at Guantanamo Bay, will be sent to New York for trial, an Obama administration official said Wednesday, a major step in President Barack Obama's plan to close the detention center by early next year. As a result of his wife Amy's breast cancer diagnosis, Phil Mickelson announced Wednesday that he would suspend his tour schedule indefinitely. Thanks to new "virtual strip search" machines, the TSA can now figure out which of these people are criminals -- and what they look like naked. In an unusual attempt to forge an alliance between two of the most prominent political families in American politics, John Coale, a Washington-area Democratic donor and onetime adviser to Sarah Palin, urged the conservative Alaska governor to use her political action committee to help retire the presidential campaign debt of Hillary Clinton. Miss California USA Carrie Prejean is riding her 15 minutes all the way to FOX's "Fox and Friends," where she is set to fill-in as a co-host on May 27. President Obama's fuel emissions strategy may be great for the environment and our dependence on foreign oil, but the new fuel and emission standards for cars and trucks are expected to cost consumers an extra $1,300 per vehicle by the time the plan is complete in 2016. Obama said the fuel cost savings would offset the higher price of vehicles in three years. DreamWorks Studios announced Tuesday that it has acquired the rights to the works of Martin Luther King Jr. for a motion picture that will have Steven Spielberg as one of its producers. Bill Murray could end up a partial owner of the Chicago Cubs. Final Cubs bidder Tom Ricketts revealed that he was considering the idea of selling limited ownership stakes in the baseball team. The ownership stakes would cost $25 million a piece and would last for five years, and Murray and several other celebs have shown interest. A magnitude-4.7 earthquake rattled the Los Angeles area Sunday night, marking the strongest quake to hit L.A. since July, and experts say stronger quakes are on the way. Tony Kornheiser, long-time sports writer for the Washington Post, announced this week he'll no longer be in the broadcast booth of Monday Night Football, blaming his fear of flying. Kornheiser fans will still be able to benefit from his commentary on ESPN's "PTI." Former police sergeant Drew Peterson appeared at the Will County Courthouse for arraignment Monday morning, acting much more subdued than at his last court appearance. Peterson's lawyer did all the talking this time around, formally pleading not guilty to murder charges relative to the death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio. NASA spent five hours this week reformatting "Star Trek" so that it could be transmitted from Mission Control to the International Space Station for the astronauts' enjoyment. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has a "historic opportunity" to jump start the peace process in the Middle East, President Obama said after the pair met for more than two hours in Washington Monday. After a federal judge denied a previous request by Rod Blagojevich to make the trip to South America for the show, "I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here," the couple decided to send Blago's wife, Patti, instead. Reassuring news about housing and banking on Monday convinced investors to return to the stock market. The Dow Jones industrial average shot up 235 points, its biggest daily point gain in over a month, and made up three-quarters of last week's losses. All the major indexes rose about 3 percent.
Please wait. Your gallery will be ready in 5 seconds.
