The World

THURSDAY

ABC News released the only known aerial photographs of the World Trade Center as it collapsed on Sept. 11, 2001. The stunning photos, taken from a helicopter by New York Police Det. Greg Semendinger, were acquired by ABC under The Freedom of Information Act from the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Former President Bill Clinton, 63, underwent a successful heart procedure to open a blocked artery in his heart with two stents after he had experienced chest discomfort.

James Bruce, a 73-year-old Tampa man, was arrested for robbing three banks. Bruce was unarmed during the robberies and demanded six $100 bills from each bank, accounting for a total heist of $1,800.

FRIDAY

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports the H1N1 swine flu has killed as many as 17,000 Americans, including 1,800 children.

Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili died in a practice run at the Vancouver Olympic Games. Traveling at speeds in excess of 90 mph, Kumaritashvili hit a row of steel beams when his luge sled escaped the track.

A high-powered laser aboard a modified Boeing 747 jumbo jet shot down an in-flight ballistic missile for the first time ever. The Pentagon’s Missile Defense Agency said the sci-fi-style ray gun is capable of zapping targets from hundreds of miles away at the speed of light.

Dr. Amy Bishop, a biology professor, gunned down three faculty members at the University of Alabama in Huntsville during a faculty meeting.

A former JP Morgan Chase & Co credit card customer sued the nation’s second-largest bank, accusing it of raising the interest rate on his outstanding balance after he closed the account. Chase raised rates ahead of the Credit Card Holder’s Bill of Rights, an interest-limiting bill passed by Congress this year.

WEEKEND

NBA Commissioner David Stern said the league’s current labor agreement could cripple the league. He estimated player salaries would cause $400 million in losses by pro hoops teams this year.

A North Las Vegas policeman was saved from death Saturday night when his badge stopped a bullet fired at him from a criminal suspect.

A court in drought-plagued Malawi has jailed a man accused of casting a spell that blocked rain from falling on his neighbor’s field. Chikumbeni Mwanatheu, 35, had boasted that he stopped the rain from falling. Practicing witchcraft carries a five year prison sentence in Malawi.

MONDAY

WSU athletic director Jim Sterk announced he was leaving the school to become the new athletic director for San Diego State. Sterk had been the AD at Wazzu since 2000.

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York created the hottest temperature ever in the lab - 4 trillion degrees Celsius. Using a giant atom smasher, the scientists smashed gold ions together to make an ultra-hot explosion capable of breaking matter into the kind of soup they believe existed microseconds after the birth of the universe.

Citing “excessive partisanship that makes progress on public policy difficult to achieve,” Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh announced he will not seek re-election this fall.

TUESDAY

Search crews recovered the body of 52-year-old Joseph Bohlig of Kelso from the crater of Mount St. Helens. After climbing to the summit of the mountain, Bohlig took off his backpack and posed for a picture near the rim of the crater. He was backing up when the snow gave way and he fell more than 1,000 feet.

President Barack Obama announced $8.3 billion in loan guarantees to build the first U.S. nuclear power plant in nearly three decades.

A Scottish terrier named Sadie was crowned the nation’s top dog at the 135th Westminster Kennel Club championship. Sadie bested 2,500 competitors to earn Best in Show.

Researchers announce King Tutankhamen, the teen-aged pharaoh whose Egyptian tomb yielded dazzling treasures, likely died in 1324 BC from malaria, ending centuries of speculation.

WEDNESDAY

The Pakistani military confirmed the capture of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Afghan Taliban’s top military commander. Baradar was captured during a raid by U.S. and Pakistani agents in Karachi Tuesday.

Peruvian officials announced the famed Incan citadel Machu Picchu will reopen in April after being shut down last month when torrential rains and mudslides stranded some 4,000 travelers at the site.