The World

THURSDAY

Five big U.S. banks accused of abusive mortgage practices agreed to a $25 billion government settlement that may help roughly one million borrowers.

Greek leaders clinched a deal on economic reforms and spending cuts to secure a 130 billion euro bailout, but euro zone finance ministers demanded more measures and a parliamentary seal of approval before providing the aid.

Los Angeles County officials approved new rules allowing the tossing of beach balls and volleyballs on public beaches, but sets out fines up to $1,000 for throwing Frisbees and footballs.

Federal authorities arrested more than 80 people in the largest drug bust in Colorado history. The sweep by 500 federal agents, which came from an investigation of violent bank robberies, netted 58 pounds of cocaine, 2.2 pounds of crack and one pound of methamphetamine.

FRIDAY

The Oglala Sioux Indian tribe sued several beer makers for $500 million in damages, accusing them of knowingly contributing to “crippling” alcoholism rates on one of the nation’s largest reservations in South Dakota.

Anders Behring Breivik, an anti-immigration militant who killed 77 people in a Norwegian bomb-and-gun massacre last July, was ordered by a judge to undergo psychiatric observation 24 hours a day for up to four weeks as he prepares for his April criminal trial.

Mexican drug cartels paid $4.5 million in bribes to buy protection and political favors by the country’s main opposition party.

Brazilian police went on strike in Rio de Janeiro, risking a surge in crime just days before the beach city’s famed Carnivale celebrations.

WEEKEND

Some 93 buildings were wrecked or seriously damaged by fire as tens of thousands of protestors in Greece rioted against deeply unpopular austerity measures by the nation’s government to secure an EU/IMF bailout.

Pop legend Whitney Houston died at the age of 48 Saturday at a hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., just hours before she was set to perform at producer Clive Davis’ pre-Grammy Awards party. Officials said she was underwater and apparently unconscious when she was pulled from a bathtub.

Soul singer Adele triumphed in her return from throat surgery, scooping up six Grammys Sunday night and winning every category in which she was nominated, including Album of the Year for “21” and Record of the Year, “Rolling In the Deep.”

British police arrested five senior staff members at The Sun newspaper, owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, on charges that journalists were paying police for tip-offs.

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer and his wife Joanna were robbed at their vacation home on the Caribbean island of Nevis by a man armed with a machete. The intruder stole about $1,000, but no one was hurt.

MONDAY

Gov. Chris Gregoire signed into law a bill making Washington state the seventh in the nation to allow same-sex couples to marry. Opponents launched a campaign to seek the statute’s repeal at the polls in November through a ballot measure.

General Electric announced plans to hire 5,000 U.S. military veterans over the next five years and to invest $580 million to expand its aviation footprint in the United States this year.

Maribel Cervantes became the first woman to head Mexico’s federal police, replacing Facundo Rosas’ role at the top of President Felipe Calderon’s war against drug gangs. More than 47,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence since Calderon launched his crackdown in 2006.

TUESDAY

Malachy the Pekingese was named America’s Dog and won Best in Show over more than 2,000 dogs at the 136th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show held in Madison Square Garden.

One in eight U.S. voter registrations is invalid or markedly inaccurate, the result of an outdated and inefficient registration system, according to a new Pew Center on the States report. More than 1.8 million dead people are listed as active U.S. voters.

German Iditarod racer Silvia Furtwangler was reunited with her dog, Whistler, who was found by a search party after he escaped from a truck and was missing for nearly a week in the woods of Anchorage.

An urban charter high school in Cincinnati, Ohio, announced plans to pay students as much as $25 per week to show up, behave and do their course work, hoping it will incentivize them to increase the chances they will stay in school and graduate.

WEDNESDAY

A massive fire swept through a prison in Honduras and killed at least 357 people, including many inmates trapped inside their cells.

Compiled by Gazette staff from a variety

of sources.