The World

THURSDAY

Gunman Ian Lee Stawicki, 40, killed four people at a popular Seattle cafe then fled to a downtown parking lot where he killed a fifth person and stole her car before shooting himself in the head as police closed in.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed a far-reaching municipal ban on sales of large-size sugary beverages by restaurants, mobile food carts, movie theaters and delis. Drinks containing more than 25 calories per 8 fluid ounces and less than 51 percent milk in containers more than 16 ounces would be banned.

Carmen Tisch was given two years probation and ordered to to undergo mental health treatment after punching, scratching and sliding her buttocks against a $30 million painting by abstract expressionist Clyfford Still at a Denver museum, causing an estimated $10,000 worth of damage.

Snighda Nandipati, a 14-year-old eighth grader from San Diego, won the Scripps National Spelling Bee by correctly spelling “guetapens,” a French word for ambush.

A pair of women’s underwear that fell out of a Brazilian legislator’s briefcase on the floor of Congress two weeks ago has been incinerated after no one stepped forward to claim them.

FRIDAY

A Utah school institued a special permission policy for students to check out a book about a lesbian couple raising a family from the school library.

Connecticut became the 17th U.S. state to legalize the medical use of marijuana.

WEEKEND

The Thames in London became a sea of red, white and blue Sunday, as tens of thousands celebrated the diamond jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. The queen floated at the head of a seven-mile long flotilla. In true British fashion, the celebration took place under gray, rainy skies.

The Times of India reported a swarm of aggressive spiders attacked dozens of people in the remote Indian town of Sadiya, killing two residents. One resident said his finger was “black and swollen” after being bit by one of the spiders, which officials believe could be from a new spider species.

A marijuana-smoking woman was arrested Saturday in Phoenix after she accidentally drove away with her five-week-old son in a child safety seat on the roof of her vehicle. The baby fell off the car in the middle of an intersection and was found unharmed and strapped into the seat.

MONDAY

The Supreme Court ruled Secret Service agents have immunity from a lawsuit by a Colorado man arrested after he confronted then-Vice President Dick Cheney at a suburban mall. Agents overheard the man, Steven Howards, say he was going to “ask him (Cheney) how many kids he’s killed today.” Howards later confronted Cheney and told him his “policies in Iraq are disgusting.” As Howards departed, he touched Cheney’s right shoulder with his open hand. Two agents then arrested Howards for harassment. The charges were later dismissed.

Lawyer Matthew Kluger was sentenced to a record 12 years jail for an insider trading scheme which lasted 17 years and netted more than $37 million between 1994 and 2011.

Archeologists began excavating a family’s backyard in Oskaloosa, Iowa, after the father, John, and his two teeange sons discovered the bones of a prehistoric mammoth while picking blackberries.

TUESDAY

Wisconsin’s Scott Walker became the first governor in U.S. history to survive a recall election after voters gave him an eight-point win over Democratic challenger Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. Teacher, firefighter and police unions brought the recall over a law curbing collective bargaining powers for public sector workers.

Venus made its transit across the Sun, as the planet’s orbit passed in front of Earth’s, the last pass for the next 105 years. Cloudy skies covering the Inland Empire obscured the celestial oddity.

Patrick Drum, 34, was arrested for shooting two sex offenders on the Olympic Peninsula over the weekend. Both men killed, Gary Blanton, 28, and Jerry Ray, 56, were listed as Level Two sex offenders, which meant they were considered at a moderate risk of re-offending. Drum told investigators he planned to keep killing sex offenders until police stopped him.

WEDNESDAY

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad named Baath Party stalwart Riyad Hijab as prime minister as the leader seeks to form a new government. Meanwhile, helicopters and tanks continued to pound rebels in cities on the Mediterranean coast.

A U.S. drone strike in Pakistan killed Abu Yahya al-Libi, one of al Qaeda’s most powerful figures. al-Libi was a leader of the group’s operations and had survived several previous U.S. attacks.

Compiled by Gazette staff from a variety

of sources.