Week in Review

MISSISSIPPI RIVER: The flood waters that devastated Iowa are swelling the Mississippi River to dangerous levels. Water breached a levee at Gulfport, Ill., Tuesday, and threatens 26 more levees between Gulfport and St. Louis.

TOXIC WATER? Flooding submerged streets and croplands, turning nearly a third of Iowa into an inland sea. As the water begins receding, northern Iowans struggle to reclaim their lives while their neighbors to the southeast continue sandbagging.

RISING WATERS: Heavy rains caused massive flooding in southern China, killing nearly 60 people and displacing more than 1 million. Authorities also fear a major river in northern China may breach its banks causing even more damage.

MAD COW: In the largest anti-government protest since the late 1980s, more than 80,000 South Koreans demonstrated outside President Lee Myung-bak's residence in Seoul. Lee's April free trade agreement with the United States included a provision for importing American beef into South Korea, which upset protesters worried about mad cow disease.

VOTERS SPEAK: The Irish Republic vetoed the European Union's proposed treaty in a national referendum June 12. More than 50% of Irish voters opposed the treaty that 19 governments have already approved. Ireland is the only member nation that requires citizens go to the polls on EU matters. The Treaty of Lisbon needs unanimous support from EU member nations before it goes into effect.

NUCLEAR SHOWDOWN: Great Britain announced its toughest sanctions yet against Iran and expects other European countries to follow its lead. Iran continues to refuse international inspections of its uranium enrichment program.

FAIR USE? A widely publicized legal conflict between the Associated Press (AP) and a popular blog blew up into an online firestorm this week. But by Friday, the fires were out and both sides were talking constructively.

INTERNET STALKING: A Missouri mother pled "not guilty" to charges that she used a social networking site illegally to bully a 13-year-old girl who later committed suicide. After the tragedy, the victim's mother campaigned for legislation to prosecute online bullies.

NASA BUDGET: After a two-week, 5.7 million mile round-trip to the International Space Station, the space shuttle Discovery landed right on time Sunday at Cape Canaveral. The landing completed an almost perfect mission, paving the way for its next trip—maintenance work on the Hubble telescope.

PRESIDENTIAL ECONOMICS: Last week John McCain and Barack Obama kicked the presidential campaign into full swing by announcing their plans to deal with America's lagging economy. As expected, their economic approaches vary radically.

ENERGY SOLUTION? On a day when gas prices reached an average of $4.08 a gallon, John McCain said he supported lifting a federal oil drilling ban along U.S. coasts. Environmentalists, Democrats and some Republicans criticized McCain's plan.

ARGHANDAB OFFENSIVE: Following the Taliban's attack on a Kandahar prison last Friday, Afghan and Canadian NATO troops swept through the Arghandab district to dislodge insurgents. Thousands of refugees fled the area.

KANDAHAR THREATENED: Last week Taliban soldiers entered Afghanistan's Arghandab district, 12 miles north of Kandahar, the area's largest city. Conflicting accounts reported anywhere from 500 to 1,200 insurgents took control of 7 to 18 villages.

HABEAS CORPUS: The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that prisoners held at the Guantanamo military prison have the right of habeas corpus. This marks the third time the Supreme Court told the Bush administration that its attempts to limit the legal rights of those held in the war against terror are unconstitutional.