Week in Review

UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT: The U.S. Supreme Court overturned death penalty laws in Louisiana and five other states for people convicted of raping children. The Louisiana law, enacted in 1995, defined a "child" as someone under the age of 12.

SECOND AMENDMENT: The Supreme Court finally settled a long-standing question about how the Second Amendment should be interpreted by overturning the District of Columbia's 32-year-old handgun ban Thursday.

WIRETAPS OK: On Friday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed HR 6304, the most sweeping amendment to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act in 30 years.

FAIR ELECTION? Zimbabwe's opposition party formally withdrew from the presidential run-off election planned for Friday. President Robert Mugabe dismissed Morgan Tsvangirai's withdrawal and plans to hold the election anyway—despite international criticism.

CARROTS & STICKS: The EU increased its pressure on Iran to stop its uranium enrichment program by approving new economic, trade and travel sanctions. Iran responded by calling the sanctions illegal.

MUGABE WINS? Morgan Tsvangirai withdrew from Zimbabwe's presidential election Sunday, blaming government-sponsored violence and intimidation. This means President Robert Mugabe will probably keep his position despite international criticism.

ELECTROMAGNETIC INTERFERENCE? Hospitals use radio frequency chips for anything from tracking inventory to reading a patients' medical history. A new Dutch study suggests that these chips may cause electromagnetic interference with vital medical equipment, causing devices such as respirators to malfunction and even shut off in some cases.

HEART DISEASE: Vitamin D deficiency may increase the mortality rate in heart patients, according to a new Austrian study. Of the 3,259 cardiac patients who participated in the study, those with the lowest vitamin D level had nearly double the death rate of other patients.

FLORIDA & MEXICO? In the past two months more than 550 people across the United States have been infected with the Salmonella Saintpaul bacteria. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expects to find the source of the infection among growers in either Central Florida or Mexico.

STANDING WATER: It's only the fourth day of summer and already eight people have contracted West Nile virus in the United States. So far five states reported the virus in humans, and nine states reported animal cases.

HEALTHY CARBS: Beginning your day with a large high-carb meal may be the smart way to lose weight, according to a new study released this week. On average, study participants lost nearly 40 pounds in eight months by eating this way.

CAPSIZED FERRY: Typhoon Fengshen swept through the central Philippines last Saturday leaving more than 1,000 people dead or missing. During the storm, the Princess of Stars passenger ferry capsized, drowning 800 people trapped aboard. The U.S. naval ship USS Ronald Reagan is helping with rescue efforts.

DRY LIGHTNING: An unexpected and unseasonable lightning storm ignited hundreds of new fires in northern California Monday. Overstretched fire crews must now focus on the most threatening fires, leaving some remote blazes to burn.

CONSERVATIVE BIAS: An internal report revealed that two Justice Department officials rejected law students who applied for internships based on their politics. By choosing less qualified "conservative" candidates over more qualified "liberal" applicants, they violated anti-discrimination and hiring laws.