For the week of Feb. 27 – March 2, 2012

1. “The Artist” was a bg topic early this week for winning the Oscar for best motion picture.

2. This was unique because it was the first of its kind to win top honors since 1929.

3. Sadly, this week there was a high school shooting in Chardon, Ohio.

4. The accused shooter pleaded guilty in court.

5. Some coverage tied the shooting to a bullying situation the shooter faced. However, the prosecutor said that is not the situation. Some say the shooter posted hints to his plans on Twitter the night before; some media posted photos from the alleged shooter’s Twitter account that many say are not the right person. Students were tweeting what was happening and Storify was also used to collect comments. In other words, social media websites like Twitter kept everyone quickly updated on the situation.

6. Many analysts said that Mitt Romney had to win Tuesday’s Michican Republican primary to stay in the race. Lucky for him, he won both Michigan and Arizona primaries.

7. A cruise ship that suffered an engine room fire had to be towed to port in the Indian Ocean with more than 1,00 aboard this week. This is more newsworthy than it might have been because it  is also owned by Costa Cruises, the owner of the liner that was wrecked off Italy last month.

8. Maine Senator Olympia Snowe announced she won’t run for re-election becauase she did not like the polarized/partisan atmospher, also known as the “my way or the highway approach,” in Washington.

9. Syria has had more than 7,500 civilians killed since its revolt started, according to the United Nations, which is drafting a resolution about the situation.

For the week of Feb. 20-24, 2012

1. The eurozone finance ministers agreed to bail out Greece for the second time, even though its citizens protested the tough austerity measures they will have to adopt.

2. Astronaut, John Glenn was the first to orbit the earth 50 years ago on Monday.

3. This week includes Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent.

4. Major League Baseball training will be starting back up again.

5. The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case of affirmative action this week due to its relation to college admissions.

6. On Tuesday, March 6, 10 States will hold the Republican Primaries and perhaps other local and state elections. Some of these states include alaska, Idaho, Georgia, North Dakota, Ohio, Vermont, Virginia and Tennessee.

7. Last weekend, an avalanche caused the deaths of three expert skiers near a resort north of Seattle.

8. Gas prices have surged so much recently that they have become a bigger topic of the election campaign.

For the week of Feb. 13-17, 2012

1. Whitney Houston passed away this weekend, making it the most unexpected news and leading to a tibute at the Grammy Awards.

2. China’s vice president visited the White House this week.

3. After winning three caucuses/primaries, Republican candidate, Rick Santorum, was slightly in the lead early this week, though some polls showed him virtually tied with the previous leader.

4. Congress will probably agree to extend payroll tax cuts and unemplyed benefits thanks to negotiators working out a way to appease both parties.

5. This week, Iran said it fixed a computer virus infecting some of its nuclear equipment.

6. Queen Elizabeth II is celebrating her Diamond Jubilee which represents 60 years since she took the throne in 1952.

7. Michigan will be holding the next Republican primary.

8. Mitt Romney is now campaigning in Michigan, a place where he once lived, to get the blue collar vote with ads that talk about going to the Auto Show and photos with him behind the wheel.

For the week of Jan. 30- Feb. 3, 2012

1. The state’s Republican presidential primary was held Tuesday in Florida.

2.  Mitt Romney won this winner-take-all vote by a fairly large margin.

3. The term “Super PAC” is the Political Action Committee that raises large amounts of money for political candidates.

4. The Super Bowl will be taking place this Sunday: New England Patriots v. New York Giants. It’s expected to have about 100 million viewers. Be on the lookout for the best commercials.

5. Facebook was in the news this week with information about its upcoming move to be publically owned – and has shares available through the stock market.

6. Syria was in the news for suppressing popular protests so much that some believe its president should step down.

7. Groundhog Day is celebrated on Feb. 2.

Fun fact: the official rodent’s name is Punxsutawney Phil.

8. Occupy D. C. members are not legally allowed to sleep in the park.