What Happened in 2011

Standard & Poor's Downgrades United States Credit Rating

A day after Standard & Poor's took the unprecedented step of downgrading the creditworthiness of the U.S. government to AA+ from AAA, the ratings... Read more

Ministry announce they will reunite for Wacken Open Air next year

The organizers of Germany's most famous heavy metal festival, Wacken Open Air, have announced the first batch of names for next year's edition of... Read more

Hotel Maid Files Civil Lawsuit Against Dominique Strauss-Kahn

The Sofitel chambermaid who says she was attacked by the man once seen as the next president of France sued him for "violent and sadistic" sexual... Read more

Wisconsin Holds State Recall Elections

Never before in American politics have voters recalled more than two state legislators in a single year. That record could be broken on Tuesday,... Read more

Chimpanzee Attack Victim's Face Transplant Revealed

The new face of Charla Nash, the Connecticut woman who was mauled by a chimpanzee two years ago, was revealed for the first time today. The... Read more

Casey Anthony Ordered to Return to Florida for Check-Fraud Charges

Casey Anthony must return to Orlando within two weeks to begin serving a year of probation for a check-fraud conviction, even though the Probation... Read more

Heavy Winds at Indiana State Fair Cause Concert Stage to Collapse, Killing 5 and Injuring 45

Saturday night’s accident happened when a wind gust estimated at 60 to 70 mph toppled the roof of the stage and the metal scaffolding holding... Read more

Google Buys Motorola Mobility

Yesterday (Aug. 15th), Google (NasdaqGS: GOOG) announced that it was acquiring Droid smartphone manufacturer Motorola Motility (NYSE: MMI) for... Read more

Series of Deadly Coordinated Attacks Erupts in Southern Israel

On Friday morning, Israelis buried family members who were killed in Thursday morning's terror attacks. Some were shot dead by Palestinian Arab... Read more

6th Person Dies from Stage-Collapse Injuries

A 22-year-old college student died today from injuries suffered in last weekend's stage collapse at the Indiana State Fair. Jennifer Haskell, a... Read more

Chicago Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts Announces Search for New GM

Chicago Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts said Friday that the search for Jim Hendry's replacement as general manager begins immediately, but there's no... Read more

Shooting Victims Return to Utoya Island to Grieve

Survivors of the gun attack which claimed the lives of 69 people last month on the Norwegian island of Utøya revisited the massacre scene on Friday... Read more

'West Memphis Three' Freed

New DNA evidence failed to link the men to the crime, and the state Supreme Court ruled in November that all three could present new evidence to... Read more

12th Edition of the Concise Oxford English Dictionary Released with Multiple Online Terms such as Sexting, Woot, Retweet, Cyberbullying

Woot! The online expression of enthusiasm is now in the dictionary. So are textspeak, sexting — and, less happily, cyberbullying. They are among... Read more

7th Person Dies from Stage-Collapse Injuries

A seventh victim of the stage collapse at the Indiana State Fair has died after she was removed from life support so her organs could be... Read more

All Criminial Charges Against Strauss-Kahn Dismissed

The sexual assault prosecution of Dominique Strauss-Kahn had not even been dropped before the French Socialist party celebrations began. Martine... Read more

Libyan Rebels Seize Gaddafi's Tripoli Headquarters

"It's over! Gaddafi is finished," yelled one fighter over a cacophony of celebratory gunfire across the Bab al-Aziziya compound, from where Gaddafi... Read more

Winehouse Family Says Toxicology Results Revealed no Illegal Substances in Amy Winehouse's System

Amy Winehouse had no illegal drugs in her system when she died, and it is still unclear what killed the singer, her family said Tuesday. The... Read more

5.8 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Virginia

The Virginia quake that shook buildings and scared citizens on the US East Coast early Tuesday afternoon was felt from Martha’s Vineyard, where... Read more

Red Hot Chili Peppers release I'm with You

I'm with You is the tenth studio album by Red Hot Chili Peppers. The album was released by Warner Bros. Records on August 26, 2011 in several... Read more

Mayor Bloomberg Announces New York Cleanup Following Hurricane Irene Damage

New Yorkers returned to work under blue skies on Monday but the destruction left by Hurricane Irene made commuting a nightmare for thousands in the... Read more

Top NASA Scientist Arrested at White House Protest of Keystone XL Pipeline

Alongside actress Daryl Hannah, religious leaders, and dozens of eco-activists arrested Monday outside the White House protesting a planned oil... Read more

Justice Department Files Antitrust Lawsuit to Block AT&T Buyout of T-Mobile USA

The agency filed a civil antitrust lawsuit Wednesday morning in federal court in Washington that would prevent AT&T, which has the second most... Read more

Gunman Opens Fire on State Troopers, Bystanders at Nevada IHOP Restaurant

At least three people have been killed and six wounded when a man opened fire at a restaurant in the US state of Nevada on Tuesday morning. Two... Read more

Deadly Wildfires Rage Across Central Texas

One of the most devastating wildfire outbreaks in Texas history left more than 1,000 homes in ruins Tuesday and stretched the state's firefighting... Read more