Billboard Top 40: Week of March 25, 2011
1. Born This Way, Lady Gaga
2. Forget You, Cee Lo Green
3. S & M, Rihanna
4. Perfect, P!nk
5. On the Floor, Jennifer Lopez
6. Grenade, Bruno Mars
7. Blow, Ke$ha
8. E.T., Katy Perry featuring Kanye West
9. Tonight (I'm loving you), Enrique Iglesias featuring Ludacris & DJ Frank E
10. Firework, Katy Perry
1. We Are Young, Fun featuring Janelle Monae
2. Stronger, Kelly Clarkson
3. Set Fire to the Rain, Adele
4. Glad You Came, The Wanted
5. Somebody that I Used to Know, Gotye featuring Kimbra
6. Turn Me On, David Guetta featuring Nikki Manaj
7. Take Care, Drake featuring Rihanna
8. Young Wild & Free, Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa Featuring Bruno Mars
9. Starships, Nikki Manaj
10. Part of Me, Katy Perry
April 11, 2011: A second earthquake in five days hits Japan, this one a 6.6 magnitude. A tsunami warning is issued, but later canceled. The earthquakes are seen as aftershocks, coming just a month after the area was hit by the earthquake and tsunami that have killed over 13,000 people and led to disaster at the Daiichi nuclear power plant.
April 29, 2011: A million people line the streets, half a million gather in front of Buckingham Palace, and two billion tune in via television or computer to see Kate Middleton marry Prince William. Middleton receives rave reviews for wearing a modern, but restrained wedding dress designed by Sarah Burton, the creative director for the late Alexander McQueen.
May 1, 2011: U.S. troops and CIA operatives shoot and kill Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan, a city of 500,000 people that houses a military base and a military academy. Following a firefight, the troops descend upon the compound and shoot Osama bin Laden after he reportedly refuses to surrender. News of bin Laden's death brings cheers and a sense of relief worldwide.
May 19, 2011: Dethroning Oprah Winfrey, Lady Gaga claims the top spot on Forbes magazine's annual Celebrity 100 list. Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Germanotta, moves up four positions from last year and knocks Oprah down to number two. Gaga's ranking is partly due to her earnings—an estimated $90 million over the last year. Also, she currently has 32 million Facebook fans and 10 million followers on Twitter.
May 22, 2011: One of the Deadliest Tornados in U.S. History Hits Joplin, MO. At least 140 people are killed and hundreds more injured as a three-quarter-mile-wide tornado hits Joplin around dinner time. The tornado is among the deadliest in the nation's history, destroying nearly a third of the city and damaging about 2,000 buildings, including water treatment and sewage plants.
June 12, 2011: The Dallas Mavericks win the first NBA championship in franchise history, beating the Miami Heat 105–95 in Game 6. The win is also the first for veteran star players Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd. After 17 seasons for Kidd and 13 for Nowitzki, their names can finally be removed
June 15, 2011: Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords is released from the hospital after being shot point-blank in the head outside a local grocery store in Tucson on Jan. 8. Since the shooting Giffords has been relearning how to walk and talk in a Houston rehabilitation hospital. The rehab will continue on a daily outpatient basis. Her discharge from the hospital is a major milestone in her recovery.
July 5, 2011: After almost six weeks of testimony, a jury of five men and seven women finds Casey Anthony not guilty of killing her daughter, Caylee Marie who was last seen with her mother on June 16, 2008. The verdict ends a case that has captivated the nation for three years. Many avid watchers of the case are shocked and angered by the verdict, including HLN host Nancy Grace. In reaction to the verdict, Grace says, "The devil is dancing tonight." The jury does find Anthony guilty of the lesser charges of providing false information to law enforcement officers. The jury does not ask to review any evidence and reaches their decision in less than 11 hours.
July 17, 2011: Germany hosts the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup where 845,711 fans attend 32 matches to watch 16 teams battle for the trophy. In the final, Japan defeats USA in a post-match penalty kick shoot-out. Japan's win comes to a country desperate for good news after the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami earlier this year as well as the ongoing nuclear disaster
August 6, 2011: Thirty U.S. armed servicemen, including 22 members of the Navy SEALs, are killed in Afghanistan when insurgents shoot down their Chinook helicopter. The casualties make the day the deadliest for U.S. forces in the decade-long war. Most of the 22 Navy SEALS killed are members of SEAL Team Six, the unit responsible for finding and killing Osama bin Laden on May 2, 2011. (Aug. 11): The Pentagon releases the names of the servicemen that died on August 6 and reports that none of the men killed were involved in the Osama bin Laden mission back in May.
August 24, 2011: Apple announces that Steve Jobs is stepping down as chief executive. Jobs, who has battled cancer for several years, will serve as chairman. Timothy D. Cook will take over as chief executive. Jobs, a co-founder of Apple Inc., is seen as inseparable from the company's success. Of his resignation Jobs says, ""I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come."
September 2, 2011: The unemployment rate for August stays at 9.1%, mirroring the previous month, providing further proof that the economy has stalled. The White House releases a statement saying that it expects the unemployment rate to stay at present levels through 2012.
September 8, 2011: As the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks approaches, a bomb threat surfaces. Counterterrorism officials are investigating the threat of an attack, in the form of a car or truck bomb and timed for the 10th anniversary in Washington DC or New York City. In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security calls the threat "specific, credible, but unconfirmed."
September 21, 2011: Shane Bauer and Joshua Fattal, the two American hikers who were imprisoned on espionage charges in Iran for over two years, are released. They are taken by plane from Evin Prison to Oman where they are reunited with family members. Their release comes after a power struggle between Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who promised their release and Iran's judiciary which denied that the hikers would be freed. Bauer and Fattal have been in prison since they wandered over the border from Iraq by mistake with a friend over two years ago.
September 25, 2011: King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia grants women the right to vote and run for office in future elections. The new ruling will not go into effect until the next election cycle in 2015. Still, this is a big victory for women in a country where they are not allowed to drive and must have a male chaperone with them in public at all times.
October 5, 2011: After an eight year battle with pancreatic cancer, Steve Jobs dies at the age of 56. Jobs is the co-founder of Apple and is considered a visionary for his influence on the way we listen to music, watch movies, and use mobile communications in the digital age.
October 20, 2011: Libya's interim government announces that Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi has been killed by rebel troops in Surt, his hometown. Initial reports are unclear on the cause of death. (Oct. 23): Libya officially declares its liberation for Qaddafi and begins the process of electing a government and creating a constitution.
October 28, 2011: The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Texas Rangers 6–2 in game seven to win the World Series. It is the Cardinals' 11th championship, the most of any National League team. It is the second straight World Series defeat for the Texas Rangers.
November 5, 2011: Former Penn State defensive coordinator, Jerry Sandusky, is arrested on charges of 40 counts of sexual abuse over a 15-year period. Senior vice president for finance and business, Gary Schultz, and the athletic director, Tim Curley, are charged with perjury and failure to report what they knew to the authorities. Schultz resigns from the university and Curley is placed on administrative leave. (Nov. 9): Celebrated Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno is fired by the school's Board of Trustees because he failed to notify the police in 2002 after he was informed of a suspected assault by Sandusky. (Nov. 18): The Second Mile, a local charity founded by Jerry Sandusky, announces that it is preparing to fold. Sandusky met the eight boys he has formally been accused of sexually assaulting through The Second Mile.
November 25, 2011: NASA launches an Atlas V rocket with a Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover on board. The rover will explore Mars, searching for signs of life, including methane. The mission will help determine if the methane is from a biological or geological source.
December 2, 2011: In November, the U.S. unemployment rate declines to 8.6%, its lowest level in two and a half years. Employers add 120,000 jobs in November. These improvements in the nation's economy come at a time when the European debt crisis appears to be getting worse.
February 5, 2012: In a rematch of the 2008 Super Bowl, the New York Giants beat the New England Patriots 21–17. An estimated 111.3 million people tune in to see quarterback Eli Manning lead the Giants to their second Super Bowl victory over Tom Brady and the Patriots in five years. The game edges out last year's Super Bowl (111.0 Million) to become the most-watched television show in U.S. history.
March 25, 2012: Brady turns 1 year old!
