The Associated Press
Looking back at the stories to remember from the past week:
1. IRAQ GOVERNMENT STRUGGLES TO FEND OFF INSURGENTS’ OFFENSIVE
Fighters from the al-Qaida-inspired Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant swept through Mosul, Tikrit and other towns, pledging to move on Baghdad. President Barack Obama weighed an American response, as a wider regional conflict loomed.
2. HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER ERIC CANTOR LOSES PRIMARY TO TEA PARTY CHALLENGER
After being defeated Tuesday by economics professor Dave Brat, Cantor said he would step down as No. 2 House GOP leader. Conservatives across the country saw the upset as a sign that tea party-backed contenders could shift the Republican Party to the right.
3. TALIBAN’S PRISONER COMES HOME FOR MORE TREATMENT
Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl returned to the United States on Friday, nearly two weeks after he was released from five years as a Taliban prisoner. Bergdahl left an Army medical facility in Germany for Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, where a Pentagon spokesman said he will “continue the next phase of his reintegration process.”
4. AFTER SIX-MONTH LULL, US DRONE STRIKES KILL 13 IN PAKISTAN
The strikes late Wednesday and early Thursday in northwestern Pakistan were condemned by the government in Islamabad. They came days after a siege of Pakistan’s busiest airport in Karachi killed 36 people, including 10 militants. The airport attack raised concerns about Pakistan’s ability to deal with the Pakistani Taliban.
5. FIVE US TROOPS KILLED BY FRIENDLY FIRE IN SOUTHERN AFGHANISTAN
The five Americans with a special operations unit were killed Monday by a U.S. airstrike called in to help them after they were ambushed by the Taliban in one of the deadliest friendly fire incidents in nearly 14 years of war. The deaths were a fresh reminder that the conflict is nowhere near over for some U.S. troops, who will keep fighting at least two more years.
6. LAS VEGAS KILLERS WERE STRIDENTLY ANTI-GOVERNMENT
Investigators concluded Jerad and Amanda Miller, who went on Sunday’s shooting rampage, had expressed views that law enforcement was the “oppressor.” The couple left a swastika and a “Don’t tread on me” flag on the body of one of two police officers they killed. In April, they were kicked off a Nevada ranch where anti-government protesters faced down federal agents because they were “very radical.”
7. AUDRA MCDONALD GETS RECORD 6TH TONY AWARD, BRYAN CRANSTON WINS FOR LBJ ROLE
McDonald portrayed Billie Holiday in “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill,” while Cranston, far from his role in TV’s “Breaking Bad,” won for best lead actor in a play for his turn in “All the Way,” which also was crowned best play. The romp “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder” won Sunday for best new musical.
8. RAFAEL NADAL WINS HIS 9TH FRENCH OPEN TITLE, 5TH IN A ROW — BOTH RECORDS
The No. 1-seeded Nadal wore down No. 2 Novak Djokovic 3-5, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4 in a muggy final Sunday. It is also his 14th Grand Slam title, tying the 28-year-old Spaniard with Pete Sampras for the second most by a man, behind only Roger Federer’s 17. Maria Sharapova defeated Simona Halep for her second French Open title in three years.
9. ACTRESS AND CIVIL RIGHTS CHAMPION RUBY DEE DIES AT AGE 91
Dee, who died Wednesday, earned an Emmy, a Grammy, two Screen Actors Guild awards, and an Oscar nomination at age 83 for best supporting actress in the 2007 film “American Gangster.” With her husband Ossie Davis, she was a stalwart of the civil rights movement.
10. WITH SAMBA AND PUFFS OF TEAR GAS, BRAZIL WORLD CUP BEGINS
A country that sees itself as the artful soul of football — but one that is deeply conflicted about spending billions on the showcase tournament — kicked off one of the most troubled World Cups ever. It started Thursday with a joyous 3-1 win for the home team. Scattered protests in Sao Paulo, Rio and elsewhere were controlled by police firing tear gas and stun grenades.
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