Week in review

Sunday

MASTERS TOURNAMENT: Argentina's Angel Cabrera won after beating Kenny Perry and Chad Campbell during a sudden-death playoff. Cabrera closed with 1-under-par 71 to finish at 12-under 276.

SEVERE WEATHER: Storms that hit the area April 10 were the worst to hit the area in more than a decade, officials said. Leonard Vaughan, a meteor- ologist with the National Weather Service, toured the region and estimated the damage could cost more than $1 million.

PIRACY: Snipers on a U.S. Navy ship killed three Somali pirates in a lifeboat and rescued the American sea captain being held hostage, ending a five-day standoff. A fourth pirate is in U.S. custody and could face life in a U.S. prison.

Monday

CUBA: Clearing the way for a new era of U.S.-Latin American relations, President Obama lifted all limits on Cuban-Americans who want to send money and visit their families in Cuba. The long-expected move indicates a gradual shift from the hard-line U.S. policy of isolating Cuba and choking its economy to try to force political reforms.

CELEBRITIES: Music producer Phil Spector was convicted of second-degree murder in the shooting death of a film actress at his mansion six years ago, a verdict that will send him to prison.

STORMS: Damage estimates continued to climb from a massive weekend storm that raked the Augusta area with three and possibly four tornadoes.

TAX RETURNS: Hopes for an economic boost fueled by this year's tax refunds could be dashed as most people say they plan to be frugal with their annual windfalls.

Tuesday

SPORTS: Oscar De La Hoya called it quits in the ring, ending a career in which he won 10 world titles in six divisions and became American boxing's most popular fighter.

WHITE HOUSE: First pooch Bo, a 6-month-old Portuguese water dog, got star treatment and his first backyard romp at the White House. President Obama had promised his daughters, Malia and Sasha, a puppy during the presidential campaign.

JUSTICE: Ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich pleaded not guilty to racketeering and fraud charges.

Wednesday

SOUTH CAROLINA: The U.S. Energy Department will scrap a Bush administration initiative that could have brought billions of dollars in new spending -- and a lot more nuclear materials -- to South Carolina. The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, unveiled in 2006, was a plan to reprocess spent commercial nuclear fuel to maximize its efficiency, reduce waste volume and prevent its exploitation for nuclear weapons. Two of the 11 sites proposed for such reprocessing centers are in South Carolina.

ECONOMY: Consumer prices dipped unexpectedly in March, leaving prices over the past year falling at the fastest clip in more than a half-century.

HEALTH: Toddlers of moms who took the epilepsy drug valproate during pregnancy had lower IQs than the children of women who used other anti-seizure medicines, according to a new study.

Thursday

U.S.-MEXICO: Confronting a Mexican drug war that is "sowing chaos in our communities," President Obama signaled he will not seek the reinstatement of a U.S. assault weapons ban but instead step up enforcement of existing laws banning the transfer of such guns across the border.

AUTO RECALL: General Motors Corp. is recalling 1.5 million vehicles because of potential engine fires. Some of the vehicles are no longer in production.

GREENJACKETS: A crowd of 4,601 fans turns out for the GreenJackets' home opener, which went down as a 3-1 loss to the Savannah Sand Gnats.

SPORTS: One of sports' most popular broadcasters, football announcer John Madden, 73, said he was retiring.

Friday

VETERANS AFFAIRS: Further testing of veterans exposed to improperly sterilized equipment at the Charlie Nor- wood VA Medical Center revealed more potential infections. Among those tested in Augusta, there have been five "unverified positive tests" for hepatitis C, one for hepatitis B and one case of HIV.

POLLUTION: The Environmental Protection Agency ruled that greenhouse gases are a threat to public health because they contribute to climate change. The ruling sets the stage for the agency to regulate emissions from several sources, a move critics say will stifle business amid the recession.