recent news stories that have affected our lives here in a negative way

the death of casey johnson.
the arrest of nanette and michael craver
torry hansen sending artyem saviliev back to russia
the eruption of mount eyjafjallajokul in iceland
the ouster of kurmanbek bakiyev as president of kyrgyzstan

also quite possibly:
the earthquake in haiti
joe sestak's decision to challenge arlen specter in the democratic primary

it's hard to come up with a more random list of news stories.