The week at a glance...United States

Los Angeles

Ex-cop killed: A weeklong manhunt for renegade former Los Angeles policeman Christopher Dorner came to an end this week, when the cabin he was apparently holed up in went up in flames during a shoot-out with police. The LAPD later discovered charred remains in the cabin believed to be those of the ex-cop, who is thought to have killed four people in a revenge-fueled crime spree. Dorner had been on the run since last week, after allegedly shooting dead the daughter of an LAPD captain and her fiancé in Irvine, apparently as revenge for Dorner’sdismissal from the force in 2008. He left a 6,000-word manifesto online vowing revenge on “racist” former colleagues who had stripped him of his badge after he complained about a white female supervisor. He boasted of being heavily armed with assault weapons and unafraid to die. The LAPD sent teams to protect targets named in the manifesto, and engaged in a shoot-out with Dorner last week. Dorner escaped, and hours later allegedly killed another officer in Riverside. The same day, his burned-out truck was discovered near the Big Bear ski area in San Bernardino, and the LAPD began combing the area, eventually offering a $1 million reward for information leading to his arrest. But the trail went quiet until this week, when Dorner was spotted in a truck he’d allegedly stolen from two people who were held hostage in a nearby cabin for days. He fled to a second cabin amid another gunfight in which he shot two deputies, killing one and injuring the other. Police and SWAT teams exchanged hundreds of rounds of gunfire with Dorner. A single shot was reportedly heard from inside the cabin as it was engulfed in flames. Sources close to the LAPD told reporters that Dorner was dead, but officials said it could take days to identify the remains.

Houston

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Father charged: A man was charged with murder this week for shooting the drunk driver who minutes before had struck and killed his two young sons. David Barajas, 31, allegedly shot José Banda, 20, after he drove into David Jr., 12, and Caleb, 11, with his car in December. Barajas and his sons were pushing the family car, which had broken down, as his wife and two younger children sat inside. Banda lost control of his car as he was driving past, killing David instantly and fatally injuring Caleb. According to a police report, witnesses saw Barajas walk to his home, return with a gun, and shoot Banda in the head. The dead man was later discovered to have been intoxicated. Police never located a weapon, but a grand jury determined last week that there was enough evidence to charge Barajas with murder.

Chicago

Pendleton killers caught: Two reputed gang members were charged this week with the murder of Hadiya Pendleton, the 15-year-old majorette who was shot dead just days after performing at President Obama’s inauguration. Michael Ward, 18, and Kenneth Williams, 20, were arrested hours after Michelle Obama and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel attended Pendleton’s funeral. Ward confessed that he and Williams had been driving around, looking for rival gang members, when they spotted the honor student and her friends in a park. Mistaking a companion of Pendleton’s for one of their rivals, Ward jumped out of the car and sprayed the group with bullets, hitting Pendleton in the back. “She was just there,” said Ward. Pendleton’s mother, Cleopatra—who sat with First Lady Michelle Obama at the State of the Union address—said she was praying that the pair would be “penalized to the full extent of the law.”

Washington, D.C.

Hagel scrapes through: Chuck Hagel took a step closer to confirmation as secretary of defense this week, but only after a bitterly divided Senate committee hearing. The Senate Armed Services Committee voted 14–11 to send Hagel’s nomination to the Senate floor, without a single Republican voting in favor. The two-hour hearing was bitterly combative, with Ted Cruz (R-Texas) suggesting that Hagel had accepted $200,000 from Saudi Arabia or North Korea, and James Inhofe (R-Okla.) implying that Hagel was “cozy” with terrorist states such as Iran. Democrats said the attacks on the decorated veteran had gone “over the line.” In the full Senate, Republicans filibustered a vote on the nomination, meaning Hagel will require 60 votes for confirmation instead of a simple majority of 51. Democrats said they were confident Hagel would clear the higher threshold.

Washington, D.C.

Marine honored: Afghanistan War veteran Clint Romesha received the Medal of Honor this week for leading a courageous charge in 2009, after his 53-man battalion came under fire from more than 300 Taliban insurgents. The raid, said President Obama during the award ceremony, was “one of the most intense battles of the entire war.” The ambushers had the high ground, but Romesha, 31, organized a counterassault and returned fire. Even though an explosion riddled his body with shrapnel, Romesha ran over 100 yards to reach wounded comrades, dodging mortar fire, rocket-propelled grenades, and sniper fire. After nearly 12 hours of fighting that left half the battalion injured or dead, he led the final charge, ignoring an order to hold his position after pretending that his radio was broken. Romesha is the fourth living person to receive the nation’s highest military decoration for service in Afghanistan or Iraq.