The week at a glance...United States

Amarillo, Texas

JetBlue pilot charged: Federal authorities filed criminal charges this week against an allegedly out-of-control JetBlue Airways captain who sprinted down the cabin of a Las Vegas–bound flight raving about a bomb. Veteran pilot Clayton Osbon told the plane’s first officer, “we’re not going to Vegas,” and began giving an incoherent religious sermon. Osbon then left the cockpit and sprinted through the cabin, ranting about Iran and Israel. “Say your prayers…we’re all going down,” he screamed, according to witnesses. Passengers wrestled the pilot to the floor while the plane made an emergency landing in Amarillo. Passenger Tony Antolino, who helped subdue Osbon, said the co-pilot may have averted a tragedy by locking the deranged pilot out of the cockpit. “I think the co-pilot is really the hero here,’’ Antolino said. JetBlue CEO Dave Barger said he knew Osbon as a “consummate professional” who had no history of mental illness.

Baton Rouge

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Santorum wins primary: Louisianan voters last week handed a decisive victory to Rick Santorum in the state’s primary, his 11th win of the campaign, but one that will have little impact on the all-important hunt for delegates. Santorum beat Mitt Romney in 63 of the state’s 64 parishes, and among nearly all demographics—women, men, conservatives, liberals, Catholics, evangelicals, all age groups, all levels of education—except one: Those earning at least $200,000. Comparing his run to Ronald Reagan’s 1976 insurgent campaign against Gerald Ford, Santorum told supporters, “You didn’t believe what the pundits have said, that this race was over.” In the end, the victory will do little to change the outcome of the race for the nomination, observers said. Santorum won just five more delegates than Romney, who leads the ex-Pennsylvania senator 568 to 273 in the delegate count.

Falls Church, Va.

Cheney gets heart transplant: Former Vice President Dick Cheney, 71, underwent successful heart transplant surgery last week, and was “doing very well,” according to his aide Kara Ahern. Cheney was reported to be talking and standing less than two days after receiving his new heart at Inova Fairfax Hospital. Cheney joined the waiting list for a transplant in 2010 after a lifetime of heart disease, including five heart attacks. Dr. Michael Acker, chief of cardiovascular surgery at the University of Pennsylvania, said most medical centers—including his—did not perform heart transplants on patients of Cheney’s age. “Over 70 is rare,” he said, “but it’s been done.” Cheney’s time on the transplant waiting list was nearly double the median wait of 9.7 months among heart patients at Inova Fairfax.

Washington, D.C.

Atheists rally: More than 20,000 nonbelievers gathered on the National Mall last week, in what was billed as “the world’s largest secular event.” Despite inclement weather, the event drew an enthusiastic crowd of freethinkers, who welcomed a bevy of anti-religion celebrities, including Oxford professor Richard Dawkins. Dawkins, the author of The God Delusion, addressed his fellow nonbelievers, some of whom had traveled to the capital from as far away as Wisconsin and Mississippi. In a 10-minute speech, Dawkins spoke of natural selection and evolution and praised the attendees for their fortitude. “I expected a great turnout should the weather have been nice, but here you all are,” Dawkins said. “I’ve not yet seen a more beautiful sight.” David Silverman, president of American Atheists, one of the rally’s sponsors, told the crowd, “We are here to deliver a message to America: We are here and we will never be silent again.”

Minnetonka, Minn.

The end of ‘pink slime’: Five major food retailers announced this week that they would no longer sell what the meat industry calls “lean, finely textured beef trimmings” and what critics have dubbed “pink slime.” Reacting to customer pressure, Kroger, Stop & Shop, SuperValu, Safeway, and Walmart announced that they would no longer sell ground beef mixed with ammonia-treated scraps and connective tissue, effectively bringing to an end the two-decade use of “pink slime” in 70 percent of supermarket hamburger. “It’s pretty much over,” said Mike Martin, a spokesman for Cargill, which is a leading producer of the beef product. The backlash against “pink slime” also prompted McDonald’s to drop it and the USDA to let school districts opt out of using it in school lunch programs, though it has never been shown to be unsafe.

Fort Leavenworth, Kan.

Bales charged in 17th murder: Staff Sgt. Robert Bales was charged last week with an additional count of premeditated murder, as new details emerged about the night of the massacre in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province. A U.S. military official said the evidence indicated “17 victims of premeditated murder and six victims of assault and attempted premeditated murder.” Bales allegedly attacked the village twice, it was reported last week, returning to his base once before doubling back to the village. Bales’s wife, Karilyn, defended her husband on NBC’s Today show, calling the charges “unbelievable” and adding, “He loves children; he’s like a big kid himself.” Meanwhile, the United States has paid $50,000 to relatives of each of the civilians killed in the March 11 shooting rampage, a sum that reflects the view of U.S. officials that this is “the most serious alleged war crime by a Western service member to come to light in the course of the 10-year conflict.”