Human Race

REPRIEVE: Illinois prosecutors ruled June 19 that Sen. Roland Burris, D-Ill., will not face perjury charges after a local investigation found "insufficient evidence" that Burris intentionally deceived investigators about contact he had with former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's office prior to Burris' Senate appointment. Burris, 71, still faces scrutiny, however, from the Senate Ethics Committee.

SEPARATED: Jon and Kate Gosselin announced during the June 22 edition of Jon & Kate Plus 8 that they are divorcing, but their popular TLC reality show highlighting life with their twins and sextuplets will continue to air. Their separation, however, could affect the debut of Kate Gosselin's upcoming book, Love Is in the Mix: Making Meals into Memories, which Zondervan is slated to release in November.

ESCAPED: After seven months of captivity, New York Times journalist David Rohde, 41, and Afghan journalist, Tahir Ludin, 35, escaped June 19 from a Taliban compound in Pakistan. According to Ludin, the pair used rope to scale down a 20-foot wall after their captors had fallen asleep. Although the kidnappers had demanded a ransom shortly after seizing Rohde, The New York Times said it declined to pay it and, on the advice of others, kept the situation a secret to protect Rohde.

RESIGNED: Brian Diaz, the president of Liberty University's embattled College Democrats club, resigned June 19 and said he will be transferring to a different school. Last month the Christian school revoked its recognition of the student club, saying the party "stands against the moral principles held by the university." On June 22, however, officials implemented a new policy under which all political clubs will only be recognized as unofficial clubs.

DIED: Ed McMahon, best known as Johnny Carson's sidekick who for nearly 30 years introduced The Tonight Show with "Heeere's Johnny!" died June 23. The former face of American Family Publishers' sweepstakes, McMahon, 86, also helped discover up-and-coming performers for 12 years as host of the talent contest Star Search.

DIED: Retired Air Force Maj. Gen. David F. Wherley Jr., who once headed the D.C. National Guard and mobilized fighter pilots to guard the nation's capital after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, died along with his wife, Ann, in the June 22 Washington, D.C., Metrorail collision that claimed the lives of nine people and injured dozens of others. The Wherleys were both 62.

DIED: Actress Farrah Fawcett, the blond bombshell who starred in Charlie's Angels and was considered one of the biggest sex symbols of the 1970s, died June 25 from cancer. She was 62.