The African nation of Chad has declared a state of emergency after rebels seized parts of the capital on Feb. 2 in an attempt to attack President Idriss Deby. Deby has imposed house searches, a curfew, press censorship and vehicle control to calm the violence. About 160 people have been killed and 1,000 injured.

On Tuesday, film director Steven Spielberg resigned as artistic advisor of the 2008 Beijing Olympics due to China’s ties with Sudan. Spielberg said that China, who has economic and military influence in the Sudan region, should be doing more to end the conflict. Spielberg’s announcement came after British newspaper The Independent published a letter signed by Nobel laureates, politicians and artists imploring China to take proactive steps in Darfur.

After causing controversy in the Muslim world nearly three years ago, several Danish newspapers reprinted the now-infamous political cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad. Three men were arrested earlier this week for plotting to kill one of the cartoon’s artists. The newspapers reran the cartoon to show support for freedom of speech.

A gunman killed five students and injured 16 before shooting himself at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Ill. on Thursday afternoon. The suspect was previously enrolled at the school as a graduate student in sociology. He was found with three weapons.

After ending his campaign for the Republican nomination in the 2008 presidential race, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney officially endorsed Senator John McCain (R-AZ), one of the two remaining Republican candidates. At a news conference in Boston on Thursday, Romney publicly asked the delegates that he had accrued during his primary campaign to vote for McCain at the Republican convention, to be held in Minneapolis-Saint Paul later this year. McCain continues to campaign against former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee.

The Writers Guild of America voted to end the strike that began on Nov. 5, with guild members returning to work on Wednesday. The 10,500 union members will receive a new contract that gives them a pay raise and compensates them for shows viewed online. The contract will last for three years before it is up for negotiation. Viewers can expect to see new episodes of television shows as soon as next month.