Harvard University selected Drew Gilpin Faust, 59, as its 28th president on February 11. Faust, a historian with an expertise in the Civil War and American South, was the first woman ever chosen to lead America’s oldest institution of higher education, founded in 1636, and just the fourth female to be named president of an Ivy League university. Two years prior to her appointment, then-Harvard president Lawrence Summers ignited a controversy by stating that intrinsic differences in aptitude between women and men could be a reason fewer women succeeded in the fields of math and science. At the time of her appointment, Faust was dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, the smallest of Harvard’s 12 schools. She was previously a professor of history for over two decades at the University of Pennsylvania, from which she received her master’s and doctoral degrees.

On February 13, North Korea agreed to close its nuclear facilities and allow inspectors into the country in exchange for a $400 million package of food, fuel and other aid from the United States, China, Russia and South Korea. The deal was reached four months after North Korea first tested a nuclear bomb. America also agreed to begin working with the North Korean government, headed by dictator Kim Jong Il, to remove it from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism.

On March 6, I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, was convicted of obstruction of justice, perjury and making false statements to federal investigators in a CIA identity leak case involving covert operative Valerie Plame. The undercover agent’s identity was revealed in a July 2003 newspaper column by Robert Novak. Earlier that month, Joseph Wilson, Plame’s husband and a former U.S. ambassador, wrote an op-ed piece for the New York Times in which he questioned the Bush Administration’s reasons for going to war in Iraq. Libby wasn’t charged with disclosing Plame’s identity, but rather, of lying to authorities in the investigation. On June 5, 2007, Libby was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and fined $250,000. However, one month later, on July 2, President George W. Bush commuted Libby’s prison term before the ex-White House aide served any time.

At a military hearing at the U.S. detention facility in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, on March 15, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, a former top aide to Osama Bin Laden, confessed to planning the September 11 terrorist attacks on America and said, “I was responsible for the 9/11 operation, from A to Z.” Mohammed, 41, also claimed responsibility for a number of other attacks, including the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, the 2002 bombing of a Balinese nightclub and the 2002 beheading of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. Mohammed, who was arrested in Pakistan in 2003 and detained in secret C.I.A. prisons, described assassination plots against former U.S. presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton and Pope John Paul II and detailed terrorist plots against major cities and landmarks around the world. He claimed he’d been tortured by the C.I.A. in the past, but his current confession wasn’t coerced. Experts believed Mohammed played a key role in planning the 9/11 attacks, but some cautioned that he might have been exaggerating his role in the other plots in order to elevate his own importance in the terrorist world.

California-based New Century Financial, the largest independent provider of subprime mortgage loans in the United States, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on April 2. The filing came at a time when the subprime mortgage industry, which made risky loans to people with low incomes or weak credit, was collapsing. Throughout 2007, scores of other lending operations laid off employees, filed for bankruptcy or shut down completely as increasing numbers of homeowners defaulted on their mortgages and figures for home foreclosures across the United States escalated. By November, foreclosure filings were up 68 percent compared to the same month the previous year. The crisis began in the fall of 2006 when the housing bubble burst and real-estate prices in many regions tumbled. Many consumers with adjustable rate mortgages were unable to keep up with higher payments. In addition to individual consumers, banks, hedge funds and other investors suffered huge losses due to the mortgage meltdown, and the trouble continued as the year came to a close.

In the deadliest school shooting in American history, 23-year-old college senior Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people on the campus of Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Virginia, on April 16. Cho, who was born in South Korea and moved with his family to the United States as a boy, was a loner who had exhibited anti-social behavior toward several teachers and classmates at Virginia Tech. In 2005, he was diagnosed as mentally ill and ordered to undergo treatment on an outpatient basis, an order with which he never complied. Cho’s rampage began when he shot and killed two students at a residence hall at approximately 7:15 a.m. Two hours later, he gunned down 30 students and faculty in a classroom building, before committing suicide. Two days later, NBC News received a package containing a lengthy manifesto written by Cho, along with photos and videos of him displaying a cache of weapons. He apparently mailed the materials in between the two shooting incidents.

Boris Yeltsin, who in 1991 became the first popularly elected president of Russia following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, died at age 76 of heart failure in Moscow on April 23. Despite Yeltsin’s embrace of democracy, his time in office was marked by corruption and Russia was in decline when he resigned in December 1999. His hand-picked successor, Vladimir Putin, was a former KGB agent. Under Putin, Russians have experienced a higher standard of living and he is credited with bringing stability to the nation and restoring its reputation as a world power. However, Putin has also faced criticism that he is reversing the course of government away from democracy. 2007 marked Putin’s last full year as president. He announced that he would step down as required when his second term expires in 2008 and that he then intended to become the country’s prime minister.

Praised by some as the greatest television show of all time, New Jersey mafia drama “The Sopranos” aired its final premiere episode on June 10. “The Sopranos,” which debuted on HBO in January 1999, explored the personal and professional life of mobster Tony Soprano, played by James Gandolfini. Complicating Tony’s life were a large cast of characters--among them, his wife Carmela, his therapist Dr. Jennifer Melfi and his crime-world crew, including Paulie “Walnuts” Gaultieri, Silvio Dante and cousin Christopher Moltisanti. The show, which was the brainchild of writer/producer David Chase, was known for its dark, edgy style, its graphic violence and sex scenes, and its music and pop-culture references. “The Sopranos” won numerous awards during its six seasons. The show’s final episode ended ambiguously: As fans waited anxiously to see if Tony would be “whacked,” he sat with his family at a diner and the screen turned abruptly to static, causing some viewers to believe there was something wrong with their televisions.

On June 15, Bob Barker, age 83, ended his 35-year stint as host of “The Price is Right,” the longest-running daytime game show in television history. After an early career in radio, Barker made his national TV debut in 1956 as the host of the game show “Truth or Consequences.” He began his “Price is Right” hosting duties on September 4, 1972. A previous version of the show, hosted by Bill Cullen, aired from 1956 to 1965. In the late 1970s, Barker became a vegetarian and an animal rights activist. He started ending each show by telling audiences: “Help control the pet population; have your pet spayed or neutered.” He also convinced the show’s producers not to offer fur coats as prizes or any other products harmful to animals. After Barker’s retirement, episodes of “Price is Right” featuring new host Drew Carey began airing in October 2007.

Mike Nifong, district attorney for Durham County, North Carolina, was stripped of his law license on June 16 for mishandling the rape case involving Duke University lacrosse players. On March 13, 2006, the Duke lacrosse team held a party at an off-campus house and hired two strippers to perform. The following day, one of the dancers, an African-American woman, told police that three white students forced her into a bathroom and raped her. Despite the fact DNA test results showed no match between the players and the accuser, Nifong, who labeled the young men “hooligans,” eventually charged three of them with rape, sexual offense and kidnapping--even though they had cell phone records and time-stamped photographs to demonstrate they couldn’t have committed the crimes. In late December 2006, the accuser altered several key details of her story and Nifong dropped the rape charges but kept the kidnapping and sexual offense counts in place. The North Carolina attorney general eventually took over the case and dismissed all charges against the young men, who later received an undisclosed financial settlement from Duke.

Six American troops were killed during an insurgent attack in eastern Afghanistan on November 10, raising the number of U.S. military casualties in the Afghan conflict in 2007 to at least 100 and making it the deadliest year since fighting began in 2001. In addition to mounting troop deaths, The New York Times reported that “Taliban fighters seeped back over the border, driving up the suicide attacks and roadside bombings by as much as 25 percent this spring, and forcing NATO and American troops into battles to retake previously liberated villages in southern Afghanistan.” Also in 2007, illegal drug production was on the rise across Afghanistan and the U.S.-backed Hamid Karzai government retained only limited power beyond the capital city of Kabul.

Amidst enormous media attention and hype, Apple Inc., maker of the MacIntosh personal computer, released the iPhone, an Internet-enabled mobile phone, on June 29. Gearheads camped out in front of Apple stores across the United States in order to be among the first to purchase the revolutionary device, which functions as a cell phone, camera, iPod, wireless Web browser and email terminal. Two models, with four and eight gigabytes of storage, were initially offered for $499 and $599, respectively. On September 10, 2007, just over two months after the sleek gadget arrived in stores, Apple announced it had sold its one-millionth iPhone. By comparison, it took two years for the company to hawk the same number of iPods. The iPhone made its European debut in November 2007 and was scheduled for release in Asia in 2008.

Amidst enormous media attention and hype, Apple Inc., maker of the MacIntosh personal computer, released the iPhone, an Internet-enabled mobile phone, on June 29. Gearheads camped out in front of Apple stores across the United States in order to be among the first to purchase the revolutionary device, which functions as a cell phone, camera, iPod, wireless Web browser and email terminal. Two models, with four and eight gigabytes of storage, were initially offered for $499 and $599, respectively. On September 10, 2007, just over two months after the sleek gadget arrived in stores, Apple announced it had sold its one-millionth iPhone. By comparison, it took two years for the company to hawk the same number of iPods. The iPhone made its European debut in November 2007 and was scheduled for release in Asia in 2008.

On July 10, China executed its former State Food and Drug Administration chief following his conviction for accepting bribes to approve substandard medicine that resulted in the deaths of at least 10 people. The execution came at a time when China, the planet’s biggest exporter of consumer goods, faced mounting international scrutiny for the manufacture of a host of defective or fake products, including medicine, car tires, seafood and toothpaste. In the spring of 2007, scores of cats and dogs in the U.S. died after consuming tainted pet food made in China. In August, Mattel, the world’s largest toy company, was forced to recall millions of toys produced in China that contained high levels of lead paint or small parts that could be swallowed by children.

The seventh and final Harry Potter novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, was released on July 10, with an initial print run of 12 million copies in the United States alone. Harry Potter, the brainchild of British author J.K. Rowling, debuted in 1997 and went on to become an international bestseller. Children and adults alike were captivated by the story of Harry, the boy wizard, his loyal friends Ron and Hermione, and their adventures at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The books, which chronicle Harry’s struggles against the evil Lord Voldemort, have sold over 400 million copies and been translated into more than 60 languages. The series is credited with boosting childhood literacy around the globe. Additionally, the series has spawned blockbuster films and merchandise and made J.K. Rowling, who was broke when she penned the first Harry Potter book, the highest-earning author in history.

Karl Rove, President George Bush’s deputy chief of staff and closest political advisor, resigned on August 31. Rove masterminded the 2000 and 2004 presidential victories and was sometimes referred to as “Bush’s brain.” Rove’s reputation was damaged when the Democrats gained control of both houses of Congress in the 2006 midterm elections, in what was viewed as a referendum on the Bush presidency. Shortly before Rove left the White House, another one of Bush’s top officials, Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez, also announced his resignation, effective September 17. Gonzalez, the nation’s first attorney general of Hispanic heritage, faced heavy criticism for his role in the firing of nine U.S. attorneys in 2006. He was also accused of giving false testimony before Congress about the domestic eavesdropping program. Other key members of the Bush administration who resigned from their posts in 2007 included White House Counsel Harriet Miers and Counselor to the President Dan Bartlett.

General David Petraeus, America’s top commander in Iraq, reported to Congress on the state of the war in Iraq on September 10. The Petraeus report, as it became known, concluded that the “surge” campaign, which involved the deployment of an additional 20,000 U.S. troops to Iraq, had dramatically reduced sectarian killings in Baghdad and across that nation.  When President George Bush announced in January 2007 he was sending additional troops to Iraq--on top of the more than 130,000 already stationed there--the news was met with resistance by members of Congress and the American people, over half of whom opposed the war that began in 2003. Nevertheless, the surge campaign moved forward and by year’s end, was being heralded as a success in reducing violence. At the same time, however, U.S. troop deaths reached an all-time annual high in 2007, with 899 American soldiers losing their lives. During the September hearings, General Petraeus stated that the U.S. needed more time to achieve its objectives in Iraq, but he was unable to say how long American soldiers would need to be there.

Police in Myanmar, the impoverished, repressed Southeast Asia nation formerly known as Burma, cracked down on large anti-government protests led by Buddhist monks in late September. Security forces beat and tear gassed unarmed pro-democracy demonstrators and monks and arrested thousands of them. According to government reports, 10 people were killed, but human rights groups estimate the number is higher. The initially peaceful demonstrations were sparked in mid-August after Myanmar’s military government instituted an enormous rise in fuel prices without explanation. The monk-led demonstrations represented the most serious challenge to the military junta since 1988, when it assumed power. In December 2007, the International Herald Tribune reported that: “In what seems to be a sign of waning American clout in the region, China, India and Myanmar's Southeast Asian neighbors have brushed aside Washington's calls for an economic embargo and the diplomatic isolation of the junta.” By year’s end, an unknown number of monks and protestors--possibly more than 2,000--were thought to remain in prison.

On October 12, former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize "for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change." Gore was one of the first politicians to recognize and speak out about the dangers of carbon dioxide emissions; he held congressional hearings on climate change in the late 1970s. In 2006, Gore starred in the Academy Award-winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth, which was credited with raising international awareness about the global warming crisis. The “green movement” spread across the U.S. in 2007, as the media focused more attention on the problems associated with climate change and the public become more educated. However, little real progress was made to reduce America’s dependence on carbon-emitting fossil fuels.

The Writers Guild of America, which represents approximately 12,000 movie and television writers, went on strike in Los Angeles and New York on November 5 after negotiations broke down with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Among the key issues were the writers’ demands for a larger share of DVD revenues and payment for films and TV shows distributed over the Internet and other forms of new media. Late-night talk shows, which use guild writers, were immediately affected by the strike and went into re-runs. Production shut down on many prime-time comedies and dramas, which had stockpiled some completed programming but were expected to be in re-runs by early 2008. In Los Angeles County, where the entertainment industry is a $30 billion-per-year business, the strike impacted everyone from caterers to editors to set designers to animal wranglers. The last writers’ strike, in 1988, lasted five months and reportedly cost the entertainment industry in excess of $500 million.

Talk-show host and media mogul Oprah Winfrey publicly endorsed a presidential candidate--Barack Obama--for the first time in her career and spoke on his behalf at campaign rallies in Iowa on December 8. In September, Winfrey hosted an Obama fundraiser at her California estate that brought in several million dollars for his campaign. Throughout much of 2007, Senator Hillary Clinton, the first female presidential candidate, was viewed as the front-runner among the Democrats. Senator Obama, the first African-American candidate with broad support, and former Senator John Edwards, were also considered top contenders in the race. The Republican field of presidential candidates was in an equally tight race and included former governor and Mormon Mitt Romney; Senator John McCain; evangelical preacher and former governor Mike Huckabee; and former New York City Major Rudy Guiliani. The Democratic and Republican candidates were divided over how to deal with such issues as the war in Iraq, illegal immigration and health care.

On September 10, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick was sentenced to 23 months in federal prison for his role in a dogfighting ring. Vick and three other men were charged in July 2007 with running a dogfighting operation, Bad Newz Kennels, for six years on property Vick owned in rural Virginia. The 27-year-old star athlete later pled guilty to funding the operation and to assisting in the killing of some of the dogs that didn’t perform well. The case sparked outrage and protests from animal-rights activists across the United States. Vick, one of the highest-paid players in sports, signed a $130 million deal with the Falcons in 2004. After the dogfighting case, Vick was ordered to return almost $20 million of his $37 million bonus and he lost lucrative endorsement deals with companies including Nike.

On December 13, the Mitchell Report was released, after a 20-month independent investigation into the illegal use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball. The report named over 80 players, including all-star pitcher Roger Clemens, who later denied the allegations against him. The investigation, which also cited such well-known players as Jason Giambi, Andy Pettitte, Miguel Tejada and Gary Sheffield, was led by former U.S. Senator George Mitchell, who stated that everyone involved in baseball over the last two decades, from commissioners to players, was partly responsible for the steroids problem. Steroids were banned from baseball in 1991, but testing of Major League players didn’t start until 2003. In 2007, the sports world was rocked by two other cases involving professional athletes and steroids: In November, home run king Barry Bonds was indicted on charges of lying to a federal grand jury about his alleged steroid use. In October, track star and Olympic gold medalist Marion Jones admitted to using steroids and pled guilty to lying to federal officials in the BALCO steroid investigation.

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, 54, who was running for a third term, died on December 27 in an explosion set off by a suicide bomber after a political rally in the city of Rawalpindi. At least 20 other people died in the bombing and rioting soon broke out across Pakistan. In 1988, at age 35, Bhutto, who was educated at Harvard and Oxford, became the first woman elected to head a majority-Muslim country. She held the position until 1990, when she was removed on allegations of corruption. She served a second term from 1993 to 1996, before again being forced out of office due to corruption charges (for which she was never tried). Beginning in 1998, Bhutto went into self-imposed exile in Dubai and London. Intending to run as an opposition candidate in Pakistan’s January 2008 elections, she returned to her homeland in October 2007 after President Pervez Musharraf agreed to give her amnesty and drop the corruption charges against her.

Deaths in 2007: Arthur Schlesinger, historian, age 89 (d. 2/28)…Kurt Vonnegut, American author, age 84 (d. 4/11)… Don Ho, entertainer, age 76 (d. 4/14)… Walter Schirra, “Mercury Seven” astronaut, age 84 (d.5/3)… Jerry Falwell, televangelist and Moral Majority founder, age 73 (d. 5/15)…Liz Claiborne, fashion designer, age 78 (d. 6/26)… Joel Siegel, movie critic, age 63 (d. 6/29)... Beverly Sills, American opera star, age 78 (d. 7/2)… Lady Bird Johnson, wife of Lyndon Johnson, 36th U.S. President (d. 7/11)… Tammy Faye Messner, televangelist, age 65 (d. 7/20)… Ingmar Bergman, Swedish filmmaker, age 89 (d. 7/30)… Leona Helmsley, “Queen of Mean” wife of real-estate magnate Harry Helmsley, age 87 (d. 8/20)… Luciano Pavarotti, Italian opera star, age 71 (d. 9/6)… Brooke Astor, philanthropist, age 105 (d. 9/13)…Marcel Marceau, French mime, age 84 (d. 9/22)… Paul Tibbets, pilot of Enola Gay, the plane that dropped atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, age 92 (d. 11/1)…Norman Mailer, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, age 84 (d.11/10)…Evel Knievel, stuntman, age 69 (d. 11/30)