1 Black hole

President Bush's approval rating not only dropped to the lowest level in his two-term tenure last week with only 39 percent of the country giving him the thumbs-up, but his approval rating among African-Americans plunged to such an unprecedented low - a staggering 2 percent - that even political pundits couldn't find any historic comparisons for such demographic distrust.

2 And the hits just keep on coming

State consumers were already reeling after the Iowa Utilities Board announced last month that natural gas bills would spike by as much as 44 percent this winter. But last week, the state board revised its prediction, announcing that Iowans should instead brace for a 50 percent hike in their utility bills. One spark of hope? Climate experts forecast a warmer-than-typical winter season.

3 S.O.S. out west

Just when you thought it was safe to flee to the suburbs, turns out West Des Moines schools are in the same financial boat as the metro, with officials scaling back scheduled renovations and construction projects thanks to a $9 million budget gap. After blowing millions on a sports stadium and arguably over-accommodated facilities, some parents might be wondering if that cutting-edge elementary school could have done without a living room and made do with one playground instead of three.

4 Dead weight

The obesity epidemic reached a new level of absurdity last week, when it was announced that Polk County taxpayers will shell out extra cash to a private funeral service contracted to help medical examiner Gregory Schmunk and his staff deal "gracefully" with the increasing number of 300-plus-pound bodies requiring autopsies.

5 More shocking IEC news

Pinnacle Advisory Group, the hospitality consulting firm hired by Polk County in May 2005 for $25,000 to tell them they needed a new 450-room hotel adjacent to the Iowa Events Center, surprisingly proposed a new 450-room hotel adjacent to the Iowa Events Center last week despite a downtown regularly overwhelmed with empty hotel beds.

6 Gas prices continue to plummet

More evidence that gas station and convenience store owners were merely getting rich off of consumers following the so-called Katrina backlash was produced earlier this week when Iowans saw fuel prices drop drastically.

7 Security issues

Gov. Tom Vilsack's son, Jess, had his car stolen while it was parked at Terrace Hill. Keystone Cops, err state troopers, in charge of watching over the historical mansion, its grounds and those inhabiting it, did not disclose if donuts were being consumed while the caper took place.

8 Same shit, different season

After helping Baylor get its first ever Big XII road win, talk radio listeners and bloggers were calling for Iowa State football coach Dan McCarney's head, but after blowing a big lead at Missouri last weekend, and hitting their annual mid-season stride of dropping game after game, his detractors might actually start looking for him.

9 I gave at the office

Following the Asian tsunami and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, people from all over the world gave hundreds of millions of dollars in charitable contributions to help aid in relief efforts. However, following a huge earthquake in Pakistan and India, overall generosity has dried up considerably, in what experts refer to as "donor fatigue."

10 Pooh-poohing prom

A Long Island high school principal made national headlines when he canceled his school's prom, sending a 2,000-word letter to parents saying the school was "willing to sponsor a prom, but not an orgy." Kenneth M. Hoagland of Kellenberg Memorial High School cites parents' allowing their children to booze it up pre-prom and the event's "flaunting of affluence" as reasons for the cancellation. CV

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