the buzz log

Forget Hollywood — the past seven days were all about Washington, D.C. The president hosted a highly anticipated get-together to talk about race relations, while the birther community set out to prove that the commander in chief wasn't born in the United States. Both events caused a stir in Search and on the Buzz. Join us for a look back at those stories and more with the Buzz Week in Review.

A cold one with the president
A few weeks ago, Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. was arrested at his own home by Cambridge police officer James Crowley. Gates, who is black, insisted that the arrest was racially motivated. Crowley, white, denied the charge. The arrest received such publicity that President Obama stepped in and suggested that the police had "acted stupidly" in arresting Gates. Obama later apologized for his remark, and to help smooth things over, he invited Gates and Crowley to the White House to drink a beer and talk. Unofficially known as the "beer summit," the afternoon get-together sparked tremendous searches on the key participants, as well as the various beer brands each person had chosen to drink. Crowley's choice (Blue Moon) drew the most searches, but Gates' pick (Red Stripe) also bubbled up. As for the president? No microbrews for him — he sipped on a Bud Light.

What the heck's a birther?
A birther is a person who doesn't believe that President Obama was born in the United States (and thus, not eligible to be the big boss). The birthing movement has taken Search by storm over the past several weeks, despite many feeling the community has few facts to stand on. This past week, the movement got hit with a jolt of cold, hard proof. In a 378-0 vote, Congress found that Obama was born in Hawaii. Still, a blogger from the Huffington Post writes that the movement won't likely go away any time soon. Searches on "birthers" were up 421% over the week, and related lookups on "where was obama born," "obama home state," and "obama birth conspiracy" also enjoyed some solid gains.

Cash for Clunkers out of gas?
When the Cash for Clunkers program got started, some wondered if it would actually inspire anyone to buy a new car. After all, the rules were pretty strict, and it stands to reason that anyone who owns an old jalopy probably wouldn't be able to afford a new car, anyway. How wrong those doubters were. After just a few days, the program was in danger of running out of funding. Congress, in a breath of fresh air, acted quickly and approved $2 billion in additional funding to keep the party going. Searches stayed strong on "cash for clunkers rules" and "cars.gov," the official government website that explains the program.

Also buzzing this week...
• Kevin Federline showed off his huskier physique.
• William Shatner recited a Palin-like poem on "The Tonight Show."
• Next season, Jon and Kate will date. Greaeeaaaat.