Tragedy struck this May after a cyclone devastated Myanmar and an earthquake killed thousands in China. In the political realm, primaries continued to dominate online searches, but the diagnosis of Senator Ted Kennedy's brain tumor made the statesman one of the most queried Democrats of the month. These stories and many others reverberated through Search.

Unnatural Disasters
The number of casualties is still unknown in Myanmar, but the cyclone itself and the junta's role spurred readers to dig deeper into the story. The evolving story in China, on the other hand, sparked similar map lookups but also had readers monitoring the aftershocks, the country's endangered dams and bridges, relief funds, the country's one-child policy, and Sharon Stone's regretful comments.

Two Degrees of "Idol"
Date an Idol, revive a flagging career. Among the television finales firing up searches, "American Idol" climbed past Miley Cyrus and the IRS to make the top 20 searches. David Cook won (as early Buzz Log numbers projected), and took his newfound cred to ask out season 2 competitor and TV Guide Network talk show host Kimberly Caldwell, setting off a domino search explosion for the peroxide blonde.

Scant weeks after Mariah Carey's "Idol" mentorship, the singer hitched with Nick Cannon and provoked for look-ups for her nuptials, age, bio, wedding pictures, and her rock.

Track Records
The fabled tradition of the Kentucky Derby took a grisly turn when downed horse Eight Belles had to be put down. The winner of that race, Big Brown, however turned the conversation to a Triple Crown contention when he won the Preakness 2008.

As women like Danica Patrick and Gina Carano make Search headway, NCAA softball has also seen a 12% increase in searches compared to this same time last year.

Other newsmakers among the fastest moving searches in May…

…The Samsung Glyde, another attempt to slay the iPhone, gets techies looking but scores a "meh" from the critics.

…Is honoring Mom becoming perfunctory? Searches for "mother's day" have dropped 20% since last year. Unless the online "Grand Theft Auto IV" hysteria was really just gift shopping for mom...

… "Iron Man" still holds the lead in 2008 box office receipts and searches, and gave its Robert Downey, Jr. redemption and perhaps closer to his onscreen persona's wealth... at least, if he did his royalties right.

Ever open your mouth and wish you'd just kept it closed? Join the club. This week, several famous folks made comments they'd like stricken from the record. Take a look back at the awkward gaffes from the week that was.

Hillary Clinton's alarming comparison
Senator Clinton, in an attempt to argue that the battle for the Democratic nomination is far from over, made an unfortunate comparison to the 1968 race in which Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated. The "Hey, you never know..." comment outraged Obama supporters who criticized Clinton's poor choice of words. The former First Lady later apologized, but that didn't stop folks from buzzing related articles including one from the always popular New York Post.

Sharon Stone: Not real popular in China
While on the red carpet at Cannes, Sharon Stone made one of those comments that was both insensitive and just plain dumb. When asked about the recent Chinese earthquake that killed thousands of people, Ms. Stone suggested it might be karma for China's treatment of Tibet. Not surprisingly, China took umbrage at the insinuation and Stone apologized faster than you can say "Basic Instinct 3." Unfortunately, the apology may be too late—Cristian Dior already dropped her as a spokesmodel. Now that's karma. (Oh, and for those who are interested, HowStuffWorks explains how karma really works.)

Rachael Ray's controversial... scarf?
We never thought scarves could be "controversial," but then again, we've never had our neckwear critiqued by millions of people. Rachael Ray wore a fringed scarf for a recent Dunkin Donuts ad, and a blogger pointed out that scarf was similar to "the type typically worn by Muslim extremists." Others voiced their opinions and pretty soon, Dunkin Donuts pulled the ad. The New York Times recaps this textbook example of the Web's massive influence.

Other apologies making the rounds...
• Bear Sterns chairman Jimmy Cayne apologized to an auditorium of employees for the pain caused by the company's misfortune. The employees' reaction? Dead silence. Can you say "awkward"?
• Christian Siriano, winner of "Project Runway," apologized for derogatory comments he made toward transsexuals.
• Finally, some folks just don't "do" apologies. Danica Patrick has no plans to apologize for storming toward Ryan Briscoe's pit stall after Briscoe inadvertently knocked her from the Indy 500. That's right—you stay mad, Danica. 

Ever since word hit that Hollywood’s hunkiest bachelor is free, free, free, Buzz has been aglow with articles about George Clooney. “Clooney loose,” cried the New York Post. “George is back on the market,” declared the New York Daily News. “Time to take up cocktail waitressing,” crooned Shine. Searchers were so eager for more on the split that lookups for Clooney’s ex, Sarah Larson, rose a staggering 9,582% yesterday.

While Sir George was breaking up, other celebs were hooking up – or at least, enjoying the attention of such rumors. David Cook, the newest winner of “American Idol,” stirred searches with speculation that he might be dating another ex-Idol, Kimberly Caldwell. Queries for the lucky lady promptly posted a 9,446% gain.

Cynthia Nixon, meanwhile, sparked a flurry of attention by appearing publicly with her long-time girlfriend, Christine Marinoni. Search logged a slew of queries for “cynthia nixon girlfriend,” while New York Magazine pondered how this attention plays in to the publicity for the “Sex and the City” opening.

Actors and singers aren’t the only public figures to grab attention this week with news of their significant others. Among the week’s fastest moving “girlfriend” searches, athletes also scored points for driving searchers to the Web for more on their love...