Oliver Laughland on the people and stories in the media spotlight in the last seven days
The story
Cabinet spat
At last! A year after the election, one of the Lib Dem front bench has explored the rigidity of their own backbone. The climate change chief Chris Huhne is reported to have given Cameron and Osborne a grilling so severe it led to comparisons with the question master himself, Jeremy Paxman. Demanding to know whether the PM would disown the pugnacity of the No to AV campaign's depiction of the deputy PM, Huhne's determination was deemed inappropriate for cabinet. It remains to be seen how the spat will affect the future of the coalition, but the creaking sound of vertebrae moulding back into shape are reportedly being heard throughout Lib Dem HQ.
The stat
59% of parents …
… do not think 5- to 11-year-olds should get sex education. As Nadine Dorries's pro-abstinence sex education bill – the "daftest piece of legislation" Labour's Chris Bryant has ever seen – passes its first reading, a survey of 1,700 parents reveals most don't want their kids learning about sex until secondary school.
The quote
Simon Cowell
"I'm thrilled for Cheryl. She is massively excited about this show and has been fantastic to work with. She is also a complete brat. Most importantly, this girl can spot talent." Simon Cowell is excited that Cheryl Cole will join the judging panel of X Factor USA. Meanwhile, Joe McElderry – 2009 UK winner and ex-mentoree of Miss Cole – is hunting for a new record label after being dropped. It is unknown how he feels about Cole's ability to "spot talent".
The tweet
"A huge window shaking bang here in Abbottabad Cantt. I hope its not the start of something nasty :-S"
Breaking one of the biggest counter-terrorism stories ever might usually get you a Pulitzer, but for 33-year-old IT programmer Sohaib Athar, it just upped his Twitter followers by 100,000 or so. Unwittingly tweeting Bin Laden's demise, we wait to see just how "nasty" things might get.