Last week it was a volcano, this week it’s an oil spill. Last week it was all about illegal immigrants. They’re still here this week. Last week there was trouble on “South Park”, this week there’s trouble with penises. Herewith, the most popular stories of the week.

1. U.S. oil spill growing

Is Louisiana absolutely the unluckiest state in the union? The state is still recovering from the Katrina disaster and now must also deal with the fallout of an oil rig blast that is spewing oil into the sea and threatening its shoreline (along with three other states). The army has been called in, the company that owns the well (BP) is facing lawsuits and the spill itself may end up being the worst ecological disaster in U.S. history. More than enough drama to make it our top video of the week.

If you were a traveler, an illegal immigrant or a “South Park” resident, your world was turned upside down in the past week. A volcano wreaked havoc on travelers, Arizona wreaked havoc on illegal immigrants and a little-known Muslim group wreaked havoc on “South Park.” Good for us, though, as all those made for great headlines that you, dear readers, pushed to the very top of our weekly rankings chart.

1. Arizona passes tough illegal immigration law

We begin in Arizona, the desert with the great big hole in it. The state, which the U.S. census says is 86.5 percent white, voted 17-11 in favor of a bill that requires police to determine if people are in the U.S. illegally. It raised a brouhaha (I’ve waited weeks to use that word) because some folks think it will lead to racial profiling. “I believe handcuffs are a wonderful tool when they’re on the right people,” said Russell Pearce, the Republican state senator who wrote the bill. Nice.

Just had to blog this: The Forbes Fictional 15 richest characters… it’s a hoot: http://bit.ly/cLzhBj

It’s always good to see a venerable business mag can also have a sense of humor.

Most people know Forbes publishes the ranks of the world’s richest people, this year topped by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim. But the magazine also does another annual list that will be of much more interest to those of us who love TV, movies and other fun escapes: the Forbes Fictional 15 rankings of fiction’s richest.