By Elizabeth Chuck, msnbc.com

It didn’t push “Zombie Apocalypse” out of Twitter’s top trending topics, but President Obama’s speech about U.S. policy in the Middle East and North Africa was the subject of a lot of impassioned tweets Thursday.

“Breaking: Obama has just updated his Facebook Relationship status with Israel to ‘frenemies’” tweeted @Lady_Patriot as Obama endorsed Palestinians' demand for their state to be based on borders that existed before the 1967 Middle East war.“Shorter Obama speech: ‘I am boldly proposing that we do the same things that haven’t worked for 40 years,’” summarized @BenHowe after the hour-plus address. “Native Americans demand 17th century borders in Native America. Obama complies,” mocked @RELIII. 

The speech, livestreamed by the White House, was controversial enough to distract the Twitterverse from May 21, 2011, which - according to a radio preacher’s prophecy - will be Judgment Day/the end of the world. Tweets shifted from End Times' ensuing “Zombie Apocalypse” (which has become a big enough Internet joke that even the CDC suggested preparations for it in a tongue-in-cheek blog post) to anger and disappointment as the president spoke.

“This Obama speech is filled with dangerous (at best) recommendations,” said @mboyle1. “Maybe those Apocalypse May 21 people are right.”

“Hypocrisy at its best,” declared @Salma_Tweets from Cairo.

Then there was the issue of what Obama didn’t say: Seven countries in the region were not mentioned in the speech, according to @assuss. “8 references to Israel or Israelis, 22 to Palestine or Palestinians. No Saudi mentions, 6 Bahrain, 7 Syria, 13 Egypt,” counted Al Jazeera’s @evanchill.

But not everyone had harsh reactions. “President Obama’s #MEspeech [Mideast speech] is an unbelievable patchwork of delicate balancing acts… almost surreal,” tweeted @weddady, a civil rights activist.

Added @LarryOrnez, “I can’t believe #MEspeech is a trending topic. The world is actually starting to CARE!”

And from Pakistan, one twitterer saw the speech as legitimate entertainment: “From now on, the only Barack Obama #MEspeech  I'll watch shall be on autotune, while consuming appropriate beverages & snacks,” he said.

What are your thoughts? Share them here.

Anna F. Curtis, journalism student at University of Missouri

Huge celebration in University of Missouri's Greektown. Champagne, fireworks, crowd surfing.

It started as a murmur, but quickly grew into a roar.

Chants of "U-S-A! U-S-A!" riccochted across the campus of The Ohio State University, building and evolving until it found a sympathetic audience near the famed Mirror Lake.  

If this were any night but Sunday, May 1, 2011, the revelry would have been chalked up to pent-up finals stress, or a successful sporting victory. But, this was not the case as college students across the country had the monster pulled from their their closets, and in Columbus, that meant a dip in the chilly water despite air temperatures and weather patterns that were less-than ideal.

Nearly ten years after 9/11, the children who watched the towers fall fill America’s colleges and universities, and on the evening the world learned of Osama bin Laden’s death, many took to the streets, celebrating the death of their generation's boogeyman. 

'There is finally justice'
Though they were young at the time - most were between the ages of 8 and 12 - many millennials cast the al-Qaida chief's death as a pivotal moment in their development. They came of age of age under the shadow of 9/11 and its vestiges: the war on terror, color-coded terror alerts and seemingly endless security lines at airports -- and Sunday offered the chance to shed a portion of that weight.

"We watched the second plane hit the tower, and just watching that was painful," University of Oklahoma senior Steve Sichterman told msnbc's Contessa Brewer. "We were just solemn, and so it is really a great thing to know there is finally justice for those 3,000 plus people that were killed."

“It was really a feeling of relief," said Oklahoma student Timothy Marquis when asked how he reacted to news that bin Laden was dead.

"For ten years we had been searching for him and I remember being in middle school and seeing the attacks on 9/11. Relief came from the feeling that we finally got him," he told Brewer.

At The Ohio State university (user-submitted image below) students plunged into Mirror Lake, a tradition usually saved for the hours surrounding a football game against Michigan.

David Krogh

Students at The Ohio State University jump into Mirror Lake, a tradition marked and remembered during Beat Michigan Week.

Similar scenes were acted out across the country (sans lake, but with the same energy and excitement).

George Washington and American students helped fill the area outside the White House.  

Demi McLaren, 20, a sophomore history and secondary education major at American told the Washington Post "someone put, ‘Party on the White House lawn,’ on Facebook,” then immediately packed into a car with six other students. “We knew it was going to be a rager.”

Boston Common rocked late into the night thanks to the city's many colleges. Penn State looked like it had just won the Rose Bowl (user-submitted image below). From the looks of pictures submitted to msnbc.com, West Virginia University, known for its couch burnings after Mountaineer football games, lost many a living room centerpiece during the course of the evening. 

Robert A. Kolodzieski

At Penn State University. Absolute once in a lifetime experience! USA! Can't believe this has happened after ten years.

'Intense sense of closure'

In addition to pouring outside, college students took to the Internet in heavy numbers in the hours following the announcement pf bin Laden's death. They searched for a semi-private place to vent, support one another and above all, find closure.

University of Delaware celebrations were branded an "intense sense of closure for people who were frightened little kids in '01" on Twitter. 

Of course, there are students who contend that the fun - which, it must be said, took place for many amid the stress of finals - was less meaningful and more effervescent.

Sean Morrow, a senior at Clark University in Massachusetts, told the Associated Press, that it "is kind of surreal to watch people celebrating someone's death."

Morrow contends he understands it because, for him and many others his age, bin Laden was their boogeyman, "the main negative person of our generation."

"That’s why I think we all went out to celebrate what is not only for the victims receiving justice, but for all those men and women overseas that have fought for so long and are going to continue to be fighting the war on terror," he told the news service.

John F. Ryan

Virginia Military Institute celebrates on Sunday.

Despite the overwhelming scenes of glee, millennials' reactions remain mixed, much like older generations that celebrated in similar fashions across the country. The one common thread seems to be that the evening will go down in history a "where were you when moment."

“Without a doubt, just like with September 11th, we’re all going to remember where we were," University of Oklahoma student Sichterman explained.

"We have all the country songs to remember where we were, and we’ll remember where we were on May 1st, 2011.”

Toby Keith, the gauntlet has been thrown.

Click here for more on the reaction across college campuses and in cities: Ohio State; Oklahoma State; Penn State University; Boston; Washington

Click here and here for more images and accounts of spontaneous celebrations from the evening the world learned of Osama bin Laden's death.

 ******

David Friedman / msnbc.com

Steve Archipolo waits for President Obama's motorcade at Ground Zero in New York City on Thursday.

By Miranda Leitsinger, msnbc.com

 “I wouldn’t be anywhere else but here. … I haven’t slept since then, in peace,”  Steve Archipolo said Thursday, as he stood in the crowd gathered outside the World Trade Center memorial site for President Barack Obama’s wreath-laying ceremony.

Archipolo was referring, of course, to the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks orchestrated by Osama bin Laden, who was killed Sunday by U.S. forces in his hideout in Pakistan.

That conjured up fresh memories for the 44-year-old Archipolo, who lives just a few hundred yards from the World Trade Center site. On Thursday, he recalled that he was first alerted to the 9/11 attacks by his son,  who saw one of the planes strike a building from a window in their home.

“This is a little closure in my life to remember the victims who died,” said Archipolo, who was carrying a large American flag he borrowed from his church. “(But) the nightmare is still there.

“It’s 10 years, but we’re never going to be at peace. We’re never going to have that feeling where, ‘we’re safe. We’re always going to be on alert. … We know that we can be attacked at any time.”

Still, he said Thursday’s gathering gave him a “good feeling.”

“I’m proud to be here,” he said. “… Our freedom, they can’t take. It’s just nice to see people out here.”

******

David Friedman / msnbc.com

Malynda Irby, in yellow, reacts with the crowd on St. Peter's Church steps as President Barack Obama''s motorcade passes by at Ground Zero in New York City on Thursday. "I just really admire him as a leader," said Irby, who is visiting New York on a work trip from Buffalo. "I've never been so proud of any president in my life as I am of him."

David Friedman / msnbc.com

Irby, in yellow, is emotional after seeing President Obama waving and smiling toward her from the passing motorcade. Speaking about this week of Obama's presidency, Irby said,"This is just a high mark so far."

******

From the pool report on the wreath-laying ceremony:

Attendance at the wreath-laying ceremony was tightly restricted. Among those attending were New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Port Authority Chairman David Samson.  Uniformed officers from the FDNY, NYPD and Port Authority also stood at attention along the pathway to the site of the ceremony, the Survivor Tree. Other elected officials from the New York area and a group of 9/11 families also viewed the ceremony.  

One of the youngest in attendance was 14-year-old Payton Wall.

As is his habit, Obama read some of the letter sent to the president on Monday, including one from Wall. Payton lost her father, Glen James Wall, in the World Trade Center attack and wrote about how she has handled the loss.  

So Obama asked that she be invited to the ceremony.  When White House staff called Payton's mother, she had no idea that Payton had written the president.  Payton, her mother, her sister and her friend (who also lost her father on 9/11) all were in attendance.

The president is now meeting privately with family members of 9-11 victims.

 ******

Out of sight of the crowd gathered outside, President Barack Obama soberly laid a wreath Thursday at New York's Ground Zero and declared, "When we say we will never forget, we mean what we say."

Returning to the site where Osama bin Laden inflicted his greatest damage, the president closed his eyes and clasped his hands at the outdoor memorial where the twin towers of the World Trade Center once dominated the Manhattan skyline. He shook hands with 9/11 family members and others dressed in black at the site where the skyscrapers were brought down by planes commandeered by bin Laden's followers. Nearly 3,000 people were killed. (The Associated Press provided this reporting.)

******

As President Barack Obama’s motorcade arrived at Ground Zero, the more than 1,000 people gathered outside screamed, jumped up and down, waved and flashed “V” signs with their fingers.

Obama waved back from behind his limousine’s closed window.

David Friedman / msnbc.com

Carl Cumberbatch, left, and Adam O'Neil on St. Peter's Church steps, waiting to see the president's motorcade arrive at Ground Zero in New York City.

A few people in the crowd held up signs referring to the killing of Osama bin Laden on Sunday by U.S. special operations forces . “Congratulations! America and the world celebrates,” “Mr. President, America thanks you!” read two of them.

******

 A crowd of several hundred people gathered outside Ground Zero Thursday in advance of President Barack Obama’s arrival, even though they weren’t going to be able to see the wreath-laying ceremony at the World Trade Center memorial site in memory of 9-11 victims.

The ceremony was taking place near the center of the plot where the Twin Towers once stood, and the view from beyond the police barricades was blocked by cranes and other construction equipment.

But members of the crowd said they felt it was important to be there nonetheless.

Australian Peter Dunstan, 55, a civil servant from Perth, said he and his wife planned their vacation trip across the U.S. long before they knew about the ceremony, but made sure they were there for it after learning that Obama planned to honor the victims.

“One of the reasons we’re here is Australians died in the World Trade Center,” he said.

He described his emotions as “mixed, bittersweet … just the fact that people died unnecessarily.”

Dunstan said the death of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden also was on his mind.

“The perpetrator is dead … he can’t do us any more harm. I think it was justice done. He probably ranks up there with Hitler and his ilk. … I hope it puts the demise of al-Qaida a step closer.”

Adam O’Neil, 70, a retired New Yorker, stood on a nearby corner, in front of St. Peter’s Church.

O’Neil, originally from Trinidad, said one of his third cousins died in the subway station beneath the World Trade Center on 9-11.

He said he decided to stand in front of the church so he could offer a prayer for him as Obama was laying the wreath.  He said that he was doing so on behalf of his entire family – 11 brothers and sisters still in Trinidad.

“I think of him all the time,” he said of his cousin, adding that the memory leaves him “very sad.” “This feeling will be with me the rest of my life.”

******

David Friedman / msnbc.com

Tyrone and Gayle Stallings took their great-nieces out of school to attend Thursday's wreath-laying ceremony at Ground Zero to commenorate the victims of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

More than an hour before President Barack Obama was due to arrive at Ground Zero to lay a wreath in memory of the victims of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, several hundred people were gathered outside police barricades in hopes of catching a glimpse of the president.

Among them were Tyrone and Gayle Stallings from Roselle, N.J., who said they took their great-nieces, Brielle Campbell, 6, and Jaylaah Lee, 10, out of school to attend the ceremony at the site of the fallen World Trade Center.

“I thought this was better history than a history class,” Gayle said. She said she hoped the girls would come away with the understanding “that the country is still together …  our spirit is alive.”

She said she delivered the first piece of the lesson as they walked out of the subway, telling the girls that: “The souls of innocent people are in the building. It was full of life. Now we’re just coming through a hole.”

Tyrone said that the death of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden on Sunday provided added impetus for the trip, adding, “Today feels good. … It did give some closure at least.”

David Friedman / msnbc.com

A flag seller works the crowd waiting outside the site of the fallen World Trade Center, more than an hour before President Barack Obama's arrival for a wreath-laying ceremony.

But he echoed the words of U.S. counterterrorism officials in warning that the war on terror is not over. “We’re going to have to remain vigilant still ... probably forever,” he said.

By Elizabeth Chuck, msnbc.com

Heads up: Your Twitter timeline might be a bit overwhelming today.

Last night, traffic on the site spiked to more than 4,000 tweets per second during President Obama’s speech announcing the death of Osama bin Laden, according to Twitter’s official PR account. “9/11 widow on my flight. In tears. Comforted by entire cabin. Life altering event to see,” read one of those tweets. Meanwhile, on the ground, there were Twitpics of passengers in the baggage claim area of JFK glued to the TV while Obama spoke and FDNY firefighters celebrating in Times Square; word being spread of spontaneous gatherings all over the country; and – of course – Photoshopped tributes to mark the occasion (please refer to this image of of Lady Liberty gripping bin Laden’s severed head and this one of Obama riding a unicorn while rainbows emanate from his hands).

But Obama isn’t the only one getting credit. “Let's all take this time to thank the one person who no doubt was behind the killing of Osama bin Laden: Jack Bauer,” tweeted one person. The fictional “24” hero quickly rose to a trending topic on Twitter. Other accolades included “Nice job with the whole Osama thing” and one woman first professing her love to Mr. Bauer, followed by “We couldn’t have done it without” him.

Uh… Kidding, right? We’ll just assume she’s taking that joke really far.

The celebration extended beyond bin Laden’s death: “Well, at least this’ll put an end to f’in Royal Wedding talk,” said one person. “A prince gets married, the bad guy is dead. It’s a real Disney weekend here on earth,” posted another. 

Then there’s the man who lives in the Pakistani town where Osama was killed who accidentally tweeted the news after hearing a loud bang: “Uh oh, now I’m the guy who liveblogged the Osama raid without knowing it,” @ReallyVirtual later tweeted. Hours  - and apparently multiple media inquiries – later, he tweeted, “Bin Laden is dead. I didn’t kill him. Please let me sleep now.”

And what live event would be complete without a little snark? Viewers and readers everywhere were more than happy to point out which news organizations confused "Osama" and "Obama" in their headlines - and which sites just made typos, period (Fox News "Confriming that Usama Bin Landen" is dead still gets the message across, don't you agree?).

For a timeline of how it all unfolded on Twitter, click here.

For moments when you need the Internet equivalent of a pinch to make sure you're not dreaming, click on IsOsamaBinLadenDead.com.

David Friedman / msnbc.com

Cid Wilson joins the crowd at New York City's Ground Zero celebrating the news that Osama bin Laden had been killed on Monday, May 2.

By Miranda Leitsinger, msnbc.com

Nearly 10 years of pent-up emotion broke like a wave across New York City after news came late Sunday that al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden had been killed in an American attack in Pakistan.

At Ground Zero, where the twin towers of the World Trade Center fell on Sept. 11, 2001, people were screaming, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, singing "America the Beautiful" and "The Star Spangled Banner," and waving big flags.

Others chanted "Obama got Osama" in a scene overflowing with patriotism and happiness after President Barack Obama announced the death of the man who planned the terror attacks that scarred this city.

Angelo Lopez, a 47-year-old filmmaker from Middle Village, Queens, was there early Monday with his 20-year old son, holding an American flag.

“Justice has been served.  It's about time this guy gets wiped off the planet," Lopez said.

David Friedman / msnbc.com

Angelo Lopez, from Queens, N.Y., was in the crowd at Ground Zero celebrating the news that Osama Bin Laden had been killed on Monday, May 2.

He said he and his son decided they couldn't go to bed and had to drive over. "Just had to come and feel the people. This is hallowed ground over here,” he added, gesturing toward where the memorial will be built.

Cid Wilson, a 41-year-old financial analyst from Leonia, NJ, said he had to join the crowds at Ground Zero “to join my fellow Americans in celebrating a mission accomplished in defeating the leader of al-Qaida.”

“To see a day like today … this was a victorious day,” he said.

Jake Ray, 35, a morning radio show producer who lives close to Ground Zero, said he heard screaming before he knew about bin Laden, so he came over.

He said the ceremonies there are usually somber events. “Never been this joyous,” he said.

Still he worried about the effects of the al-Qaida leader's death. “Is it going to have some negative fallout?” he wondered.

In Times Square, several hundred people gathered, singing, chanting “USA, USA” and “Let’s Roll,” and waving American flags. The horns from police cars and fire trucks nearby added to the cacophony.

Among the celebrants was Sophia Peng, 34, an IT consultant, who said she has not been able to venture downtown to the area around the World Trade Center since her college roommate, Christina Ryook, 25, was killed in the 9/11 attack. 

“It brings back too many memories from that day,“ she said, adding that she may now be able to return to the WTC site “to go back and honor her.”

A friend, Miles Oh of New York, said he was joining her in the celebration.

“It’s not really good to celebrate someone’s death,” he said, “....  but it feels good for the country … for our lost friends.”

Also joining in the celebration  was Umberto Navarrete, 24, from San Diego, a military veteran who served 18 months in Iraq.

Navarrete said he was with friends at a restaurant when he heard the news. He left them there to come mark the occasion publicly, but alone.

“My friends don’t know what this means to me,” he said.  “I’ve been waiting for this day for 10 years.”

While the mood was overwhelmingly joyous, some in the square were struggling with other emotions.

Among them was Daniel Epstein, 40, an architect from Los Angeles.

“It’s emotional,” he said, adding that he felt like he was about to cry.  “ I feel like it’s not over, but it’s an important step that’s been long overdue. … It’s a bookend … another moment to remember the people who passed away.”

Back at Ground Zero, Wilson said that he lost business colleagues in the 9/11 attacks and he remembers that day, “like it was yesterday.”

Coming to Ground Zero “is also a way to connect with those who perished … to let them know that while their deaths were tragic, that we’re here to let you know that justice was served,” he said while holding an American flag. “And now they can truly rest in peace knowing that the perpetrator behind this heinous terrorist attack has been brought to justice."

Follow Miranda Leitsinger on Facebook

Bob Sullivan / msnbc.com

Crowds rejoice in front of the White House.

By Bob Sullivan, Msnbc.com reporter

Outside the White House, a crowd of thousands gathered, waving U.S. flags, chanting “USA,” singing the national anthem, and a tune familiar to sports fans -- "na, na, na, na, hey, hey, good-bye."

The crowd was mostly college students, but as the news spread, nearby D.C. residents jammed the plaza just north of the White House.

Among the crowd was Monica Lawson, whose sister Cecelia Lawson Richards died on 9/11 in the Pentagon. She was watching TV with her daughter Courtney (below, right) - the victim's niece - when she heard the news. They left their suburban D.C. carried a large portrait of Cecelia to the gates of the White House. 

"I was like, what? Then it started to sink in," Courtney said. "I'm happy. Justice was done. But there is more work to do." 

Editor's note: Msnbc's Rachel Maddow is in the crowd outside the White House. The MaddowBlog has a growing collection of photos from the scene. See Rachel's Twitter feed for more.  

Bob Sullivan/msnbc.com

Editor's note: Msnbc.com is following the online reaction to President Barack Obama's announcement that Osama bin Laden is dead.

Update: 2:00 a.m. ET

Second Life gets in the game as participants dance to "The Angry American." (image below, from Alexandrea Ryada via FirstPerson)

According to NBC's Luke Russert, Twitter user @ReallyVirtual accidentally live tweeted the activity that led to the 9/11 mastermind's death without knowing what was going on. The newsman writes, "Read back 9 hours to see his description of hearing the chopper of 1am. Amazing stuff." 

@GhostOsama introduced himself to the world with a groan: "Well this sucks...I accidentally enabled location on my tweets."

1:30 a.m. ET

Reaction to the president's statement (click here to watch it in full) erupted on the Internet within moments.

"Bin Laden dead. My dad died on 911. I feel free," tweeted one woman.

Others, including filmmaker Michael Moore, used Twitter to ask for a moment of silence in honor of the victims of Sept. 11.

On Facebook, users changed their profile pictures. "Change your profile picture to an American flag in honor and recognition of our soldiers who took down Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan! Finally the great terrorist mastermind is dead. God bless the USA," said one user.

Twitter account @osamainhell announced itself to the world with a cheeky "Wait, what?" while @Real_Bin_Laden moaned that he was "watching footage of people partying in NYC," and that "If I didn't know better, I'd think you guys really didn't like me..."

Jack Bauer -  the face of Fox's "24" - began trending on Twitter in the hours after the president's speech. "Right now @BarackObama is telling Jack Bauer he will never be able to thank him enough but sadly he must now leave the Country," tweeted one user. 

Google Maps wasn't immune to the reaction: The mastermind's mansion hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan, about 80 miles north of Islamabad, was mapped within hours. According to the Atlantic's Nicholas Jackson, the site is "about 800 feet to the west is the Cantt Police Station." Foursquare users don't worry: If you're ever in the neighborhood, you can now check in via the location service. 

Some - likely still riding high from the correspondent's dinner - took to the the vast spaces of the Internet - for a victory lap of sorts (image below, h/t http://mikerelm.tumblr.com/post/5124100463).

http://mikerelm.tumblr.com/post/5124100463

Many noticed the eerie date of the announcement: May1 is also the day Germany announced Hitler's death.