Welcome to Current Events!
“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.The important thing is not to stop questioning.” —Albert Einstein
The world events of today shape our future in every way, from how well we understand one another to how healthy we keep our planet. Current Events gathers the most important and unique news stories into a magazine written and designed for students. Our readers don't just learn facts, they learn to think critically about the influences within their world and about their own responsibilities to make this a better world for everyone. On this site you will find story updates, additional resources, including Smart Stuff quizzes, and links to CE’s News Blog for students. Be sure to check back each issue!
The world events of today shape our future in every way, from how well we understand one another to how healthy we keep our planet. Current Events gathers the most important and unique news stories into a magazine written and designed for students. Our readers don't just learn facts, they learn to think critically about the influences within their world and about their own responsibilities to make this a better world for everyone.
On this site you will find story updates, additional resources, including Smart Stuff quizzes, and links to CE’s News Blog for students. Be sure to check back each issue!
Issue 4 News Updates
After the Metrolink train crash, California’s two U.S. senators, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, introduced a federal Rail Collision Prevention Act, which would require every major railroad in the country to have a computerized train-control system. The system would monitor all trains and stop any that were on a collision course.
The governors of several Bolivian states who oppose President Evo Morales’ plans to redistribute their regions’ natural gas earnings met with Bolivian government officials to work out a compromise. Morales has accused the governors of Beni, Santa Cruz, Pando, Chuquisaca, and Tarija of plotting to overthrow his government. The governors want more autonomy for their regions. The Union of South American Nations, made up of the leaders of South America’s countries, promised to help Morales retain control. Bolivia is the poorest country in South America, but it has the continent's second largest natural gas reserves, after Venezuela.
Bad news for CERN's particle-colliding physicists in Switzerland. Their new, $8 billion supercollider will be out commission for about two months. During testing of the Large Hadron Collider, an electrical transformer malfunctioned and allowed helium to leak into the collider's 17-mile tunnel, damaging some of the equipment. Scientists estimate it will take about two months to repair. Then, they hope, they will be able to attempt to do what the supercollider was built to do: smash protons into one another at nearly the speed of light to figure out what happened just after the big bang. Watch a BBC video report and interviews about the damage.
Election CoverageAlong with CE’s issue 4, you’ll receive your 2008 Election Kit, “Ready, Set, Vote.” To preview and download the kit, go to www.weeklyreader.com and log in with your subscriber account on the address page of your Teacher’s Guide. Be sure to check out these subscriber-only exclusives: interactive election kit pages; access to Weekly Reader’s student presidential election poll; and historic Weekly Reader coverage of past elections with teaching activities.
For Weekly Reader’s political convention coverage go here.
A New Tool For TeachersWR BOOST gives your students online access to Current Events stories. Students can earn points for taking quizzes about those stories, and you get useful reports outlining how they did. Interested? Find out more at http://wrteachers.uboost.com/.