Current Events Issue 5, 2008

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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!

Issue 5 News Updates

U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s $700 billion Wall Street bailout plan hit some roadblocks in Congress before it finally made it to the president's desk on Oct. 3. Paulson's first proposal was just three pages long and included no oversight of how Paulson, a former investment banker, would spend the money. Republicans and Democrats in Congress rewrote that proposal to add two oversight boards, limit pay for CEOs of companies that take the bailout money, and require the president to try to recoup from Wall Street any money lost in the deal, among other things. Read a synopsis of the bill from Money magazine. Both presidential candidates said they would vote for the rewritten version. However, the U.S. House of Representatives still rejected the bill when it first voted on it on Sept. 29. President George W. Bush said in a short televised address to the nation on Sept. 30 that he would work with leaders of Congress to find a new, workable solution quickly.

The stock market suffered its worst one-day point loss on Sept. 29, the day the House rejected the bailout plan. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, a key indicator of stock market activity, fell 777 points, equal to about 7 percent. The market lost more than $1 trillion in value. Read more on the CE News Blog.

President Bush's economic experts and leaders in Congress rewrote the $700 billion bailout plan again after the Dow's nose dive on Sept. 29. The new version includes additional tax breaks. It also raises the limit on FDIC-insured saving accounts from $100,000 to $250,000. The Senate approved the new version on Oct. 1. The House passed it on Oct. 3, and Bush signed it into law a few hours later.

China’s melamine-tainted milk troubles have spread to Asia’s candy industry. On Sept. 29, Cadbury recalled 11 types of chocolates made at a Beijing factory after determining that the chocolates contained melamine. Cadbury officials stressed that the products from the factory were distributed in Asia and Australia only. Mars and Kraft were checking their Asian products.

Election Coverage
Your 2008 Election Kit, “Ready, Set, Vote,” accompanied CE Issue 4. To 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 Teachers
WR 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 wrteachers.uboost.com/.

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