Current Events Issue 12, 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 12 News Updates

The Pakistani military raided a training camp run by Lashkar-e-Toiba, the terrorist group suspected of carrying out the Mumbai attacks. Pakistani security forces also arrested two commanders of Lashkar-e-Toiba who had been named by the only Mumbai gunman captured alive. Zaki-ur-Rehamn Lakhvi is believed to be the group’s operations commander. He was arrested near Muzaffarabad in northern Kashmir on Dec. 7. Zarar Shah, believed to be another senior member of Lashkar, was also arrested, Pakistan's prime minister said.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the attackers likely wanted to stir up trouble between India and Pakistan. During the Mumbai attacks, Pakistan put its military on alert after receiving a threatening call, thought at first to have been from India’s foreign minister but now believed to have been bogus. Both India and Pakistan have nuclear weapons. Rice urged both sides to work together to fight terrorism.

ISSUE 4 UPDATE: Lori Drew, the woman who set up a phony MySpace account that was used to torment 13-year-old Megan Meier, was found guilty of three misdemeanor computer fraud chages on Nov. 26. She was acquitted of the more serious felony charge that alleged she used the phony account to inflict emotional distress on Megan. Megan killed herself in 2006. Drew, who is 49 and has a teenage daughter, could now be sentenced to up to three years in prison.

ISSUE 8 UPDATE: Iraq's Council of Representatives approved a rewritten security pact with the United States on Nov. 27. The deal calls for U.S. troops to leave Iraq's cities by June 30 and to leave Iraq entirely by Dec. 31, 2011. While the agreement gives U.S. troops legal authority to remain in Iraq, it full three years of the deal isn't set in stone. The agreement calls for a national referendum to be held on the plan in July.

OBAMA CABINET WATCH: President-elect Barack Obama has announced several of his nominees for Cabinet posts. The department secretaries will have to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Obama's choices so far include:

Secretary of State: Sen. Hillary Clinton, Obama's former Democratic rival for the presidency
Attorney General: Eric Holder, a longtime Justice Department official and former judge
Defense Secretary: Robert Gates, currently President George W. Bush's secretary of defense
U.S. Treasury Secretary: Timothy Geithner, president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank
Energy Secretary: Steven Chu, Nobel Prize-winning physicist and director of the Energy Department's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California
Education Secretary: Arne Duncan, head of the Chicago Public Schools
Transportation Secretary: Ray LaHood, a U.S. House member from Illinois
Labor Secretary: Hilda Solis, a congresswoman from California
Interior Secretary: Ken Salazar, a U.S. senator from Colorado
Agriculture Secretary: Tom Vilsack, former Iowa governor
Homeland Security Secretary: Janet Napolitano, governor of Arizona
Veterans Affairs Secretary: Gen. Eric Shinseki, former Army Chief of Staff
Health and Human Services Secretary: Tom Daschle, former U.S. Senate Democratic leader
Housing and Urban Development Secretary: Shaun Donovan, New York City Housing Commissioner

Chief economic advisor: Lawrence Summers, former U.S. Treasury secretary
National Security Advisor: Retired Marine Corps Gen. Jim Jones
Chief of Staff: Rep. Rahm Emanuel of Illinois.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations: Susan Rice, a foreign policy expert and former National Security Council staff member
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator: Lisa Jackson, former head of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
White House Council on Eneregy and Climiate Director: Carol Browner, who headed the EPA in the Clinton administration
Office of Management and Budget Director: Peter Orszag, Congressional Budget Office director

EYEWITNESS TO HISTORY CONTEST!
The 2009 Eyewitness to History Contest is open. Check your issue 8 teacher's guide or click here for the rules. Check out last year's winners, too.

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