Stuff You Should Know
Economic Recovery Continues Last month, the unemployment rate in April was 7.5% and there were 165,000 jobs added to the economy. This is a significant increase compared to the 88,000 added in March. The professional and business services industry added the most, with 73,000, followed by leisure and hospitality (38,000), retail (29,000), and healthcare (29,000). […]
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Boston Marathon Bombing Update The bomb that exploded during the Boston Marathon on April 21 killed three people and injured more than 260. The victims ranged in age from 7 to 71. Sixteen of them lost limbs, either directly from the blast, or from complications that required an amputation. Many more of the victims have […]
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Boston Strong In the wake of the recent Boston marathon bombings, a national rallying cry of support known as “Boston Strong” has emerged. What followed has been a flurry of support. On Twitter, the hashtag #BostonStrong was a top trending topic. There are Facebook pages, ribbons, t-shirts, and more. In Boston, the professional ice hockey […]
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Education Reform Marks Anniversary On April 11, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) into law. This historic education bill was part of President Johnson’s War of Poverty initiative. Johnson believed that government could play an effective role in areas such as health care and education. ESEA provided equal access […]
Remembering Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher was the prime minister of Great Britain from 1979-1990. She is considered one of the most influential people of the 20th century, even though opinions of her can vary widely from person to person. She died at age 87 after having a stroke on April 8th. She was nicknamed “The Iron Lady” because […]
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Taliban Victim Returns to School In October, btw reported that a young educational activist named Malala Yousafzai had been shot by members of the Taliban in Pakistan. After five months of intense recovery and rehabilitation, she has returned to school. Malala, 15, was targeted by the extremist Islamic group because of her public opposition to […]
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New Premier of China On March 15, Li Keqiang became China’s new premier. Like in England, the premier acts as the head of the government, while the Chinese president functions mainly as a figurehead, similar to Great Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II. Unlike Great Britain or other countries that have democratic elections, China has only one […]
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Time for a New Pope The leader of the Roman Catholic Church, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, resigned on February 28th. This was a surprising announcement. Historically, the popes have remained in this leadership role until they die. The last time a pope resigned was all the way back in 1415. Pope Benedict XVI said […]
The Sky Was Falling! (Just Pieces of it Though.)
It was like a scene out of a sci-fi/action movie: mass confusion as the earth shook, glass shattered, and people scrambled to take cover. But for the citizens of Chelyabinsk, Russia, this situation was a recent reality. On February 15th at 9:20 am, a meteor exploded over the city of one million, located approximately 950 […]