NewsBank Hot Topics

NewsBank Hot Topics is provided as part of your NewsBank subscription to alert librarians, patrons, teachers and students to hot topics found in NewsBank products.

The attached WORD version is for duplication and distribution. It may also be posted in the library or classrooms.

We would be happy to add others to our distribution list at your recommendation; including teachers, professors, library staff, administrators, department heads, etc.

Please let us know

HOT TOPICS

CURRENT EVENTS
See more information on Natural Disasters and Terrorism in NewsBank Special Reports

ENVIRONMENT – Tornado Season
TOPIC: Heavy thunderstorms and tornadoes moving across 6 midwestern states have killed 23 people. What can people do to prepare for a tornado? What should be done when an unexpected tornado hits? What causes a tornado? Has there been an increase in tornadoes in recent years? Why?
SEARCH TERMS: tornadoes AND damage reports

CRIME AND LAW – Moussaoui Trial
TOPIC: The judge at the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person in custody directly linked to the terrorist attacks of 9/11, has allowed family testimony and telephone recordings of 9/11 victims. What function does testimony and evidence play in a trial?
SEARCH TERMS: Moussaoui, Zacarias

SOCIAL STUDIES RESEARCH TOPICS
CIVICS, GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS – Papers in Libby Trial Show that President Bush Authorized the Leak
TOPIC: Court papers in Lewis “Scooter” Libby’s trial for leaking classified information to reporters show the leaks as being authorized by President Bush. What are the rights and responsibilities of the president in regard to classified information? What do you think will happen as a result of this new information?
SEARCH TERMS: Libby, I. Lewis (Scooter) AND classified information

ECONOMICS – Chirac Abandons Youth Jobs Plan
TOPIC: After weeks of heavy protest, French President Jacques Chirac has abandoned his proposed legislation to loosen the requirements for employers to retain young workers. The legislation was allegedly an incentive for employers to hire more young workers. How could the proposed legislation have hurt young job seekers? How could it have helped?
SEARCH TERMS: France AND unemployment and employment

EDUCATION – Junk Food in Schools
TOPIC: At both the state and federal level, lawmakers are looking for a way to regulate the nutritional value of food that is in schools. The real challenge is controlling the offerings of private vending machines and a la carte lines. What are the differences between food provided directly by a school and food provided by private vendors in a school? What foods are available in schools in your area? What ways would you suggest these foods be regulated?
SEARCH TERMS: snack foods AND schools

HISTORY – Voting Rights Act Set to Expire
TOPIC: Three major provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 are set to expire. All regard some kind of federal oversight to insure that minorities are not discriminated against or intimidated in the voting process. What did the Voting Rights Act of 1965 change? What might change with its expiration?
SEARCH TERMS: Voting Rights Act

INTERNATIONAL – Iran’s Effort to Enrich Uranium
TOPIC: Iran’s effort to enrich uranium to allegedly develop nuclear fuel will also allow them to develop nuclear weapons. What has been the response of the United States and other nations to this effort?
SEARCH TERMS: Iran AND nuclear technology

SOCIAL ISSUES – Immigration Reform Protests
TOPIC: As Congress works on a bill to overhaul immigration law, thousands of immigrants and fellow sympathizers protested for the right to seek legal residency. What can illegal immigrants do to obtain legal status? What is an important role illegal immigrants have played in the U.S. economy?
SEARCH TERMS: illegal aliens AND laws and legislation

SCIENCE AND HEALTH RESEARCH TOPICS
HEALTH – Massachusetts Mandatory Health Insurance
TOPIC: The Massachusetts legislature has passed the most comprehensive mandatory health-care bill in the nation by using the auto insurance model. What kind of health coverage do most people have now? What are the most common situations that cause someone to lose health insurance? Do you think other states will do the same thing?
SEARCH TERMS: Massachusetts AND health insurance

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY – Laboratory Grows Bladders
TOPIC: The first time a complex organ like the bladder has been replaced with tissue from the patient’s cells was done in surgery at the Children’s Hospital of Boston. What kind of simpler tissues have been lab-grown and transplanted in the past? What is the significance of this type of work?
SEARCH TERMS: bladder AND research

SPORTS – Masters Golf Tournament
TOPIC: Golfer Phil Mickelson has won the Masters Tournament for the second time in three years. What is the significance of the Masters Tournament to the game of golf? What other players have won more than once?
SEARCH TERMS: Mickelson, Phil AND Masters Tournament

ARTS AND LITERATURE RESEARCH TOPICS
FILM AND TELEVISION – Katie Couric Becomes a Prime Time Newscaster
TOPIC: The popular host of NBC’s Today Show, Katie Couric, will be moving to CBS as anchor for the evening news. Who have been some of the historic news anchors on CBS? Why is her move so newsworthy? Who will replace her?
SEARCH TERMS: Couric, Katie AND newscasters

FINE ARTS AND ARCHITECTURE – Mendes da Rocha wins Pritzker Prize
TOPIC: Brazilian architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha has won the top honor in architecture – the Pritzker Prize, becoming the second Brazilian to win the prize in its 27-year history. What is the style of architecture commonly used to describe Mendes da Rocha’s work? Who else has won this prize?
SEARCH TERMS: Mendes da Rocha, Paulo

LITERATURE – Doris Kearns Goodwin wins Lincoln Prize
TOPIC: For her political biography of Abraham Lincoln, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, historian Doris Kearns Goodwin has been awarded the Lincoln Prize, given to authors for impressive work on the President Lincoln or the Civil War. What other biographies has Doris Kearns Goodwin written? What other works have been written about presidents?
SEARCH TERMS: Goodwin, Doris Kearns AND award and honors

PERFORMING ARTS – Rolling Stones play China
TOPIC: The most established rock and roll band will be playing to the world’s largest nation for the first time in history when the Rolling Stones play in China this April. When had the Stones earlier planned to tour China, and why was the show cancelled? Will this pave the way for others to perform in China?
SEARCH TERMS: Rolling Stones (musical group) AND China