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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

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 16 News Updates

In a February 2 interview with NBC News, President Obama admitted that he is worried that closing Gitmo will allow terrorists to resume their attacks against the United States.

"Can we guarantee that they're not going to try another attack? No,"  said the president. But he also said that closing Gitmo remains the right decision. But what I can guarantee, he told NBC News, "is that if we don't uphold our Constitution and our values, that over time, that will make us less safe. And that will be a recruitment tool for [terrorist organizations]."

On February 6, Obama met with victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the U.S.S. Cole bombing and their families to hear their views on the closing of Gitmo.

The president's decision to close the detention center received mixed reviews from the American public. A Feb. 2 Gallup Poll showed that 50 percent of voters oppose the decision and 44 percent support it.

OBAMA CABINET WATCH

It’s official! Former New York Sen. Hillary Clinton is the U.S. Secretary of State. On January 21, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly approved Clinton to run the State Department in a 94 to 2 vote. Who will take her Senate seat? That’s official too. On January 23, New York Gov. David Paterson appointed U.S. Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand to replace Clinton. Here’s how the rest of the Cabinet and Obama Administration is shaping up:

• Secretary of State: Sen. Hillary Clinton, Obama's former Democratic rival for the presidency  CONFIRMED
• 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  CONFIRMED
• Energy Secretary: Steven Chu, Nobel Prize-winning physicist and director of the Energy Department's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California  CONFIRMED
• Education Secretary: Arne Duncan, head of the Chicago Public Schools  CONFIRMED
• Transportation Secretary: Ray LaHood, a U.S. House member from Illinois  CONFIRMED
• Labor Secretary: Hilda Solis, a congresswoman from California
• Interior Secretary: Ken Salazar, a U.S. senator from Colorado  CONFIRMED
• Agriculture Secretary: Tom Vilsack, former Iowa governor  CONFIRMED
• Homeland Security Secretary: Janet Napolitano, governor of Arizona  CONFIRMED
• Veterans Affairs Secretary: Gen. Eric Shinseki, former Army Chief of Staff  CONFIRMED
• 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  CONFIRMED
  Other top-ranking officials and close advisors announced so far include:
• 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  CONFIRMED
• Environmental Protection Agency Administrator: Lisa Jackson, former head of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection  CONFIRMED
• 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  CONFIRMED

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.