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NEWSBANK HOT TOPICS
September 2015
CURRENT EVENTS RESEARCH TOPICS
ECONOMICS: Stock Market Fluctuation
TOPIC: The New York Stock Exchange took a roller coaster ride for a few days, dropping and rising again dramatically. What caused this instability and what has been done to help resolve it? What are the basic concepts of stock markets, how do they work and what are the conditions under which they perform best and worst?
SEARCH TERMS: (New York Stock Exchange OR NYSE) AND (drop* OR rise OR volatil* OR turbul* OR erratic OR crash)
ECONOMICS: Shanghai Stock Market
TOPIC: The Shanghai stock market has seen the value of its stocks decline over the past few months, and it has been falling sharply recently as China has devalued the Yuan three times. What has been the reaction to other markets worldwide? Why can stock market corrections be necessary? What other news from China has been impacting markets around the world?
SEARCH TERMS: China AND stock market OR Great Fall of China
Civics, Government and Politics: 2016 Presidential Campaign
TOPIC: The presidential candidates running in the Republican primaries have had their first debate. Why were the candidates split into two different debates and what were the criteria to qualify for each debate? Who were considered the winners of each and why? Who may not have been considered winners but were praised for their performances and why? How has the Republican presidential race developed after the debates?
SEARCH TERMS: president* AND Republican AND (debate OR debates)
SOCIAL STUDIES RESEARCH TOPICS
BUSINESS: Shell Drilling in Alaska
TOPIC: Shell Oil has been given a permit to drill in Alaska by the U.S. government. What are the specific processes that will be used? What are the benefits and concerns of oil drilling here and what are the most convincing arguments for each side?
SEARCH TERMS: Shell AND drill* AND Alaska
BUSINESS: Google It!
TOPIC: European regulators are claiming that Google is favoring its own units when returning search results. European publishers are lobbying for more regulation of Google. What are the specifics of these claims? What do the publishers hope to gain from increased regulation? Are consumers likely to be the losers in this struggle?
SEARCH TERMS: Google AND European Union
BUSINESS: Amazon Working Conditions
TOPIC: Working conditions in e-commerce giant Amazon’s warehouses have recently been criticized as harsh. What specifically have been the objections made by Amazon warehouse workers? What has been the company’s response?
SEARCH TERMS: Amazon AND warehouse AND (working conditions OR hours OR abus*)
CIVICS, GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS: Britain’s Embassy
TOPIC: Britain has re-opened its embassy in Tehran. Closed since 2011, it is one of the first visible fruits of the nuclear agreement signed by Iran and Western nations. Why was it closed? What are the objections of conservative Iranians to its reopening?
SEARCH TERMS: Iran AND United Kingdom AND embassy
CIVICS, GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS: Hillary Clinton’s Email
TOPIC: Some emails that Hillary Clinton had sent from her private account during her time as Secretary of State contained information that came from spy satellites and signal intelligence. What have been the criticisms and defense of her in relation to whether she could have known some of this information was classified? Who else working for the State Department over the past few decades have used private email accounts and why?
SEARCH TERMS: Hillary Clinton AND (email OR e-mail)
CRIME AND LAW: WDBJ-TV Shootings
TOPIC: Vester Lee Flanagan, a volatile fired employee of Virginia TV station WDBJ, shot and killed reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward on live TV before taking his own life. What is the history of Flanagan’s behavior at WDBJ, previous companies and in public that suggests he was emotionally unstable and dangerous? What has been the reaction of the public on social media to these killings? What did the 23 page fax sent to ABC from Flanagan say?
SEARCH TERMS: WDBJ AND Alison Parker AND Adam Ward AND (Flanagan OR Brice)
CRIME AND LAW: Heroic Actions
TOPIC: Three Americans – Spencer Stone, Anthony Sadler and Alek Skarlatos – and a Briton are praised after they subdued a lone gunman on a train from Amsterdam to Paris. They are seen as having prevented a massacre, possibly by a lone wolf terrorist. Who is the suspect and what does his lawyer claim he was trying to do? What is a lone wolf terrorist and is it possible to prevent them?
SEARCH TERMS: (Spencer Stone OR Alek Skarlatos OR Anthony Sadler) AND gunman
EDUCATION: Washington State Tuition Cuts
TOPIC: The state of Washington has decided to cut tuition to its colleges and universities for two years. What are the complexities of making this work and what is the plan for implementation? What were the conditions that motivated the state to make this decision?
SEARCH TERMS: Washington AND state AND tuition
HISTORY: Civil Rights and Amelia Boynton Robinson
TOPIC: Amelia Boynton Robinson is best known for the famous photo taken of her after she was beaten unconscious during a civil rights march over the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. How did the march over the bridge erupt so violently? Under what circumstances did she again cross the bridge in 2015? What other things did she accomplish for civil rights?
SEARCH TERMS: Amelia AND Edmund Pettus AND (Boynton OR Robinson)
HISTORY: Atomic Bomb Attacks
TOPIC: It is the 70th anniversary of the use of atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which brought World War II to a close. Was the use of the first bomb on Hiroshima justified? Could using the second bomb be considered a war crime? If so, why was it a crime? If not, why not?
SEARCH TERMS: Hiroshima AND Nagasaki AND atomic bomb
SOCIAL ISSUES: Immigrant Crisis
TOPIC: The immigrant crisis in Eastern Europe continues with thousands of refugees crossing Macedonia into Serbia on their way to Germany. Macedonian border guards opened their border with Greece after being unable to stop them. From where are the refugees coming and what are they fleeing? What are their destinations of choice? How prepared are Balkan countries to deal with this human tide? How does Hungary hope to stop them? What has Germany announced it will do with refugees from Syria?
SEARCH TERMS: (migrants OR immigrants) AND (Macedonia OR Serbia OR Hungary OR Germany)
SOCIAL ISSUES: Planned Parenthood
TOPIC: Planned Parenthood has been under investigation after a covertly taped video of a director of research from one of their offices in Texas showed her discussing the illegal selling of body parts from aborted fetuses. What are the laws regarding using aborted tissue for research? What has been the public reaction to these videos? What is the range of services that Planned Parenthood provides?
SEARCH TERMS: Planned Parenthood
SCIENCE AND HEALTH RESEARCH TOPICS
ENVIRONMENT: Washington Wildfires
TOPIC: For the first time in its history, the state of Washington is asking state residents to volunteer in helping put out what are some of the worst wildfires in U.S. history. What is a fire complex and which current one is the largest in the state’s history? What are some of the tactics being used to contain and put out this wildfire and what kind of progress have they made?
SEARCH TERMS: Washington AND wildfire?
ENVIRONMENT: Hunting Prowess
TOPIC: A recent Canadian study has proclaimed that humans are the apex predators in the world and that our hunting and fishing activities have had a profound impact on other species. How are our targets different from other species when we hunt or fish and how does that difference impact the hunted species? What are some of the other differences in our strategies compared to other predators?
SEARCH TERMS: humans AND (predators OR predation)
ENVIRONMENT: Night Parrots
TOPIC: A night parrot, a rare bird in Australia’s outback, had been seen for the first time in decades two years ago. This month one was captured, had a few feathers removed and a tracking device put on it. Its location is being kept secret. Why keep its location secret? How large a population of parrots did they estimate lived in the vicinity? What other birds were seen decades after they were thought to be extinct?
SEARCH TERMS: Australia AND night parrot
HEALTH: Dementia Claims
TOPIC: A new review of five earlier studies of the rate of dementia in developed countries may have overstated the number of cases that might occur in the near future. The earlier prediction was of an upcoming epidemic of cases. The new research thinks the population of patients has remained stable. How did the study determine this? Are the conclusions of this study widely shared? What is the impact of dementia on society?
SEARCH TERMS: dementia AND (rates or studies or research)
HEALTH: Second Cancers
TOPIC: Studies are showing that second cancers are on the rise in the United States with one in every five being a repeat one. How quickly has the rate of second cancers increased and what are some possible reasons for this? What is the overall cancer rate in the US and how has that changed over the past few decades?
SEARCH TERMS: second AND cancer AND Office of Cancer Survivorship
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Universe’s Energy
TOPIC: Professor Simon Driver and other researchers at the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR), located in Western Australia, did a wide-spectrum survey of the heavens that analyzed 21 different wavelengths of light. They concluded that the energy production of the universe has fallen and is half of what it was two billion years ago. How did they assemble their data? What is the presumed role of dark matter in this? What are their ultimate conclusions about the long-term fate of the universe?
SEARCH TERMS: galaxies AND energy AND International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR)
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: New Pentagon Shape
TOPIC: Three mathematicians from the University of Washington have discovered a new type of pentagon that can tile a plane without overlap. What makes this discovery seem so simple but in fact be so complex as to elude mathematicians for over 100 years? What are some applications that this discovery can be useful for?
SEARCH TERMS: pentagon AND University of Washington AND Mann AND McLoud AND Von Derau
SPORTS RESEARCH TOPICS
SPORTS: Justin Wilson
TOPIC: Racecar driver Justin Wilson has died in an accident at the Verizon IndyCar Series at Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania. What were his strengths as a driver and what were his greatest accomplishments? When was the last fatal accident in a US-based racing series, how often do fatal accidents occur in US racing and what are some of the key safety measures in NASCAR?
SEARCH TERMS: Justin Wilson AND IndyCar AND Pocono
SPORTS: NLRB Blocks Union
TOPIC: The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has declined to take any action on unionizing college football, effectively ending the effort among players at Northwestern University to unionize. How does this impact the efforts for other schools to unionize college sports? What are the legal specifics involved in the decision of the NLRB and what are some possible courses of action for both the pro and anti-union efforts going forward?
SEARCH TERMS: (National Labor Relations Board OR NLRB) AND union AND Northwestern
SPORTS: Jason Day Wins PGA Championship
TOPIC: Jason Day has beaten Jason Speith to win the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) Championship. On what course was the championship tournament played and what were the best plays of his game? What are some of the other high points in his golf career?
SEARCH TERMS: Jason Day AND PGA AND championship
SPORTS: World Championships
TOPIC: The IAAF World Championships in Athletics ended recently in Beijing. This track and field sports championship is held every two years in odd-numbered years. National teams compete, as at the Olympics. How did your national team do? Which team was the medal leader? Which athlete had the most amazing performance?
SEARCH TERMS: IAAF World Championships
SPORTS: Saying No
TOPIC: Peru has declined an opportunity to host the 2016 Dakar Rally race, citing concerns about the upcoming El Nino weather event. It wishes to have emergency personnel reserved in the event of harsh weather. What is the Dakar Rally and why did it move from Europe and North Africa to South America? What is an El Nino event? Does Peru’s move make sense?
SEARCH TERMS: Peru AND Dakar Rally
ARTS AND LITERATURE RESEARCH TOPICS
FILM AND TELEVISION: John Stewart Retires
TOPIC: Jon Stewart, popular host of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, has retired from hosting the program. In what ways did he alter the content of the show when he took over in 1999 and what impact has the program had on U.S. politics while he was host? What was his career before hosting The Daily Show? What does he plan to do now?
SEARCH TERMS: Jon Stewart AND The Daily Show
FILM AND TELEVISION: Straight Outta Compton
TOPIC: A new film on the rap group N.W.A. called Straight Outta Compton, named after their most acclaimed album, has been an unexpected box office hit. What rap songs are the group most known for and what about their rap most impressed the critics during their strongest years from the late 1980s to the mid 1990s? What most impressed the public and the critics about this film?
SEARCH TERMS: Straight Outta Compton AND Gary Gray AND (film OR movie)
FILM AND TELEVISION: On the Road Again
TOPIC: The former hosts of Top Gear – Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May – have signed a deal with Amazon to create a motoring show that would be streamed around the world. They are joined by their former producer Andy Wilman. Why did they leave the BBC and Top Gear? What are some of the advantages of joining with Amazon?
SEARCH TERMS: Jeremy Clarkson OR Richard Hammond OR James May AND Amazon
FINE ARTS AND ARCHITECTURE: A Day in the Park
TOPIC: British artist Banksy has opened his own bemusement park called Dismaland in Weston-super-Mare. His works are joined by pieces created by nearly 60 other artists. How has the public received this work? What artists have joined him and what has they created? Does it sound interesting to you?
SEARCH TERMS: Banksy AND Dismaland
FINE ARTS AND ARCHITECTURE: Dream House
TOPIC: Avant garde artist La Monte Young, who has been a leading experimental artist since the early 1960s and a member of the Fluxus artist movement, is presenting a light and sound installation in New York City called Dream House. Where is the Dream House and what are the artistic qualities in it? What are some of Young’s most acclaimed works and what qualities have most impressed the critics? What other artists has Young collaborated with and what various artistic forms has he worked in?
SEARCH TERMS: La Monte Young AND Dream House
LITERATURE: Jonathan Franzen’s Purity
TOPIC: Novelist Jonathan Franzen has written a highly anticipated novel called Purity. What is the novel about and how is it written that departs a bit from his usual style? What are some of his other acclaimed novels and what are the qualities that impressed the critics with those novels?
SEARCH TERMS: Franzen AND Purity
LITERATURE: Millennium Trilogy Continues
TOPIC: Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist return in the novel The Girl in the Spider’s Web. This continuation of the best-selling Millennium Trilogy is the first sequel authorized by the estate of Stieg Larsson and is written by the Swedish author David Lagercrantz. What was appealing about the characters of Salander and Blomkvist? What does Larsson’s former partner think of the estate allowing this book to be written?
SEARCH TERMS: Stieg Larsson AND (Salander or Blomkvist)
PERFORMING ARTS: Sherlock Meets Shakespeare
TOPIC: Benedict Cumberbatch is appearing onstage in London in the role of Hamlet. What do the critics think about his performance? What do they say about the others in the cast and the overall production?
SEARCH TERMS: Benedict Cumberbatch AND Hamlet
PERFORMING ARTS: MTV Awards
TOPIC: Taylor Swift led the MTV Awards winning 4 of her 10 nominations. Who else were winners this year, for what music and what qualities in the music impressed the critics? What announcements did Miley Cyrus and Kanye West make and what has been the reaction to each one?
SEARCH TERMS: MTV Awards
PEOPLE RESEARCH TOPICS
PEOPLE: First Woman Army Rangers
TOPIC: Lieutenant Shaye Haver and Captain Kristen Griest are the first two women to qualify for the Army’s elite Ranger unit. What is the background of each of these women? What are the specific functions of the Army Rangers?
SEARCH TERMS: (Shaye Haver OR Kristen Griest) AND (Army Ranger OR Army Rangers)
PEOPLE: Julian Bond
TOPIC: Julian Bond was a civil rights activist, was elected a U.S Representative from Georgia, chaired the NAACP, was the first president of the Southern Poverty Law Center and as a student at Morehouse College helped found the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). What were some of his major accomplishments as a U.S. Representative? What are some of the key historic civil rights activities in the 1950s and 1960s that he was a part of as a civil rights activist and what was his role?
SEARCH TERMS: Julian Bond
PEOPLE: Louis Stokes
TOPIC: Louis Stokes was a U.S. Representative from Ohio (representing Ohio’s 21st district, the east side of Cleveland) and the first African-American to sit on the House Appropriations Committee. What were his major accomplishments as a Representative? As a young lawyer, what case did he argue before the Supreme Court and what was the outcome?
SEARCH TERMS: Louis Stokes
PEOPLE: Frank Gifford
TOPIC: Frank Gifford was a star running back for the New York Giants and a longtime sports commentator, most well known for his 27 years as a play-by-play announcer on ABC’s Monday Night Football. What were some of his best games for the Giants? What awards has he won as both a player and as an announcer and why?
SEARCH TERMS: Frank Gifford
PEOPLE: Robert Conquest
TOPIC: British born historian and poet Robert Conquest has died at age 98. His 1968 book The Great Terror: Stalin’s Purge of the Thirties exposed the breadth of Stalin’s show trials and imprisonment in the Soviet Union. What type of poetry did Conquest write? Who were some of the British authors he was close to? What was groundbreaking about The Great Terror? What other historical works did he write?
SEARCH TERMS: Robert Conquest
PEOPLE: Jean-Marie Le Pen
TOPIC: Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of the political party National Front, has been expelled from the right-wing party for his continuing provocative statements. The party is run by his daughter Marine Le Pen. What were his statements? Why were they deemed provocative and not in the party’s best interests? How does Marine Le Pen want to reposition the party?
SEARCH TERMS: Jean-Marie Le Pen
PEOPLE: Wes Craven
TOPIC: Wes Craven helped create a genre of teen horror films with his Nightmare on Elm Street Series that spoofed his own genre called Scream. What are some of the signature qualities that Wes Craven created that made his films so effective? What other directors helped bring the horror genre mainstream and how? What other critically acclaimed films did he make?
SEARCH TERMS: Wes Craven
PEOPLE: Oliver Sacks
TOPIC: Dr. Oliver Sacks was a neurologist, a professor of neurology at New York University and Columbia University and became famous as a bestselling author covering case studies he’d worked on. Which book of his was made into a popular film and what was it about? What are some other popular books of his and what were they about? What are some of the key aspects of neurology he worked with and what did he discover?
SEARCH TERMS: Oliver Sacks
