Top stories on poverty

During the week of Thanksgiving, Poverty was our featured topic. We sought out journalism that focused on how various aspects of the economic crisis have affected impoverished Americans, and others at the bottom of the economic ladder worldwide.

Stories on the now familiar topics of home foreclosures, decline in the auto industry and joblessness surfaced among our top rated. Some news organizations ran special stories on philanthropy, assistance programs and food in light of the holiday. This generally mellow week in news was rattled by the terror attacks in Bombay, India, which swept across the city from Wednesday, Nov. 26, through Saturday, Nov. 29, and claimed some 170 lives.

Top stories

Here is a selection of last week's top rated news and opinion on poverty:

News

• EU calls for aid to poor nations – BBC News 
• Consumers foregoing retailers discounts as fear sets in – Washington Post 
• Charities can't keep up with deepening – Los Angeles Times
• Americans' food stamp use near all-time high – Washington Post 
• In Michigan's auto belt, it's nail biting time – Christian Science Monitor
• Job centers see crush of people in need – New York Times
• A case study in housing collapse – St. Petersburg Times
• More indigenous Guatemalans turn to sex works, stoking HIV fears – Miami Herald
• 3,000 dead from cholera in Zimbabwe – The Independent
• Study cites toll of AIDS policy in South Africa – International Herald Tribune

Opinion

• What to do – New York Review of Books
• Should teachers ignore poverty's impact? – Washington Post 
• Mumbai terrorists wear uniform of young Indians – New America Media
• Don't get depressed, it's not 1929 – Newsweek
• The yawning gap in education within developing countries – Economist

This week: Global Warming
This week's featured topic is Global Warming, in collaboration with the Council of Foreign Relations (CFR.org). At the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Poznan, Poland, leaders are meeting to develop a global response to this growing issue. Optimism about a new administration in Washington has been tempered by concerns about the world economic crisis. We're looking for good journalism that explains the trade-offs between reducing carbon emissions and stemming a world-wide economic recession. Please review our recommended news and opinion on this issue -- and submit new stories -- on our Global Warming topic page.

For a thoughtful overview of this complex issue, we encourage you to check CFR.org's excellent Climate Change Crisis Guide. This multimedia presentation is a treasure trove of well-researched information about Global Warming, as seen from a variety of perspectives.

By Derek Hawkins, with Fabrice Florin and Kaizar Campwala

Comments

[Kate]

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Kate

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[John]

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