CNN 2010-09-30

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A college program is going to spend two years trying to make the world a little more polite, and it all starts with a definition¹. I'm Carl Azuz, and we welcome you to CNN Student News

First up, officials in parts of Wisconsin are telling people to get out and get to higher ground. They're trying to get away from flood waters that could affect up to 100 houses. We mentioned this yesterday, the flooding that was caused by heavy rain. The city of Portage, Wisconsin didn't get hit that bad by the weather, but that is where those houses are in danger, because the rain made the Wisconsin River rise. That is what caused the flooding. In Portage, a levee, a barrier² that's designed to stop the flooding, couldn't hold back the waters. The levee failed. Officials say part of the reason is because this thing was built 120 years ago. Back then, they used what they had -- in this case, mostly sand -- to build their levees. Nowadays, levees are made with steel or concrete³. Authorities⁴ say Portage won't be out of danger until the river goes back down below flood level.

The small business bill is now law. President Obama signed off on the legislation⁵ yesterday after it was passed by both the Senate⁶ and the House. The $42 billion bill is expected to create around half a million jobs. $12 billion of that money will be used for tax cuts for small businesses, and $30 billion will go into a fund⁷ for banks to be able to make loans⁸ to small businesses. That fund is the reason why some people weren't too happy about this bill. Republican⁹ leaders said it sounded a lot like the 2008 bank bailout. That one was a lot bigger; it was $700 billion. But the concern, in both situations, is whether or not the government will get back the money that it loans out.