Day: September 11, 2025

A big part of Infoplease’s mission is getting people the information they want and keeping them informed about current events. Each week we look for news articles that explore relevant themes in U.S. History and Government classrooms, and connect those stories to BRI resources.

* 20 years after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans has a very different look and feel than it did then. Some say it’s been a good change, others are less certain. * The lawyer for Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a man wrongly deported to El Salvador and back to the United States, says his client is now being targeted for deportation again. * The Pickett Fire continues to roil through parts of California’s wine country, forcing residents to evacuate.

The Bill of Rights Institute curates contemporary news articles that explore topics in U.S. History, Government and Civics.

An economic forecast is a prediction of future national output—including the amount of goods and services produced, how much is spent on them, and the level of employment. It is often used in monetary and fiscal policy. Several approaches are used for producing economic forecasts, from judgmental methods that depend on the experience and understanding of individual forecasters to sophisticated dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) models that use modern economic theory.

The main concept of output most commonly forecasted is gross domestic product, which is a measure of the value of all finished goods and services within the borders of a nation. Other important concepts include consumption and income, which have a presumed causal relationship. The behavior of these variables as a group is generally studied by economists using a variety of techniques, such as econometric models and surveys that report business investment plans and commitments to invest in new equipment.

For the world economy as a whole, growth is expected to remain subdued this year and into 2026-27, with a weaker-than-expected recovery in advanced economies and a further slowdown in commodity exporters. In addition, a rise in trade barriers could dampen activity in low-income countries, where growth is already constrained by high debt and rising interest costs.

Economic activity in the United States is strong, supported by robust consumer spending and high business investment, but geopolitical risks and inflation concerns persist.