Q: The curtain on the 2008 US presidential election finally rose last month as John McCain and Barack Obama were formally nominated as candidates of the two major parties. This may be one of the hardest decisions voters have to make between two appealing candidates.

The big question for voters, as they face both an economic downturn and international threats, is: who will they elect? A young first-term senator promising change and new ideas, or a longtime senator with strong military experience and a reputation as a maverick ?

American voters have never seen a candidate quite like Obama. He has a white mother from theprefix = st1 /USand a black father fromKenyawho left the family when Obama was very young. He spent part of his youth inIndonesia.

His supporters say Obama's childhood gives him the advantage to repair the recent damage done toAmerica's image abroad. His opponents focus on his inexperience, noting he hasn't finished his first term in the Senate.

However, McCain has a very different life story.

He grew up in a Navy family and was a pilot during the Vietnam War in the 1960s. When Obama was in kindergarten in Indonesia, McCain's plane was shot down overVietnamand he became a prisoner of war. McCain could have been released if he _ Americabut he refused and so was held for five years.

So in the end, the election may hinge on (...) several factors that are hard to judge: Will Obama's race matter to a significant number of voters? Will working-class whites who tended to support his primary opponent, Hillary Clinton, vote for Obama? And perhaps most important of all, will swing voters be more drawn to Obama's vision or to McCain's experience?

Whatever happens, one thing is clear: Whoever walks into the White House on January 20, 2009, will find enormous challenges waiting for him in the Oval Office, both at home and abroad.

Answer the following questions:
1. What war was McCain in?
2. Was he in the army?
3. What was his job?
4. Were any of his family in the military?
5. What branch?
6. What happened to McCain while over there?
7. Did he have a choice in what happened to him?
8. What was Obama doing at this time?
9. Who did Obama defeat in the primary?
10. Which segment of the population were on her side?
11. Is the election expected to be an easy choice for most voters?
12. Is that because both candidates are disliked so much?
13. Is the economy humming along during this election?
14. Is the U.S. safe from international threats during this time?
15. What is Obama promising the people?
16. Is he in the Senate or House?
17. Has he served many terms?
18. Is McCain in the senate or house?
19. Is McCain's reputation one of timidness and caution?
20. When will the new President take the oath of office?
A: 1. Vietnam War
2. no
3. pilot
4. yes
5. the Navy
6. his plane was shot down and he became a prisoner of war
7. yes
8. attending kindergarten in Indonesia
9. Hillary Clinton
10. working-class whites
11. no
12. no
13. no
14. no
15. change and new ideas
16. the senate
17. no
18. senate
19. no
20. January 20
Q: (CNN) -- An Alaskan beat out 300 hirsute competitors from around the globe to take the top honor at the 2009 World Beard and Moustache Championships on Saturday.

Dan Sederowsky of Sweden shows off his moustache in Anchorage.

David Traver may have had home-court advantage: He was a favorite of the crowd at the Dena'ina Civic and Convention Center in Anchorage, Alaska, in both the "freestyle" category, where just about anything goes, and the overall championship.

His winning move? He wove his beard into a basket-like cone that resembled a snowshoe.

There were 17 officially sanctioned categories in the competition: eight styles of moustache, four varieties of partial beard and goatee combinations, and five categories of full beards.

The facial hair Olympics got its start in 1990 in Germany, and the German team typically dominates the event. Photo gallery: best beards and moustaches "

This year's contest is the second time the World Beard and Moustache Championships have been held in the United States -- Carson City, Nevada, hosted the event in 2003. Video: Contestants strut their stuff in Anchorage "

Since 1995, the contest has been held every two years. This year, competitors from 14 nations showed off their whiskers for the judges and a raucous crowd at the Anchorage venue.

Karl-Heinz Hille of Germany came in second overall with a first-place finish in the Imperial Partial Beard category, and Jack Passion of San Francisco, California, placed third overall with his winning entry in the Natural Full Beard category.

Answer the following questions:
1. What year did the World Beard and Moustache Championships begin?
2. Where did it start?
3. Where is it this year?
4. How many people were completing?
5. Who won?
6. Where was he from?
7. Did he have a beard or mustache?
8. How many times has the competition been held in the US?
9. Where was it the first time?
10. When was that?
11. How many categories are judged?
12. What are they?
13. What style was David Travers beard in?
14. How often is the competition held?
15. How many nations were represented this year?
16. Which nation most often wins?
17. Where in Anchorage was the competition held?
18. Did an American come in second place?
19. Who did?
20. Where was he from?
A: 1. 1990
2. in Germany
3. in Anchorage (Alaska)
4. 301
5. David Traver
6. Alaska
7. a beard
8. twice
9. Carson City, Nevada
10. in 2003
11. 17
12. eight styles of moustache, four varieties of partial beard and goatee combinations, and five categories of full beards
13. a basket-like cone
14. every two years
15. 14
16. Germany
17. at the Dena'ina Civic and Convention Center
18. no
19. Karl-Heinz Hille
20. Germany
Q: Jerusalem (CNN) -- The Indian nanny who saved the life of an Israeli boy during the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008 has been granted honorary citizenship and temporary residency in Israel.

At a ceremony Monday, the Israeli interior ministry in Jerusalem handed Sandra Samuel her identity card.

"I hope I will honor the citizenship and love Israel. I would give my heart and soul for Israel," she said.

Samuel has been caring for the boy, Moshe Holtzberg, since his parents died in the terror attacks on a Jewish cultural center, Chabad House, and several luxury hotels in India's financial capital.

They were among six people who were killed at Chabad House. Altogether, more than 160 people died in the attacks.

During the raids, 10 men also attacked buildings including the luxury Taj Mahal Palace and Tower and Oberoi-Trident hotels and the city's Chhatrapati Shivaji train station.

The only surviving gunman, Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, a Pakistani, was convicted of murder, conspiracy, and waging war.

Moshe's father, Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg, and his pregnant wife, Rivka, ran the Mumbai headquarters of the Chabad community -- a Hasidic Jewish movement.

Samuel, who worked as a cook and nanny at the Chabad House, found Moshe -- who turned 2 just after the attacks -- standing between the bodies of his slain parents.

She returned to Israel and has continued to care for the boy, helping his grandparents to raise him.

"Sandra Samuel stepped into the fire and abyss and did not think of herself," said Rabbi Shimon Rosenberg, Moshe's grandfather, at the ceremony. "She saved Moshe from the fire and we as Jews must thank and respect her."

Answer the following questions:
1. Who's parents died?
A:
1. Samuel's