News Reports

Lynn Nottage does a fantastic job of situating the play in its context. However, to make your job easier, here are news reports that give you further details on each event. Click on each link for a news report.

September 29th, 2008

63rd Session of United Nations General Assembly Closes.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average falls 777.68 points.

February 10th, 2000

Billionaire Steve Forbes drops out of the Republican primary after investing more than $66 million of his own money on this campaign and his first, failed 1996 campaign.

March 2nd, 2000

Republican presidential debate between Alan Keyes, John McCain, and George Bush.

October 13th, 2008

The Dow Jones gains 916 points, its largest gain ever, following news that the government-funded bank bailouts were approved around the world. ​

August 4th, 2000

Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush begins a post-convention train blitz across the Midwest. 

September 28th, 2000

First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton posts strong polling numbers in her NY Senate race against Rick Lazio. 

Americans Venus and Serena Williams win a gold medal in women’s doubles tennis at the Sydney Summer Olympics.

April 17th, 2000

Three days after a record 617.77-point drop in the Dow Jones as the tech bubble bursts. 

D.C. protesters disrupt World Bank and International Monetary Fund meeting. 

May 5th, 2000

The U.S. unemployment rate tumbles to a thirty-year low, 3.9%. 

Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers prepare for Game 1 of Eastern Conference Semifinals.

July 4th, 2000

Working Woman magazine reports the salary gap narrowing between men and women in some U.S. industries. 

October 7th, 2000

After yet another gun incident at a school, Attorney General Janet Reno reassures the public that “American schools are safe places.” 

Two hundred people camp overnight at a Reading electronics superstore hoping to be the first to buy the $350 Sony Playstation 2.

November 3rd, 2000

It’s four days before the U.S. Presidential Election; George Bush and Al Gore are running neck and neck in the polls. 

Transition

Perhaps we see President Bush about to present “a very dire warning” to the American people. He will suggest that unless Congress approves a seven-hundred-billion-dollar bailout for Wall Street, and approves within a matter of only a few days, there are going to be ominous consequences for the entire U.S. economy and for millions of Americans.

October 15th, 2008

Baghdad and Washington reach final agreement on a pact requiring U.S. forces to withdraw from Iraq by 2011.

U.S. stocks plunge 733 points, the second-biggest point loss in history. 

John McCain and Barack Obama hold their final televised debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY. 

Federal prosecutors convict multimillion-dollar drug ring that converted several Reading houses into indoor marijuana farms.

October 18th, 2008

PA’s Republican Party sues the community activist group ACORN, accusing the group of fostering voter registration fraud.

Philadelphia Phillies prepare to face off against the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2008 Major League Baseball World Series.