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Clinton Wins W.Va., Loses John Edwards

West Virginia gave Hillary Clinton one of her biggest victories of the Democratic race on Tuesday. The New York senator won 67 percent of the state's presidential primary vote, compared to 26 percent for her rival, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.

Despite Clinton's big win, Obama still has a strong lead in the race for the Democratic nomination. He also picked up an important endorsement on Wednesday. John Edwards, who had been running third in the Democratic race for president before dropping out in late January, announced that he is supporting Obama. Edwards (below with Obama) is a former North Carolina senator and was the Democratic vice presidential candidate in 2004. He also is a strong advocate for poor and blue-collar Americans -- groups that Obama has had a harder time winning over. (Seven percent of West Virginia Democrats voted for Edwards on Tuesday even though he was no longer in the race.)

Political experts say Clinton isn't likely to catch up to Obama at this point. She trails Obama in both delegate and superdelegate votes. Those are the votes that will decide who becomes the Democratic Party's official candidate and takes on Republican John McCain in the November 4 election. Only four states and Puerto Rico have primaries left. Obama needs fewer than 150 additional delegate votes to win the nomination; Clinton needs more than 300.

Clinton told supporters in her West Virginia victory speech that she still believes she's the strongest candidate. "There are some who have wanted to cut this race short. They say 'give up, it's too hard, the mountain is too high,' but here in West Virginia, you know a thing or two about rough roads to the top of the mountain," she said. "I am more determined than ever to carry on this campaign until everyone has had a chance to make their voices heard."

To learn more about the primary elections and what's next, go to Weekly Reader's Election Site.

Photos: The Associated Press

Thousands Dead in China Earthquake

A massive earthquake shook China's Sichuan Province on Monday, killing more than 12,000 people and trapping thousands more in the rubble. The 7.9-magnitude quake hit at 2:28 p.m. local time (that's 2:28 a.m. in New York). People ran from buildings and homes as the earthquake shook the structures apart. At Juyuan Middle School, the students didn't have time to escape. Nine-hundred students were buried when the school in Juyuan Township of Dujiangyan City crumbled, according to China's official news agency, Xinhua. Melissa Block, a reporter for National Public Radio, was taping an interview in the nearby city of Chengdu when the ground began to shake. Click here to listen to the sound of the earthquake and hear what Block found when she reached the Juyuan school.

A day after the earthquake struck, Xinhua reported that more than 12,000 people had died, including at least 50 students from the Juyuan school. Thousands more people are believed to be trapped in fallen buildings, and officials say the death toll will likely rise as search and rescue missions continue.

The rumbling of the earthquake could be felt as far away as Pakistan and Thailand. A smaller quake, which measured 3.9-magnitude on the Richter scale, also shook Beijing, where the summer Olympics are scheduled to be begin in three months.

The earthquake also damaged Sichuan Province's telephone and power systems. Plus, with many survivors trying to phone family and friends, the phone lines that were still working were jammed with calls. As many as 2,300 cell phone towers were also knocked down.

Sichuan Province is located 960 miles from China's capital city, Beijing. It's a mountainous region in western China. The epicenter, or the point where the plates actually shifted, is near Wenchuan County, home to Wolong Nature Reserve -- the country's famous reserve for pandas.

What causes earthquakes?
That's a really good question. The crust and mantle of the Earth is made up of layers of rocks called plates. When those plates slip past each other then the surface of the Earth shakes. You can find more information about the science of earthquakes at Earthquakes for Kids.

Photos: AP Photos

Natural Disasters Strike Three Continents

Mother Nature has been on a frightful rampage. A powerful tropical cyclone swept into Myanmar earlier this month, killing an estimated 100,000 people and leaving more than 1 million others homeless. In Chile, a volcano erupted, covering nearby towns with ash and sending thousands of people fleeing for safety. On Sunday, tornadoes hit the central United States killing at least 22 people in three states.

Myanmar, also known as Burma, was by far the hardest hit. Tropical Cyclone Nargis grew into a deadly storm over the Bay of Bengal in early May. It pounded the coast of Myanmar for 12 hours with heavy rain and wind that blew up to 130 mph. When the wind let up and the rain stopped, a large part of the Southeast Asian country had been flooded. Tropical cyclones are Southeast Asia’s version of hurricanes. The United Nations (UN) estimates that 100,000 people died in the storm and 1.5 million others are still in desperate need of help. Food is scarce because of the flooding, and health experts worry that diseases could spread. The UN, the United States, and several other countries are trying to help the survivors, but getting aid into Myanmar has been difficult. Myanmar is ruled by a junta. A junta (pronounced HUN-tuh) is a government led by military officials. Myanmar's junta wants the donations of food and supplies, but it doesn't want foreigners to enter its country. That's a problem for foreign aid agencies because those agencies want to make sure the supplies gets to the people who need them. “We are running of out time here,” UN spokesman Richard Horsey told reporters. “There is a huge risk that [diseases] could start to spread because there is a lack of clean drinking water, a lack of sanitation facilities. This could be a huge problem and it could lead to a second phase which could be as deadly as the cyclone.”

In the United States, the natural disaster came in the form of tornadoes on Mother's Day. The twisters swept across Oklahoma, Missouri, and Georgia, killing at least 22 people. In Picher, Okla., Ed Keheley rescued a woman from the wreckage of her home. He told The Associated Press he heard screaming and saw her hand reaching out of the debris. “She was sitting in the bathtub, she had curlers in her hair, and she wanted out of there,” he said. Picher was so badly damaged that the small town's 800 residents might never rebuild. Picher was once a center for lead and zinc mining, but the mines have closed and lead poisoning has driven many former residents away.

In Chile, the problem is the Chaiten volcano. It erupted last week for the first time in centuries, sending lava and ash flying for miles in South America. A thick layer of white ash now covers houses and trees, and more than 4,000 people are out of their homes for fear the volcano could erupt with even greater force. Read about one man who refuses to leave and find out why. On Monday, lightning appeared above the erupting volcano. See a picture of it.

Photos: Cyclone survivors leave a swamped town in Myanmar: AP Images; Children wait in line for food in Myanmar: AP Images; Flag amid the rubble in tornado-damaged Picher, Okla.: AP Images/Sue Ogrocki; Smoke and ash rise from Chile’s Chaiten volcano: AP Images/Daniel Basualto.

Burning Bright at the Top of the World

The Olympic flame flickered from the top of the world this morning. A team of Chinese mountaineers braved days of bitter cold, stinging wind, and some of the toughest climbing on the planet to reach the summit of Mount Everest, the world's tallest mountain. At the top, they lit an Olympic torch in a celebration to welcome this summer's Beijing Olympic Games. Mount Everest towers 29,030 feet above China's border with Nepal. After reaching the summit, the 19 climbers got a telegram from Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping congratulating them. "This is one of the greatest events in the history of the Games and a gift from the Chinese to the Olympics and people worldwide," Xi wrote, according to the official Chinese news agency Xinhua. Read more about the climbers and their feelings about the Olympic Games, the recent Olympic protests, and the Chinese government's crackdown in Tibet. The countdown to the Olympics is on, and the Games are only three months away!

Photo: AP Images/Xinhua, Ngawang Chagxi

Out With The Old ... In With The Old

Russia has new leaders—sort of.

Dmitry Medvedev (at right in photo) took office as Russia's president earlier this week. Today, Russia's parliament approved a new prime minister. Who's the new prime minister? He's the old president: Vladimir Putin (left).

Putin is a former KGB intelligence officer who ran the country for eight years as president. He was a strong leader, and he helped revive the Russian economy, but he also kept his critics quiet, and he showed little love for the United States. When Putin was in command, the president was the most powerful role in Russia. Now that he's the prime minister, it sounds as if the Russian prime minister's job could become more powerful than the president's. Medvedev owes his career to Putin—he was Putin's choice to take over as president once Putin reached his term limit. Read what the Moscow Times and some political experts have to say about the changes in the Kremlin, Russia's seat of power.

Photo: Medvedev stands to the side as Putin speaks in Moscow. AP Images/RIA Novosti, Vladimir Rodionov, Presidential Press Service

One for Clinton, One for Obama

“It’s full speed on to the White House!”
-New York Sen. Hillary Clinton (above) after winning Indiana's Democratic primary on May 6.

“America is a place where you can make it if you try, no matter how much money you start with or where you come from or who your parents are.”
-Illinois Sen. Barack Obama (left) after winning North Carolina's Democratic primary on May 6.

Two more states held Democratic primaries on Tuesday, and we still don't know who the Democratic candidate for president will be. Illinois Sen. Barack Obama added North Carolina to his victory list. New York Sen. Hillary Clinton took the checkered flag in Indiana—next door to Obama’s home state. Which Democrat will take on Republican John McCain in the race for president? Six states and Puerto Rico still have Democratic primaries coming up!

Obama won North Carolina’s Democratic primary by a comfortable margin— 56% of the voters picked him, while 42% voted for Clinton. Indiana went the other way, but it was a closer race—51% of the Indiana voters cast ballots for Clinton, while 49% chose Obama. Obama is getting close to the 2,025 pledged delegates that he would need to seal the nomination, and a lot of political experts say Clinton won't be able to pull off a victory at this point. The primary race isn't over yet, though, not until one of the two candidates drops out or the Democratic delegates vote for their official nominee at the Democratic National Convention in August.

*Do you have a favorite candidate for U.S. president? (Republican John McCain? One of the Democrats? Perhaps a third-party candidate?) Click on "Comments" below to tell us who your favorite candidate is and why you think that person would make a great president.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Today is Cinco De Mayo. The name literally means the fifth of May. It's a Mexican holiday that signifies the date of the 1862 Battle of Pueblo, where Mexican fighters defeated French soldiers. All over Mexico, people today celebrate Cinco de Mayo with parades, dances and parties. They also reenact the battle. Click here to learn more.

*Are you having a fiesta to celebrate Cinco de Mayo? Tell us about it by clicking on "Comments" below!

Obama Squeaks By In Guam Caucus

Presidential hopeful Barack Obama won the Democratic caucus in Guam, but by an ultraslim margin. Obama, a U.S. senator from Illinois, beat U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton of New York by just seven votes! According to The Associated Press, more than 4,500 people on the island turned out for the Democratic caucus.

Guam is a U.S. territory in the Pacific Ocean about 5,800 miles from San Francisco. It's closer to Asia and Australia than North America. Guam's voters can't decide who gets elected president in November, but they do send four delegates and five super delegates to the Democratic National Convention.

Get the rest of the presidential primary results so far and learn more about the candidates at our Election Center.

Deadly Virus Sickening Children in China

A virus is attacking young children in China. It's sickened many and made parents panic. The virus is known as hand, foot, and mouth disease, and spreads most easily in summer months. To date, 22 children have died and nearly 3,600 others have been sickened. All of the deaths were children under age 6.

Schools and daycare centers have been closed to prevent its spread.

To learn about hand, foot, and mouth disease, click here.

Officials aren't sure what's causing the outbreak.

What the Eyewitnesses to History Saw

Have you ever wondered how it feels to see Earth from space, knowing there's a good chance you might never set foot on the planet again? Can you image what thoughts went through the minds of sailors at Pearl Harbor as Japanese war planes attacked in 1941? Or how U.S. teenagers felt as they protested the Vietnam War?

The winners of Current Events' 2008 Eyewitness to History contest found out. How? They asked someone who was there. Click here to read the winning interviews with Apollo 13 astronaut James Lovell, a Pearl Harbor survivor, a teenage antiwar protester, and a U.S. soldier who helped the Iraqis organize a free and fair election. Keep reading to learn about life before cell phones and just how bulky the first cell phones really were, and about the sight, sound, and messiness of a volcanic eruption.

The 2008 Eyewitness to History contest winners are:
• Joey Dwyer (winner)—Nichols Middle School, Evanston, Ill.
• Rachel Pfaff (winner)—South Park Middle School, South Park, Pa.
• Jasmine Stein (winner)—Timothy Christian Middle School, Elmhurst, Ill.
• Alyssa Mendes (first runner-up)—Leonard Middle School, Fort Worth, Texas
• Josie Jones (honorable mention)—Kenai Middle School, Kenai, Alaska
• Jamie Stein (honorable mention)—South Park Middle School, South Park, Pa.

Photo: The Associated Press