News and Current Event Sites
BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/
Headline Spot  http://www.headlinespot.com/
International Relations and Security Network   http://www.isn.ethz.ch/ 
Reference Desk http://www.refdesk.com/
Reuters  - news source  http://www.reuters.com/

General Reference Sources
Almanac- Information Please - http://www.infoplease.com/
Maps - several map sites
WordIQ http://www.wordIQ.com/
Bartleby's http://www.bartleby.com/
 
History - (see Social Studies Sites for Research for more)
Hyper History.com covers over 3,000 years of world history with timelines, maps, and facts http://www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/History_n2/a.html