This Issue:

Table of Contents

Cover Story

Cover Story - Spanish Version

Mini-Lesson

Comprehension Quiz

Teacher's Guide and Worksheets

Families vs. Simpson: The Verdict

For nearly three years, Americans have followed the ups and downs of former football star O.J. Simpson. His murder trial unfolded on TV like a soap opera. The October 1995 verdict that he was not guilty of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman was the talk of the nation.

Last week a second, civil trial, conducted off-camera, came to a different kind of ending. The jury was not asked to judge if Simpson was guilty of murder but to decide if he could be held responsible for the 1994 deaths. The decision: Yes.

Goldman's father Fred was relieved: "Thank God for some justice. This is all we wanted."

Some people across the country felt the jury was unfair. "It's a disgrace," said Rudy Battle, a construction worker from New York.

Simpson will not go to jail. He will have to pay the Goldman and Brown families at least $8.5 million. By Friday the jury was still deciding how much more to award the families.

Next: Discovery Of A Secret