For current topics, both government and news sites can prove useful. Many government agencies at every level provide online information. Government-maintained sites include resources such as legal texts, facts and statistics, government reports, and searchable reference databases.
Here are just a few government sites:
Census Bureau http://www.census.gov
Fedstats http://www.fedstats.gov
FirstGov http://www.firstgov.gov
GPO Access http://www.gpoaccess.gov
United Nations http://www.un.org