1、CNN 100CNN News Item 1The U.S. government closes its embassy in the Middle Eastern country of Yemen, and that is because ofsecurity concerns. One official says that a group called al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula might be planningan attack against the facility. That same group said it was behind an
2、 attempted plot to set off an explosiveonboard a plane heading to Detroit, Michigan. That took place on Christmas day. The suspect allegedlybrought the explosives on the plane in his underwear. The plan failed when the device he tried to use didntdetonate correctly. Some people have asked how the su
3、spect made it past security. One U.S. official says itsbecause of human error. President Obama has promised that everyone involved in the attack will be heldaccountable for it. But some critics argue that the presidents response to the situation hasnt been fastenough, hasnt been aggressive enough.CN
4、N News Item 2Its back to work for Indian government oil workers after a three-day strike that crippled Indiancommerce. Some 45,000 oil workers walked off the job after the government refused their demands forhigher pay. The labor standoff ended after days of intense government pressure, including th
5、reats of job lossand even arrest to strikers. Meantime, talks with a second group of nationwide strikers may soon beunderway. The Indo-Asian News-Service says Indias transport minister is ready to discuss demands fromtruckers. Many across India have parked their rigs, calling for reduction in diesel
6、 and tyre prices.CNN News Item 3Lawmakers in Nebraska have approved a big change to the states controversial safe haven law. Underthe new measure, children older than 30 days can not be dropped off at state hospitals. 35 children, many ofthem, preteens or even teenagers, have been abandoned in hospi
7、tals since the original law took effect in July.State lawmakers say it was intended to prevent newborns from being dumped in trash bins or even worse.The new law is expected to go into effect at midnight.CNN News Item 4The nation of Iran marking a milestone later on this week. On Thursday, the count
8、ry will celebrate theanniversary of when it became an Islamic republic. This goes back to 1979, when supporters of the AyatollahKhomeini, a religious leader, overthrew the countrys government. Khomeini became the supreme leader ofIran, and the nation officially became an Islamic state. The United St
9、ates and the European Union areworried about potential violence during Thursdays celebrations. U.S. and European Union are urging theMiddle Eastern nation to “end its abuses against its own people.” Iranian leaders have denied anyaccusations that the government has abused citizens.CNN News Item 5Ira
10、qis put democracy into action today in elections held across the country. The polls have closed and avote-counting has begun. Voters went to 6,000 polling stations to pick from among 14,000 candidatesincluding 4,000 women. Security is very tight though, voters were searched before they entered the p
11、olls.2The borders with Iran and Syria were sealed and a curfew has been put into place. Now even the UnitedNations was involved in monitoring those elections.CNN News Item 6Iranian media reports former President Mohammad Khatami has announced he will run in the Junepresidential elections. Todays ann
12、ouncement ends weeks of speculation. Khatami is considered a reformistand overwhelmingly won the presidency in 1997 but he couldnt bring about religious and democraticfreedoms because of strong opposition from the countrys religious establishment. Khatami was succeededby current President Mahmoud Ah
13、madinejad four years ago.CNN News Item 7Meanwhile U.S. President Barack Obama is taking crisis talks to an international level. British PrimeMinister Gordon Brown is traveling to the United States on Monday to push for global solutions to theeconomic crisis. He will be the first E.U. leader to meet
14、the new president in Washington and Mr. Obamawill meet the remaining E.U. leaders at a special summit in Prague in April. That will be his first trip toEurope since taking office. Also on that trip, the G20 summit on the economic crisis and a NATO meeting.CNN News Item 8Strike is off, the judge says
15、 plans for a walkout by a British Airways Cabin Crew cannot happen. As wereported yesterday, this strike which would have last through the holidays could have effected a millionpassengers holiday travel plans. But the judge has blocked it from happening. Now the airline says it hopesthe Cabin Crews
16、Labor Union would take some time to think about its next steps. The union representativessay this dispute is not over and unless the two sides can come to a solution, they could vote to strike again,but after Christmas.CNN News Item 9Heading overseas to Thailand where grenade attacks in the capital
17、city of Bangkok have killed at leastthree people. A Thai official said the grenades came from an area where people who were protesting thegovernment were gathered together. The protesters say they are not responsible. They have been fightingwith police for a while here you can see them throwing rock
18、s and other things at police. They support thecountrys former prime minister and they want the current leader to leave office. After these recent attacks,Thailands prime minister called an emergency meeting to figure out how to deal with the situation.CNN News Item 10U.S. Supreme Court says that a m
19、emorial out in the Mojave Desert does not violate the U.S.Constitution. The memorial is a large cross. It was put up in 1934 to honor fallen soldiers. But its located ina national park, and some people argue that its a religious symbol that goes against the concept of separationof church and state.
20、The cross was boarded up because of the legal battle. Yesterdays Supreme Courtdecision was close: 5 to 4. Writing for the majority, Justice Anthony Kennedy said that this cross represents“far more than religion.” But in opposition, Justice John Paul Stevens argued the government cant lawfullyendorse
21、 a religious symbol as a way to pay tribute to veterans.3CNN News Item 11Freed at last after five years in captivity, three Americans held hostage by leftist rebels in Colombia areback on U.S. soil and will be reunited with their families. Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and KeithStansell were among th
22、ose rescued during an incredible operation yesterday. Columbian secret agents trickedleftist rebels into handing them over without a single shot being fired. The men are now undergoing tests atan army medical center in San Antonio, Texas.CNN News Item 12Health care reform enters a new era in about t
23、wo hours. President Obama is scheduled to sign that billinto law. Then, he is going to travel around the country to sell the plan to skeptics. But Republicans say thatbattle is on to get ready for legal challenges, nearly a dozen states plan to argue that its not constitutional. Asearly as tomorrow,
24、 the debate moves to the Senate where lawmakers will consider a companion measure, andRepublicans plan, parliamentary objections that could change that bill and force it back to the House. Now,even before the first votes were cast in the health care debate, Barack Obamas overall approval ratingdropp
25、ed to his lowest level ever recorded.CNN News Item 13Members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives will be meeting this month to put together afinal health care reform bill. The Senate passed its version on Christmas Eve. The House had already passedits bill. But there are some pretty big
26、differences between the two. One of them: cost. The Senate bill checksin at $871 billion. The House version: Over $1 trillion. Another issue: the so-called public option, agovernment-run health insurance program. House bill includes it; Senate bill doesnt. So, some compromisesneed to be made to come
27、 up with a final bill. And since that then has to be approved by both Houses ofCongress, there are some concerns about whether it will pass.CNN News Item 14Another day of international pressure levied against Zimbabwes embattled President Robert Mugabe.British officials have announced they are strip
28、ping Robert Mugabes honorary knighthood title. Nobel Prizewinner Desmond Tutu is also speaking out about the election mess there. Hes urging the nations of theworld to intervene. The calls come after opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai withdrew from the election,citing violence against his party. Th
29、e Zimbabwean Electoral Commission ruled today that the presidentialelection will go on as planned.CNN News Item 15The Tea Party movement is getting ready for the mid-term elections coming up in November. The grouphas released a list of heroes and targets. The heroes on the list are candidates that t
30、he Tea Party plans tosupport in the elections. The targets are anyone that the group would like to see voted out of office. Ofcourse lists are not the only way that the Tea Party gets its message out. Rallies are the groups bread andbutter. This one in Washington DC yesterday was a wrapping up of a
31、three-week tour across the U.S. Thetiming? No coincidence. Yesterday, of course, was tax day. And the group is opposed to what it sees as thegovernment overspending.4CNN News Item 16Today marks the 30th anniversary of the Iranian hostage crisis. And President Obama said that he wantsto move beyond t
32、he past and build a relationship with Iran based on mutual interest and mutual respect.U.S.-Iran relations had been hostile since the day that Islamic students stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehranand held 52 Americans hostage for more than 400 days. Irans government holds rally every year to celebrate
33、that event. Today theres something different though, anti-government protesters are also on the streets. Weare also getting some reports of clashes with those police. No word about any injury yet.CNN News Item 17Senators are considering alternatives to part of their healthcare legislation, specifica
34、lly, the so-calledpublic option, government-run health insurance program. Senate republicans and some democrats andindependents are against that plan. A group of Democratic Senators was working to come up with some otherideas they could replace the public option. And late last night, they said they
35、had reached an agreement. Ifthe Senate passes its healthcare bill, that does not make it law, would still need to be combined with Healthbill and then that final version would need to pass both the House and the Senate.CNN News Item 18Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger says he refuses to borrow money to
36、 keep his state running, he wantslegislators to focus on the states 24 billion dollar deficit or the state could be forced to cut thousands of jobs,eliminate health care for a million low income children. Meanwhile lawmakers are debating hundreds ofother bills including creating a state blueberry co
37、mmission. Banning toy cigarette lighters and mandating alarger font size for medical worker name tags.CNN News Item 19Ray LaHood, the head of the U.S. Transportation Department, is weighing in on Toyotas recall ofmillions of vehicles due to a faulty gas pedal. But what Mr. LaHood is saying might be
38、causing someconfusion. During a hearing on Capitol Hill yesterday, Secretary LaHood said that anyone who owns one ofthe cars affected by the recall should “stop driving it and take it to a dealer.” That scared and frustrated a lotof owners, and later in the day, LaHood corrected himself. Toyota rele
39、ased a statement thanking SecretaryLaHood for clarifying his remarks. They also said, “We want to make sure that our customers understandthat this situation is rare and generally does not occur suddenly. If you experience any issues with youraccelerator pedal, please contact your dealer without dela
40、y. If you are not experiencing any issues with yourpedal, we are confident that your vehicle is safe to drive.”CNN News Item 20Toyota says that a glitch in the electronic brakes could cause a delay when you step on the pedal. Theysay it only affects 2010 models sold last year. And its those very sam
41、e cars that are being credited withToyotas cash cow. New numbers just out say they made $1.7 billion last quarter, but it wont last for long.For the first time, Toyota is admitting its going to take a huge beating due to this gas pedal nightmare. $2billion for repairs and lost sales.5CNN News Item 2
42、1AIG is trying to prevent a new wave of backlash over paying out bonuses to its top executives. TheWashington Post reports the company has asked the Obama Administration to approve millions of dollars inpromised bonuses. The payments are scheduled to go out next week. AIG doesnt actually need approv
43、al.Because the payments were linked to contracts from last year before received aid from the federal bailoutfunds. But the Post reports executives still are reluctant to pay without official approval. An earlier round of2008 AIG employee bonuses drew widespread criticism earlier this year.CNN News I
44、tem 22The raw politics of health is heating up in the Senate. Just before air last night, Senate Majority LeaderHarry Reid announced a group of 10 liberal and conservative Democrats had reached a deal to replace thehotly debated public option with a package of alternatives. Senator Reid offered few
45、details. But today,President Obama praised the emerging compromise. Now, the public plan deal came just hours after theSenate killed a controversial amendment to restrict abortion coverage in its health care bill to ensure that nofederal funds go toward covering any kind of abortion in this new refo
46、rm. Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson hadintroduced that amendment. He called it a deal-breaker. Hes also one of the 10 senators to hammer out thedeal to drop the public plan.CNN News Item 23Over in Europe, the financial outlook for a few countries isnt looking too good. The investment ratingsfor Spain, P
47、ortugal and Greece all went down this week. Greece might be the worst situation. Experts areusing the word “junk” to describe that nations investment rating. Basically, theyre saying that its very riskyto put your money there. Greece has a massive debt, nearly $400 billion. Thats bigger than the cou
48、ntryseconomy. Greece is developing ways to cut spending, but Greek workers arent too happy about some ofthose plans, and theyve been protesting about it. Greece is also asking for financial help from the EuropeanUnion: a bailout of more than $50 billion.CNN News Item 24Well moving around to the East
49、 of Asia now, Southeast of Asia, a gloomy forecast out of Singapore.The government says its economy will likely shrink by between 6 and 9% this year. The announcementcomes as the city-states first quarter GDP fell almost 12% from the, from a year ago. In seasonally adjustedterms it was even more brutal than that actually. Singapore is reducing its output for the third time this year,as demand for its exports continues to fall amidst a worsening financial crisis. It previously predicted just a5% contraction for the full year.CNN News Item 25The Tre
