CNN 2009-01-08

Good morning from the CNN center in Atlanta. I am Reggie Aqui. Thanks for checking in. This is your NOW IN THE NEWS update.

A humanitarian¹ truce² in Gaza for 3 hours every other day. Israel has offered to suspend its military actions, so residents can get much needed supplies. Meanwhile, Egypt and France will continue its talks with Israelis and Palestinians about how to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza. This is the 12th day of Israel’s campaign aimed at Hamas militants³.

Back in the US, President-elect Obama is working on an economic stimulus⁴ plan, but he warns we could see years of trillion dollar deficits⁵. Obama has promised to cut government's spending to grow the economy. Later today, Obama will join President Bush, and former President Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton for a lunch. It'll be the second time Bush hosts Obama at the White House since Election Day.

Obama will also announce his choice for Chief Performance Officer this morning. It's a new position. CNN has learned that Obama's pick for that position is Nancy Killefer. She's director of a management consulting firm and was an assistant Treasury⁶ Secretary in the Clinton administration. A Democratic official says the job includes scrubbing the federal budget and reforming government.

Furniture company Ethan Allen is closing a Pennsylvania manufacturing plant and several retail⁷ stores. The result, 350 jobs lost and  Goody's Family Clothing is liquidating⁸ its operations.  Goody's operates nearly 300 stores in the southeast and has about 10,000 employees.

It is the biggest game of the year in college football, but is the BCS championship big enough to shut down Congress?  Florida Congressman⁹ Cliff Stearns is asking House speaker Nancy Pelosi to reschedule Thursday night's votes to Friday. So that House members from Florida and Oklahoma can attend the national title game in Miami. Pelosi, by the way, is not expected to grant his request.

Please stick with us at CNN.com and CNN.comlive as we bring you more updates throughout the day.

1 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

2 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

3 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

4 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

5 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

6 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

7 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

8 liquidating   

v.清算( liquidate的现在分词 )；清除（某人）；清偿；变卖

参考例句：

• Liquidating collateral is clearly a second best source of repayment. Why? 抵押品显然并不是获得贷款偿还的最佳方法。为什么？ 来自互联网
• There are often costs and inconvenience associated with liquidating other assets. 这些资产变现时总须花费，也不方便。 来自互联网

9 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。