CNN 2009-01-20

Good morning from the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Reggie Aqui. Thanks for checking in. Here is your NOW IN THE NEWS update.

On this day before the inauguration¹ of the country's first African-American president, the nation is honoring the memory of Martin Luther King Jr.. President-elect Obama has often cited Dr. King as one of the greatest influences of his life and he is certainly not alone. This is a CNN opinion research corporation poll that you're looking at and as you can see, two-thirds of Americans say that Dr. King either influences their life greatly or at least somewhat.

Moving on now, it is a busy day ahead for President-elect Obama. He , the future first lady, vice² President-elect Joe Biden and his wife are gonna be donating their time to community service. That's an honor of Dr. King's legacy⁴. After that, they head for a community service day launching and tonight Obama is going to attend three private dinners. One will honor the public service of Republican senator John McCain.

A unilateral ceasefire declared by both Israel and Hamas is holding at least for now. Israel says it may completely withdraw from Gaza by tomorrow. An Israeli official says the withdrawal⁵ could be complete before President-elect Obama takes the oath of office. Hamas says that Israel must be out in a week and also allow humanitarian⁶ aid into Gaza. International donors⁷ are plunging⁸ money to rebuild Gaza.

To Zimbabwe now where talks are underway in a fresh effort to resolve a long-standing power-sharing dispute that has paralyzed the African country for months. President Robert Mugabe and opposition⁹ leader Morgan Tsvangirai are meeting in Zimbabwe's capital. They're trying to settle disputes in their power-sharing agreement and form a unity³ government. The Presidents of South Africa and Mozambique are also attending those talks.

The company that sells Little Debbie snacks is recalling its peanut butter crackers¹⁰. That's because of salmonella fears. No one has reported getting sick from those but the government is warning not to eat foods with peanut butter that's until they can find out where the tainted¹¹ peanut butter was made. More than 470 people in 43 states have fallen ill from Salmonella.

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

1 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

2 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

3 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

4 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

5 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

6 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。

7 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 plunging   

adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• War broke out again, plunging the people into misery and suffering. 战祸复发，生灵涂炭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He is plunging into an abyss of despair. 他陷入了绝望的深渊。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

10 crackers   

adj.精神错乱的，癫狂的n.爆竹( cracker的名词复数 )；薄脆饼干；（认为）十分愉快的事；迷人的姑娘

参考例句：

• That noise is driving me crackers. 那噪声闹得我简直要疯了。
• We served some crackers and cheese as an appetiser. 我们上了些饼干和奶酪作为开胃品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 tainted   

adj.腐坏的；污染的；沾污的；感染的v.使变质( taint的过去式和过去分词 )；使污染；败坏；被污染，腐坏，败坏

参考例句：

• The administration was tainted with scandal. 丑闻使得政府声名狼藉。
• He was considered tainted by association with the corrupt regime. 他因与腐败政府有牵连而名誉受损。 来自《简明英汉词典》