CNN 2009-02-12

Good morning, from the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Reggie Aqui, here's a look at what's happening right NOW IN THE NEWS.

Our lawmakers on Capitol Hill could reach a final deal on the president's stimulus¹ plan as soon as today. Closed-door negotiations² went late into the night. Now some Republicans are calling for the price tag to be lower than the Senate's 838-billion-dollar version. At the same time, the president's next stop on his sell-the-stimulus road trip is in Springfield Virginia. He is gonna be visiting a construction site later this morning and highlight the need for new jobs there. That will happen at 11am Eastern. We'll carry it live at .com live.

Vicious tornadoes³ have slammed parts of Oklahoma. At least 8 people were killed last night in a small town south of Oklahoma city. Dozens more are injured. At least 6 homes are destroyed. The strong winds also snapped 18 power pools and damaged several shopping centers.

Israel's parliamentary elections are too close to call. Unofficial election results indicated a very close race between Tzipi Livni's Kadima Party and Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party. Both candidates are claiming a mandate⁴ to govern. Well, now Israel's President Shimon Peres must decide who should form a coalition⁵ government.

New political era in Zimbabwe, opposition⁶ leader Morgan Tsvangirai is sworn in as Prime Minister. The oath of office was administered by his rival President Robert Mugabe. Zimbabwe has been in a state of political paralysis⁷ since the disputed presidential elections nearly a year ago.

The Obama administration apparently⁸ closer now to choosing a new FEMA director. According to officials, Florida emergency manager Craig Fugate and former Iowa emergency manager Ellen Gordon are the administration's top two choices. President Obama promised to overhaul⁹ the agency. The agency is still haunted by the failed response to Hurricane Katrina.

You might need to start stocking up on two cents stamps that's because the price of a first class stamp is gonna go up from 42 cents to 44 cents that should start May 11th.The Postal¹⁰ Service says it needs more money because of rising production cost and that it does match the rate of inflation.

Please stick with us here at CNN.com and CNN.com/live, of course we're gonna continue to update you right here throughout the day.

1 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。

2 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

3 tornadoes   

n.龙卷风，旋风( tornado的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Tornadoes, severe earthquakes, and plagues create wide spread havoc. 龙卷风、大地震和瘟疫成普遍的毁坏。 来自互联网
• Meteorologists are at odds over the working of tornadoes. 气象学者对龙卷风的运动方式看法不一。 来自互联网

4 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

5 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

6 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。

7 paralysis   

n.麻痹(症)；瘫痪(症)

参考例句：

• The paralysis affects his right leg and he can only walk with difficulty.他右腿瘫痪步履维艰。
• The paralysis affects his right leg and he can only walk with difficulty.他右腿瘫痪步履维艰。

8 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

9 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

10 postal   

adj.邮政的，邮局的

参考例句：

• A postal network now covers the whole country.邮路遍及全国。
• Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。