CNN 2009-03-02

Hello everyone, I'm Creshon Saunders at the CNN.com newsroom in Atlanta. Here is a look at what's happening NOW IN THE NEWS.

Supporters of Roland Burris are rallying around the embattled Illinois senator this weekend. Our CNN affiliate¹ WBBM says some of Illinois's most prestigious² ministers will gather this afternoon to conduct a prayer service for Burris. Ministers from the Chicago area held a similar service Saturday night. Burris is under increasing pressure to resign because of the controversy³ regarding his appointment by now impeached⁴ Governor Rod Blagojevich.

Severe winter weather has passed to the southeast mopping up this morning. Storms that swept through Alabama yesterday downed trees and damaged buildings. Three tornadoes⁵ barreled through east central Alabama. One church was destroyed, another church and several homes were also damaged.

Near Austin, Texas, a fast moving wildfire has destroyed at least 10 homes and 200 more are being threatened. It started yesterday when a power line fell, the resulting fire quickly spread across about 400 acres. At least one firefighter was treated for smoke inhalation. Some residents have been evacuated⁶.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is apparently⁷ considering another assault on Gaza. He says Israel will retaliate⁸ if Palestinian militants⁹ do not stop their rocket attacks into Southern Israel. Hamas rocket attacks from Gaza were the main reason cited for Israel's three-week assault on the territory back in December and in January. 1,300 Palestinians were killed, 13 Israelis also died in the fighting.

Those are the headlines this hour, for more on these stories and other news of the day, CNN is your source online, on TV, even when you're on the go.

1 affiliate   

vt.使隶(附)属于；n.附属机构，分公司

参考例句：

• Our New York company has an affiliate in Los Angeles.我们的纽约公司在洛杉矶有一个下属企业。
• What is the difference between affiliate and regular membership?固定会员和附属会员之间的区别是什么？

2 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

3 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

4 impeached   

v.控告（某人）犯罪( impeach的过去式和过去分词 )；弹劾；对（某事物）怀疑；提出异议

参考例句：

• Elected officials can be impeached. 经过选举产生的官员可以被弹劾。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The judge was impeached for taking a bribe. 这个法官被检举接受贿赂。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 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

6 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

7 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。

8 retaliate   

v.报复，反击

参考例句：

• He sought every opportunity to retaliate against his enemy.他找机会向他的敌人反击。
• It is strictly forbidden to retaliate against the quality inspectors.严禁对质量检验人员进行打击报复。

9 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。