CNN 2009-07-07

Hello, there! I'm Brooke Baldwin at the CNN Center in Atlanta. And here is a look at what's happening NOW IN THE NEWS.

President Barack Obama is in Russia at a sort of a three-nation tour, Mr. Obama there in Moscow this morning, shaking hands here, beginning that two days of talks with his Russian counterpart, President Dmitry Medvedev. Both leaders have said they want to strengthen ties between the US and Russia.

Meanwhile, former Defense¹ Secretary Robert McNamara has died, this coming in just this morning to us here at CNN. McNamara served as Secretary of Defense under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. And he came under fire for his handling of the conflict in Vietnam which some critics have dubbed² McNamara's war . McNamara later questioned the decision to continue military action in Vietnam. He was 93 years old.

A federal judge has approved General Motors' recovery plan. What this means is that GM has met the conditions set up by the US government, so it can borrow more money. The bankruptcy³ approval means GM can get rid of those big loans that it couldn't pay back, the promises it made to unions that it just can't afford and brands that weren't making money. The US automaker also plans to close more than a dozen factories and close 40% of its 6, 000 dealerships.

In Honduras, the ousted⁴ President Manuel Zelaya is vowing⁵ to try to return home after the interim⁶ government refused to let his plane land in Tegucigalpa yesterday. Demonstrators who support the ousted president have been clashing with security forces. At least one person has been killed in those protests.

And a hearing on Michael Jackson's will is set to start today, but Jackson's family reportedly wants to delay the hearing. A person close to the family is saying they want more time to be able to look into Jackson's affairs and to see whether another will emerges. The hearing could name two men outside of the family as executors of Jackson's estate.

And those are some of the stories we're following for you this Monday. Stay with CNN.com Live for more on those stories and all kinds of news throughout the day.

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

4 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

5 vowing   

起誓，发誓（vow的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild its collapsed bridge. 布什总统承诺将帮助明尼阿波利斯重建坍塌的大桥。
• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild this collapse bridge. 布什总统发誓要帮助明尼阿波利斯重建起这座坍塌的桥梁。

6 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。