1. Condolences came from the White House Friday to the U. S. Forest Service following the deaths of four firefighters in a California wildfire. The spokesman for the President said in a phone conversation Mr. Bush told officials how sorry he was.

2. Human rights advocates have raised a red flag after Vice President Dick Cheney's remarks in an interview about a controversial interrogation technique. The White House says Mr. Cheney's remarks were not condoning the use of waterboarding on terror suspects to make a suspect believe he or she will drown.

3. Police now say prior to his execution, serial killer Danny Rolling gave his spiritual adviser a confession note. In it, he admits to three 1989 murders in his hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana.

4. Michael J Fox says he was not acting in political ads that show him rocking back and forth. He has Parkinson's disease and was making pictures for political candidates who support embryonic stem cell research.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. condolence: n-plural
When you offer or express your condolences to someone, you express your sympathy for them because one of their friends or relatives has died recently.

2. red flag: n-count
If you refer to something as a red flag, you mean that it acts as a danger signal.

3. confession: n-count
A confession is a signed statement by someone in which they admit that they have committed a particular crime.

4. embryonic: adj.
An embryonic process, idea, organization, or organism is one at a very early stage in its development.

5. stem cell: n-count 干细胞
A stem cell is an unspecialized cell that gives rise to a specific specialized cell, such as a blood cell.