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1. Wall Street plunges¹ again as credit markets remain tight and jobless claims hit seven-year high, stoking fears the government's financial rescue plan may not halt recession. Some lawmakers in the House now say they will change their votes when a new rescue plan comes up on Friday.

2. It's debate night for the number two candidates on the presidential tickets. Old Washington hand, Senator Joe Biden, will face off against Republican and newcomer governor Sarah Palin in St. Louis. Palin has recently struggled to give clear answers in some highly-publicized interviews.

3. Investigators² in California say it's clear from newly-found wreckage³ that adventurer Steve Fossett died instantly. His plane hit in a mountainside head-on. It was about a year ago that Fossett vanished. The remains⁴ of his plane just found.

4. This bear popped into a subway sandwich shop in Canada for a sniff⁵ but it's soon left hungry. News reports say the bear was later tracked down and shot, because it posed danger to humans.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. stoke: v.

If you stoke something such as a feeling, you cause it to be felt more strongly.

2. head-on: adv.

if two vehicles crash etc head-on, the front part of one vehicle hits the front part of the other.

3. pop into: phr v.

to go somewhere quickly, suddenly, or in a way that you did not expect.