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1. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is issuing a gloomy warning about the nation's economy. Bernanke says the recent financial turmoil¹ means economic activity will be subdued³ through the rest of this year and into next year.

2. There are new details about the man behind the wheel of a tour bus that crashed in California, killing⁴ eight people. Police say Quintin Watts⁵ has a lengthy⁶ criminal record, a history of substance abuse and a string of motor vehicle offenses⁷. Investigators⁸ are now trying to determine if he was impaired⁹ when he lost control of the bus.

3. Two Japanese scientists and an American won the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics. They won nearly a half million dollars for their theoretical advances that help explain the behaviour of the smallest particles of matter.

4. And this dramatic rescue was caught on tape. Quick-thinking police officers pulled an Indiana woman from her car just seconds before it explodes. The woman is now recovering from severe burns.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1.subdue² vt.

control

2.lengthy adj.

a speech, piece of writing etc that is lengthy is long and often contains too many details
a lengthy report

3.substance abuse [uncountable]n.
the habit of taking too many illegal drugs, in a way that harms your health [= drug abuse]