在线英语听力室_免费在线英语听力学习网站

Hello I'm Melissa Long here at the CNN center in Atlanta with a look at some of the stories happening NOW IN THE NEWS on this Tuesday.

The Treasury¹ says the country's largest banks will start receiving 125-billion dollars this week. Beginning the biggest government bailout in history, the money is being sent to 9 major financial institutions including Bank of America, Citigroup and JP Morgan Chase. The government is also in talks with a group of more a dozen regional banks about sharing part of additional 125-billion dollars. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson says 250 of the 700-billion-dollar bailout package will be spent by the end of the year.

Senator John McCain is calling on fellow Republican Senator Ted² Stevens to step down. Stevens is vowing³ to fight his conviction on federal corruption⁴ charges. The Alaska lawmaker is up for re-election on Tuesday. Stevens is the longest-serving republican in the senate. He was found guilty of lying about accepting 250,000 dollars in gifts and renovations at his home from an oil executive.

A prominent ex-democratic official, former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick heads to prison today. He will be hauled this afternoon to receive this 4-month sentence for obstruction⁵ of justice. A sheriff says copartner won't be with the other inmates⁶ but he will be treated as a normal prisoner otherwise.

And from Chicago the Cook County Medical examiner is now working to determine how long Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson's nephew had been dead when he was discovered on Monday. The body of 7-year-old Julian King was found in the back of an SUV in a Chicago neighborhood about 10 miles from his home. The discovery ended the search that began after Hudson's mother and brother were found shot to death on Friday. And Hudson identified his body.

We could see a record turnout for this presidential election just based on what we are seeing now. We've never seen this kind of early voting before. Officials say a million people have already voted in Georgia, another million in North Carolina, another million in Florida. Right now 30 states are allowing early voters to cast ballots⁷.

And those are the headlines at this hour. Do stay with CNN and CNN.com for more on these stories or other news of the day.