美联社新闻一分钟 2007-01-21（在线收听）

1. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi accuses President Bush of rushing more troops to Iraq saying he knows Congress won't cut off funding for them once they're in the war zone. But the White House denies the claims and describes Pelosi's words as “poisonous”.

2. Winter is again bearing down on the nation's midsection. More than 100,000 homes and businesses in the region are still in the dark from earlier blast of cold wet weather. Some areas in the southern Plains could get an additional foot of snow and sleet this weekend.

3. Bill Richardson hopes to become the first Hispanic president. New Mexico's governor is expected to file papers to create a presidential exploratory committee. That's according to several officials with knowledge of his political plans.

4. Denny Doherty, one quarter of the 1960's folk-rock group, the Mamas and the Papas, died Friday. His sister says the singer-songwriter died at his home after a short illness. Denny Doherty was 66.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. rush : VERB
If you rush someone or something to a place, you take them there quickly.

2. sleet : N-UNCOUNT
Sleet is rain that is partly frozen.

3. Hispanic : ADJ
A Hispanic person is a citizen of the United States of America who originally came from Latin America, or whose family originally came from Latin America.

4. folk-rock : NOUN
A variety of popular music combining elements of rock 'n' roll and folk music.

5. singer-songwriter : N-COUNT
A singer-songwriter is someone who writes and performs their own songs, especially popular songs.