CNN 2009-02-09

Hi everyone ,I'm Asieh Namdar at the CNN.com newsroom in Atlanta, here is a look at what's happening in NOW IN THE NEWS.

The death toll¹ from the wildfires burning in southeastern Australia has risen to 96.Officials say heavy winds fanned the flames with frightening speed; nearly 650 homes have been scorched². Police are trying to determine if two of the fires were set deliberately³.

Iranian media reports former President Mohammad Khatami has announced he will run in the June presidential elections. Today's announcement ends weeks of speculation⁴. Khatami is considered a reformist and overwhelmingly won the presidency⁵ in 1997 but he couldn't bring about religious and democratic freedoms because of strong opposition⁶ from the country's religious establishment. Khatami was succeeded by current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad four years ago.

The Senate is closer to a vote on a roughly $800-billion stimulus⁷ package but the job is not over yet. Senators worked overtime⁸ this weekend debating what to keep in and out. Democrats⁹ made some compromises that brought a handful of Republicans onboard. The Senate meets again tomorrow and that key crucial vote could happen on Tuesday.

Vice¹⁰ President Joe Biden is heading back to Washington after his first overseas trip as VP. He laid out the Obama administration's new foreign policy vision at a security conference in Germany this weekend. A top Russian official calls the Vice President's stance on major nuclear issues and relations with Russia quote "very positive".

Boston police have arrested the street artist to create the famous red white and blue "Hope" portrait of President Barack Obama.38-year-old Shepard Fairey allegedly painted graffiti on two Boston area sites and faces charges of property damage. Fairey is accused of copyright infringement¹¹ by the Associated Press who claims his "Hope" portrait is based on a 2006 AP photograph. Fairey's lawyer says the artist is protected under fair use laws.

And those are the headlines this hour. For more on these stories and other news of the day, CNN is your source online, on TV, or when you are on the go.

1 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

2 scorched   

烧焦，烤焦( scorch的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（植物）枯萎，把…晒枯； 高速行驶； 枯焦

参考例句：

• I scorched my dress when I was ironing it. 我把自己的连衣裙熨焦了。
• The hot iron scorched the tablecloth. 热熨斗把桌布烫焦了。

3 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

4 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

5 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

6 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

7 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

8 overtime   

adj.超时的，加班的；adv.加班地

参考例句：

• They are working overtime to finish the work.为了完成任务他们正在加班加点地工作。
• He was paid for the overtime he worked.他领到了加班费。

9 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

11 infringement   

n.违反；侵权

参考例句：

• Infringement of this regulation would automatically rule you out of the championship.违背这一规则会被自动取消参加锦标赛的资格。
• The committee ruled that the US ban constituted an infringement of free trade.委员会裁定美国的禁令对自由贸易构成了侵犯