CNN 2009-03-07

Good morning, happy Friday to you from the CNN center in Atlanta, I'm Reggie Aqui. Thanks for checking in. Here is a quick look at what's happening IN THE NEWS.

The Labor¹ Department is reporting the nation's unemployment rate has now hit 8. 1%. That is the highest level we've seen in more than 25 years. The report states that employers slash² more than 650, 000 jobs in February. The job losses were widespread from manufacturing to construction, as well as business in professional services. Jobs are also the focus today for President Obama as he hits the road. The president will attend the swearing in of the new police officers in Columbus Ohio today. The president will attend the swearing-in of the new police officers in Columbus Ohio today. Those recruits received layoff³ notices less than six weeks ago but then their jobs were saved as a result of the president's stimulus⁴ package. We will have live coverage⁵ of that event beginning at 11am Eastern at CNN.com/Live.

A manhunt is underway in Ohio. Police in Cleveland say 33-year-old Davon Crawford may have killed his new wife and four children late last night. Crawford is believed to be armed. The children range in age from 3 to 14. A fifth child was wounded in the shootings.

The search for three missing boaters has shifted focus. Private boaters hoping to rescue the three men have scaled back their search and they now say it's a recovery effort. They say they want to bring closure to the families of Marquis Cooper, Corey Smith and William Bleakley. Their fishing boat overturned on Saturday and the Coast Guard rescued a fourth man Nick Schuyler earlier this week.

Comedian⁶ Robin⁷ Williams is in line for open heart surgery. Williams' publicist says he needs to have an aortic⁸ valve replacement⁹. She says Williams is canceling the rest of his national tour for his one man show. He'd already canceled four shows in Florida this week after complaining of shortness of breath.

It will be a short weekend for most of us. Set your clocks ahead one hour this Saturday for the start of Daylight Savings¹⁰ Time. Most at Arizona and Hawaii are the only states that don't make the change. Daylight Saving Time will end in November.

Please stick with us here at CNN.com for more news throughout the day. Of course we're gonna have your updates right here.

1 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

2 slash   

vi.大幅度削减；vt.猛砍，尖锐抨击，大幅减少；n.猛砍，斜线，长切口，衣衩

参考例句：

• The shop plans to slash fur prices after Spring Festival.该店计划在春节之后把皮货降价。
• Don't slash your horse in that cruel way.不要那样残忍地鞭打你的马。

3 layoff   

n.临时解雇，操作停止，活动停止期间，失业期

参考例句：

• Finally, prepare an explanation about what led to your layoff.最后，要准备好一套说辞来解释你被解雇的原因。
• Workers were re-employed after the layoff.在暂时解雇不久后工人们又被再度雇用了。

4 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。

5 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

6 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

7 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

8 aortic   

adj.大动脉的

参考例句：

• The arterial pulse pressure in aortic insufficiency is widened. 主动脉瓣闭锁不全时脉搏压变宽。 来自辞典例句
• Valvular heart disease, usually aortic and mitral insufficiency, can complicate a variety of systemic diseases. 瓣膜性心脏病，以主动脉瓣及二尖瓣闭锁不全为最常见，可使各种全身性疾病变得复杂。 来自辞典例句

9 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

10 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。