CNN 2009-05-02

From the CNN Center here in Atlanta, I'm Melissa Long. It's Friday, May 1st. Here's a look at some of the stories making news at this hour.

Leaders in Hongkong are reporting the first case of swine flu. They say the Mexican citizen flew to the region yesterday. If the World Health Organization confirms the diagnosis¹ , it would be the first case of H1N1 in Asia. The patient is now isolated² in a hospital.

Supreme³ Court Justice David Souter says he always prefered his native New Hampshire to D.C.. And our legal sources, tell CNN that Souter will inform his colleagues today that  he's retiring from what he's called the world's best job in the world's worst city. He'll probably leave in June when the court finishes up for the summer. Analysts⁴ are already speculating on who will fill his seat.

The balance on the court will probably not shift a great deal. Souter has become a part of the liberal wing. Obama will appoint someone who will vote much the same way, but new people always change the court and a new liberal justice, perhaps a woman, perhaps an African-American, perhaps the first Hispanic on the court, really could change the court in a, in subtle but real way.

Cold case investigators⁵ believe they've tracked down a serial⁶ killer⁷ from decades ago. Yesterday Los Angeles police announced that 72-year-old John Floyd Thomas Jr. was likely behind the murders of as many as 30 women between 1955 and 1978. He's in custody⁸ charge so far with two of the killings⁹. A criminal justice expert says Thomas must be smart of avoiding being caught for so long.

If he didn't have that certain cunning, that criminal savoirfaire, if you will, we would caught him decades ago. But there is a small group of serial offenders¹⁰ who have that, that street smarts to avoid the cops and to stay at large for decades so they could assemble a body count of dozens.

And a famous Colonel helped the City of Chattanooga, Tennessee to fix potholes¹¹ . The work's been done thanks to a donation from KFC restaurants. Chattanooga is one of four cities to receive donations for the repairs but there is a catch. The potholes have to be stamped, refreshed by KFC.

You're up-to-date. It's Friday, May 1st . Do stay with CNN and CNN.com for more on these stories or other news that develops today.

Body count refers to the total number of people killed in a particular event. In combat, the body count is often based on the number of confirmed kills, but occasionally only an estimate.

1 diagnosis   

n.诊断，诊断结果，调查分析，判断

参考例句：

• His symptoms gave no obvious pointer to a possible diagnosis.他的症状无法作出明确的诊断。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做一次彻底的调查分析。

2 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

3 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

4 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

5 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 serial   

n.连本影片，连本电视节目；adj.连续的

参考例句：

• A new serial is starting on television tonight.今晚电视开播一部新的电视连续剧。
• Can you account for the serial failures in our experiment?你能解释我们实验屡屡失败的原因吗？

7 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

8 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

9 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

10 offenders   

n.冒犯者( offender的名词复数 )；犯规者；罪犯；妨害…的人（或事物）

参考例句：

• Long prison sentences can be a very effective deterrent for offenders. 判处长期徒刑可对违法者起到强有力的威慑作用。
• Purposeful work is an important part of the regime for young offenders. 使从事有意义的劳动是管理少年犯的重要方法。

11 potholes   

n.壶穴( pothole的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Potholes are also home to tiny desert animals. 洞穴也是弱小动物的家。 来自互联网
• If you're going to enjoy the good times, you've certainly got to deal with some potholes. 如果要享受甜美的胜利果实，当然要应付这些战绩不佳的指责压力。 来自互联网