CNN 2009-08-19

Good morning, I'm Melissa Long here at the CNN center in Atlanta. It's a Tuesday, it’s the 18th of August, here’s a look at some of the stories that are happening NOW IN THE NEWS.

We may see more fireworks tonight. Health care town hall meetings are set in Massachusetts and Illinois. Right now, some Democrats¹ are hammering the president because they say he’s backing off a key piece of his health care plan. There are concerns that the White House may abandon the fight for a public health insurance option. Many Republicans just don’t want the government involved in health care and for some Democrats, that option is a must.

"If we don’t have a public plan, then we're leaving it up to the insurance companies to somehow get up one morning and say, OK, I wanna make less profit, I wanna have less overhead, I wanna bring down cost on our own. That's not gonna happen."

"It’s a deal breaker because the whole idea behind health care reform, is to bring down the cost. We cannot bring down the cost unless there is a public option that will create competition."

Today president Obama is taking a break from publicly pitching his plan for health care reform.

Hurricane Bill now gaining strength in the Atlantic, the good news, it’s still hundreds of miles from land, but the Category 2 storm with winds of 100 miles an hour, could grow to become a major hurricane within the next day or two. It’s also on track to graze Bermuda by the end of the week.

A two-year-old boy and an 11-month-old girl have been found after being kidnapped at gun-point in Arizona. They appeared to be OK. Phoenix² police are now looking for four suspects. They say a group of armed men burst into a home and took the children after claiming to be the police. Officers don’t think the children’s mother knows the suspects.

An alleged³ hacker⁴, who’s already in jail, is at the center of the biggest credit card theft case in US history. Prosecutors⁵ say Albert Gonzalez stole data from more than 130 million credit and debit⁶ cards from some major retailers⁷. He’s currently facing similar charges in two other cases.

Now, sex or sleep? What do you want? Which one? Which is your answer? According to a survey, it's split almost 50-50. The study was commissioned by Westin Hotels promoting their Heavenly Bed. They found that 51% of people preferred a night's sleep to some hanky-panky. Uh, the survey also found that 60% of travelers say their PDA has kept them from getting a good night's sleep, meaning your personal data organizer, you know, digital gadget⁸, not public display of affection(abbreviated PDA-与前面提到的PDA一语双关). Again that new research from the Heavenly Bed's Westin Hotel.

Those are the headlines for you this hour. Do stay with CNN and CNN.com for more on these stories or other news that develops today.

1 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》

2 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

3 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

4 hacker   

n.能盗用或偷改电脑中信息的人，电脑黑客

参考例句：

• The computer hacker wrote that he was from Russia.这个计算机黑客自称他来自俄罗斯。
• This site was attacked by a hacker last week.上周这个网站被黑客攻击了。

5 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

6 debit   

n.借方，借项，记人借方的款项

参考例句：

• To whom shall I debit this sum?此款应记入谁的账户的借方？
• We undercharge Mr.Smith and have to send him a debit note for the extra amount.我们少收了史密斯先生的钱，只得给他寄去一张借条所要欠款。

7 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

8 gadget   

n.小巧的机械，精巧的装置，小玩意儿

参考例句：

• This gadget isn't much good.这小机械没什么用处。
• She has invented a nifty little gadget for undoing stubborn nuts and bolts.她发明了一种灵巧的小工具用来松开紧固的螺母和螺栓。