CNN 2009-04-15

Hello everyone from the CNN Center here in Atlanta, I'm Catherine Callaway, and here is a look at what's happening NOW IN THE NEWS.

There have been two new pirate attacks. Somali pirates are holding a Lebanese cargo¹ ship in the Gulf² of Aden. A NATO spokesman says the ship was attacked by three or four speedboats. And in a rare overnight attack, Somali pirates hijacked³ the Greek-owned freighter MV Irene. That ship carries nearly two dozen Filipino crew members.

The Obama administration is loosening the rules to let Cuban-Americans travel to see relatives in Cuba more often and they can also send them more money. This is the first significant change in US policy toward Cuba in almost 50 years.

Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is due in court. He may enter a plea on racketeering and fraud charges. He is accused of trying to sell President Obama's former Senate seat.

Democratic Senate Candidate Al Franken has a message for his rival Norm Coleman: give it up. Yesterday, judges ruled against Coleman in the Minnesota Senate race. He is disputing Franken's 312-vote victory, but Coleman has ten days to appeal to the state Supreme⁴ Court, and after that he could appeal to the federal level. Last night, Franken said the win is his.

And music producer Phil Spector found guilty of second-degree murder in the shooting death of actress Lana Clarkson, Spector had no obvious reaction to the conviction yesterday in LA. His first trial ended with a deadlocked⁵ jury in 2007. The second jury deliberated 30 hours before reaching a verdict.

Stick with CNN.com 24/7 for news from around the world and we'll have updates for you right here throughout the day.

1 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

2 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

3 hijacked   

劫持( hijack的过去式和过去分词 )； 绑架； 拦路抢劫； 操纵（会议等，以推销自己的意图）

参考例句：

• The plane was hijacked by two armed men on a flight from London to Rome. 飞机在从伦敦飞往罗马途中遭到两名持械男子劫持。
• The plane was hijacked soon after it took off. 那架飞机起飞后不久被劫持了。

4 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。

5 deadlocked   

陷入僵局的；僵持不下的

参考例句：

• The plan deadlocked over the funds. 这个计划由于经费问题而搁浅了。
• The meeting deadlocked over the wage issue. 会议因工资问题而停顿下来。