CNN 2009-04-29

Hello from the CNN Center here in Atlanta. I'm Melissa Long. It's Tuesday, April 28th. And here are some of the headlines that are making news today.

 New concerns that the swine flu is spreading more easily among people. The World Health Organization raising its alert level but hasn't declared a global pandemic. It says containment¹ is impossible because the virus has spread to several countries. Dozens of confirmed cases are in the U. S.

It's too soon for us to say what the spectrum² will be in this country, and I fear that as we continue to look for cases, we are gonna see cases in this country that are more severe, individuals who are hospitalized and I would not be surprised if we see deaths in this country. 

 The White House has apologized for flying a presidential plane and fighter jets low over New York and New Jersey³. It was just for a photograph but some people panicked and ran out of buildings.

I just saw a plane all of a sudden and think it was just coming, it was looked like it was coming right towards our building. And at first you know, we didn't understand what it was and all of a sudden then you saw it was like a spot underneath⁴ the wing and then we realized it was a jet fighter that was underneath the thing. But it made its major embankment that's why I was like, you know I'm out of here.

The president was not on board. He is said to be furious, the director of the White House Military Office is now taking the blame.

A crew member on the Maersk Alabama is suing his employers over this month's pirate attack. Richard Hicks is the ship's head cook who says the company has knowingly put the crew in danger by sending them into pirate-infested waters without enough protection. He is now asking for at least 75, 000 dollars and better safety for the ships.

 It took just hours for same sex-marriage to become a reality in Iowa, several couples held weddings immediately after getting a marriage license⁵, Iowa becoming the third state to allow same sex-marriages when the State Supreme⁶ Court ruling went into effect yesterday. Opponents want to amend⁷ the state constitution to overturn the court ruling but that could take years.

Jay Leno is back on the air last night and that's after an overnight stay at a hospital last week. Leno was hospitalized with the high fever, of course, he left off the whole thing.

 I'll tell you some, Have you ever slept in a hospital? I spent the night. I was there for 24 hours, I had a horrible dream that I couldn't breathe. I felt like I was suffocating⁸. Then I woke up and realized oh Conan was holding a pillow over my face. I said Hey, hey. Who is that! Hey ...I am not a medicine; I don't understand the medicines they give you. Like, while I was there, the doctors gave me a couple of shots in the rear end. I didn't feel any better, but afterwards, I hit two home runs.

 Nice to have Jay back on the air. You are up-to-date. Be sure to stay with CNN and CNN.com 24/7 for all the news of develops today.

1 containment   

n.阻止，遏制；容量

参考例句：

• Your list might include such things as cost containment,quality,or customer satisfaction.你的清单上应列有诸如成本控制、产品质量、客户满意程度等内容。
• Insularity and self-containment,it is argued,go hand in hand.他们争论说，心胸狭窄和自我封闭是并存的。

2 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

3 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

4 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

5 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

6 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。

7 amend   

vt.修改，修订，改进；n.[pl.]赔罪，赔偿

参考例句：

• The teacher advised him to amend his way of living.老师劝他改变生活方式。
• You must amend your pronunciation.你必须改正你的发音。

8 suffocating   

a.使人窒息的

参考例句：

• After a few weeks with her parents, she felt she was suffocating.和父母呆了几个星期后，她感到自己毫无自由。
• That's better. I was suffocating in that cell of a room.这样好些了，我刚才在那个小房间里快闷死了。