CNN 2009-07-11

Good morning, I'm Melissa Long here at the CNN Centre in Atlanta. It's Friday, July 10th. Here is a look at some of the stories that are happening NOW IN THE NEWS.

This morning President Obama and the G8 made a 15-billion-dollar promise to Africa. It was the last order of business at their summit in Italy. The US will donate about three billion dollars to an initiative to teach poor farmers how to grow more food and do it safely.

The latest military casualties punctuate¹ a deadly week for US troops across Afghanistan. A total of eleven troops died in attacks this week. The bodies of several of those killed in action arrived at Dover Air Force Base Thursday. 643 American troops have died in action in Afghanistan since operation Enduring Freedom started in 2001.

AIG is trying to prevent a new wave of backlash over paying out bonuses to its top executives. The Washington Post reports the company has asked the Obama Administration to approve millions of dollars in promised bonuses. The payments are scheduled to go out next week. AIG doesn't actually need approval. Because the payments are linked to contracts from last year before it received aid from the federal bailout funds. But the Post reports executives still are reluctant to pay without official approval. An earlier round of 2008 AIG employee bonuses drew widespread criticism earlier this year.

General Motors, um, officially emerging from bankruptcy² this morning. Yesterday, a judge allowed the automaker to sell off its most unaffordable brands, its dealerships and plants. This new company will be owned mostly by the government. The new company retains the Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC and Buick brands along with most of its overseas operations.

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

1 punctuate   

vt.加标点于；不时打断

参考例句：

• The pupils have not yet learned to punctuate correctly.小学生尚未学会正确使用标点符号。
• Be sure to punctuate your sentences with the correct marks in the right places.一定要在你文章句子中的正确地方标上正确的标点符号。

2 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。