CNN 2009-09-30

Hello everyone, I'm Catherine Callaway at the CNN center, with a look at what's happening NOW IN THE NEWS.

A suspect in the 9/11 anniversary bomb plot is in Federal Court today. Najibula Zazi is facing charges that he conspired¹ to use weapons of mass destruction. Authorities say that Zazi and two other men stockpiled beauty products with ingredients that can be used to make homemade bombs. They were allegedly targeting mass transit² in the New York City area.

Four teenagers have now been charged with first-degree murder in the gruesome beating death of a 16-year-old Chicago boy. One suspect has already admitted to jumping on the boy's head while he was lying on the ground. Witnesses say the 16-year-old Darrin Albert was a bystander at a street brawl³ when he was hit over the head with a boy.

President Obama meets with his national security team today to consider what to do about the troubled war in Afghanistan. The session comes as US commanders in Afghanistan are calling for thousands more troops. But public and Congressional doubts about the mission are deepening.

Floodwaters beginning to subside⁴ now in some areas of Manila after a weekend of torrential rain in the Philippines. A month worth of rain fell within a matter of hours in the Philippine capital on Saturday. 240 people were killed in the flooding, dozens more are still missing.

Swiss court says the director Roman Polanski has filed a motion, requesting to be released from detention⁵. The court says it will make a decision in the coming weeks. Such a ruling is subject to appeal which could lead to further delays in the case. Polanski was arrested over the weekend. The US is seeking his extradition⁶ on the charge of having sex with a 13-year-old girl back in the 70’s.

 And those are the headlines for you this hour. Stay with CNN for more on these stories and other news of the day.

1 conspired   

密谋( conspire的过去式和过去分词 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致

参考例句：

• They conspired to bring about the meeting of the two people. 他们共同促成了两人的会面。
• Bad weather and car trouble conspired to ruin our vacation. 恶劣的气候连同汽车故障断送了我们的假日。

2 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

3 brawl   

n.大声争吵，喧嚷；v.吵架，对骂

参考例句：

• They had nothing better to do than brawl in the street.他们除了在街上斗殴做不出什么好事。
• I don't want to see our two neighbours engaged in a brawl.我不希望我们两家吵架吵得不可开交。

4 subside   

vi.平静，平息；下沉，塌陷，沉降

参考例句：

• The emotional reaction which results from a serious accident takes time to subside.严重事故所引起的情绪化的反应需要时间来平息。
• The controversies surrounding population growth are unlikely to subside soon.围绕着人口增长问题的争论看来不会很快平息。

5 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

6 extradition   

n.引渡（逃犯）

参考例句：

• The smuggler is in prison tonight,awaiting extradition to Britain.这名走私犯今晚在监狱，等待引渡到英国。
• He began to trouble concerning the extradition laws.他开始费尽心思地去想关于引渡法的问题。