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1. Enron founder Ken Lay and former Chief Executive Jeffrey Skilling will be sentenced September 11th. The two men were convicted today of conspiracy and securities and wire fraud in one of the biggest business scandals in U. S. history.
2. Power has been restored to train lines between New York and Washington. A power outage this morning stranded thousands of commuters on tracks and in sweltering tunnels, some for more than three hours.
3. International peacekeepers are trying to restore order in East Timor. Gun battles between former soldiers who were fired and government forces have killed at least 19 people and threatened to plunge the tiny nation into civil war.
4. And does it belong in the water or on the road? A German-made amphicar is making quite a splash in New Bern, North Carolina. The same engine powers the wheels and the propellers and there is no wait time at the drawbridge
WORDS IN THE NEWS
1. securities fraud
Civil securities fraud, also known as investment fraud, is a practice where investors are deceived and manipulated, resulting in theft. Recent examples of securities fraud are the Enron and Worldcom scandals. Both companies are guilty of theft of investors and defrauding the federal government with fraudulent tax reports.
2. wire fraud
A situation where a person concocts a scheme to defraud or obtain money based on false representation or promises. Fraud committed by means of electronic communication, as by telephone or modem.
3. outage : n-count
An outage is a period of time when the electricity supply to a building or area is interrupted, for example because of damage to the cables. (AM; in BRIT, use power cut)
e.g. A windstorm in Washington is causing power outages throughout the region.
4. strand : verb
If you are stranded, you are prevented from leaving a place, for example because of bad weather.
e.g. The climbers had been stranded by a storm.
5. sweltering : adj
If you describe the weather as sweltering, you mean that it is extremely hot and makes you feel uncomfortable.
6. plunge into : verb
If a person or thing is plunged into a particular state or situation, or if they plunge into it, they are suddenly in that state or situation.
e.g. The government's political and economic reforms threaten to plunge the country into chaos.
7. amphicar : n-count
The Amphicar was the only amphibious automobile ever mass-produced for sale to the public. The German vehicle was designed by Hanns Trippel, creator of the war-time Schwimmwagen and manufactured by the Quandt Group at Lübeck and at Berlin-Borsigwalde. Its name is a combination of "amphibious" and "car".
8. make a splash : phrase
If you make a splash, you become noticed or become popular because of something that you have done.
e.g. Now she's made a splash in the American television show `Civil Wars'.
9. power : verb
The device or fuel that powers a machine provides the energy that the machine needs in order to work.
e.g. The `flywheel' battery, it is said, could power an electric car for 600 miles on a single charge.
10. propeller : n-count
A propeller is a device with blades which is attached to a boat or aircraft. The engine makes the propeller spin round and causes the boat or aircraft to move.
e.g. a fixed three-bladed propeller
11. drawbridge : n-count
A drawbridge is a bridge that can be pulled up, for example to prevent people from getting into a castle or to allow ships to pass underneath it.
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