美联社新闻一分钟 2008-06-17（在线收听）

1. Flood fears in the Midwest are now moving downriver. The Illinois Army National Guard is helping with sandbagging duties in Quincy. And about 100 miles downriver, evacuations are underway in Grafton. A total of five deaths have been linked to the floods here.

2. Al Gore says he's backing Barack Obama. And he says he'll do whatever he can to help the Illinois senator get to the White House. Gore says Obama has united a movement over the past year and a half.

3. A Missouri woman has pleaded not guilty in Los Angeles federal court to charges in a MySpace hoax. Fifty-nine-year-old Lori Drew allegedly helped create a MySpace account that purported to be for a 16-year-old boy. The account was used to send cruel messages to 13-year-old Megan Meier. Meier hanged herself at home in 2006.

4. Police in McAllen seized six Bengal tiger cubs they say may have been offered for sale. Authorities believe the tigers were going to be smuggled into Mexico. Officials say four of the tigers could fetch up to $5,000 each. They've been temporarily placed in a zoo about 60 miles away.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. purport to:

If you say that someone or something purports to do or be a particular thing, you mean that they claim to do or be that thing, although you may not always believe that claim.

2. fetch: v.

If something fetches a particular sum of money, it is sold for that amount.