CNN 2009-10-29

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

At least 90 people are dead, and more than 200 others wounded in the wake of the attack in Northwest Pakistan. Official's saying it is the deadliest terror attack ever in the city of Peshawar. And most of the victims are reportedly women. And the Taliban is claiming responsibility for a bomb and a gun attack in the Afghan capital. This left at least five United Nations' workers dead. It comes ten days ahead of the country's presidential runoff, which the Taliban has vowed¹ to disrupt. A UN spokesman is calling the attack senseless and outrageous².

And the pilots who went off track for about 150 miles before they landed at the Minneapolis airport have now had their licenses³ revoked⁴. The FAA says the captain Timothy Cheney and first officer Richard Cole endangered the public while they were on a personal frolic in the cockpit. The pilots say that they lost track of time while they were working on their laptops. They denied drinking or falling asleep. The decision is effective immediately but the pilots do have ten days to appeal.

Washington area sniper John Allen Muhammad will be executed November 10th. Virginia officials made that announcement yesterday. They say that they gave him a choice about how he would die, but he didn't choose. So he will be given a lethal⁵ injection. Muhammad’s lawyers are asking for clemency⁶, claiming that he has severe mental illness.

Boy! was it a windy day in California Central Valley yesterday. Take a look at this, shot on a roadway there. At one point, people couldn't see much of anything. In fact, this isn't fog, it is indeed dust. And after a couple of truck drivers actually ran into each other, and the highway patrol decided⁷ to block that road for about a mile.

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

1 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

2 outrageous   

adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的

参考例句：

• Her outrageous behaviour at the party offended everyone.她在聚会上的无礼行为触怒了每一个人。
• Charges for local telephone calls are particularly outrageous.本地电话资费贵得出奇。

3 licenses   

n.执照( license的名词复数 )v.批准，许可，颁发执照( license的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Drivers have ten days' grace to renew their licenses. 驾驶员更换执照有10天的宽限期。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Jewish firms couldn't get import or export licenses or raw materials. 犹太人的企业得不到进出口许可证或原料。 来自辞典例句

4 revoked   

adj.[法]取消的v.撤销，取消，废除( revoke的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It may be revoked if the check is later dishonoured. 以后如支票被拒绝支付，结算可以撤销。 来自辞典例句
• A will is revoked expressly. 遗嘱可以通过明示推翻。 来自辞典例句

5 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

6 clemency   

n.温和，仁慈，宽厚

参考例句：

• The question of clemency would rest with the King.宽大处理问题，将由国王决定。
• They addressed to the governor a plea for clemency.他们向州长提交了宽刑的申辨书。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。