CNN 2009-03-03

Good morning from the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Reggie Aqui. Thanks for checking in. Here is a look at what's happening right NOW IN THE NEWS.

We begin with that massive winter storm that has blasted the eastern seaboard, causing a lot of problems for commuters. Delta¹ Air Lines cancelled close to 300 flights today, most of them in or from Atlanta were closed to five inches of snow fell Sunday. Don't worry all of that has melt by now. Boston is facing the possibility of 15 inches of snow, while New York and Washington could see a foot of the flaky white stuff. Numerous schools are closed today because of the snow.

British banking² giant HSBC is cutting more than 6,000 US jobs. The announcement comes as HSBC posted a 70% drop in annual profits. Unlike other British banks, HSBC has not received any financial assistance from the government.

The US government says it will pump another 30 billion dollars into insurer AIG. The government has already given AIG 150 billion dollars, but the company posted a nearly 62-billion-dollar quarterly loss today which makes it the biggest in US history.

The Coast Guard right now is continuing to search for four people and their missing boat. Two of them played in the National Football League last year. Their fishing boat vanished off the Florida Gulf³ Coast this Saturday. Among the missing free-agent Corey Smith, and Oakland Raiders linebacker, Marques Cooper.

President Obama is expected to announce Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius as his nominee⁴ for health and human services secretary that will happen later today. Sebelius was first elected governor in Kansas in 2002. In 2005, Time magazine named her one of the nation's top five governors. The president originally tapped Tom Daschle for that post, but he pulled out, due to a controversy⁵ over bad taxes.

Freddie Mac's CEO is stepping down; David Moffett says his last day in the job will be March 13th. Moffett was named CEO just in September shortly after the federal government took over control of the mortgage lending giant in the midst of the housing crisis. Freddie Mac says they were now working with its regulatory overseer to find a successor.

Those are your headlines right now, please stick with us here at CNN.com live as we bring you the updates throughout the day.

1 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

2 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

3 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

4 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

5 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。