CNN 2009-03-29

Hello to you, I'm Creshon Saunders at CNN.com newsroom in Atlanta. Here is a look at what's happening NOW IN THE NEWS.

All right, folks, we're keeping our fingers crossed on this one but the Red River in Fargo North Dakota appears to have crested¹. Now the National Weather Service says the weather has peaked just shy of 41 feet, and that it is expected to go down by the end of next week. But that doesn't mean the area is completely out of danger, there are many spots along the river all the way into Canada, believe it or not, where they're concerned levees and dikes just may not hold.

All right, snow emergency warnings are posted in parts of Texas, Kansas, even Colorado right now. Here's what it looked like in Colorado just yesterday. More than a foot of snow has already fallen around Denver. Colorado's governor declared a state of emergency and mobilized the National Guard.

Tornados² are in the forecast in the Southeast again today. This funnel³ cloud was spotted⁴ over Interstate 95 yesterday. The National Weather Service is now confirming two tornados touched down in North Carolina Friday. Storm damage is quite evident in nearby Robeson County; dozens of homes were damaged in and around the Greater Fieldville area. Fortunately, only a few reported injuries.

Many people are angry over Pope Benedict saying condoms do not prevent HIV. The Pope made the comments just last week during a trip to Cameroon. France, Germany and Belgium governments and UN aid agencies have criticized the Pope's remarks. Online groups have pledged to send condoms to the Vatican. The Pope says reliance on condoms distracts from the need for proper sex education.

Meanwhile President Obama has a new plan for Afghanistan, the president laid out details yesterday of a plan to defeat al-Qaeda terrorists in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. It calls for 4,000 new troops focusing on training Afghanistan's army and police force. It also calls for increased aid. Now Pakistan's president also praised the new plan this morning. President Obama committed 17,000 more troops to Afghanistan last month. The Pentagon says those additions will bring the total for US troops in the country to more than 60,000.

Those are the headlines this hour. For more on these stories and other news of the day, CNN is your source online, on TV, even when you on the go.

1 crested   

adj.有顶饰的，有纹章的，有冠毛的v.到达山顶（或浪峰）( crest的过去式和过去分词 )；到达洪峰，达到顶点

参考例句：

• a great crested grebe 凤头䴙䴘
• The stately mansion crested the hill. 庄严的大厦位于山顶。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 tornados   

n.龙卷风，旋风( tornado的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• And the national weather service reports several tornados touch down. 国家气象中心报告预测龙卷风将来袭。 来自互联网
• They had stock footage of lightning, tornados, and hurricanes. 他们存有关于闪电、龙卷风和飓风的电影胶片。 来自互联网

3 funnel   

n.漏斗；烟囱；v.汇集

参考例句：

• He poured the petrol into the car through a funnel.他用一个漏斗把汽油灌入汽车。
• I like the ship with a yellow funnel.我喜欢那条有黄烟囱的船。

4 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。