CNN 2009-05-22

I’m Nicole Lapin at the CNN Center in Atlanta. Here is your NOW IN THE NEWS update.

President Obama is now backing down from his decision to eventually close the Guantanamo Bay detention¹ center in Cuba. In a speech at the National Archive, the president challenged critics who say that closing the center would make the US less secure. Mr. Obama also criticized the Bush administration for leaving office with the situation at Guantanamo unresolved.

I knew when I ordered Guantanamo closed that it would be difficult and complex. There are 240 people there who have now spent years in legal limbo². In dealing³ with this situation, we don’t have the luxury of starting from scratch. We are cleaning up something that is quite simply a mess.

In a speech right after the president’s, former Vice-president Dick Cheney defended the Bush administration’s actions on Guantanamo and enhanced interrogation techniques. Cheney says that those decisions and policies prevented more attacks on the United States.

When President Obama makes wise decisions, as I believe he has done in some respects on Afghanistan, and in reversing his plan to release incendiary photos, he deserves our support. And when he faults or mischaracterizes the national security decisions we made in the Bush years, he deserves an answer.

Three US soldiers are dead after an attack targeting a military patrol in Baghdad. Twelve Iraqi civilians⁴ were also killed in southern Baghdad’s Dora district. At least 25 people were wounded. The Iraqi Interior Ministry⁵ says a suicide bomber⁶ caused the blast while the US military says it was an IED, an improvised⁷ explosive device. The attack is one in a series of deadly strikes by terrorist groups in the recent days.

And suspended NFL quarterback who bankrolled the brutal⁸ dog fighting ring is back at home. Of course, we are talking Michael Vick here. He is in Virginia to serve out the last two months of prison sentence in home confinement⁹. He’s spent 23 months at a federal penitentiary¹⁰ in Kansas. The humane¹¹ society says it’s even had conversations with Vick’s representatives about possibly becoming a spokesman against dog fighting. We’ll wait and see on that.

But for now you are up to date. CNN is always your source for the latest headlines online, on TV or on your cellphone.

1 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

2 limbo   

n.地狱的边缘；监狱

参考例句：

• His life seemed stuck in limbo and he could not go forward and he could not go back.他的生活好像陷入了不知所措的境地，进退两难。
• I didn't know whether my family was alive or dead.I felt as if I was in limbo.我不知道家人是生是死，感觉自己茫然无措。

3 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

4 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

5 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

6 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

7 improvised   

a.即席而作的,即兴的

参考例句：

• He improvised a song about the football team's victory. 他即席创作了一首足球队胜利之歌。
• We improvised a tent out of two blankets and some long poles. 我们用两条毛毯和几根长竿搭成一个临时帐蓬。

8 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

9 confinement   

n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限

参考例句：

• He spent eleven years in solitary confinement.他度过了11年的单独监禁。
• The date for my wife's confinement was approaching closer and closer.妻子分娩的日子越来越近了。

10 penitentiary   

n.感化院；监狱

参考例句：

• He worked as a warden at the state penitentiary.他在这所州监狱任看守长。
• While he was in the penitentiary her father died and the family broke up.他坐牢的时候，她的父亲死了，家庭就拆散了。

11 humane   

adj.人道的，富有同情心的

参考例句：

• Is it humane to kill animals for food?宰杀牲畜来吃合乎人道吗？
• Their aim is for a more just and humane society.他们的目标是建立一个更加公正、博爱的社会。