CNN 2009-07-31

I'm Nicole Lapin at the CNN center in Atlanta. Here's your NOW IN THE NEWS update.

Thousands of mourners in Tehran converged¹ on the graveside of Neda Agha Soltan town. The woman who was killed and became really a symbol of Iran's post election protests. Witnesses say that the government militia² beat people with batons³ and tried to clear demonstrators and mourners. Today marks the 40th day since her death which marks the last day of mourning for Shiite Muslims.

The commissioner⁴ of the Boston police department has personally apologized to Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates for racist⁵ emails sent out by one of his officers. Uh, Officer Justin Barrett, now sent out a mass email in which he used a racial slur⁶ in reference to the professor. Yesterday he apologized, though, for the language he used but denied he's in fact a racist. He has been suspended and faces a termination hearing next week.

Well, Gates, Cambridge, Massachusetts police Sergeant⁷ James Crowley and President Obama will have that much hyped get-together⁸ at the White House this evening. Gates's arrest, of course, sparked a lot of discussion about race and police attitudes toward African-Americans. The White House hopes tonight's meeting really demonstrates that despite all that has happened since the arrest, people can still sit and discuss sensitive issues without being uncivil.

And Michael Jackson's mother Katherine Jackson will get full custody⁹ of Jackson's three kids. A source close to the case tells CNN that Debbie Rowe, the mother of Jackson's two oldest children, agreed not to challenge the Jackson family for custody. That source also says that Rowe will not receive any money in exchange for her actions.

Former Enron chief, Jeffrey Skilling is scheduled to be resentenced today. Skilling originally received a 24-year prison sentence. That sentence was vacated by a federal appeals court which ruled that the trial court had imposed a harsher sentence than Skilling deserved. Skilling was convicted of fraud in connection with the collapse¹⁰ of Enron.

Those are the headlines at this hour. For more on those stories and other news of the day, CNN is always your source whether you're watching with us online, watching on TV or watching on your cell phone.

1 converged   

v.（线条、运动的物体等）会于一点( converge的过去式 )；（趋于）相似或相同；人或车辆汇集；聚集

参考例句：

• Thousands of supporters converged on London for the rally. 成千上万的支持者从四面八方汇聚伦敦举行集会。
• People converged on the political meeting from all parts of the city. 人们从城市的四面八方涌向这次政治集会。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

3 batons   

n.（警察武器）警棍( baton的名词复数 )；（乐队指挥用的）指挥棒；接力棒

参考例句：

• There were many riot policemen with batons. 有许多带警棍的防暴警察。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Chinese police fight? Number one is a person with batons to fight! 满街飘的中国国旗，是一个老华侨在事发时那出来分给大家的，很感动，真的，从来一向多一事不如少一事的中国人今天团结到一起站出来反抗。 来自互联网

4 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

5 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

6 slur   

v.含糊地说；诋毁；连唱；n.诋毁；含糊的发音

参考例句：

• He took the remarks as a slur on his reputation.他把这些话当作是对他的名誉的中伤。
• The drug made her speak with a slur.药物使她口齿不清。

7 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

8 get-together   

n.(使)聚集；(使)集合

参考例句：

• Well,Miss Huang,we are planning to have a casual get-together.嗯，黄小姐，我们打算大家小聚一番。
• Will you help me prepare for the get- together of the old classmates?你能否帮我为这次老同学聚会做好准备工作？

9 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

10 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。