CNN 2009-09-02

Hi there, I’m Virginia Cha at the CNN center here in Atlanta, with a look at what’s happening NOW IN THE NEWS.

Fire still raging in California. The worst is in Los Angeles foothills. It's called station fire has burned more than 164 square miles right now. Dozens of buildings including a lot of homes have been destroyed. It is so hot and dry. Fire officials admit they have no chance in getting this fire contained at the moment. They're just doing whatever they can to save homes and lives.

Hurricane Jimena is nearing Category five status as it moves towards Baja peninsula in Mexico. Top sustained winds are nearing 155 miles an hour. Emergency workers are struggling to evacuate¹ thousands of people from that area.

It will be January before Massachusetts voters get achance to choose a successor to the late Senator Ted² Kennedy. But somestate lawmakers are pushing to change state law, allowing Governor Deval Patrick to name a temporary replacement³ until then. A public hearing is set for next week.

People in Illinois will have to pay extra to get a buzz or to satisfy their sweet tooth because the state is imposing⁴ some new taxes today on anything from candy and soft drinks to beer and liquor. The state says it needs money for schools and roads.Some taxpayers,not so happy.
"I think that is ridiculous to put a price increase that high on alcohol."
"It's just a tax on top of another tax on top of another tax. And it seems to me our government just keeps it bigger. And there's nothing stopping it."
These new taxes are expected to bring in about 115 million dollars a year.

And those are the headlines for you at this hour, stay with CNN for more on those stories and all the other news of the day.

1 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

2 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

3 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

4 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。