CNN 2012-02-14

 Our social media question this week was about sociology and a student at C P School was the first one to get it right. Nice work! I'm Carl Azuz. Let's get to today's headlines.

First up. We are looking at a huge deal that involves states, banks and the U.S. housing markets.A lot of experts say that the melt-down in the housing market was one of the main causes of the 2008 financial crisis.Part of the recession was still feeling the affects. Yesterday's deal is about foreclosures. That's when a lander takes back her home bacause a person who used to living there can't afford their monthly mortgage payments.States had accused landers of making some closures without following the proper procedures. This deal is a settlement for 26 billion dollars who has involved five of the country's biggest landers.They made this deal with Federal government and with 49 states.

Oklahoma made a separate deal with the banks. How does it work? Well if you are behind your mortgage payments,and you owe more money than your houses actually worth. This could lower those monthly payments, maybe make it easier for you to keep up. If your house was foreclosed on, you could be elligible for some money. Some critics say this deal doesn't go far enough though and while it could help some people most struggling home owners woo qualify for any of the money in the settlement.

Next up. The U.S. military is planning to let female troops serve closer to the frontlines. It's a changing policy that dates back to 1994 and originally said that women can't serve in units that are directly involved in combat.But Pentagon offials say reality doesn't match that policy now.Women have served in support positions like military police or medics that are ragulary ?away.More than 140 female troops lost their lives in Irap and Afghanistan. What the military plans to do now is open up around 14,000 jobs to female troops.Things like tank mechanics or crew members on missle launchers. They still won't be allowed in certain combat jobs but they will be able to serve closer to the frontlines. 

Nuclear power provides around 18% of electricity use in the United States. That number could get bigger. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission signed off on licenses¹ for two new reactors³ in the State of Georgia. They are expecting to cost around 14 billion dollars and to generate enough electricity to power a million homes.These are the firts nuclear reactor² licenses approved since 1978 that was a year before a nuclear accident in Pennsylvania.Could it say the design for the new reactors isn't safe enough? The companies that build them says they made improvements to make the reactors much safer than older ones. 

Is this Legit? A country that has sovereignty is free from any outside coutrol.Absolutely true. Sovereign countries make all of their own decisions.

Argentina and United Kingdom both claim they have sovereignty over a group of islands off the coast of South America. This is actually a debate that's been going on for 30 years now.It centers around the Falkland Islands which is smaller than the U.S. State of Connecdicut. Jim Clanzy looks at the tension in the past and the presents.

The Falkland Islands are located about 250 nauticle miles east off the coast of Latin America.So they are about 500 km due east of what is the country of Argentina.

Britain calls them the Falklands. Argentina calls them the Malvinas Islands. And there has been a long standing⁴ dispute over sovereignty. In 1982 there was another set of islands. It's South Georgia islands and a group of Argentinians went to those islands and planted a flag. It became a medium ?.

Well the military hunter that was in charge of Argentina, they invaded, they took over those islands.Britain went to war. And almost 900 people lost their lives.250 or more on the British side and 450 on the Argentine side. 

Why are these two islands back in the news? First of all it's the 30th anniversay of the war and Britain plans to commemerate it.Argentina is pressing its claims of sovereignty over the islands. At the same time it's rallying its neighbours to apply economic pressure on Britain. Third, we have the issue of oil.That is increasing everyone's interest. It is not proven how many reserves are there. But some say the resources are viable⁵ and others say they are substantial.

Prince Williams is there. Part of the ? told us a routined employment by his Royal Airforce Searching and Rescue Squadrum.The Duke of Cambridge's presence though is seen as provocative⁶ by many Latin American who feel this as a resurrection if you will of colonialism.They see the clear presence of the crown. Britain says it's not porvocative at all. What they really mean to do is commemerating those more than 250 people who lost their lives defending the Falkland Islands.

This isn't going to come to a conflict but could very well end up in an International course and before the United Nations. Once again, we have competing claims of sovereignty. It's a hugely popular and popular issue in all across Latin America.Argentina is seeking its allys bringing together the region to put economic pressure on Britain. The overwhelming majority of the islands' a few thousand residents are British and they want to remain British. And it is that righted self-determination that really fuels a lot of sentiments in London and beyond about the future of the Falkland Islands.  

1 licenses   

n.执照( license的名词复数 )v.批准，许可，颁发执照( license的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Drivers have ten days' grace to renew their licenses. 驾驶员更换执照有10天的宽限期。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Jewish firms couldn't get import or export licenses or raw materials. 犹太人的企业得不到进出口许可证或原料。 来自辞典例句

2 reactor   

n.反应器；反应堆

参考例句：

• The atomic reactor generates enormous amounts of thermal energy.原子反应堆发出大量的热能。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules.在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

3 reactors   

起反应的人( reactor的名词复数 )； 反应装置； 原子炉； 核反应堆

参考例句：

• The TMI nuclear facility has two reactors. 三哩岛核设施有两个反应堆。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• The earliest production reactors necessarily used normal uranium as fuel. 最早为生产用的反应堆，必须使用普通铀作为燃料。

4 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

5 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。

6 provocative   

adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的

参考例句：

• She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
• His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。