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1. President-elect Barack Obama keeps working on a list of foreign leaders, talking to Russia's president, both agreeing they should meet soon. Obama is also being slammed by Iran after saying it is "unacceptable" for the nation to develop nuclear weapons.

2. In Haiti, a death toll¹ from a school collapse² rises to at least 75 people with crews continuing the search for survivors³. The president of the country is blaming poor construction for the accident, including a lack of steel reinforcement.

3. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visits the West Bank town of Jenin. It used to be a militant⁴ stronghold. Now the town is calm with the deployment⁵ of Palestinian forces. Rice called it "a place of hope".

4. Hurricane Paloma is bearing down on Cuba--Category 4 storm that has farmers rushing to protect crops and livestock⁶. Earlier, the storm knocked out power across much of Grand Cayman Island.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. slam: v.

to criticize someone or something strongly - used especially in newspapers.

2. bear down: phr v.

bear down on sb/sth
to move quickly towards a person or place in a threatening way

3. livestock: n [plural, U]

animals such as cows and sheep that are kept on a farm

4. knock out: phr v.

to damage something so that it does not work.