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1. New violence across Iraq killed at least 40 people on Tuesday. Iraqi workers were the targets of shootings and car bombings from a Shiite mosque to a police station. Several workers were killed in drive-by shootings as they rode to work in Mosul and Baqouba.
2. Former Senator and Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen is being hailed by members of both parties. The one-time vice presidential candidate died Tuesday at his Houston home. He was 85.
3. Social Security numbers and other personal data belonging to millions of veterans were stolen from a home of a Veterans Affairs employee, but there is no evidence that the burglars have used the personal data. The VA is setting up a call center for vets who think the personal information might have been misused.
4. A dramatic escape from an apartment fire in Hamburg, Germany, and miraculously nobody was seriously injured. This videotape shows a mother and her son trapped on their balcony as fire raged behind them, but the two managed to jump to safety suffering only minor injuries.
WORDS IN THE NEWS
1. drive-by : adj
A drive-by shooting or a drive-by murder involves shooting someone from a moving car.
2. hail : verb
If a person, event, or achievement is hailed as important or successful, they are praised publicly.
e.g. Faulkner has been hailed as the greatest American novelist of his generation.
3. one-time : adj, also onetime
One-time is used to describe something such as a job, position, or role which someone used to have, or something which happened in the past. (JOURNALISM)
e.g. The legislative body had voted to oust the country's onetime rulers.
= former
4. Veterans Affairs
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet department of the United States government responsible for administering programs of veterans benefits for veterans, their families, and survivors. It is administered by the United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
5. call center : n-count
A department within a company or a third-party organization that handles telephone sales and/or service. Call centers use automatic call distributors (ACDs) to route calls to the appropriate agent.
6. vet : n-count
A vet is someone who has served in the armed forces of their country, especially during a war. (AM INFORMAL)
e.g. All three are Vietnam vets.
= veteran
7. misuse : verb
If someone misuses something, they use it incorrectly, carelessly, or dishonestly.
e.g. You are protected instantly if a thief misuses your credit card.
8. miraculous : adj
If you describe a good event as miraculous, you mean that it is very surprising and unexpected.
e.g. a miraculous escape
9. rage : verb
You say that something powerful or unpleasant rages when it continues with great force or violence.
e.g. Train services were halted as the fire raged for more than four hours.
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