AP美联社一分钟新闻 2009-02-27（在线收听）

1. President Barack Obama is sending Congress a hard-choices budget that tops three trillion dollars and would increase the deficit to 1.75 trillion dollars by year's end. The plan would boost taxes on the wealthy and cut Medicare payments to insurance companies and hospitals. It also makes a 634-billion-dollar down payment on universal healthcare.

2. Top GM executives are returning to Washington today. The nation's biggest domestic car maker posted a 9.6-billion-dollar loss in the fourth quarter of 2008. Officials are asking for up to 30 billion dollars to avoid bankruptcy.

3. A new unemployment report says the number of laid-off Americans receiving unemployment benefits now tops 5.1 million. The bigger-than-expected numbers provide fresh evidence of a deepening recession. Last week was the fifth straight week the number of unemployed reached a new record high.

4. Fresh volcanic eruptions from a Chilean mountain top are forcing more evacuations. The 2700-foot volcano has been blowing its top for a week. The last 150 holdout residents have been relocated.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. Medicare:

a system by which the US government helps to pay for the medical treatment of old people

2. holdout:

A holdout is someone who refuses to agree or act with other people in a particular situation