CNN 2008-06-12

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Hello, I am Melissa Long at the CNN Center here in Atlanta one o'clock in the afternoon Eastern time. And here's a look at what's happening NOW IN THE NEWS.

Two hundred people are out of their homes in Cedar¹ Rapids, Iowa after fears that flood waters could crest² their banks. To the north in Cedar Falls, a levee feared to burst looks like it's holding strong. Dozens are sandbagging and strengthening that levee. A river also has yet to spill its banks, but it is rising, and that could spell trouble for the residents in this community in Des Moines, Iowa. Forecasters are expecting more rain in the nation's midsection throughout the week.

The west has a different problem. It's actually lack of water. Firefighters in California could really use some (to) help to battle this wildfire near Stockton. Heavy winds in the area are hampering³ efforts to get that fire under control. The fire has damaged or destroyed roughly 30 homes in the area. Up to 21 were damaged in nearby Palermo, California.

Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain are talking about economics on the campaign trail. Senator Obama held a town hall meeting in Chicago today as part of his two-week economic swing. The Democratic senator talked about problems like gas and grocery prices, also credit cards in the credit card industry. McCain says he doesn't expect gas prices to drop before the November election. The Republican senator thinks prices could actually go higher. McCain says there's "strong and justifiable⁴ emotion" about oil companies' record profits.

Pakistan is outraged⁵ over an attack that it says undercuts the very core of what it calls "cooperation in the war on terror". Pakistani officials say a US airstrike killed 11 of its paramilitary troops in disputed border region with Afghanistan, calling the attack cowardly and unprovoked. The US says it was in hot pursuit of suspected terrorists in the region.

"Seven, six, five, four, three, two. Engines start! One, zero and lift off of the Delta⁶ Rocket carrying GLAST, a gamma-ray telescope."

A new eye in the sky is heading up into space. A spacecraft carrying a high power telescope blasted off from Florida's Cape⁷ Canaveral just last hour. The telescope is designed to study cosmic gamma-rays. Gamma-rays are created by some of the mysteries of space like supermassive black holes and colliding neutron⁸ stars. A natural physics lesson for the day.

Those are the headlines at this hour. Do stay with CNN for more on these stories or other news of the day.