CNN news 2007-09-05 加文本

cnn 2007-09-05



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From the cnn center in Atlanta, I'm Nicole Lapin. Here's a look at what's happening right NOW IN THE NEWS.

Adventurer and aviation record-breaker Steve Fossett is missing. Federal officials say that he and a small plane that he was flying have been missing since last night. An FAA spokesman says that apparently he didn't file a flight plan which is making the search for him even more difficult. Well, he took off yesterday morning, we do know that part, but he didn't return to the western Nevada ranch as he was scheduled to do. Fossett is famous for becoming the first person to fly solo all the way around the world in a balloon and then he was also the first person to fly a plane all around the world solo without ever refueling.

Meanwhile in Washington, a Senate committee is getting another progress report on Iraq. The US Government Accountability Office is now giving an independent assessment on those political and military benchmarks that we have been hearing so much about. The GAO says that the Iraqi government has fully met 3 of the 18 benchmarks and then partially met 4 and then showed no headway for the remaining 11 benchmarks. And the news has already wrangled some Iraq war veterans who were attending, as you see right there, today's hearing but they were doing so to protest the war.

And big news about Hurricane Felix. It has lost some of its punch. It is now still strong but it's now at Category 2 storm with 100-mile-an-hour winds. Now Felix has barreled all across the Nicaraguan, Honduran water as a potentially catastrophic Category 5 hurricane. Winds are so strong that they pulled metal roofs off the buildings. Here are some of the scenes. The major concern right now is flooding and mudslides. 14,000 people were also evacuated from Nicaragua and Honduras before Felix ever came onshore. It has been difficult to get any sort of damage report though from the region because the phones and the power lines are simply out in some of those areas. Hurricane Dean hit the Caribbean, you probably remember the Yucatan Peninsula just last month also as a Category 5 hurricane. But this is the first time in recorded history that two Category 5 storms have made landfall in the same season.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people are without any sort of power again today as the heat wave keeps scorching southern California. Temperatures reached triple digits for the 7th straight day yesterday. And some forecasters say L.A. probably won't get to the triple digits again today. The hot weather is being blamed for the deaths of an elderly couple we just heard found in their San Fernando Valley apartment.

And other news across America right now. One of the two young sisters who plunged down on an unmarked mine shaft on Saturday still remains in serious condition at a Las Vegas hospital. 10-year-old Casie Hicks was riding with her 13-year-old sister Rikki Howard and their dad on Saturday. Now the girls fell all the way down a 125-foot pit. Early on Sunday Rikki was found dead, Casie was alive, but she was badly hurt. Well, now the state vows to prevent accidents like this one from ever happening again. We'll keep you posted with that one.

But for now, you are up-to-date. cnn is always your source from the latest headlines, whether you’re watching with us online, watching on TV or watching on your cellphone. Thanks so much for watching. Take care.