CNN news 2009-02-09 加文本

Hi everyone ,I'm Asieh Namdar at the cnn.com newsroom in Atlanta, here is a look at what's happening in NOW IN THE NEWS.

The death toll from the wildfires burning in southeastern Australia has risen to 96.Officials say heavy winds fanned the flames with frightening speed; nearly 650 homes have been scorched. Police are trying to determine if two of the fires were set deliberately.

Iranian media reports former President Mohammad Khatami has announced he will run in the June presidential elections. Today's announcement ends weeks of speculation. Khatami is considered a reformist and overwhelmingly won the presidency in 1997 but he couldn't bring about religious and democratic freedoms because of strong opposition from the country's religious establishment. Khatami was succeeded by current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad four years ago.

The Senate is closer to a vote on a roughly $800-billion stimulus package but the job is not over yet. Senators worked overtime this weekend debating what to keep in and out. Democrats made some compromises that brought a handful of Republicans onboard. The Senate meets again tomorrow and that key crucial vote could happen on Tuesday.

Vice President Joe Biden is heading back to Washington after his first overseas trip as VP. He laid out the Obama administration's new foreign policy vision at a security conference in Germany this weekend. A top Russian official calls the Vice President's stance on major nuclear issues and relations with Russia quote "very positive".

Boston police have arrested the street artist to create the famous red white and blue "Hope" portrait of President Barack Obama.38-year-old Shepard Fairey allegedly painted graffiti on two Boston area sites and faces charges of property damage. Fairey is accused of copyright infringement by the Associated Press who claims his "Hope" portrait is based on a 2006 AP photograph. Fairey's lawyer says the artist is protected under fair use laws.

And those are the headlines this hour. For more on these stories and other news of the day, cnn is your source online, on TV, or when you are on the go. (www.hxen.net)