CNN news 2009-04-02 加文本

Good morning. From the cnn center in Atlanta, I'm Reggie Aqui. Thanks for checking in. Here is what's happening right NOW IN THE NEWS.

We begin with protests that are heating up in the financial district of London. Thousands of protesters have gathered at the steps of the Bank of England--the UK's version of federal reserve and they're protesting globalization and calling for G-20 nations to do more to protect the environment. President Obama is meeting with other world leaders to discuss economic solutions. The President says we can only recover if we all work together.

President Obama met this morning in London with Russia's president. The two leaders talked about nuclear arms reduction. Negotiations to work out a new agreement on reducing nuclear arms will begin soon. This comes as Mr. Obama announced he is heading to Moscow in July .

The Justice Department is asking federal court to set aside the verdict and drop all charges against former senator Ted Stevens. The Alaska republican was convicted last October on charges of lying on financial disclosure forms in order to conceal gifts received from friends. But the Justice Department now admits that Stevens was not given access to notes that could have helped him during his trial.

The private sector lost some 742,000 jobs just last month. That's according to payroll processing from ADP. Meanwhile the latest company slashing jobs is 3M. The maker of scotch tape and post-it notes is cutting 1,200 positions globally. Although that number doesn't include some cuts made earlier this year. (www.hXen.com)

The largest federal tobacco tax increase ever takes effect today. It's going from 39 cents a pack to a dollar and one cent a pack. The extra revenue will help pay for President Obama's plan to expand health insurance for kids.

And that's what happening right NOW IN THE NEWS. Please stick with us 24/7 for news from all around the world. Of course we'll continue to have these updates right here throughout the day.