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cnn 2009-07-23
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Hi there! Thanks for joining us. I'm Virginia Cha at the cnn center in Atlanta with a look at what's happening NOW IN THE NEWS. (www.hXen.com)
President Obama is expected to make a big push for overhauling the health care system at his news conference tonight. Some Democrats meantime are actually grumbling. They say they want him to weigh in more on details that haven't been worked out yet. The president has been putting more pressure on Republicans. He says health care reform is closer than ever before.
More legal trouble for outgoing Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. A preliminary state report says Palin may have violated state ethics laws by letting supporters set up a legal defense fund to help her battle ethics complaints. Palin has cited the time and money needed to fight a flood of ethics complaints as a major reason for why she's stepping down.
Pot will help pay a city's bills for the first time in this country. Voters in cash-strapped Oakland, California okayed a tax on medical marijuana yesterday. County officials say about eighty percent of voters approved it. One critic says it's wrong to use a drug to pay down the state's debts. Medical marijuana is legal in California.
Millions of people got to see the light show of a lifetime. The longest total eclipse of the sun this century put large parts of Asia in the dark. It lasted about five to six minutes enough to make temperatures go down.
Those are the headlines for you this hour. Stay with cnn for more on those stories and all your other news of the day.
Pot is sometimes used to refer to the drugs cannabis and marijuana. (INFORMAL)
If a person or organization is cash-strapped, they do not have enough money to buy or pay for the things they want or need.