CNN 2008-04-09

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From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I am Nicole Lapin. Thanks so much for checking in with us today. Here is a look at what's happening NOW IN THE NEWS.

Law enforcement officers in West Texas have been searching a polygamist compound and now they have arrested a second man. He is charged with tampering¹ with physical evidence. You might recall that on Sunday, another man was arrested for interfering² with the duties of a public servant. Authorities return to the ranch³ today, searching for evidence of child abuse and underage marriage. Now so far, state authorities have taken temporary custody⁴ of more than 400 kids and are now questioning 130 women who voluntarily left.

And testifying before two Senate committees, General David Petraeus, there he is, says that the situation in Iraq has improved. He is also cautioning against pulling out troops after mid⁵ summer to allow for more time to review the situation. Now the number of US troops in Iraq is currently scheduled to drop from about 155 thousand to 140 thousand as the troops deployed⁶ in last year's so-called surge are removed.

And President Bush meanwhile honoring a Navy Seal who sacrificed himself to save the lives of three comrades. Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Monsoor has been posthumously⁷ awarded the Medal of Honor. Now his parents, as we see, accepted the medal at the White House this afternoon. The Navy Seal threw his own body on a grenade in Iraq nearly two years ago, saving three of his fellow comrades. And Monsoor is the first Navy Seal to receive an honor for this heroic action in Iraq.

There is uncertainty⁸ meanwhile, there is tension, there is fear in Zimbabwe ten days after presidential polls that produced no official results as of yet. A Farmer's union representative is now telling CNN that at least 60 white farmers have been forced off their land since Saturday. Opposition⁹ officials accused the ruling party of orchestrating a campaign of violence in rural areas. They say it's to intimidate¹⁰ opponents, essentially¹¹, of President Robert Mugabe right ahead of the run-off elections which appear to be quite likely. And meanwhile the High Court will resume hearing on that lawsuit¹² on Wednesday to force the release of the results.

Those "for sale" signs in front of homes that we see so often, aren't quickly turning into sale pending¹³ signs. The National Association of Realtors is now saying that pending home sales fell in February to the lowest number since the indexes were started in 2001. The chief economist¹⁴ from the industry group says that the decline, quote, "implies that we're not out of the woods as of yet".

Those are the headlines at this hour. For more on those stories and other news of the day, CNN is always your source whether you’re watching online, watching on television, or even when you’re watching on your cell phone. Thanks for watching.