美国有线电视 CNN 2008-12-21

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Hello to you, I'm Creshon Saunders at the CNN. com newsroom in Atlanta. Here is a look at what's happening NOW IN THE NEWS.

"Folks, don't drive if you don't have to. " A message from the Minnesota  DOT to residents in the southwestern part of the state  Saturday afternoon. Snow and high winds have been blasting the Midwest for days now, and officials say the combination is making for dangerous driving conditions. Meantime, warnings of blinding snow and near zero temperatures for residents in Washington State. A blizzard¹ warning was issued for the area Saturday afternoon.

Canada is chipping in to help out struggling US automakers. The Canadian government will provide about 3. 3 billion dollars to the struggling companies. It's part of a pledge the Canadian government made to provide 20% of whatever was offered by the US government to automakers. Prime Minister Stephen Harper also made a point to say the aid is not a blank check, saying conditions will be attached.

Iraqi lawmakers have rejected the first draft of a bill that would extend the stay of foreign troops in their country. The bill takes up when a UN mandate² on coalition³ troop withdrawal⁴ ends, it would extend the stay for some troops like British forces until after December 31st. Now last month, the US reached an agreement, keeping its forces in the country until June 2009 where a partial withdrawal will begin, ending in a total withdrawal by the end of 2011.

Meantime, a big boost to US troop levels in Afghanistan come 2009. US Joint⁵ Chief of Staff Mike Mullen says the US plans to deploy⁶ between 20, 000 and 30, 000 additional US troops to Afghanistan by the summer of 09. The troops come to bolster⁷ existing forces and help combat rising insurgent⁸ violence.

It took about 25 seconds for the 24-year-old RCA Dome⁹ to become a heaping pile of rubble¹⁰ this morning. Did you see that? The former stadium of the Indianapolis Colts was brought down with some 800 explosive charges. The site is being cleared for an expansion of the Indiana Convention Center. The Colts moved to the new Lucas Oil Stadium this season.

Those are the headlines this hour. For more on these stories and other news of the day, CNN is your source, online, on TV, even when you're on the go.