CNN 2009-08-18

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Hi there! I'm Brooke Baldwin at the CNN center in Atlanta. And here's a look at what's happening NOW IN THE NEWS.

 A slow-starting Atlantic hurricane season is now rushing in and a few named storms are on our radar¹. Take a look here. Claudette came ashore², as the tropical storm in the Florida Panhandle early this morning now downgraded to a depression. It is the first named storm of the season to actually make US landfall, leaving a lot of rain in her wake. Hurricane Bill, a stronger storm, is churning through the Atlantic right now, and Bill could become a major hurricane a little later this week.

 More than a week after Typhoon Marakot struck the island, more than 30 countries and territories have pledged money, helicopters, medication and other supplies to help the island. The storm killed at least 123 people, and yesterday, US Marine³ Corps⁴ C-130 cargo⁵ plane flew into Taiwan just to unload plastic tarps for shelter. Also, the USS Denver is expected to arrive today with additional humanitarian⁶ aid and water purification capabilities⁷.

 It has been less contentious⁸ this morning, for Senator Allen Spector. He held a town hall meeting earlier today with veterans there in Philadelphia. In fact, many of the recent meetings about health care have seen very angry protests. Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki is joining the Senator today in Philadelphia at Drexel University.

 Hey! If you live in Chicago today, guess what? The city is shutting down to save a little bit of money. Well it's kind of shutting down. Here it's the first of three Reduced-Service days. What does that mean? Well here's what you won't get. No trash pickup⁹. No street sweeping¹⁰. City offices are closed and employees will not be paid. Local media in Chicago is reporting that this could save the city more than 8 million dollars over the course of three days. The other two are later in the year, and police and fire department certainly not shutting down. Those won't be affected¹¹.

 World Wrestling Entertainment CEO Linda Mcmahon is reportedly contemplating¹² a run for Senate in Connecticut next year, and WWE spokesman tells Hartford Courant newspaper that McMahon is considering a run for the Republican nomination¹³ for the seat currently held by Democrat¹⁴ Christopher Dodd. In addition to her WWE work, McMahon also serves on Connecticut's Board of Education.

 And those are some of the headlines this hour. Stay with CNN for more of those stories and other news throughout this Monday.

 Trap: a large heavy cloth or piece of thick plastic that water will not pass through, used to keep rain off things

 Contemplate: to think about something that you might do in the future