1. The US military says it killed a senior al-Qaeda official responsible for several high-profile kidnappings of Westerners. Official say Muharib Abdul-Latif al-Jubouri served as al-Qaeda's information minister in Iraq. He is believed to have been involved in the kidnapping of journalist Jill Carroll.

2. A bus carrying high school students to a band competition crashed into a tractor-trailer early Thursday, shutting down traffic on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Thirty people were injured. Most of the injuries were minor although the bus driver is in critical condition.

3. Wally Schirra, one of the original Mercury Seven astronauts died today of a heart attack. Shirra was the only astronaut to fly on NASA's Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs.

4. Britain's Queen Elizabeth II is in the US to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Jamestown. The Queen will also meet with students of Virginia Tech and attend the Kentucky Derby.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. high-profile: adj.
A high-profile person or a high-profile event attracts a lot of attention or publicity.

2. turnpike: n-count
A turnpike is a road, especially an expressway, which people have to pay to drive on. (mainly AM)