CNN 2008-08-10

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

The death toll 1 is rising in South Ossetia. The Russian Foreign Ministry 2 says at least 1500 people have died in Georgia. Russian forces have been launching air attacks against Georgian troops in the breakaway region of South Ossetia. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has said that Moscow sent troops into South Ossetia to force Georgia into a ceasefire. He says for that to happen, Georgia must withdraw its troops from there. The escalating 3 conflict stands to increase tension between Moscow and Washington because Georgia is a US ally. As the conflict continues, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has arrived near his country's border with Georgia.

An American man who was stabbed to death in Beijing and his wife have now been identified. Todd and Barbara Bachman were visiting an ancient Chinese landmark 4 when they were attacked by a man wielding 5 a knife. Barbara Bachman was wounded. Both are in-laws of the US men's volleyball's coach. The attacker, a 47-year Chinese factory worker, also stabbed a Chinese tour guide, and later jumped to his death. According to the US Embassy, the attack was an isolated 6 incident and apparently 7 unrelated to the Olympics.

He was a king of comedy. Bernie Mac died this morning at a Chicago area hospital where he was being treated for pneumonia 8. The fifty-year-old actor and comedian 9 suffered from a long-running inflammatory lung disease. But his publicist says this bout 10 with pneumonia was not related to that disease. The Bernie Mac Show won the prestigious 11 Peabody Award back in 2002. In a statement, actor George Clooney who starred with Mac in the Ocean's Eleven franchise 12 said: "The world just got a little less funny. "

All right, before you throw that burger on the grill 13, another E.coli warning today in a huge beef recall. Nebraska Beef Ltd. based in Omaha, Nebraska is recalling over a million pounds of its beef. So far at least 31 cases of E.coli poisoning have been linked to the meat. Some of the affected 14 product was sold to Whole Foods markets and some people in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts have already gotten sick. Whole Foods is recalling all fresh ground beef sold between June 2nd and August 6th. This recall comes just one month after the same company recalled over 5 million pounds of meat linked to dozens of other E.coli cases.

Republican presidential candidate John McCain stopped at the Iowa State Fair yesterday. McCain may have been in corn country, yet he reaffirmed his opposition 15 to subsidizing ethanol made from corn. Today he is in Las Vegas to address the Disabled American Veterans Convention. Meanwhile Democratic Barack Obama is off the campaign trail but on record today. He is vacationing with his family in Hawaii. Now before leaving, Obama delivered the democratic radio address, blasting the Bush administration over deficits 16 and the Iraq War. Hawaii has special meaning for Senator Obama. He spent a portion of his childhood there.

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 are on the go.