NPR 2008-12-10

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has been released on his own recognizance following his arrest today by federal officials on charges he sought to sell the Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. Blagojevich is also accused of a number of other charges including allegations he sought to withhold¹ financial assistance to the owner of the Chicago Tribune, in an effort to get the newspaper to fire editorial writers who were critical of his administration. They arrested both the governor and his top aide following lengthy² investigation³ in which federal wiretaps caught the governor allegedly discussing trading the Senate seat to the highest bidder⁵.

President-elect Barack Obama meanwhile says he is saddened by allegations that the Illinois governor try to trade favors to appoint someone to a Senate seat. NPR's Cheryl Corley has more.

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has a sole authority to appoint someone to fill the U.S. Senate seat, but federal prosecutors⁶ accused the governor of seeking favors for himself and his wife to influence his choice. Blagojevich now faces federal corruption⁷ charges. President-elect Obama says he is saddened by the news, but can't say much about it. "I had no contact with the governor or his office. And so we were not, I was not aware of what was happening. " U.S. Senator Dick Derban says the Illinois legislature should hold a special election to fill the Senate seat instead of leaving it in the governor's hands. Cheryl Corley, NPR News, Chicago.

Former chief executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac faced questions from the House Oversight⁸ and Government Reform Committee today. NPR's Yuki Noguchi has more.

The executives said they simply follow the lead of private lenders that encouraged risky⁹ home loans. That's an argument outgoing committee chair Henry Waxman did not buy. "Taking these risks proved tremendously lucrative¹⁰ for Fannie and Freddie's CEOs, they made over 30 million dollars between 2003 and 2007. But their irresponsible decisions are now costing the taxpayers¹¹ billions of dollars. "Former Freddie Mac Chief Richard Syron defended its moves. "If it had not done so, it could not have remained competitive or even relevant, in the residential¹² mortgage market we were designed to serve. " Syron and other executives said private lenders, not Fannie or Freddie led the industry down the wrong path. Yuki Noguchi, NPR News, Washington.

Congress and the White House are said to be edging closer to finalizing¹³ a deal to provide 15 billion dollars in bridge loans to the domestic auto¹⁴ industry. Massachusetts Democrat¹⁵ Barney Frank at a news conference today said he thinks the agreement remains¹⁶ on track. "Negotiation¹⁷ involving the House and the Senate, the current administration was some input¹⁸ from the incoming administration because this is securely something which is gonna be a handoff.” The measure will call for emergency loans for two of the Big Three, GM and Chrysler. Ford¹⁹ said it doesn't yet need an immediate²⁰ cash infusion²¹.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 242 points to close at 8, 691. The NASDAQ was down 24 points today.

This is NPR.

An Indian government minister today called on the United Nations Security Council to help punish those responsible for the deadly attacks in Mumbai. The Indian Minister of State in External Affairs called for the addition of a Pakistani-based group which claimed responsibility for the attacks to UN terrorism blacklist. At least 170 people died in those attacks. Hundreds of others were hurt. Indian police meanwhile announced they have identified the nine suspected Islamic militants²² killed during the three-day siege in Mumbai and also uncovered new details including the fact that their hometowns were in Pakistan.

Three New York City police officers have been charged with felonies for sexually assaulting a man on a subway platform, NPR's Robert Smith reports.

The accused police officers approached Michael Mineo because they thought he was smoking marijuana. When he tried to flee, the officers pinned him down. And according to Mineo, one of them sodomized him with a police baton²³. Mineo was given a ticket for disorderly conduct, and said he was warned by officers not to report anything or he would be charged for the felony. He called on Thursday; the three officers denied the charges and were released on bail²⁴. The attack is reminiscent of another famous brutality²⁵ case in New York. Amerd Luima was sodomized in a police precinct 11 years ago. Michael Mineo, a tattoo²⁶ parlor²⁷ worker was in court to see the officers charged. He said afterwards that he relives the attack every day and he is still in pain. Robert Smith, NPR News, New York.

Retail²⁸ giant Wal-Mart confirmed today it's agreed to pay 54 million dollars to settle a class action lawsuit²⁹ that alleged⁴ the company cut workers' break time and failed to prevent employees from working off the clock. The suit includes around 100, 000 current and former Wal-Mart and Sam's Club workers in Minnesota. The world’s largest retailer³⁰ says it will maintain systems designed to keep it compliant³¹ with wage and hour policies in that state.

1 withhold   

v.拒绝，不给；使停止，阻挡

参考例句：

• It was unscrupulous of their lawyer to withhold evidence.他们的律师隐瞒证据是不道德的。
• I couldn't withhold giving some loose to my indignation.我忍不住要发泄一点我的愤怒。

2 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

3 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

4 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

5 bidder   

n.(拍卖时的)出价人，报价人，投标人

参考例句：

• TV franchises will be auctioned to the highest bidder.电视特许经营权将拍卖给出价最高的投标人。
• The bidder withdrew his bid after submission of his bid.投标者在投标之后撤销了投标书。

6 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

7 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

8 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

9 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

10 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

11 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

12 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

13 finalizing   

vt.完成（finalize的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• You may edit registered information any time during the finalizing period. 您可以在规定期限内随时编辑修改注册资料。 来自互联网
• Natsun Trimming & Ironing, Finalizing the Perfection. 40南山整烫，完美在此定格。 来自互联网

14 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

15 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

16 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

17 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

18 input   

n.输入(物)；投入；vt.把(数据等)输入计算机

参考例句：

• I will forever be grateful for his considerable input.我将永远感激他的大量投入。
• All this information had to be input onto the computer.所有这些信息都必须输入计算机。

19 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

20 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

21 infusion   

n.灌输

参考例句：

• Old families need an infusion of new blood from time to time.古老的家族需要不时地注入新鲜血液。
• Careful observation of the infusion site is necessary.必须仔细观察输液部位。

22 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

23 baton   

n.乐队用指挥杖

参考例句：

• With the baton the conductor was beating time.乐队指挥用指挥棒打拍子。
• The conductor waved his baton,and the band started up.指挥挥动指挥棒，乐队开始演奏起来。

24 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

25 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军

26 tattoo   

n.纹身，(皮肤上的)刺花纹；vt.刺花纹于

参考例句：

• I've decided to get my tattoo removed.我已经决定去掉我身上的纹身。
• He had a tattoo on the back of his hand.他手背上刺有花纹。

27 parlor   

n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅

参考例句：

• She was lying on a small settee in the parlor.她躺在客厅的一张小长椅上。
• Is there a pizza parlor in the neighborhood?附近有没有比萨店？

28 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

29 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

30 retailer   

n.零售商(人)

参考例句：

• What are the retailer requirements?零售商会有哪些要求呢？
• The retailer has assembled a team in Shanghai to examine the question.这家零售商在上海组建了一支团队研究这个问题。

31 compliant   

adj.服从的，顺从的

参考例句：

• I don't respect people who are too compliant.我看不起那种唯命是从，唯唯诺诺的人。
• For years I had tried to be a compliant and dutiful wife.几年来，我努力做一名顺从和尽职尽职的妻子。