NPR 2008-04-23

Voters have been turning out in large numbers for today's Pennsylvania primary. Mark Nootbaar of member station WDUQ in Pittsburgh has more.

 This is the first time since the 80s the Pennsylvania primary has had any impact on the selection of a presidential candidate. New Democratic voter registrations¹ spiked² last month and thousands of Republicans switched parties. Voters in Pennsylvania must declare a party 30 days before the election. Democratic voter turnout is expected to reach above 50 percent. It's been seven weeks since the last primary and Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have used the time chasing Pennsylvania's 158 delegates with nearly daily appearances. Both candidates made campaign stops in the state yesterday. Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton both worked the polls in Pittsburgh this morning. A few voting machine glitches³ have been reported throughout the state, but none have been serious. In one polling place, early voters had to use paper ballots⁴ as technicians worked to get the touch-screen voting machines started. For NPR News, I am Mark Nootbaar in Pittsburgh. Polls close at eight Eastern, a little less than one hour from now.

 President Bush reaffirmed his commitment to the North American Free Trade Agreement today in New Orleans. He was there meeting with the leaders of Mexico and Canada for a trade summit. NPR's Jeff Brady has more.

 The president said that since NAFTA took effect in 1994, trade has tripled and the economies of the three countries have grown by more than 50 percent. Responding to criticism from the Democratic presidential candidates who want to renegotiate the trade agreement, Mr. Bush said that's a bad idea. "Now is not the time to renegotiate NAFTA or walk away from NAFTA. Now is the time to make it work better for all our people and now is the time to reduce trade barriers worldwide. " Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper echoed Mr. Bush's commitment to NAFTA as it currently exists. President Bush also was asked about the economy and said the country is in a slowdown, not a recession. Jeff Brady, NPR News, New Orleans.

 A U. S. army engineer who worked in an armament research facility in New Jersey⁵ has been arrested on charges he spied for Israel from 1979 to 1985. Federal prosecutors⁶ and the FBI said that Ben-Ami Kadish allegedly slipped classified documents including information about nuclear weapons to an Israeli consulate⁷ worker. Investigators⁸ say the contact is the same individual used by convicted Pentagon spy Jonathan Pollard. According to a complaint filed with the U. S. Attorney's Office, Kadish is also accused of taking documents containing information about the F-15 fighter program and the Patriot⁹ missile system.

 Latest home sales numbers were indicating the real estate market likely has further to fall. The National Association of Realtors says both home sales and home prices were down in March. Sales of existing homes fell two percent last month. The medium price of a previously¹⁰ owned home was at 201, 000 dollars, down 7. 7 percent from a year ago.

On Wall Street, the Dow was down 104 points today.

 This is NPR News.

 An 18-year-old South Carolina teen accused of plotting to bomb his high school will face federal charges of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction, a charge that could carry a sentence of life in prison. Prosecutors say that 18-year-old Ryan Schallenberger will face two lesser¹¹ federal charges in relation to allegations he plotted to detonate explosives in a suicide attack at a school in Chesterfield, a town in northeastern South Carolina. Schallenberger was arrested Saturday after his parents called police. He apparently¹² had ordered ten pounds of ammonium nitrate, a material that can be used to make explosives.

 The top editor of the Wall Street Journal has resigned. Marcus Brauchli took over just last May, but says new owner Rupert Murdoch deserves to have his own team. As NPR's David Folkenflick reports, Murdoch has sought to remake the journal.

 Wall Street Journal managing editor Marcus Brauchli told staffers Tuesday there had been no political or commercial interference in the journal's coverage¹³. As Murdoch has meddled¹⁴ with some of his other publications, that had loomed¹⁵ as a concern when his News Corp. took over the journal and its parent company last year. But Murdoch does want the journal to shed its role as the premier¹⁶ business publication, and instead, become the leading newspaper, a direct rival to the New York Times in the US and the Financial Times abroad. That means pumping up coverage of daily political developments, adding sports and shifting some financial articles to sections farther back in the paper. New publisher Robert Thompson, a trusted Murdoch aide and former editor of the London Times, will serve as the paper's interim¹⁷ managing editor. David Folkenflick, NPR News, New York.

 Another new record for crude oil prices: crude was up $1.89 a barrel to close at a new high of $119.37 a barrel in New York.

1 registrations   

n.登记( registration的名词复数 )；登记项目；登记（或注册、挂号）人数；（管风琴）音栓配合（法）

参考例句：

• In addition to the check-in procedures, the room clerks are customarily responsible for recording advance registrations. 除了办理住宿手续外，客房登记员按惯例还负责预约登记。 来自辞典例句
• Be the Elekta expert for products registrations in China. 成为在中国注册产品的医科达公司专家。 来自互联网

2 spiked   

adj.有穗的；成锥形的；有尖顶的

参考例句：

• The editor spiked the story. 编辑删去了这篇报道。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They wondered whether their drinks had been spiked. 他们有些疑惑自己的饮料里是否被偷偷搀了烈性酒。 来自辞典例句

3 glitches   

n.小过失，差错( glitch的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Manufacturing glitches have limited the factory's output. 生产中的故障影响了该厂的产量。 来自辞典例句
• Another kind of period variation,\"Glitches,\" are seen in several pulsars. 在几个脉冲星中还看到了周期的另一种变化，即“自转突快”现象。 来自辞典例句

4 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

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 consulate   

n.领事馆

参考例句：

• The Spanish consulate is the large white building opposite the bank.西班牙领事馆是银行对面的那栋高大的白色建筑物。
• The American consulate was a magnificent edifice in the centre of Bordeaux.美国领事馆是位于波尔多市中心的一座宏伟的大厦。

8 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 patriot   

n.爱国者，爱国主义者

参考例句：

• He avowed himself a patriot.他自称自己是爱国者。
• He is a patriot who has won the admiration of the French already.他是一个已经赢得法国人敬仰的爱国者。

10 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

11 lesser   

adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地

参考例句：

• Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
• She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及，但程度较轻。

12 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

13 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

14 meddled   

v.干涉，干预（他人事务）( meddle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Someone has meddled with the photographs I laid out so carefully. 有人把我精心布置的照片弄乱了。 来自辞典例句
• The gifts of charity meddled with a man's private affair. 慈善团体的帮助实际上是干涉私人的事务。 来自互联网

15 loomed   

v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• A dark shape loomed up ahead of us. 一个黑糊糊的影子隐隐出现在我们的前面。
• The prospect of war loomed large in everyone's mind. 战事将起的庞大阴影占据每个人的心。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

17 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。