NPR 2008-06-28

The US government will pay nearly six million dollars to settle a lawsuit¹ related to the FBI's investigation² of  the anthrax attacks of 2001. NPR's David Kestenbaum reports.

The settlement ends a four-year case brought by bioweapons expert Steven Hatfill. The FBI described  Hatfill as a person of interest in its investigation after searches of his house appeared on television and his name appeared in the press. Hatfill accused government officials of intentionally³ leaking information about him. The case eventually involved journalists who were asked to reveal their sources. The government is not admitting any wrongdoing in the settlement. The Justice Department says the government remains⁴ resolute⁵ in its investigation into the anthrax attacks, which killed five people. Hatfill said he had nothing to do with the attacks and the publicity  made it impossible for him to get a job. The government will pay 2.8 million dollars up front and an additional three million over 20 years. David Kestenbaum, NPR News.

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama appeared together in the small town of Unity⁶, New Hampshire today, apparently⁷ hoping to put some of the bitterness and rancor⁸ from the campaign behind them. Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee⁹, said the next chapter for the party should be about defeating Republican John McCain. "Today, I could not be happier and more honored and more moved that we are sharing the stage as allies to bring about the fundamental changes that this country so desperately¹⁰ needs." Hillary Clinton urged her supporters to support Obama in his race for the White House. Obama praised both Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, as allies and pillars of the Democratic Party.

A day after the historic Supreme¹¹ Court decision overturning Washington DC's ban on handguns, the National Rifle   Association announced today it's suing the City of San Francisco, seeking to overturn that city's handgun ban in public housing. The NRA has also filed suit in Chicago, challenging a similar gun ban to Washington's of several other suits, challenging similar laws in nearby suburbs. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision yesterday, struck down DC's gun ban, maintaining it violated an individual's constitutional right to bear arms.

Consumer spending shot up last month as Americans started cashing in their economic stimulus¹² checks. NPR's Dave Peninally reports.

The Commerce Department reports today that after-tax incomes rose by 5.7% in May, that's the largest rise in disposable incomes in 33 years. The figures represent the spending of  more than 48 billion dollars in stimulus checks that went out. The result was an eight-tenths of one percent surge in consumer spending, the biggest gain since last November. The rebates¹³ are going to 130 million households in the administration's hope that the stimulus checks would help offset¹⁴ the weak economy. But some economists¹⁵ are concerned that the infusion¹⁶ of cash will only be temporary, increasing the risk that the economy would fall into a deep recession. Dave Peninally, NPR News, Washington.

Another down day on Wall Street: the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 106 points today.

This is NPR.

Zimbabwe's opposition¹⁷ leader Morgan Tsvangirai is saying he believes negotiations¹⁸ are still possible with his rival, President Robert Mugabe, though he said that has been complicated by, what he termed, " an illegitimate election". Tsvangirai made his comments in the capital of Harare as voting took place in a presidential run-off with essentially¹⁹ just one candidate taking part--- President Mugabe. Tsvangirai is boycotting²⁰ the run-off election against Mugabe because of state-sponsored violence. Many Zimbabweans also boycotted²¹ the election which has been denounced as a sham²² by leaders in the West.

A week after two Bear Stearns hedge fund managers were arrested for allegedly misleading investors²³, prosecutors²⁴ are looking to add to the original charges. NPR's Dina Temple-Raston reports.

Officials close to the investigation told NPR that federal prosecutors could file additional indictments²⁵ against Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin  as early as next week. Investigators²⁶ have been speaking to Barclays  Bank, Merrill Lynch and Bank of America, among others, to find evidence of whether Cioffi and Tannin  misrepresented their funds' prospects²⁷ in order to get financing. Bank of America guaranteed some of the debt in the fund in the spring of 2007, just as the mortgage market started to go south. Cioffi and Tannin pleaded not guilty last week to charges they deceived investors. Prosecutors say they painted a  rosy²⁸ picture of their funds' prospects while privately²⁹ thinking the funds were going to collapse³⁰. Dina Temple-Raston, NPR News.

Senate has chosen banker Elizabeth Duke to fill a seat on the Federal Reserve today, breaking what has been months of political deadlock³¹ over vacancies³² on the Board of Governors. Senate today also approved the nomination³³ of former Congressional Budget Office Deputy Director Donald Marron to be a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers³⁴.

1 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。

2 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。

3 intentionally   

ad.故意地，有意地

参考例句：

• I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
• The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。

4 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。

5 resolute   

adj.坚决的，果敢的

参考例句：

• He was resolute in carrying out his plan.他坚决地实行他的计划。
• The Egyptians offered resolute resistance to the aggressors.埃及人对侵略者作出坚决的反抗。

6 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

7 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。

8 rancor   

n.深仇，积怨

参考例句：

• I have no rancor against him.我对他无怨无仇。
• Their rancor dated from a political dogfight between them.他们的积怨来自于他们之间在政治上的狗咬狗。

9 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

10 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

11 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

12 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

13 rebates   

n.退还款( rebate的名词复数 )；回扣；返还（退还的部份货价）；折扣

参考例句：

• The VAT system offers advantages, such as rebates on exports. 增值税有其优点，如对出口商品实行回扣。 来自辞典例句
• In more recent years rate rebates have been introduced for households. 近年地方税的减免已适用于家庭。 来自辞典例句

14 offset   

n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿

参考例句：

• Their wage increases would be offset by higher prices.他们增加的工资会被物价上涨所抵消。
• He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。

15 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 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。

17 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

18 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

19 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

20 boycotting   

抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They're boycotting the shop because the people there are on strike. 他们抵制那家商店，因为那里的店员在罢工。
• The main opposition parties are boycotting the elections. 主要反对党都抵制此次选举。

21 boycotted   

抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Athletes from several countries boycotted the Olympic Games. 有好几国的运动员抵制奥林匹克运动会。
• The opposition party earlier boycotted the Diet agenda, demanding Miyaji's resignation. 反对党曾杯葛国会议程，要宫路下台。

22 sham   

n./adj.假冒(的)，虚伪(的)

参考例句：

• They cunningly played the game of sham peace.他们狡滑地玩弄假和平的把戏。
• His love was a mere sham.他的爱情是虚假的。

23 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

24 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。

25 indictments   

n.（制度、社会等的）衰败迹象( indictment的名词复数 )；刑事起诉书；公诉书；控告

参考例句：

• A New York jury brought criminal indictments against the founder of the organization. 纽约的一个陪审团对这个组织的创始人提起了多项刑事诉讼。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These two indictments are self-evident and require no elaboration. 这两条意义自明，无须多说。 来自互联网

26 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》

27 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

28 rosy   

adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的

参考例句：

• She got a new job and her life looks rosy.她找到一份新工作，生活看上去很美好。
• She always takes a rosy view of life.她总是对生活持乐观态度。

29 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

30 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

31 deadlock   

n.僵局，僵持

参考例句：

• The negotiations reached a deadlock after two hours.两小时后，谈判陷入了僵局。
• The employers and strikers are at a deadlock over the wage.雇主和罢工者在工资问题上相持不下。

32 vacancies   

n.空房间( vacancy的名词复数 )；空虚；空白；空缺

参考例句：

• job vacancies 职位空缺
• The sign outside the motel said \"No Vacancies\". 汽车旅馆外的招牌显示“客满”。 来自《简明英汉词典》

33 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

34 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。