NPR 2008-07-15

Congressional leaders say the Bush administration's plan to shore up mortgage backers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could be on the president's desk as soon as next week. Lawmakers are reacting favorably to the proposal. NPR's Brian Naylor has more.

The administration wants Congress to increase the lines of credit for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, and to allow the government to buy stock in the institutions as a way of making more capital available and to restore investor² confidence. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank says the plan makes sense. “We are not bailing³ them out. We believe we are trying to help them cope with an excessive fear in the market that isn't rational.” The package will be attached to a housing bill working its way through Congress and Frank says it could be on the president's desk by next week. Brian Naylor, NPR News, the Capitol.

Hundreds of worried customers of IndyMac Bancorp were lined up this morning at the financial institution, hoping to pull out as much money as they could, following the announcement Friday from federal regulators they were seizing the bank’s assets. IndyMac's assets were seized Friday after regulators determined⁴ the bank was insolvent⁵. Collapse⁶ of IndyMac is the second largest failure by a financial firm in US history. Regulators say it will take a substantial amount of time to fully⁷ resolve the affairs of the failed bank.

President Bush has lifted a nearly 20-year-old ban, executive ban on prohibited off-shore oil drilling. The move, however, will not mean drilling would begin because a Congressional ban remains⁸ in place. NPR's Don Gonyea reports

The executive order being lifted was signed by President Bush's father during his time in office. White House Press Secretary Dana Perino acknowledged today that this action by this president will have little effect unless Congress also acts. Ultimately, it's a political move with the White House pointing to Democrats⁹ in Congress as the only impediment to more off-shore oil exploration. The president maintains that record high gasoline prices require more drilling, even though any impact on the price at the pump would not be felt for many years. The president himself has said there's no quick fix, but he has also pushed unsuccessfully for drilling in places like Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge since he took office in 2001. Don Gonyea, NPR News, Washington.

The Federal Aviation Administration said today it has approved measures designed to improve runway safety at the nation's major airports, including installation of lights that will signal pilots when a runway is safe to enter. Robert Sturgell is the acting¹ FAA administrator¹⁰. "This is a system that is basically the traffic lights to tell pilots whether the runways are clear." The announcement comes amid criticism of the FAA over recent runway issues. The FAA Friday ordered a change in the way takeoffs and landings are sequenced after two airliners¹¹, one taking off and another landing, came within half a mile of one another at Kennedy Airport.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 45 points today to close at 11,055. The NASDAQ was down 26 points.

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The brewer¹² of Budweiser says it has agreed to a takeover by Belgian brewer InBev. The St. Louis-based company announced it will accept a sweetened 52-billion-dollar offer from InBev. The move will create the world's largest brewer. It heads off what could have been a bitter fight for control of the company. Anheuser-Busch board agreed to the takeover last night. InBev's CEO Carlos Brito will be the CEO of the merged¹³ company. InBev says it will use St. Louis as its North American headquarters.

Another airline has announced major job cuts. Milwaukee-based Midwest Airlines and its subsidiary Skyway Airlines are trimming 1,200 jobs. Chuck Quirmbach of Wisconsin Public Radio reports.

Midwest Airlines recently announced it will remove twelve MD-80 jets from service because of concerns about the fuel efficiency of those planes. The company says that decision has triggered the majority of the job cuts being announced. Midwest spokesman Michael Brophy says cutting 1,200 jobs is difficult. "That's a significant number of people, but, this is an airline that I think (have) the real sense of family. And so,  it's a tough day here." Brophy says Midwest Airlines is in the middle of a major restructuring that will allow it to better compete during times of high oil prices. He says some jobs will end in a few weeks, others will be gone by mid-September. An unspecified number of the cuts will be furloughs, meaning people could be called back if Midwest adds more flights. For NPR News, I'm Chuck Quirmbach in Milwaukee.

A hurricane watch has been issued for Bermuda today as tropical storm Bertha, at one point the Atlantic season's first hurricane, has accelerated and picked up a bit of steam as it moves by the island. Bertha packing sustained winds of around seventy miles an hour is blamed for scattered¹⁴ power outages across Bermuda, but no immediate¹⁵ reports of injuries or damages there.

1 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

2 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

3 bailing   

（凿井时用吊桶）排水

参考例句：

• Both fountains were going furiously and both pumps bailing with might and main. 两个人的口水只管喷泉似地朝外涌，两个抽水机全力以赴往外抽水。
• The mechanical sand-bailing technology makes sand-washing operation more efficient. 介绍了机械捞砂的结构装置及工作原理，提出了现场操作注意事项。

4 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

5 insolvent   

adj.破产的，无偿还能力的

参考例句：

• They lost orders and were insolvent within weeks.他们失去了订货，几周后就无法偿还债务。
• The bank was declared insolvent.银行被宣布破产。

6 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。

7 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

8 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。

9 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

11 airliners   

n.客机，班机( airliner的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The fog grounded the airliners. 大雾迫使班机停飞。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They placed very stable and accurate atomic clocks on regularly scheduled jet airliners. 他们将非常稳定、准确的原子钟装在定期飞行的喷气式班机上。 来自辞典例句

12 brewer   

n. 啤酒制造者

参考例句：

• Brewer is a very interesting man. 布鲁尔是一个很有趣的人。
• I decided to quit my job to become a brewer. 我决定辞职，做一名酿酒人。

13 merged   

（使）混合( merge的过去式和过去分词 )； 相融； 融入； 渐渐消失在某物中

参考例句：

• Turf wars are inevitable when two departments are merged. 两个部门合并时总免不了争争权限。
• The small shops were merged into a large market. 那些小商店合并成为一个大商场。

14 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

15 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。