NPR 2008-08-07

Government papers released in the anthrax investigation¹ paint Army scientist Bruce Ivins as a disturbed man who tried to mislead investigators² by submitting false samples. NPR's Allison Keyes has more.

According to the documents, the case against Ivins is detailed³ but seems largely circumstantial. Ivins was clearly troubled, telling a co-worker that he had incredible paranoid, delusional⁴ thoughts at times, and feared he might not be able to control his behavior. Ivins also sent an e-mail a few days before the 2001 anthrax attacks with language similar to that in the anthrax letters which read "we have this anthrax, death to America, death to Israel." Friends and neighbors of Ivins have said they believed the FBI had the wrong man. One of the victims of the attacks, Patrico Donald, says he was skeptical⁵ of the evidence against Ivins before being briefed by the FBI today. But when Donald walked out, he says he was 99% sure they had the right guy. Allison Keyes, NPR News, Washington.

The housing finance company, Freddie Mac, says it had much steeper losses during the last quarter than expected. The loss comes weeks after the federal government announced a rescue plan for Freddie Mac and its sister company Fannie Mae. NPR's Jim Zarroli reports.

Freddie Mac said it lost 821 million dollars between April and June. Most of the losses were in what are called "Alt-A mortgages" which are riskier⁶ than conventional mortgages. The company said there was a significant possibility it might not meet federal capital standards. That would subject it to more oversight⁷ by regulators, who could restrict its investment activities. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are government-sponsored, publicly traded companies that own or guarantee nearly half of the mortgages issued in the United States. The Treasury⁸ Department and the Federal Reserve recently took several steps aimed at shoring up the companies' balance sheets by making capital available to them. For example, they can now borrow from the Fed's discount window, although they haven't yet done so. Jim Zarroli, NPR News, New York.

Former Olympic speedskater Joey Cheek won't be among those heading to Beijing at least if the Chinese government has its way. China revoked⁹ his visa just hours before he was set to leave for the Olympics. Cheek is president and co-founder of a group known as "Team Darfur", which has promoted peace in the war-torn region and planned to try to exert pressure on the international community (to) persuade Sudan to observe a truce¹⁰ during the Beijing Games. Cheek said the move by China is another example officials there are trying to quell¹¹ any dissent¹². "My being denied a visa obviously is frustrating¹³ to me, but what we're seeing is that this is really just one example of China putting pressure on athletes around the world to not be able to speak out on any sort of issues." The White House plans to protest the decision and said they hope Chinese officials change their minds.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 40 points today. The NASDAQ gained 28 points. The S&P 500 was up four points.

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Nine people are missing and feared dead, and four others were injured when their helicopter crashed last night in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. The accident occurred as the helicopter was transporting firefighters who were cleaning up the remnants of a stubborn wildfire there. Meanwhile, triple-digit temperatures in northern California are providing little relief for fire crews who are battling a separate wildfire north of Sacramento. The two-day-old fire near Forbestown has reportedly more than doubled in size with wind-driven flames at one point yesterday, forcing fire crews to fall back.

Israeli officials announced today Israel will free Palestinian prisoners later this month as a goodwill¹⁴ gesture to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. The decision came after a meeting between Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Jerusalem. Linda Gradstein reports from Jerusalem.

It was the first meeting between Abbas and Olmert since Olmert announced last week that he will step down as prime minister after his party chooses a new leader next month. Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev described the meeting as "productive". He said both men said they were committed to continuing negotiations¹⁵ despite Olmert's intention to step down. Regev did not say how many of the 8,500 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails would be freed and whether they would include prominent Palestinians like Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti. Regev said that Israel understands the importance of the prisoner issue for Palestinians. Israel last freed more than 400 Palestinian detainees in December. Five more were released today as part of Israel's prisoner exchange with Lebanon's Hizbollah guerrillas. For NPR News, I'm Linda Gradstein in Jerusalem.

Lower oil prices are pushing gas prices down. AAA says the average price of a gallon of gas fell a penny a gallon overnight to $3.86 a gallon.

1 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。

2 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》

3 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

4 delusional   

妄想的

参考例句：

• You became delusional and attacked several people trying to escape. 你产生了错觉并攻击了许多人还试图逃走。 来自电影对白
• He is incoherent, delusional, suffering auditory hallucinations. 他出现无逻辑的，妄想的，幻听的症状。 来自电影对白

5 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

6 riskier   

冒险的，危险的( risky的比较级 )

参考例句：

• Now they are starting to demand higher returns on riskier assets. 而今他们开始在风险更高的资产上要求更高的回报。
• The problem with that: RIM's business is getting riskier every quarter. 不过问题也随之而来：RIM面临的业务风险正逐季增大。

7 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。

8 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

9 revoked   

adj.[法]取消的v.撤销，取消，废除( revoke的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It may be revoked if the check is later dishonoured. 以后如支票被拒绝支付，结算可以撤销。 来自辞典例句
• A will is revoked expressly. 遗嘱可以通过明示推翻。 来自辞典例句

10 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

11 quell   

v.压制，平息，减轻

参考例句：

• Soldiers were sent in to quell the riots.士兵们被派去平息骚乱。
• The armed force had to be called out to quell violence.不得不出动军队来镇压暴力行动。

12 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。

13 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 goodwill   

n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉

参考例句：

• His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
• We paid ￡10,000 for the shop,and ￡2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店，两千英镑买下了它的信誉。

15 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。