NPR 2008-08-15

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is in France where she is calling on Russia to honor a French-mediated cease-fire with the former Soviet¹ Republic of Georgia. She is then going to Georgia to show her support for the embattled leader there. NPR's Michele Kelemen has more.

A State Department spokesman said there have been confusing reports from the ground in Georgia and he echoed Rice's call on Russia to halt all military operations and let US aid flow in. Defense² Secretary Robert Gates said much of the world is now looking at Russia "through different lenses". "If Russia does not step back from its aggressive posture³ and actions in Georgia, the U.S.-Russian relationship could be adversely⁴ affected⁵ for years to come." Gates said he sees no need to use US military force, however, saying his mission is a humanitarian⁶ one to bring in relief supplies and help Georgia recover. He said so far U.S. military experts have found the main port of Poti intact and key supply roads open. Michele Kelemen, NPR News, Washington.

The Federal Aviation Administration is accusing Fort Worth-based American Airlines of safety and drug-testing violations⁸. The FAA says American returned two aircraft into service after pilots reported safety problems. The government says two of the Airlines' MD-83 jets were flown 58 times in violation⁷ of federal safety regulations. The government also cited the nation's largest airline for deficiencies in its drug and alcohol testing programs. The FAA says it is seeking more than seven million dollars in penalties against American.

Major concession⁹ toward former Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton. It's now been confirmed Clinton's name will be placed in nomination¹⁰ along with that of nominee-in-waiting Barack Obama at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. The move while largely symbolic¹¹ is expected to help unite the party that was fractured by the divisive primary.

Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase have become the latest big banks to say they'll buy back auction-rate securities from their customers. Regulators say the banks misled customers about the risky¹² securities. NPR's Jim Zarroli reports.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said the banks sold auction-rate securities to individual investors¹³, charities and small businesses even though the market for these products had dried up. "These are people who believe they were buying a short-term security. It was a cash equivalent, just like cash. And for six months they've been locked in this nightmare where they can't get their money back." Auction-rate securities are debt products with interest rates that reset¹⁴ regularly. Cuomo's offer said JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley had agreed to buy back about seven billion dollars worth of securities between them. They agreed to the settlement without admitting any wrongdoing. Citigroup and UBS have already agreed to similar settlements. Jim Zarroli, NPR News, New York.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 82 points today to end the session at 11,615. The NASDAQ gained 25 points. The Standard & Poor's 500 was up seven points today.

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Police in Iraq say at least 18 people are dead and dozens of others were wounded after a female suicide bomber¹⁵ detonated an explosive device near a group of Shiite pilgrims. The blast south of Baghdad today was the deadliest in what authorities say has been a series of attacks aimed at travelers heading to the holy city of Karbala for a major religious festival. A witness says the woman blew herself up near a group that was resting by the side of the road.

In a rare order, a federal appeals court in New York will reconsider the case of Canadian rendition victim Maher Arar. Arar is an engineer who says he was tortured after being mistaken for a terrorist. His lawsuit¹⁶ was dismissed two months ago. NPR's Margot Adler reports.

Arar who was born in Syria was detained in 2002 while returning to Canada after a vacation. Federal authorities say he was wrongly identified as a member of Al-Qaeda. The Canadian government agreed to pay him 10 million dollars for passing bad information to US authorities. The US sent Arar to Syria and he has claimed in interviews and in the lawsuit that he was tortured there. The lawsuit was filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights in 2004. A three-judge panel dismissed the lawsuit in June, saying allowing it to proceed would harm national security and interfere¹⁷ with US foreign relations. But now lawyers have been notified that the full Second Circuit Court of Appeals, about a dozen judges, will rehear the case. Margot Adler, NPR News, New York.

Another sign the downturn in the US housing market may have further to go. The National Association of Realtors says house prices fell in more than three quarters of US cities during the second three months of this year. Nationally the medium price of a single family home was $206, 500, a more than 7.5% decline from the same period a year ago.

1 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

2 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

3 posture   

n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势

参考例句：

• The government adopted an uncompromising posture on the issue of independence.政府在独立这一问题上采取了毫不妥协的态度。
• He tore off his coat and assumed a fighting posture.他脱掉上衣，摆出一副打架的架势。

4 adversely   

ad.有害地

参考例句：

• We commented adversely upon the imbecility of that message of telegraphic style. 我们对着这条电报式的愚蠢的留言发泄了一通不满。
• Widely fluctuating exchange rates may adversely affect international trade. 浮动幅度很大的汇率可能会对国际贸易产生有害的影响。

5 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

6 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

7 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

8 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

9 concession   

n.让步，妥协；特许(权)

参考例句：

• We can not make heavy concession to the matter.我们在这个问题上不能过于让步。
• That is a great concession.这是很大的让步。

10 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。

11 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

12 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。

13 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

14 reset   

v.重新安排，复位；n.重新放置；重放之物

参考例句：

• As soon as you arrive at your destination,step out of the aircraft and reset your wristwatch.你一到达目的地，就走出飞机并重新设置手表时间。
• He is recovering from an operation to reset his arm.他做了一个手臂复位手术，正在恢复。

15 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

16 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。

17 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。