NPR 2008-09-06

GOP presidential nominee¹ John McCain visited a small town outside Milwaukee today and promised to take his White House campaign to small towns throughout America. NPR's Scott Horsley reports.

John McCain's first campaign stop after the GOP convention was a red, white and blue slice of Americana, as a picturesque² street in Cedarburg, Wisconsin was transformed into McCain Street, USA. While there McCain acknowledged a disappointing new jobs report which showed unemployment climbing to a nearly five-year high, McCain's prescription³ is to extend the Bush tax cuts while lowering taxes on corporate⁴ income. "All you ever asked of government is to stand on your side, not in your way. And that's what I intend to do: stand on your side and fight for your future." McCain also wants to negotiate new trade agreements, saying freer trade would promote new jobs. Scott Horsley, NPR News, with the McCain campaign in Wisconsin.

McCain's Democratic rival Barack Obama was also talking jobs and the economy today during a campaign stopover in Pennsylvania. The Democratic presidential nominee said the news that the nation's unemployment rate rose four tenths of a percent last month to 6.1% shows an economy that's in bad shape. "We just got a jobs report today that showed we had lost another 80,000 jobs. 80,000 jobs lost, we've now lost 605,000 jobs since the beginning of this year." Speaking at a glass factory in Duryea, Pennsylvania, Obama accused the Republicans of ignoring the middle class.

Talks with a federal mediator⁵ and union negotiators at Boeing have failed to reach a deal on a contract with the International Association of Machinists, now saying a strike will commence at one minute after midnight. Union officials said despite meetings late into the night and through today, continued talks failed to address issues. Rank and file members have already authorized⁶ the strike after rejecting a contract offer from the company that would have called for an 11% pay raise over three year. The union represents around 27,000 Boeing employees.

Tropical storm Hanna appears to be picking up steam as it moves toward the Carolinians, where already rained from the storm's outer bands is being felt. Right now, the storm remains⁷ just below hurricane strength and is centered about 160 miles southeast of Charleston with top winds of 70 miles an hour. However forecasters think it will intensify⁸. North Carolina Governor Mike Easley said residents should not go out into the storm and should heed⁹ warnings from local authorities. "It is not fun to hear those winds for 6 to 7 hours and just sweat that out. It's, it's always good to heed the evacuation warnings if you get ... " Forecasters still aren't sure exactly where Hanna will come ashore¹⁰, however they expect the storm will arrive near the North Carolina-South Carolina border bringing heavy rain to the coastal¹¹ Carolinas and the mid-Atlantic.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 33 points to end the week at 11,220. For the week, the Dow was down 2.8%. The NASDAQ lost 3 points today.

This is NPR.

A top US general in Afghanistan says attacks by the Taliban and other fighters have increased as much as 30% over the same time last year. He admits more needs to be done with more troops and development money. NPR's Tom Bowman has that story.

Major General Jeffrey Schloesser commands troops in the eastern part of Afghanistan, part of against the border with Pakistan. He's planning a winter offensive against Taliban fighters and he expects attacks against US and coalition¹² forces to be harder than at any time since 2002. Schloesser is pressing for more US troops. And some are expected to be announced next week - another 4,000 army troops, but they're not expected to arrive until February. The general says we're not losing in Afghanistan. "The Afghan army and police forces continue to get stronger," he says. Pressed by reporters on whether coalition forces are winning, Schloesser says he's overseeing a slow win. It'll take longer, he adds, to turn that into a solid strong win. Tom Bowman, NPR news, the Pentagon.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the US Treasury¹³ Department is close to finalizing¹⁴ a plan to help shore up mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In a story posted on its website, the journal says an announcement could come as early as this weekend. Treasury spokesperson told NPR "we are making progress." The journal report says the plan includes changes in senior management at the beleaguered¹⁵ companies and involves "creative use" of the Treasury's new authority to inject capital into Fannie and Freddie.

Crude oil prices continued their downward slide today with near month contract for benchmark grade crude falling $1.66 a barrel to end the session at $106.23 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

1 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。

2 picturesque   

adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的

参考例句：

• You can see the picturesque shores beside the river.在河边你可以看到景色如画的两岸。
• That was a picturesque phrase.那是一个形象化的说法。

3 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

4 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

5 mediator   

n.调解人，中介人

参考例句：

• He always takes the role of a mediator in any dispute.他总是在争论中充当调停人的角色。
• He will appear in the role of mediator.他将出演调停者。

6 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

7 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。

8 intensify   

vt.加强；变强；加剧

参考例句：

• We must intensify our educational work among our own troops.我们必须加强自己部队的教育工作。
• They were ordered to intensify their patrols to protect our air space.他们奉命加强巡逻，保卫我国的领空。

9 heed   

v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心

参考例句：

• You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。
• For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。

10 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

11 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

12 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

13 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。

14 finalizing   

vt.完成（finalize的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• You may edit registered information any time during the finalizing period. 您可以在规定期限内随时编辑修改注册资料。 来自互联网
• Natsun Trimming & Ironing, Finalizing the Perfection. 40南山整烫，完美在此定格。 来自互联网

15 beleaguered   

adj.受到围困[围攻]的；包围的v.围攻( beleaguer的过去式和过去分词)；困扰；骚扰

参考例句：

• The beleaguered party leader was forced to resign. 那位饱受指责的政党领导人被迫辞职。
• We are beleaguered by problems. 我们被许多困难所困扰。 来自《简明英汉词典》