NPR 2008-09-26

After a summit at the White House today between top congressional leaders, the president and both presidential candidates as well, a proposed 700-billion-dollar financial bailout deal now appears to be in some flux¹. NPR's Debbie Elliott has more.

Congressional negotiators had announced an agreement in principle with the Bush administration the Treasury² would get authority to buy bad debt from financial institutions with oversight³, curbs⁴ on executive pay and foreclosure mitigation. But key Republicans are not on board. After the White House session, Alabama Senator Richard Shelby, the ranking Republican on the banking⁵ committee, said it is not a done deal. "That agreement is obviously no agreement." Earlier House Speaker Nancy Pelosi acknowledged that lawmakers are hearing from angry constituents⁶. "Taxpayers⁷ are justifiably⁸ concerned and vocal⁹ about it. They do know, by and large, though, that we must intervene." Debbie Elliott, NPR News, the Capitol. 

Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama, after today's White House meeting, said despite the disagreement on some aspects, he believes there's a quote "a sense of urgency on the part of everyone that something should be done". In an interview on CNN, Obama said while the sides have made progress, he said there were still items to be worked out. "I think that there is gonna have to be some discussions between the president, Secretary Paulson, House Republicans, perhaps Senate Republicans although they have been, I think, working well with the Senate Democrats¹⁰, to figure out what exactly they want additionally to see." On the topic of Friday's scheduled presidential debate, Obama said he believes they should go ahead as planned. Republican John McCain has asked for the debate to be postponed¹¹ until there is agreement on the administration's proposed bailout bill.

A top European diplomat¹² says it could take years to resolve the dispute between Russia and Georgia over separatist regions. But he is more hopeful now that Russia would at least let in some outside observers. NPR Michele Kelemen reports.

Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb is the current chairman of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which used to have a few observers on the ground in South Ossetia before the conflict over that breakaway region in August. Stubb has been trying to persuade Russia to allow eight military observers back into South Ossetia, and he said he came away from his talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov a bit more hopeful. "But let's be frank, I mean Russia has been in the driving seat in this conflict from the beginning in many ways." The US said it was a mistake for Russia to recognize the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Stubb told NPR he didn't want to play the blame game, and he said it could take many years to negotiate an end to the territorial¹³ dispute. Michele Kelemen, NPR News, the United Nations.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industry Average gained 196 points, closing at 11,022. The NASDAQ was up 30 points today. The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 23 points.

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US military officials are confirming today that Pakistani troops fired on two American reconnaissance helicopters near the Afghan-Pakistan border, and that ground troops then also exchanged fire, while no injuries were reported. The incident comes at a time of heightened tensions with US recently stepping up cross border operations in the area in an effort to flush out al-Qaeda and Taliban troops. A US military spokesman says the helicopters were on routine patrol when they came under small arms fire. The Pakistani military said its troops were only firing warning shots after the helicopters crossed into Pakistani territory.

Researchers have found a safer way to make stem cells that could some day be used for therapies. NPR Joe Palca has that story.

Scientists have been extremely excited about a new way to make cells that are as promising¹⁴ as human embryonic¹⁶ stem cells for developing treatments for disease, but do not require destroying a human embryo¹⁵. The technique involves inserting a cocktail¹⁷ of four genes¹⁸ into the cells. Somehow these four genes can convert a normal skin cell into a cell that behaves like an embryonic stem cell. But the technique has a potential problem. The four genes are themselves known to cause cancer. Writing in the Journal of Science, researchers at the Harvard Medical School have found a way to eliminate these genes after the desired stem cells are created. The approach involves infecting the cells with a virus that only turns on the genes temporarily. Stem cells made this way should be safer to put into patients. Joe Palca, NPR News, Washington.

Crude oil futures¹⁹ prices ended the session higher. The near month contract for benchmark grade crude was up $2. 29 a barrel today to close at just over 108 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

1 flux   

n.流动；不断的改变

参考例句：

• The market is in a constant state of flux.市场行情在不断变化。
• In most reactors,there is a significant flux of fast neutrons.在大部分反应堆中都有一定强度的快中子流。

2 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。

3 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。

4 curbs   

v.限制，克制，抑制( curb的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• In executing his functions he is not bound by any legal curbs on his power. 在他履行职务时，他的权力是不受任何法律约束的。 来自辞典例句
• Curbs on air travel were being worked out and would shortly be announced. 限制航空旅行的有关规定正在拟定中，不久即将公布。 来自辞典例句

5 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

6 constituents   

n.选民( constituent的名词复数 )；成分；构成部分；要素

参考例句：

• She has the full support of her constituents. 她得到本区选民的全力支持。
• Hydrogen and oxygen are the constituents of water. 氢和氧是水的主要成分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

8 justifiably   

adv.无可非议地

参考例句：

• There General Walters would come aboard to greet me, justifiably beaming with pride at his arrangement. 在那儿沃尔特斯将军会登上飞机来接我，理所当然为他们的安排感到洋洋得意。 来自辞典例句
• The Chinese seemed justifiably proud of their economic achievements. 中国人似乎为他们的经济成就感到自豪，这是无可非议的。 来自互联网

9 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

10 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》

11 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

12 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

13 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

14 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

15 embryo   

n.胚胎，萌芽的事物

参考例句：

• They are engaging in an embryo research.他们正在进行一项胚胎研究。
• The project was barely in embryo.该计划只是个雏形。

16 embryonic   

adj.胚胎的

参考例句：

• It is still in an embryonic stage.它还处于萌芽阶段。
• The plan,as yet,only exists in embryonic form.这个计划迄今为止还只是在酝酿之中。

17 cocktail   

n.鸡尾酒；餐前开胃小吃；混合物

参考例句：

• We invited some foreign friends for a cocktail party.我们邀请了一些外国朋友参加鸡尾酒会。
• At a cocktail party in Hollywood,I was introduced to Charlie Chaplin.在好莱坞的一次鸡尾酒会上，人家把我介绍给查理·卓别林。

18 genes   

n.基因( gene的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪

19 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。