NPR 2009-08-11

The leaders of Mexico, Canada and the United States have wrapped up a brief summit meeting in Guadalajara, Mexico. President Obama also held a one-on-one meeting with Mexico's President Felipe Calderon where the two discussed the unprecedented¹ wave of drug-related violence in Mexico. Michael O'Boyle reports from Mexico City.

 The skyrocketing body count in Mexico's army-led war against the country's drug cartels has been raising doubts about the strategy on both sides of the border. But Mr. Obama on Monday said he was confident Mexico can win the fight against the gangs.

 "We'll work to make sure Mexico has the support it needs to dismantle² and defeat the cartels. And the United States will also meet its responsibilities by continuing our efforts to reduce the demand for drugs and continuing to strengthen the security of our shared border."

 Some US lawmakers want to hold back military aid to Mexico until the army answers charges of human rights abuses by its troops. Mr. Obama said he was convinced Calderon will be able to keep waging his battle while still protecting basic rights. For NPR News, I'm Michael O'Boyle in Mexico City.

 The White House has launched a new Internet initiative it says it hopes will counter some of the misinformation out there about efforts to rework health care. And the White House website launched today. It would seek to challenge what the administration has termed myths about the health care initiative, including claims it would result in rationing³ of care, euthanasia or an end to Medicare. President's advisor⁴ David Axelrod says of the criticisms, they are little more than rumors⁵ or scare tactics.

 Police spokesman says divers⁶ have found additional pieces of a private plane that crashed into the Hudson River after striking a sightseeing helicopter. The wreckage⁷ from the single-engine Piper was found in some 60 feet of water in the middle of the river, according to the New York police spokesman. Divers sent into the water near the crash site this morning had had to stop their search due to strong currents and limited visibility. Nine people were killed in Saturday's crash. The bodies of two people who were on the plane have yet to be recovered.

 Latest sign of troubled commercial real estate market, Los Angeles-based Maguire Properties says it can't pay the mortgages on a billion dollars worth of office buildings. NPR's Chris Arnold reports.

 Maguire is one of the largest office building owners in Southern California. It says for seven of those buildings, its loans are facing imminent⁸ defaults and it’s handing control of them over to its creditors⁹.

 "In the end, you're gonna see many more stories like these." Pat Newport is a housing economist¹⁰ at IHS Global Insight. He says the commercial real estate sector¹¹ is in big trouble right now. Like many home owners, many real estate companies borrowed too much against their properties and they just overbuilt. "Too many buildings are put up, too many hotels, stores, malls and also there was the price bubble in the market that was just as big as a housing bubble." So many of these buildings are worth less than what the companies owe on them. That's why so many companies are defaulting and all that’s going to put a drag on construction and the economy over the next year.

 This is NPR.

 According to Los Angeles County Coroner's Office, it has concluded its probe into what killed singer Michael Jackson. However, an official with the office said today the results are not being released yet. Coroner's office official says police have asked the cause and manner of Jackson's death remain sealed while detectives continue their investigation¹². Jackson died June 25th at his rented home in Beverly Hills. Investigators¹³ have been trying to determine to what extent prescription¹⁴ drugs may have played a role in his death.

 A cargo¹⁵ ship with a Russian crew has not been heard from or seen for nearly two weeks. Jessica Gallaher has details from Moscow.

 Russian officials say the Maltese-flagged boat carrier "Arctic Sea" did not arrive as planned at a Algerian port on August 4th. They say that no communication or data from the ship have been received since July 28th. The 4,700-ton vessel¹⁶ with at least 12 Russian crew members was boarded off the coast of Sweden on July 24th by attackers posing as policemen. The crew was tied up for 12 hours. Officials then say the attackers disembarked. The vessel is operated by a firm based in the Russian port of Arkhangelsk. Some Russian officials say they fear pirates are responsible for the disappearance¹⁷ of the ship. For NPR News, I'm Jessica Gallagher in Moscow.

Toronto-based Nortel Networks is getting a new CEO. The company which is currently in liquidation¹⁸ announced today CEO Mike Zafirovski is leaving after being named the head of the company in 2005. Former executive with Motorola and General Electric, he tried to transform the troubled company. But he says the current slowdown changed the company's outlook dramatically.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 32 points today. The NASDAQ was down eight points.

1 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

2 dismantle   

vt.拆开，拆卸；废除，取消

参考例句：

• He asked for immediate help from the United States to dismantle the warheads.他请求美国立即提供援助，拆除这批弹头。
• The mower firmly refused to mow,so I decided to dismantle it.修完后割草机还是纹丝不动，于是，我决定把它拆开。

3 rationing   

n.定量供应

参考例句：

• Wartime austerities included food rationing and shortage of fuel. 战时的艰苦包括食物配给和燃料短缺。
• Food rationing was abolished in that country long ago. 那个国家早就取消了粮食配给制。

4 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

5 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 divers   

adj.不同的；种种的

参考例句：

• He chose divers of them,who were asked to accompany him.他选择他们当中的几个人，要他们和他作伴。
• Two divers work together while a standby diver remains on the surface.两名潜水员协同工作，同时有一名候补潜水员留在水面上。

7 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

8 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

9 creditors   

n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They agreed to repay their creditors over a period of three years. 他们同意3年内向债主还清欠款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Creditors could obtain a writ for the arrest of their debtors. 债权人可以获得逮捕债务人的令状。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

11 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

12 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。

13 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》

14 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。

15 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

16 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

17 disappearance   

n.消失，消散，失踪

参考例句：

• He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
• Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。

18 liquidation   

n.清算，停止营业

参考例句：

• The bankrupt company went into liquidation.这家破产公司停业清盘。
• He lost all he possessed when his company was put into liquidation.当公司被清算结业时他失去了拥有的一切。