NPR 2010-12-08

President Obama is standing¹ by his decision to give the GOP what it wanted - Bush-era tax cut extensions for the wealthiest Americans. Confronted with criticism from members of his own party, the president called the last-minute briefing with White House reporters today to explain that if he hadn't compromised, middle-class families would've also seen their tax cuts go away at the end of the month. The president said the Republican leadership just wouldn't budge².

"This is their holy grail, these tax cuts for the wealthy. This is -- seems to be their central economic doctrine³. And so, unless we had 60 votes in the Senate at any given time, it would be very hard for us to move this forward.”

Before the briefing, a group of congressional GOP leaders said the president made the right decision. Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee said tax cuts for those making more than 250,000 dollars a year will go a long way to creating jobs.

"The best thing we can do right now to make it easier and cheaper to create private sector⁴ jobs is not to raise taxes on people who create jobs and on the American working people.”

But critics say this deal will cost taxpayers⁵ tens of billions of dollars without any guarantee enough jobs will be created to bring down the unemployment rate. And they say it's a fight President Obama and his party will have to again face when cuts are due to expire in two years.

Investigative hearings into the BP Gulf⁶ oil spill are underway in Huston, on the Deepwater Horizon accident to be specific. NPR's Jeff Brady says this is the sixth public hearing into the Deepwater Horizon case jointly⁷ conducted by US Coast Guard and the Department of the Interior.

While investigators⁸ have conducted exhaustive questioning of witnesses, they haven't made public any of their preliminary conclusions like the president's spill commission has. During hearings this week, the panel will question mudloggers. They are responsible for alerting rig workers when gas levels in drilling mud are too high. The Coast Guard and Interior Department are expected to hold one more set of hearings, and the agencies are still waiting for forensic⁹ test results on a key piece of evidence. That's the blowout preventer that failed to stop the Macondo well from spilling millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. When a final report is issued, the agencies are expected to conclude what caused the explosion and what could be done to prevent a similar accident in the future. Jeff Brady, NPR News.

Oil prices topped 90 dollars a barrel today for the first time in more than two years. The jump is sending fuel prices higher. Analysts¹⁰ say costs may reach a national average of three dollars a gallon before Christmas.

At last check on Wall Street, the Dow was up 28 points at 11,391.

This is NPR News.

A British judge is denying bail¹¹ to WikiLeaks founder¹² Julian Assange, who is fighting extradition¹³ to Sweden, where he faces sex crimes charges. Assange, who denies the allegations, appeared in court after he surrendered to authorities this morning. The Swedish charges surfaced after Assange's group released large amounts of classified information without US authorization¹⁴. The latest involves diplomatic cables. US and other governments condemn¹⁵ the leaks as irresponsible, but Assange's supporters say the public has a right to know.

Jamie and Frank McCourt have argued for more than a year in divorce court about whether one or both of them owns the Los Angeles Dodgers¹⁶. NPR’s Karen Grigsby Bates reports a new ruling has settled that question but opened others.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Scott Gordon ruled on Tuesday morning that the marital¹⁷ property agreement the McCourts signed "is not valid¹⁸ or enforceable". That means the Dodgers may be considered part of the couple’s mutual¹⁹ assets, which almost certainly means more court time. As each McCourt had indicated they would appeal if the ruling went against their interests. The next question: Will the team have to be sold in an effort to divide the McCourts' assets fairly? Karen Grigsby Bates, NPR News.

The chief of the International Monetary²⁰ Fund is urging the European Union to address the bloc's debt crisis collectively instead of focusing on individual member nations. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who is in Greece to address that country’s ongoing²¹ debt crisis, spoke²² a day after eurozone nations decided²³ not to take any new emergency measures.

The latest from Wall Street, the Dow was up a fraction of a point.

1 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

2 budge   

v.移动一点儿；改变立场

参考例句：

• We tried to lift the rock but it wouldn't budge.我们试图把大石头抬起来，但它连动都没动一下。
• She wouldn't budge on the issue.她在这个问题上不肯让步。

3 doctrine   

n.教义；主义；学说

参考例句：

• He was impelled to proclaim his doctrine.他不得不宣扬他的教义。
• The council met to consider changes to doctrine.宗教议会开会考虑更改教义。

4 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。

5 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。

6 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

7 jointly   

ad.联合地，共同地

参考例句：

• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。
• She owns the house jointly with her husband. 她和丈夫共同拥有这所房子。

8 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》

9 forensic   

adj.法庭的，雄辩的

参考例句：

• The report included his interpretation of the forensic evidence.该报告包括他对法庭证据的诠释。
• The judge concluded the proceeding on 10:30 Am after one hour of forensic debate.经过近一个小时的法庭辩论后，法官于10时30分宣布休庭。

10 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

11 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

12 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

13 extradition   

n.引渡（逃犯）

参考例句：

• The smuggler is in prison tonight,awaiting extradition to Britain.这名走私犯今晚在监狱，等待引渡到英国。
• He began to trouble concerning the extradition laws.他开始费尽心思地去想关于引渡法的问题。

14 authorization   

n.授权，委任状

参考例句：

• Anglers are required to obtain prior authorization from the park keeper.垂钓者必须事先得到公园管理者的许可。
• You cannot take a day off without authorization.未经批准你不得休假。

15 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

16 dodgers   

n.躲闪者，欺瞒者( dodger的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a crackdown on fare dodgers on trains 对火车逃票者的严厉打击
• But Twain, Howells, and James were jeeringly described by Mencken as "draft-dodgers". 不过吐温、豪威尔斯和詹姆斯都是被门肯讥诮地叫做“逃避兵役的人。” 来自辞典例句

17 marital   

adj.婚姻的，夫妻的

参考例句：

• Her son had no marital problems.她的儿子没有婚姻问题。
• I regret getting involved with my daughter's marital problems;all its done is to bring trouble about my ears.我后悔干涉我女儿的婚姻问题, 现在我所做的一切将给我带来无穷的烦恼。

18 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

19 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

20 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

21 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

22 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

23 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。