NPR 2010-07-27

The Pentagon says it's trying to assess the potential damage caused by the leak of more than 90,000 classified documents on the Afghanistan War. In a briefing today, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says Wikileak.org's unauthorized action was irresponsible.

"It poses a very real and potential threat to those that are working hard every day to keep us safe."

But Wikileak argues the secret military records reveal a deeper message about the Afghanistan War including growing frustration¹ over reports that Pakistan colluded with insurgents² and civilian³ casualties by US-led forces. Adding to the friction⁴ over civilian casualties, Afghan President Hamid Karzai says at least 50 civilians⁵ including many women and children were killed in a rocket attack by NATO last week. He says the attack targeting the Taliban took place in Helmand province. NATO says it is still investigating.

President Obama is urging the Senate to approve a bill designed to shed more light on political spending by businesses, labor⁶ unions and other groups. As NPR's Scott Horsley reports, the bill has been modified in hopes of winning some Republican support.

Ever since the Supreme⁷ Court cleared the way for unlimited⁸ campaign spending by corporations, unions and others, President Obama has been looking for ways to contain the ruling's impact. The bill before the Senate would require those independent campaigns to say where their money is coming from, otherwise, Mr. Obama says, special interests could influence elections from behind a wall of secrecy⁹.

"A group can hide behind a name like 'Citizens for a Better Future', even if a more accurate name would be 'Companies for Weaker Oversight¹⁰'."

Senate backers modified a House version of the bill to address Republican complaints that it favored labor unions over corporations. It's not clear the bill has the 60 votes it needs, though, to overcome a Republican filibuster¹¹. Scott Horsley, NPR News, the White House.

A new study shows most men with low-grade prostate cancer get aggressive treatment. As NPR's Richard Knox tells us, study authors say this treatment may be causing patients more harm than good.

The widely used blood test called PSA triggers a biopsy and diagnosis¹² of prostate cancer in a growing number of men. But the new study of nearly 124,000 men with prostate cancer shows that one in every seven had a low PSA level, below four considered the upper limit of normal. Most of these men turned out to have low-risk, slow-growing cancers. Nonetheless, the great majority of these low-risk men get aggressive treatment—removal of the prostate gland¹³ or radiation therapy. Writing in the Annals of Internal Medicine, study authors say many American prostate cancer victims are not likely to benefit from this aggressive treatment. Their cancers could safely be monitored rather than treated, and many would never become a threat. Richard Knox, NPR News.

Dow's up more than 100 at 10,526.

This is NPR.

There's word BP executive Tony Hayward may be stepping down this fall, but still no confirmation¹⁴ from BP on various reports about Hayward's future at the company. Hayward has been in the face of BP's struggles with the Gulf¹⁵ oil spill. If he leaves, he may be replaced by American Bob Dudley.

Thousands of small nonprofits that failed to file tax forms this year are getting a temporary reprieve¹⁶ from the IRS. NPR's Pam Fessler reports the government is giving the groups until October 15th to file the required forms if they want to keep their tax-exempt¹⁷ status.

The announcement affects about 325,000 small charities and nonprofits. Many of these groups apparently¹⁸ were unaware¹⁹ of a new law that required them to file tax forms for the first time, or else they'd lose their tax-exempt status. Previously²⁰, groups with revenue of $25,000 or less were exempt from filing. Many of the affected²¹ nonprofits were small like local PTAs and had been required to file by May 17th. Officials believe some of the groups might have missed the deadline because they no longer exist. The IRS has now posted on its website a list of the nonprofits, it says, are at risk of losing their tax-exempt status if they don't file by October 15th. Pam Fessler, NPR News, Washington.

The federal prosecution²² delivered closing arguments today in Rod Blagojevich's corruption²³ trial in Chicago. Illinois' ousted²⁴ governor is accused of scheming to sell or trade President Obama's old Senate seat.

There's been a double car bombing in southern Iraq near the holy Shiite city of Karbala. Authorities say at least 19 people were killed, more than 50 were injured.

1 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

2 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

3 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

4 friction   

n.摩擦，摩擦力

参考例句：

• When Joan returned to work,the friction between them increased.琼回来工作后，他们之间的摩擦加剧了。
• Friction acts on moving bodies and brings them to a stop.摩擦力作用于运动着的物体，并使其停止。

5 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

6 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

7 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

8 unlimited   

adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的

参考例句：

• They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。
• There is no safety in unlimited technological hubris.在技术方面自以为是会很危险。

9 secrecy   

n.秘密，保密，隐蔽

参考例句：

• All the researchers on the project are sworn to secrecy.该项目的所有研究人员都按要求起誓保守秘密。
• Complete secrecy surrounded the meeting.会议在绝对机密的环境中进行。

10 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。

11 filibuster   

n.妨碍议事，阻挠；v.阻挠

参考例句：

• A senator dragged the subject in as a filibuster.一个参议员硬把这个题目拉扯进来，作为一种阻碍议事的手法。
• The democrats organized a filibuster in the senate.民主党党员在参议院上组织了阻挠议事。

12 diagnosis   

n.诊断，诊断结果，调查分析，判断

参考例句：

• His symptoms gave no obvious pointer to a possible diagnosis.他的症状无法作出明确的诊断。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做一次彻底的调查分析。

13 gland   

n.腺体，(机)密封压盖，填料盖

参考例句：

• This is a snake's poison gland.这就是蛇的毒腺。
• Her mother has an underactive adrenal gland.她的母亲肾上腺机能不全。

14 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

15 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。

16 reprieve   

n.暂缓执行（死刑）；v.缓期执行；给…带来缓解

参考例句：

• He was saved from the gallows by a lastminute reprieve.最后一刻的缓刑令把他从绞架上解救了下来。
• The railway line, due for closure, has been granted a six-month reprieve.本应停运的铁路线获准多运行6 个月。

17 exempt   

adj.免除的；v.使免除；n.免税者，被免除义务者

参考例句：

• These goods are exempt from customs duties.这些货物免征关税。
• He is exempt from punishment about this thing.关于此事对他已免于处分。

18 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

19 unaware   

a.不知道的，未意识到的

参考例句：

• They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
• I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。

20 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

21 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。

22 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

23 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

24 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。