NPR 2011-04-15

A budget compromise has the Republican-led House's vote. Now, it's on to the Democratically-led Senate. NPR's Audie Cornish has a recap of the latest vote to keep the government funded for the rest of this fiscal¹ year.

The House passed the package on a vote of 260-167, and to get it through, Republicans had to rely on Democratic support because nearly 60 GOP members crossed party lines to vote against it. Most of the criticism was focused on how the deal arrived at the mix of more than $38 billion in savings². Some of it came from shutting down programs already ending, taking back surplus money, or in some cases, they're savings that won't take effect for several years. But it's still the largest one-time budget cut ever, and it heads next to the Senate. Audie Cornish, NPR News, the Capitol.

Libyan rebels are appealing to NATO to launch more air strikes against troops in the western city of Misrata, where Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's forces are laying siege. Covering developments from Benghazi, NPR's Peter Kenyon says witnesses are reporting at least nine deaths in Misrata today.

In the latest sign of defiance³, Misrata residents took to the streets to demonstrate against Muammar Gaddafi in the face of a fierce artillery⁴ barrage⁵ by pro-government forces. Rebel Finance and Oil Minister Ali Tarhouni, who secretly traveled to Misrata last week by fishing boat, says the people of the last major rebel holdout in western Libya are heroes.

"I went there to boost their morale⁶ — the fact of the matter they boosted my morale. It's a very courageous⁷ city. It's our small Leningrad."

Meeting in Berlin, NATO ministers said their plans were taking robust⁸ action to protect civilians⁹ and did not announce plans for increased strikes. Libyan state TV reported NATO strikes west of Tripoli. Peter Kenyon, NPR News, Benghazi.

The European Union is lifting its sanctions against Libya's former Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa, even as he faces ongoing¹⁰ accusations¹² over his alleged¹³ role in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing. British authorities defended the decision to unfreeze Koussa's assets, saying he will try to persuade other senior members of Gaddafi's regime to defect as he had in recent weeks.

There's been a shakeup at the Federal Aviation Administration. NPR's Giles Snyder reports a top official has resigned following several reports of air traffic controllers found asleep on the job.

A statement from FAA Administrator¹⁴ Randy Babbitt says he has accepted the resignation of Hank Krakowski, the official in charge of the air traffic control system. Babbitt is promising¹⁵ a top-to-bottom review, and so was Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

"This is an outrageous¹⁶ situation that will not stand on my watch."

Lahood speaking on CBS's Early Show. The FAA has added a second overnight controller at 26 airports and a radar¹⁷ facility. Giles Snyder, NPR News, Washington.

Before the close on Wall Street, the Dow was up 14 points at 12,285, and NASDAQ was off one at 2,760.

This is NPR News.

It's the end of an airing daytime drama. After more than 40 years on television, the Emmy Award-winning programs "All My Children" and "One Life To Live" are being canceled. The final episodes will air in September of 2011 and January, 2012 respectively. It's just a sign of the times. ABC says its audience research shows people would rather see programs on "transformation¹⁸, food and lifestyle." 

New developments out of Beijing today on the fate of a detained artist, Ai Weiwei. A Beijing-backed newspaper in Hong Kong says Chinese police say they have evidence that the artist evaded¹⁹ taxes. NPR's Louisa Lim reports authorities detained him more than ten days ago but have not yet filed charges.

The Wenhuibao newspaper said investigators²⁰ had evidence that Ai Weiwei is suspected of avoiding taxes and destroying documents. It said that Ai had cooperated with the authorities after initially²¹ refusing to do so and had begun confessing. The paper also said that the artist was suspected of spreading pornography on the Internet and bigamy since he has a child with a woman other than his wife. Ai's sister told Reuters that the bigamy accusation¹¹ was absurd and said it was clearly against the law to hold him for so long without notifying the family. The family believes the outspoken²² artist has been targeted because of his activism. A harsh crackdown is under way in China, with dozens of activists²³ being detained or simply disappearing. Louisa Lim, NPR News, Beijing.

US stocks ending the day mixed with the Dow up at last check 14 points.

1 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

2 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

3 defiance   

n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗

参考例句：

• He climbed the ladder in defiance of the warning.他无视警告爬上了那架梯子。
• He slammed the door in a spirit of defiance.他以挑衅性的态度把门砰地一下关上。

4 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

5 barrage   

n.火力网，弹幕

参考例句：

• The attack jumped off under cover of a barrage.进攻在炮火的掩护下开始了。
• The fierce artillery barrage destroyed the most part of the city in a few minutes.猛烈的炮火几分钟内便毁灭了这座城市的大部分地区。

6 morale   

n.道德准则，士气，斗志

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is sinking lower every day.敌军的士气日益低落。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

7 courageous   

adj.勇敢的，有胆量的

参考例句：

• We all honour courageous people.我们都尊重勇敢的人。
• He was roused to action by courageous words.豪言壮语促使他奋起行动。

8 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

9 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。

10 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。

11 accusation   

n.控告，指责，谴责

参考例句：

• I was furious at his making such an accusation.我对他的这种责备非常气愤。
• She knew that no one would believe her accusation.她知道没人会相信她的指控。

12 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

13 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

14 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

15 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。

16 outrageous   

adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的

参考例句：

• Her outrageous behaviour at the party offended everyone.她在聚会上的无礼行为触怒了每一个人。
• Charges for local telephone calls are particularly outrageous.本地电话资费贵得出奇。

17 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

18 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

19 evaded   

逃避( evade的过去式和过去分词 )； 避开； 回避； 想不出

参考例句：

• For two weeks they evaded the press. 他们有两周一直避而不见记者。
• The lion evaded the hunter. 那狮子躲开了猎人。

20 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》

21 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

22 outspoken   

adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的

参考例句：

• He was outspoken in his criticism.他在批评中直言不讳。
• She is an outspoken critic of the school system in this city.她是这座城市里学校制度的坦率的批评者。

23 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》