NPR 2011-06-28

Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is convicted at his corruption¹ retrial, with a jury finding him guilty a short time ago on 17 of the 20 charges against him. Those include all 11 charges related to his attempt to sell or trade President Obama's vacated Senate seat. In Chicago, NPR's David Schaper tells us this is a major switch from the former governor's first trial.

In the first trial, there was a hung jury, and almost of many of the counts, he was only found guilty on one count. That was lying to the FBI. This time around, the prosecution² in that streamlined case and a much simpler case in presentation to the jury, we're able to win a victory.

NPR's David Schaper at the Federal Courthouse in Chicago.

The US Supreme³ Court is siding with an industry that makes and sells video games. On a 7-2 vote today, the justices determined⁴ that the Californian law banning the sale or rental⁵ of violent games to minors⁶ was unconstitutional. James Steyer, CEO of Common Sense Media, which sponsored this ban, says at least parents are much more aware.

"Well, today, the decision is definitely a loss. There are an awful lot of positives that came out of these broader efforts."

Steyer says he plans to keep up the fight though to stop violent video games from being sold to children.

President Obama heads back into another meeting soon in a bid to break an impasse⁷ over the budget deficit⁸. NPR's Scott Horsley reports the president is due to meet with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell about an hour from now.

The White House and congressional Republicans remain sharply divided on the subject of tax revenues. President Obama argues additional revenues must be part of any balanced deficit reduction plan, while Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell insists no tax increase can pass the Congress. Despite that apparent stalemate, White House spokesman Jay Carney remains⁹ upbeat about the prospects¹⁰ for a deficit-cutting deal.

"It's not only in each side's political interests, but most importantly it's in the country's economic interests and in the people's interests."

Lawmakers are under pressure to make progress on the deficit before an August 2nd deadline to raise the federal debts ceiling. Scott Horsley, NPR News, the White House.

Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachman is formally in the race for president, launching her campaign today for the GOP nomination¹¹ in her birthplace of Waterloo, Iowa. Details from NPR's Don Gonyea.

Michele Bachman moved in Minnesota when she was 12 years old, but in her campaign, she's putting her Iowa roots front and center. The state holds the nation's first caucuses¹² next year. Speaking in Waterloo, she said President Obama needs to be a one-term president.

"We can't continue to rack up debt and hand it and put it on the backs of the next generation. We can't afford the unconstitutional health care law that will cost us too much and deliver so little."

Bachman also praised the Tea Party and is hoping that movement will boost her campaign. Don Gonyea, NPR News, Waterloo.

Dow's up more than 100 points.

This is NPR.

A fast-moving wildfire burning near New Mexico's Los Alamos nuclear laboratory is 44000 acres and growing. At least 30 structures including homes were burned to the ground. Dozens of people evacuated¹³ as the fire spread to just a mile southwest of Los Alamos. The nuclear lab was closed today.

Nebraska authorities are trying to reassure¹⁴ the public that Missouri River floodwater leaking into the turbine building at a nuclear plant near Omaha is not a threat. The Omaha Public Power District tells reporters there's no nuclear material in the building where pumps have been used to address seepage¹⁵. The head of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission was due to inspect the facility today.

It has been a bad day at Wimbledon for the Williams sisters. As NPR's Philip Reeves reports from London, Venus and Serena are out of the tournament.

On an unusually hot day in London, the attempt by Serena Williams to come back from her health problems came to a sticky end, which was beaten by France's Marion Bartoli, the No.9 seed. Williams lost the first set — 6-3, but put up a fierce fight in the second, saving five match points before going out on a tiebreak. For all her many titles, Serena Williams was always likely to struggle in this contest after being out of action for months. Soon afterwards, sister Venus, five-times champion, who's also had injury problems, was also shown the door, losing to the 32nd seed, Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova. So for the first time since 2006, there'll be no Williams sister in the Wimbledon singles final. Philip Reeves, NPR News, London.

Before the close on Wall Street, Dow was up 100 points at 12044, and Nasdaq was up 35 at 2688.

This is NPR.

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

5 rental   

n.租赁，出租，出租业

参考例句：

• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。
• We can organise car rental from Chicago O'Hare Airport.我们可以安排提供从芝加哥奥黑尔机场出发的租车服务。

6 minors   

n.未成年人( minor的名词复数 )；副修科目；小公司；[逻辑学]小前提v.[主美国英语]副修，选修，兼修( minor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The law forbids shops to sell alcohol to minors. 法律禁止商店向未成年者出售含酒精的饮料。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had three minors this semester. 这学期他有三门副修科目。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 impasse   

n.僵局；死路

参考例句：

• The government had reached an impasse.政府陷入绝境。
• Negotiations seemed to have reached an impasse.谈判似乎已经陷入僵局。

8 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

9 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

10 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

11 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

12 caucuses   

n.（政党决定政策或推举竞选人的）核心成员( caucus的名词复数 )；决策干部；决策委员会；秘密会议

参考例句：

• Republican caucuses will happen in about 410 towns across Maine. 共和党团会议选举将在缅因州的约410个城镇进行。 来自互联网

13 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

14 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

15 seepage   

n.泄漏

参考例句：

• Chemical seepage has caused untold damage.化学品泄漏已造成不可估量的损失。
• Water gradually escapes by seepage through the ground.水逐渐从地面渗走了。