NPR 2011-07-03

President Obama today again urged Congress to consider eliminating some tax breaks as part of an effort to reduce federal debt. Republicans are demanding spending cuts in exchange for agreeing to raise the debt ceiling, but they say they won't consider any tax increase. In the Republican address, Senator Dan Coats said the government must stop spending money it doesn't have.

A budget crisis continues in Minnesota. The state government shut down yesterday. NPR's Kimberly Adams reports it's Minnesota's second government shutdown in six years.

Minnesota lawmakers are spending a long holiday weekend facing angry constituents¹ at 4th of July parades and other meetings. State parks and rest stops are closed, and many services halted after state leaders failed to reach a budget deal. About 22000 state employees were furloughed on Friday, putting economic pressure on some already suffering in the weak economy. The impasse² in Minnesota parallels the national debate over the best way to balance the books. Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton wants to raise taxes on the wealthy to close the budget gap, but state Republicans want to get their due spending cuts. Kimberly Adams, NPR News.

Exxon Mobile says one of its pipelines⁴ sprung a leak and sent crude oil into the Yellowstone River in Montana. A statement said the spill was discovered this morning, and the pipeline³ has been shut down. It's not clear how much oil was involved. The company said it regrets the release and is working with local emergency authorities to mitigate⁵ any harm.

This holiday weekend is a big one for Gulf⁶ Coast communities trying to rebound⁷ from last year's BP oil spill. NPR's Debbie Elliott reports the tourism business is back.

Beach towns from Mississippi to the Florida Panhandle report big crowds this 4th of July weekend. Hotels and condos on the Alabama Gulf Coast are nearly full, topping 2009 occupancy rates. Orange Beach, Alabama Mayor Tony Kennon says the busy holiday is a boost for businesses still trying to recover from last year's losses.

"Anytime you pull maybe as much as three quarters of a billion dollars or more out of an economy — don't bounce back in [the] next year — I don't know that all that will ever be put back."

There are lingering frustrations⁸ with the claims process to reimburse⁹ oil spill victims, and BP still has crews in the region to clean up tar¹⁰ balls that continue to wash ashore¹¹ from the Gulf of Mexico. Debbie Elliot, NPR News, Orange Beach, Alabama.

If you're taking a road trip this 4th of July weekend, you might notice you're paying a bit less for gasoline. Patrick DeHann is a gas analyst¹² with GasBuddy.com. He says it's cheaper to fill up now than it was during the last major holiday.

"Memorial Day weekend, prices were much higher, closer to the $3.80 a gallon mark. Today, we extend to about $3.57 a gallon. So prices have come down a little over 20 cents a gallon."

You're listening to NPR News from Washington.

Thousands of people who live in Los Alamos, New Mexico are waiting for the all clear to return home. They were forced to flee Monday because of the largest wildfire in state history. Denise Lane owns the Hill Top Diner. She stayed in town to help feed the firefighters. She says she's anxious for everyone to return.

"You know, we're all up here. We think we're sort of about 30 of us that are kind of representing the 12000 people that had to leave and evacuate¹³, and, you know, we miss them. We want a count back."

The fire burned more than 162 square miles.

Britain's Prince William and Princess Catherine head to Montreal after joining in Canada Day celebrations in Ottawa yesterday. Dan Karpenchuk reports anti-royalists are preparing a frosty reception.

As many as 300000 people flocked to Ottawa for the holiday festivities, many of them coming to catch a glimpse of the royal couple, but when William and Kate traveled to Quebec, a hard-line anti-monarchist group says it will protest. As many as 300 members of the Québécois Network of Resistance say they will gather at Quebec City Hall to show their opposition¹⁴ to Canada's ties with the British Crown. The group adds that the peaceful protest will not be a personal attack against the royal newlyweds. In 2009, members of the group delayed a military ceremony in Montreal attended by Prince Charles and his wife Camilla. The two were forced to duck into a military barracks for safety. For NPR News, I'm Dan Karpenchuk in Toronto.

In tennis, Petra Kvitova won the women's final at Wimbledon today. She upset Maria Sharapova 6-3, 6-4. In women's soccer, the United States beat Colombia 3-0 in the World Cup action in Germany. The win today qualifies the United States for the quarterfinals.

I'm Nora Raum, NPR News in Washington.

1 constituents   

n.选民( constituent的名词复数 )；成分；构成部分；要素

参考例句：

• She has the full support of her constituents. 她得到本区选民的全力支持。
• Hydrogen and oxygen are the constituents of water. 氢和氧是水的主要成分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 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。

3 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

4 pipelines   

管道( pipeline的名词复数 )； 输油管道； 在考虑（或规划、准备） 中； 在酿中

参考例句：

• The oil is carried to the oil refinery by pipelines. 石油通过输油管输送到炼油厂。
• The oil carried in pipelines. 石油用管道输送。

5 mitigate   

vt.（使）减轻，（使）缓和

参考例句：

• The government is trying to mitigate the effects of inflation.政府正试图缓和通货膨胀的影响。
• Governments should endeavour to mitigate distress.政府应努力缓解贫困问题。

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 rebound   

v.弹回；n.弹回，跳回

参考例句：

• The vibrations accompanying the rebound are the earth quake.伴随这种回弹的振动就是地震。
• Our evil example will rebound upon ourselves.我们的坏榜样会回到我们自己头上的。

8 frustrations   

挫折( frustration的名词复数 )； 失败； 挫败； 失意

参考例句：

• The temptation would grow to take out our frustrations on Saigon. 由于我们遭到挫折而要同西贡算帐的引诱力会增加。
• Aspirations will be raised, but so will frustrations. 人们会产生种种憧憬，但是种种挫折也会随之而来。

9 reimburse   

v.补偿，付还

参考例句：

• We'll reimburse you for your travelling expenses.我们将付还你旅费。
• The funds are supposed to reimburse policyholders in the event of insurer failure.这项基金将在保险公司不能偿付的情况下对投保人进行赔付。

10 tar   

n.柏油，焦油；vt.涂或浇柏油/焦油于

参考例句：

• The roof was covered with tar.屋顶涂抹了一层沥青。
• We use tar to make roads.我们用沥青铺路。

11 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

12 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

13 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

14 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。