NPR 2009-02-04

A difficult day for Obama administration nominees²: the president's pick for health secretary, former Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle, withdrew his nomination³ amid ongoing⁴ controversy⁵ over his taxes, and Nancy Killefer is bowing out from her appointment as the government's first chief performance officer. Daschle said he was ending his bid for the post because he said it would be unable to operate without the full faith of Congress and the American people. In response to reporters' questions about whether the withdrawal⁶ would set back the administration's efforts to reform healthcare, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said that effort is larger than any one individual. "We are looking for a new nominee¹, but the problem has existed for quite some time, and the work toward a solution to make healthcare more affordable⁷ won't stop or won't pause while we look for that nominee."

Daschle came under fire for failure to pay around 128, 000 dollars in back taxes and almost 12, 000 dollars in interest.

The Obama administration's special envoy⁸ to the Middle East will be returning to the region later this month. George Mitchell just got back from his first trip and briefed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today. More from NPR's Michele Kelemen.

Mitchell joked that when he took the job, he never thought he'd be traveling so soon and so much, but he said he plans to return in a couple of weeks and establish a regular and sustained presence in the region. Secretary Clinton said this administration wants to send a clear signal that it is engaged and determined⁹ to promote peace, but one thing won't change: the US will not negotiate with the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.

"Hamas knows that it must stop the rocket fire into Israel. There were rockets yesterday, there were rockets this morning. And it is very difficult to ask any nation to do anything other than defend itself."

Israel is also in the midst of an election campaign. Clinton said she looks forward to working with the next Israeli government. Michele Kelemen, NPR News, the State Department.

The FBI has arrested a New Mexico man on charges that he mailed a suspicious powder to banks and federal offices around the country. NPR's Dina Temple-Raston reports.

Federal authorities arrested Richard Leon Goyette at the Albuquerque Airport on Monday. They say he was behind 65 threatening letters that were mailed to financial institutions and federal regulatory offices last October. Sixty-four of the letters contained an unidentified white powder. And while the powder wasn't hazardous¹⁰, emergency responders were called in after the letters were opened. The letters went out just as the latest financial crisis hit. The FBI says Goyette claimed to have lost nearly 65, 000 dollars on bank stocks he owned, and that might have motivated the mailings. Dina Temple-Raston, NPR News.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 140 points, closing at 8, 077. The NASDAQ was up 21 points. The S&P 500 rose 12 points today to close at 838.

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The White House today issued a statement saying that Iran is not acting¹¹ responsibly with the country's launch of a satellite. The comment comes after Teheran announced today that it had sent its first domestically made satellite into orbit, using a rocket first tested this past summer. US and a number of other nations have expressed concerns over Iran's fledgling space program, saying it could be a stepping stone to developing longer range ballistic missiles. Iranian officials have denied those charges and say they've placed a telecommunication¹² satellite into orbit.

The cofounder of Habitat for Humanity Millard Fuller died early today at the age of 74, cause of death was not released. NPR's Kathy Lohr has more.

Fuller founded Habitat for Humanity International in 1976, and built the nonprofit into a worldwide ministry¹³. He was born in Alabama, got a law degree and became a millionaire at age 29. But Fuller had health problems, and his marriage was failing, so he sold his possessions, donated the proceeds and moved to Koinonia Farm, a Christian¹⁴ community near Americus, Georgia. There he began building small homes for the poor. One of Fuller's biggest supporters was former President Jimmy Carter, who continues to build homes with Habitat. President Carter called Fuller one of the most extraordinary people he's ever known. In 2005, after allegations of sexual harassment¹⁵ and a dispute with the board of Habitat, Fuller was dismissed as president. He founded a new organization and continued to build and repair homes. Kathy Lohr, NPR News, Atlanta.

Massive fourth-quarter loss at telecommunications equipment maker¹⁶ Motorola: The company reported today for the three months ending in December a loss of more than 3. 5 billion dollars or 57 cents a share. The company says much of that pool of red ink was a result of losses in its cellphone business.

1 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

2 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

3 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。

4 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。

5 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

6 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

7 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

8 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

9 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。

10 hazardous   

adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的

参考例句：

• These conditions are very hazardous for shipping.这些情况对航海非常不利。
• Everybody said that it was a hazardous investment.大家都说那是一次危险的投资。

11 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

12 telecommunication   

n.电信，远距离通信

参考例句：

• Telecommunication is an industry of service.电信业是一个服务型的行业。
• I only care about the telecommunication quality and the charge.我只关心通信质量和资费两个方面。

13 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

14 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

15 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

16 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。