NPR 2009-02-21

To say stock market investors¹ are pessimistic as the week winds down would be something of an understatement. All three of the major stock market indexes ended the session lower today. The fresh bear market lows followed remarks from Senate Banking² Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, who said that nationalization of some US banks could be needed for a short period. Mark Vitner is a senior economist³ at Wachovia Corporation. "It seemed irrational⁴ to me because no one was talking about nationalizing all of the banks. And nationalization has always been out there. I mean they nationalized Indy Mac earlier or late last year?" The White House quickly responded by saying it strongly believes in the privately⁵ held bank system that helped the market recover slightly before the close, however, the Dow was still at its lowest level in more than six years.

Department of Labor⁶ said today consumer prices rose in January for the first time since July at a seasonally⁷ adjusted rate of three tenths of a percent, NPR's Yuki Noguchi reports.

Slightly higher energy prices helped to push inflation up a bit last month, but the annual inflation level was still at its lowest level in more than 50 years. Year over year, the price of household items remained flat, which is the lowest reading since 1955.

In the past year, the biggest fluctuations⁸ in prices came from energy, which rose dramatically in the summer. But after a big slide in recent months, energy prices last month were down more than 20% compared to the previous year. Core prices of household items excluding food and energy rose two tenths of a percent after remaining flat in December. These muted levels of inflation are likely to continue as a severe economic downturn continues to weaken demand for goods, keeping prices down. Yuki Noguchi, NPR News, Washington.

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn is joining the course of elected officials and citizens calling for Senator Roland Burris to resign. Burris is under fire for changing a story of how he came to be appointed to the Senate by impeached⁹ former Governor Rod Blagojevich. NPR's David Schaper has more.

Governor Quinn says he has known fellow Illinois Democrat¹⁰ Roland Burris for 37 years, calling him an honorable man. But he says it was a "gigantic mistake” for Burris to take the Senate appointment from disgraced former Governor Blagojevich in the first place. And now that it's apparent, Burris has much more contact with Blagojevich’s associates than he first disclosed, and that he even tried raising money for Blagojevich. Quinn's asking his friend Burris to step down. "There is just too much of a cloud of controversy¹¹ over this appointment process for any person, such as Senator Burris, to truly carry out the duties that the people of Illinois need from a US Senator at this time.” Quinn is calling on Illinois lawmakers to pass legislation that would establish a special election for all future Senate vacancies¹² including this one if Burris resigns. David Schaper, NPR News, Chicago.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 100 points to end the week at 7,365. The S&P 500 dropped eight points today.

This is NPR.

A new report by the International Atomic Energy Agency this week that Iran has built up a stockpile of nuclear fuel is being greeted with alarm in Washington. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the report which indicates Iran may have increased its stockpile by a third represents "another lost opportunity" for Iran as it continues to renege on its international obligations. However, the IAEA report did say it believed the discrepancy¹³ in the stockpile was a mistake. US has consistently said it suspects Teheran of using what it termed a civilian¹⁴ nuclear program to build an atomic weapon.

A state judicial¹⁵ ethics¹⁶ panel in Texas has charged presiding judge of the state's highest criminal court with violating her duty when she closed the court office on the afternoon that a death row inmate¹⁷ filed a last-minute appeal. More from NPR's John Burnett.

Sharon Keller, presiding judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals will go on trial to answer charges that she refused to follow execution-day procedures and that she brought disrepute on the court. Michael Richard was convicted of capital murder in 1987 for sexually assaulting and murdering a 53-year-old nurse after she offered him a glass of water at her home near Houston. He was scheduled to die on September 25, 2007. His attorney claims he was having computer problems and needed an extension to file a last-minute appeal to the state Criminal Appeals Court. Judge Keller acknowledges telling him “we close at five o’clock”. But she says she didn't know he needed 20 more minutes past closing time. The execution of Michael Richard went ahead a schedule. Since then, hundreds of attorneys from around the country have sent complaints about her conduct. John Burnett, NPR News, Austin.

1 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

2 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

3 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

4 irrational   

adj.无理性的，失去理性的

参考例句：

• After taking the drug she became completely irrational.她在吸毒后变得完全失去了理性。
• There are also signs of irrational exuberance among some investors.在某些投资者中是存在非理性繁荣的征象的。

5 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

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 seasonally   

参考例句：

• The price of vegetables fluctuates seasonally. 蔬菜的价格随季节变动。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They moved seasonally among various vegetation types to feed on plants that were flourishing. 它们还随着季节的变化而在各种类型植物之间迁移，以便吃那些茂盛的植物。 来自辞典例句

8 fluctuations   

波动，涨落，起伏( fluctuation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He showed the price fluctuations in a statistical table. 他用统计表显示价格的波动。
• There were so many unpredictable fluctuations on the Stock Exchange. 股票市场瞬息万变。

9 impeached   

v.控告（某人）犯罪( impeach的过去式和过去分词 )；弹劾；对（某事物）怀疑；提出异议

参考例句：

• Elected officials can be impeached. 经过选举产生的官员可以被弹劾。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The judge was impeached for taking a bribe. 这个法官被检举接受贿赂。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

11 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。

12 vacancies   

n.空房间( vacancy的名词复数 )；空虚；空白；空缺

参考例句：

• job vacancies 职位空缺
• The sign outside the motel said \"No Vacancies\". 汽车旅馆外的招牌显示“客满”。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 discrepancy   

n.不同；不符；差异；矛盾

参考例句：

• The discrepancy in their ages seemed not to matter.他们之间年龄的差异似乎没有多大关系。
• There was a discrepancy in the two reports of the accident.关于那次事故的两则报道有不一致之处。

14 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。

15 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

16 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

17 inmate   

n.被收容者；(房屋等的)居住人；住院人

参考例句：

• I am an inmate of that hospital.我住在那家医院。
• The prisoner is his inmate.那个囚犯和他同住一起。