NPR 2010-01-21

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Korva Coleman.

A huge aftershock rocked Port-au-Prince, Haiti today. Frightened people ran  screamingly into the streets. NPR's Carrie Kahn is in the Haitian capital and says people won't be able to take refuge in damaged buildings.

People are living in precarious¹ situations near precarious buildings. We are high up on a hill here, there is a vista², and there is just one house that I keep looking at which is on a 45-degree angle, it's gonna go, and these aftershocks are really making a terrible situation even more tense for people.

NPR's Carrie Kahn in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

The White House says it shares some of the blame for the result in yesterday's special election in Massachusetts. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says President Obama was startled to learn the Democratic Senator candidate Martha Coakley lost to Republican competitor Scott Brown.

"President didn't expect, I would certainly put myself in that category, not expecting to lose that Senate race. There is no doubt. We are frustrated³ by that."

That's because it could make it more difficult for the White House to get healthcare overhaul⁴ legislation passed, the key theme of President Obama's. The Democratic leader of the Senate, Harry⁵ Reid, says his chamber⁶ will now wait to take a vote on healthcare overhaul legislation until the new Senator-elect from Massachusetts is seated.

The Justice Department's Inspector⁷ General has reviewed for years the FBI illegally obtained thousands of phone records including reporters' phone numbers. The report says the practice ended during the Bush administration. NPR's Ari Shapiro has more.

Exigent letters are tool the FBI uses to get phone records in an emergency. This nearly 300-page report says in thousands of cases, the FBI used the letters to get records when there was no emergency. And there were other informal tools the FBI used to get records illegally. Phone companies provided records when FBI agents requested them by email, Post-it notes and phone calls. The Inspector General called the scope and variety of the violations⁸ "startling". At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Chairman Patrick Leahy called for accountability.

"If one of us did something like this, we'd have to answer to it. This was authorized⁹ at high levels within the FBI (and) continued for years."

FBI Director Robert Mueller testified at the hearing that the bureau has reformed its internal controls to fix the problems. Ari Shapiro, NPR News, Washington.

The president's nominee¹⁰ to head the Transportation Security Administration has pulled his name from consideration. Erroll Southers says he doesn't want to be a distraction¹¹. South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint blocked Southers's nomination¹² saying he did not want TSA workers to be able to bargain for a labor¹³ contract under Southers. But Southers also misled Senators over an incident that occurred 20 years ago. He'd investigated the boyfriend of his estranged¹⁴ wife at the time and admitted later he'd given incorrect information about the incident.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrials down 136 points at 10,589.

 

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Authorities in Southern California are telling hundreds of people to leave their homes because of the threat of flooding and mudslides. Sheriff's deputies in Los Angeles County are warning people they could be evacuated¹⁵ for several days. The National Weather Service says a powerful new storm is headed for the region with a great deal of rain and powerful wind.

The parent company of American Airlines says it lost more than 400 million dollars at the end of 2009. It's the first of several major US carriers expected to report large losses. Bill Zeeble of member station KERA in Dallas has more.

American lost 415 million dollars in the final quarter of last year, worse than analysts¹⁶ predicted. But when considering some one-time expenses, the company lost 344 million dollars or a dollar three a share, slightly better than 2008's numbers. AMR Chairman and CEO Gerard Arpey blamed the loss on the worst recession in decades which he said severely¹⁷ hurt travel demand. He said the recession replaced last year's fuel crisis. For all of 2009, the world's second largest airline lost a billion and a half dollars compared to more than two billion a year earlier. The company said it's doing what it can to streamline¹⁸ operations and make more money. It's reduced routes, cut its fleet, now charges for food and snacks and just raised rates on checked baggage fees. For NPR News, I am Bill Zeeble in Dallas.

The British government has stopped direct flights between Britain and Yemen. Prime Minister Gordon Brown says Yemen is a safe haven¹⁹ for terrorists who threatened world security. Brown told British lawmakers today that airport security in Britain will now get stricter and Britain is widening its watchlist of one million names.

I'm Korva Coleman, NPR News in Washington.

 

1 precarious   

adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的

参考例句：

• Our financial situation had become precarious.我们的财务状况已变得不稳定了。
• He earned a precarious living as an artist.作为一个艺术家，他过得是朝不保夕的生活。

2 vista   

n.远景，深景，展望，回想

参考例句：

• From my bedroom window I looked out on a crowded vista of hills and rooftops.我从卧室窗口望去，远处尽是连绵的山峦和屋顶。
• These uprisings come from desperation and a vista of a future without hope.发生这些暴动是因为人们被逼上了绝路，未来看不到一点儿希望。

3 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

5 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

6 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

7 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

8 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

9 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

10 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。

11 distraction   

n.精神涣散，精神不集中，消遣，娱乐

参考例句：

• Total concentration is required with no distractions.要全神贯注，不能有丝毫分神。
• Their national distraction is going to the disco.他们的全民消遣就是去蹦迪。

12 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。

13 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。

14 estranged   

adj.疏远的，分离的

参考例句：

• He became estranged from his family after the argument.那场争吵后他便与家人疏远了。
• The argument estranged him from his brother.争吵使他同他的兄弟之间的关系疏远了。

15 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。

16 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

17 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

18 streamline   

vt.使成流线型；使简化；使现代化

参考例句：

• We must streamline our methods.我们必须简化方法。
• Any liquid or gas passing it will have streamline flow.任何通过它的液体或气体将呈流线型的流动。

19 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。