NPR 2010-10-05

The White House says it doesn’t want Americans to stop traveling just to be vigilant¹ about their personal security. As NPR’s Scott Horsley reports, the Obama administration is trying to tamp² down fears a day after it warned US citizens in Europe of the possibility of terrorist attacks.

The administration says it’s working closely with European allies to address heightened concerns about security amid reports that terrorists may be plotting Mumbai-style attacks somewhere in Europe. The State Department issued an advisory  Sunday for Americans living or traveling in the region. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says it’s not a warning to avoid travel, just a recommendation to take common-sense precautions.

“In terms of being aware of your surroundings, understanding how to move throughout those surroundings, where to go in the event of an emergency.”

Gibbs says President Obama was briefed on the threats over the weekend. Scott Horsley, NPR News, the White House.

The US Supreme³ Court hit a milestone⁴ today, beginning a new term with three women on the bench. Justice Elena Kagan is the most recent addition, but she had to recuse herself from two dozen cases because of work she did for the Obama administration as solicitor⁵ general.

The high court has already turned down hundreds of appeals including a lawsuit⁶ by some families affected⁷ by the 9/11 terror attacks. NPR’s Margot Adler reports a group wants New York City to provide proper burial for material taken from the World Trade Center site.

The family members of 9/11 victims say the material may well contain ashes of some of those killed on 9/11. No remains⁸ have been found for about 1,100 of the 2,752 people killed at Ground Zero that day. After the families brought suit against the city, lower federal courts dismissed the lawsuit, saying the city acted responsibly when it moved 1.6 million tons of material to a landfill in Staten Island and then began sifting⁹ for human remains. The families say that more than 200,000 tons of material was never sifted¹⁰ for remains and a landfill is not a proper burial site. Twenty thousand human remains were sent to the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office. The work of identifying those remains continues. Margot Adler, NPR News, New York.

Eleven people including Alabama legislators are charged in an alleged¹¹ vote-buying scheme aimed at expanding electronic bingo in the state. Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer identified four of the most high-profile suspects allegedly involved in the conspiracy¹².

“Defendants Larry Means, James Prueitt, Quinton Ross and Harri Anne Smith, who are all current Alabama state senators, are charged with accepting or agreeing to accept and in some cases demanding these bribes¹³.”

Alabama Governor Bob Riley strongly opposed state gambling¹⁴. He said in a statement that today’s arrests were “disappointing but hardly surprising”.

Dow’s down 78 points at last check.

This is NPR News.

In a major victory for California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, the state Supreme Court says the governor had legal authority to furlough state workers. Schwarzenegger made the move last year to help close a multi-billion-dollar budget gap. NPR’s Carrie Kahn reports employee unions have dozens of lawsuits¹⁵, trying to regain¹⁶ back pay.

The high court’s ruling is a major victory for Schwarzenegger, who ordered the furloughs back in 2009 and then imposed another round last August as legislators continued to fight over the state’s budget. The cost-cutting measure last year saved the state about three billion dollars, but employees unions filed dozens of lawsuits, demanding back pay and arguing that the furloughs were illegal since only California’s legislators could pass such a plan. Lower courts had given mixed rulings over who has authority to furlough workers. The state Supreme ruling was unanimous. Schwarzenegger ordered two-day-a-month furloughs then expanded it to three days a month. That meant a pay cut of nearly 14 percent for more than 200,000 state employees. Carrie Kahn, NPR News.

Authorities in southwest Georgia are now saying that 19 people were in a church van that overturned several times on a highway after a tire blew out yesterday. Four people died. Local media report 15 others were hurt. Children were among the victims. Members of the Tabernacle of Prayer and Deliverance congregation, which is based in Columbus, Georgia, were in the van. They were on their way to Florida when the accident occurred.

Stocks continue to move lower after the government reported that a big drop in demand for commercial aircraft. That was behind the drop in orders to US factories in August. The Commerce Department found orders fell 0.5 percent.
 

1 vigilant   

adj.警觉的，警戒的，警惕的

参考例句：

• He has to learn how to remain vigilant through these long nights.他得学会如何在这漫长的黑夜里保持警觉。
• The dog kept a vigilant guard over the house.这只狗警醒地守护着这所房屋。

2 tamp   

v.捣实，砸实

参考例句：

• Then I tamp down the soil with the back of a rake.然后我用耙子的背将土壤拍实。
• Philpott tamped a wad of tobacco into his pipe.菲尔波特往烟斗里塞了一卷碎烟叶。

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 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

5 solicitor   

n.初级律师，事务律师

参考例句：

• The solicitor's advice gave me food for thought.律师的指点值得我深思。
• The solicitor moved for an adjournment of the case.律师请求将这个案件的诉讼延期。

6 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

8 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。

9 sifting   

n.筛，过滤v.筛( sift的现在分词 )；筛滤；细查；详审

参考例句：

• He lay on the beach, sifting the sand through his fingers. 他躺在沙滩上用手筛砂子玩。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I was sifting the cinders when she came in. 她进来时，我正在筛煤渣。 来自辞典例句

10 sifted   

v.筛( sift的过去式和过去分词 )；筛滤；细查；详审

参考例句：

• She sifted through her papers to find the lost letter. 她仔细在文件中寻找那封丢失的信。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She sifted thistles through her thistle-sifter. 她用蓟筛筛蓟。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

12 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

13 bribes   

n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• corrupt officials accepting bribes 接受贿赂的贪官污吏

14 gambling   

n.赌博；投机

参考例句：

• They have won a lot of money through gambling.他们赌博赢了很多钱。
• The men have been gambling away all night.那些人赌了整整一夜。

15 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

16 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。