NPR 2010-05-04

Law enforcement officials who are investigating car bombing attempt in New York City tell NPR they believe the evidence is starting to point to an international plot. NPR's Dina Temple-Raston reports.

Two people close to the case say they believe that several people were behind the attempted Times Square car bombing and they appeared to have received some guidance from abroad. The officials declined to be more specific and cautioned that it's still very early in the investigation¹ to draw any definitive² conclusions. That said, they say so far, the evidence seems to rule out the work of right-wing extremists. Investigators³ are following a number of leads. They've spoken to the person who the SUV was registered to. And now, they're looking for the man who actually was driving the car on Saturday night. They're also asking that the two men caught on videotape near the site of the attack come forward. Officials say they aren't suspects, but they'd like to interview them anyway. Dina Temple-Raston, NPR News, New York.

The White House says the US delegation⁴ at a nuclear conference at the United Nations walked out of a speech today given by Iran's president. The White House says Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's remarks were full of wild accusations⁵. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warns Iran is only trying to distract attention away from its own behavior. Iran is again rejecting charges from the United States and other countries Iran's developing a nuclear weapon.

Energy company BP is offering some assurance the corporation will compensate⁶ fishermen and others whose livelihood⁷ is damaged by the growing oil spill in the Gulf⁸ of Mexico. NPR's Scott Horsley reports.

The Obama administration is vowing⁹ to make certain that BP pays not only for the costs of cleaning up the oil flowing from a damaged deepwater well but also those who lose income because of the spill. The president met Sunday with fishermen and local officials in Louisiana and talked about setting up an efficient process for handling claims. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says compensation is called for under federal law.

"BP is the responsible party, right? So if local fishermen can't fish, that's an economic loss that BP's going to have to pay."

Over the weekend, the government closed a large swath of the Gulf to fishing for at least ten days. BP has so far been unable to seal off the well. It's expected to take another week or so to install a system for capturing the spilled oil and pumping it to the surface. Scott Horsley, NPR News, the White House.

At least 21 people have died in the South over the past few days from bad weather. Tornadoes¹⁰, flooding, torrential rain and hail had pelted¹¹ Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee. The Cumberland River is above flood stage in Nashville and Tennessee officials worry more people will be killed as water flows into the city. Residents are being asked to boil water because one treatment plant is flooded and shut down.

On Wall Street before the close, the Dow Jones industrials were up 144 points at 11,153.

You're listening to NPR News from Washington.

Among the several types of antidepressants available to patients, no one drug is more likely to be linked to suicidal thoughts and actions than another. NPR's Joanne Silberner has more.

A few years ago, questions were raised about a possible link between suicides and a group of antidepressants called SSRIs, drugs like Prozac and Zoloft. The US Food and Drug Administration told doctors and patients to be alert for suicidal thoughts with any kind of antidepressant, not just SSRIs. Now, Canadian researchers have analyzed¹² the records of 288,000 people on antidepressants. Less than 0.3% of them attempted or completed suicide. The findings published in the Archives of General Psychiatry¹³ back up the FDA decision. No one class of drugs is more likely to lead to suicidal thoughts and actions than another and no single SSRI is riskier¹⁴ than another. The analysis did not address the question of whether or to what degree antidepressants are related to suicide. Joanne Silberner, NPR News.

The Greek workers will strike tomorrow to protest cuts in government spending. Greek officials agreed to impose significant cuts in wages, pensions and other spending to win loans from the European Union and the International Monetary¹⁵ Fund. Greece faces bankruptcy¹⁶. Greek unions say they don't want to bear the brunt for decisions made by the government.

Thailand's prime minister says he'll set national elections for mid-November, but Prime Minister Abhisit says this can only happen if anti-government protestors accept a plan of national reconciliation¹⁷ and if peace returns to Thailand. Protestors have paralyzed the Thai capital, Bangkok, for weeks, demanding the prime minister step down.

1 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

2 definitive   

adj.确切的，权威性的；最后的，决定性的

参考例句：

• This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
• No one has come up with a definitive answer as to why this should be so.至于为什么该这样，还没有人给出明确的答复。

3 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

5 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

6 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。

7 livelihood   

n.生计，谋生之道

参考例句：

• Appropriate arrangements will be made for their work and livelihood.他们的工作和生活会得到妥善安排。
• My father gained a bare livelihood of family by his own hands.父亲靠自己的双手勉强维持家计。

8 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。

9 vowing   

起誓，发誓（vow的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild its collapsed bridge. 布什总统承诺将帮助明尼阿波利斯重建坍塌的大桥。
• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild this collapse bridge. 布什总统发誓要帮助明尼阿波利斯重建起这座坍塌的桥梁。

10 tornadoes   

n.龙卷风，旋风( tornado的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Tornadoes, severe earthquakes, and plagues create wide spread havoc. 龙卷风、大地震和瘟疫成普遍的毁坏。 来自互联网
• Meteorologists are at odds over the working of tornadoes. 气象学者对龙卷风的运动方式看法不一。 来自互联网

11 pelted   

（连续地）投掷( pelt的过去式和过去分词 )； 连续抨击； 攻击； 剥去…的皮

参考例句：

• The children pelted him with snowballs. 孩子们向他投掷雪球。
• The rain pelted down. 天下着大雨。

12 analyzed   

v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程，因为对他来说，爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 psychiatry   

n.精神病学，精神病疗法

参考例句：

• The study appeared in the Amercian science Journal of Psychiatry.这个研究发表在美国精神病学的杂志上。
• A physician is someone who specializes in psychiatry.精神病专家是专门从事精神病治疗的人。

14 riskier   

冒险的，危险的( risky的比较级 )

参考例句：

• Now they are starting to demand higher returns on riskier assets. 而今他们开始在风险更高的资产上要求更高的回报。
• The problem with that: RIM's business is getting riskier every quarter. 不过问题也随之而来：RIM面临的业务风险正逐季增大。

15 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

16 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

17 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。