NPR 2010-08-11

Five people including former Republican Senator Ted¹ Stevens are confirmed dead following a plane crash in southern Alaska last night. NPR's Martin Costi with the latest.

Ted Stevens was on board a single-engine plane that was flying in the southern part of Alaska, an area that's very popular with sports fishermen. They were apparently² on their way to a private lodge³ owned by a local telecommunications company. The plane encountered some bad weather. It's not known what role, if any, the weather played in the crash. But apparently the visibility was poor, and there was rain, and another pilot in the area at the same time said he didn't think it was a good day to be out flying even though he himself was out.

NPR's Martin Costi.

The plane was carrying nine people when it went down. The newswires report that former NASA chief Sean O'Keefe was onboard and was among the survivors⁴.

At a briefing today, Joe Masters, commissioner⁵ of public safety in Alaska, outlined the next step in search and rescue.

"We're placing our attention to get troopers on scene in that the Alaska National Guard is assisting us, with the helicopters deployment⁶ of our personnel involved taking all of them to the medical examiner's office."

That's Joe Masters, commissioner of public safety, addressing the public just moments ago.

The House Representatives returned from its August recess⁷ today to pass a 26-billion-dollar cash infusion⁸ for ailing⁹ states. NPR's Andrea Seabrook reports Democrats¹¹ said it was an emergency.

Without this money, Democratic leaders and President Obama said more than 100,000 teachers would be laid off before school starts. Police, firefighters and other government workers would also be vulnerable. Republicans called the bill another bailout, and all but two of them opposed it. The House had passed a version of the bill months ago, but the Senate didn't clear it until late last week. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the emergency 'one-day session'.

"I thank the members on both sides of the aisle¹² for responding so quickly to the call to return to Washington to save and create jobs for the American people."

The final vote count was 247 to 161. Andrea Seabrook, NPR News, the Capitol.

In an unexpected move, New York Congressman¹³ Charles Rangel delivered a speech to colleagues in the House today. Rangel faces 13 counts of ethics¹⁴ violations¹⁵, casting a shadow over the Democrats' efforts to retain their congressional majority. Despite that, Rangel said he's not going away.

"As much as I love you Democrats, I figure it would be easy for you I'm the guy that was raising money in Republican districts to get you here. But that doesn't mean that I criticize you for saying, "Hey, that's great then, but I'm running for reelection now.""

Another Democrat¹⁰, California Congresswoman Maxine Waters, also faces ethics-related charges.

US stocks continue to drop today. Last check, Dow was down 54 points at 10,645.

This is NPR News.

The H1N1 flu pandemic is officially over. The World Health Organization says the global outbreak was not nearly as feared as scientists feared a year ago. WHO Director General Margaret Chan says the virus, commonly called swine flu, has largely run its course, but would still be around during the seasonal¹⁶ flu season. H1N1 triggered the first pandemic in more than 40 years.

A class of popular drugs that help to prevent bone loss do not increase the risk of esophageal cancer, according to a study out today in the Journal of the American Medical Association. NPR's Alix Spiegel has more.

The use of oral bisphosphonates to prevent osteoporosis has grown dramatically over the last 20 years. But starting in the mid-90s, concern emerged that bisphosphonates might increase the risk of cancer of the esophagus. The drugs can cause stomach upset and inflammation of the esophagus. To assess the risk, a group of researchers from Queen's University Belfast in the United Kingdom compared 41,000 women on bisphosphonates to 41,000 women who were not on bisphosphonates. They found almost no difference in the number of cases of cancer of the esophagus. Alix Spiegel, NPR News, Washington.

Drilling on a relief well in the Gulf¹⁷ of Mexico was suspended because of bad weather. A BP spokesman said the company stopped its work after the National Hurricane Center said there was a 60% chance of a tropical depression developing in the next two days. The storm could reach the spot where BP's been working to seal a leaking oil well. However, BP's crew were staying put until further notice.

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News, Washington.
 

1 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

2 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

3 lodge   

v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆

参考例句：

• Is there anywhere that I can lodge in the village tonight?村里有我今晚过夜的地方吗？
• I shall lodge at the inn for two nights.我要在这家小店住两个晚上。

4 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

5 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

6 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

7 recess   

n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处）

参考例句：

• The chairman of the meeting announced a ten-minute recess.会议主席宣布休会10分钟。
• Parliament was hastily recalled from recess.休会的议员被匆匆召回开会。

8 infusion   

n.灌输

参考例句：

• Old families need an infusion of new blood from time to time.古老的家族需要不时地注入新鲜血液。
• Careful observation of the infusion site is necessary.必须仔细观察输液部位。

9 ailing   

v.生病

参考例句：

• They discussed the problems ailing the steel industry. 他们讨论了困扰钢铁工业的问题。
• She looked after her ailing father. 她照顾有病的父亲。

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 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。

13 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

14 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。

15 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。

16 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

17 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。