NPR 2010-08-13

It appears same-sex marriages in California will remain on hold for at least another week. A Federal judge issued the ruling just a short time ago. NPR's Karen Grigsby Bates is at NPR West, monitoring development. Karen, how long are same-sex marriages going to be on hold, and why the delay?

The judge has announced in this ruling, Lakshmi, that things will stay on hold until August 18th, which is next Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. After that time, people will begin to be married if they want to. The supposed reason for the hold is people always thought that pro-Prop¹. 8 supporters or Prop. 8 proponents² were going to appeal this if the ruling did not go the way that they hope that it would. And so that's happening now as being appealed to the Ninth Circuit. And I think what Judge Walker's probably doing is giving the judges time to review this on their own.

Karen, how does it affect gay and lesbian couples who were, we know, they were all set to tie the knot today.

And a lot of people were all set to marry them including the mayor of Los Angeles who announced he was going to begin marrying couples as soon as it was legally possible, but he's going to have to wait, they're going to have to wait until August 18th at five o'clock. And that's when the dresses and the tuxedos³ will be put on, and the rings will be exchanged. Then the confetti will be thrown, but not before then.

And we will be watching. Thanks, Karen. Karen Grigsby Bates at NPR West.

General Motors Chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre is resigning. Jerome Vaughn of member station WDET has details.

Whitacre made the announcement during a conference call about GM earnings⁴ at the start of the day. He says he's stepping down now because the company's financial turnaround is well under way.

"My goal in coming to General Motors was to help restore profitability, build a strong market position and prepare this iconic company for success. Today, we're clearly on that path. We have put a strong foundation in place, so I'm very comfortable with my timing⁵."

General Motors posted its second-quarter earnings of $1.3 billion. GM board member Dan Akerson will become CEO on September 1st. Whitacre will continue as chairman until the end of the year, when Akerson will take that title as well. For NPR News, I'm Jerome Vaughn in Detroit.

An Iraqi general reportedly does not think his country's troops are ready for a complete US pullout by the end of next year. Britain's Daily Telegraph quotes Lieutenant⁶ General Babaker Zebari at a defense⁷ conference in Baghdad saying the Iraqi army won't have fully⁸ handled on security until the year 2020.

Stocks appear to be gaining ground, but are still in negative territory after a fresh round of disappointing economic data. Dow's down nearly 60 points at last check at 10,320.

This is NPR News.

Workers in the Gulf⁹ of Mexico have resumed their efforts to put a final seal on BP's blown-out oil well. NPR's Dan Charles says work had been suspended because of bad weather.

For months now, BP has been drilling a relief well down toward the base of the runaway¹⁰ Macondo well. The original goal was to intercept¹¹ the well near its base and fill it from the bottom with cement. At least part of that job, however, is now already done. BP managed to plug the well's central pipe with cement just over a week ago, but the relief well still may be needed to plug the narrow space around that central pipe. The relief well has just a few dozen feet to go, but it will take several days to get all the drilling equipment back into place and also to carry out some more tests in the well to see if an additional cement plug is even necessary. Dan Charles, NPR News, Washington.

The Colombian government's calling today's car bombing in Bogota 'a terror attack'. No word yet officially on who detonated the explosives outside Caracol Radio, one of Columbia's most popular radio stations. Authorities say no one was killed, but several people were injured.

Northwestern China's reeling from new landslides¹² touched off by heavy rain overnight. They raised fears that the death toll¹³ would rise in the coming days after the region endured one of its deadliest floods and landslides in decades. Since a monsoon¹⁴ hit over a week ago, more than 1,100 people have been killed, hundreds remain missing.

Ecuador was shaken by a 6.9-magnitude earthquake. Some reports were saying that it was a 7.1. It was centered in the Amazon region of the country. No immediate¹⁵ reports of deaths or serious damage.
 

1 prop   

vt.支撑；n.支柱，支撑物；支持者，靠山

参考例句：

• A worker put a prop against the wall of the tunnel to keep it from falling.一名工人用东西支撑住隧道壁好使它不会倒塌。
• The government does not intend to prop up declining industries.政府无意扶持不景气的企业。

2 proponents   

n.（某事业、理论等的）支持者，拥护者( proponent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Reviewing courts were among the most active proponents of hybrid rulemaking procedures. 复审法院是最积极的混合型规则制定程序的建议者。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• Proponents of such opinions were arrested as 'traitors. ' 提倡这种主张的人马上作为“卖国贼”逮捕起来。 来自辞典例句

3 tuxedos   

n.餐服，无尾晚礼服( tuxedo的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our services include design and tailoring for wedding gowns, tuxedos and party dressesfrom and American brands. 们的服务范围包括高级婚纱设计定制，高级礼服、派对装设计定制，及欧美一线品牌成衣的驳样定制。 来自互联网
• Most tuxedos are black, but some people like to wear white ones called 'morning suits'. 大多数男士无尾晚礼服是黑色的，不过有些人喜欢穿那种被称为“晨服”的白色装。 来自互联网

4 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

5 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

6 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

7 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

8 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

9 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。

10 runaway   

n.逃走的人，逃亡，亡命者；adj.逃亡的，逃走的

参考例句：

• The police have not found the runaway to date.警察迄今没抓到逃犯。
• He was praised for bringing up the runaway horse.他勒住了脱缰之马受到了表扬。

11 intercept   

vt.拦截，截住，截击

参考例句：

• His letter was intercepted by the Secret Service.他的信被特工处截获了。
• Gunmen intercepted him on his way to the airport.持枪歹徒在他去机场的路上截击了他。

12 landslides   

山崩( landslide的名词复数 )； （山坡、悬崖等的）崩塌； 滑坡； （竞选中）一方选票占压倒性多数

参考例句：

• Landslides have cut off many villages in remote areas. 滑坡使边远地区的许多村庄与外界隔绝。
• The storm caused landslides and flooding in Savona. 风暴致使萨沃纳发生塌方和洪灾。

13 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

14 monsoon   

n.季雨，季风，大雨

参考例句：

• The monsoon rains started early this year.今年季雨降雨开始得早。
• The main climate type in that region is monsoon.那个地区主要以季风气候为主要气候类型。

15 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。