NPR 2011-04-05

Confronted with significant political opposition¹, the Obama administration plans to refer Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-declared 9/11 mastermind, to a military tribunal at Guantanamo rather than a civilian² court in New York. Attorney General Eric Holder³ says the country can no longer afford to delay the process. But Holder says he still thinks the best course of action would have been to put Mohammed and his four alleged⁴ co-conspirators on trial in New York.

"After consulting with prosecutors⁵ from both the Department of Justice and the Department of Defense⁶ and after thoroughly⁷ studying the case, it became clear to me that the best venue⁸ for prosecution⁹ was in federal court. Let me be clear: I stand by that decision today."

Congress had passed legislation banning any Guantanamo detainees from being transferred to the United States.

In Yemen, a key US counterterrorism ally, anti-government clashes with troops have led to at least 12 deaths. Security forces opened fire today on a crowd in the southern city of Taizz. A reporter for the BBC who is unidentified for security reasons here says local officials deny there were deaths, but witnesses described a far different scene.

One doctor in the city's main hospital told the BBC the injured were brought in with gunshot wounds in their neck and head, and that many had been deliberately¹⁰ shot. A young protester in the city of Hodeidah said he saw snipers shooting at demonstrators from the roofs. People in the capital are furious and vow¹¹ to escalate¹² their anti-government protests.

The latest account from the BBC out of Yemen's capital.

The United Nations confirms a plane carrying UN staff has crashed in Congo today, killing¹³ at least 20 people. The UN mission spokesman says Congolese and foreign nationals were on the aircraft as it attempted to land at the airport serving the capital Kinshasa.

President Obama is asking congressional leaders to the White House tomorrow to talk about the budget. NPR's Ari Shapiro reports that the government will shut down if the parties don't reach a deal by Friday.

A team of White House officials has been meeting on Capitol Hill for weeks. But so far, they've been unable to bring Republican and Democratic lawmakers to a deal. Now, President Obama is getting more personally involved. White House spokesman Jay Carney says the president remains¹⁴ confident that the government will keep running.

"The shutdown is not something we want. Leaders of Congress have said it's not something they want. We believe that it's bad for a number of reasons, but most importantly because it would send the wrong signal about the economy and would have a negative impact on potential job growth in the future."

It's unclear whether Republican leaders can even speak for their entire side of the aisle¹⁵. Some budget hawks¹⁶ in Congress are insisting on deeper cuts than those the leadership might be willing to agree to. Ari Shapiro, NPR News, the White House.

Before the close on Wall Street, the Dow was up 23 at 12,401; NASDAQ down slightly at 2,789.

From Washington, this is NPR News.

President Obama is formally in the race for re-election. Today, he urged supporters via email, text and video to mobilize right away.

Italy is now recognizing the Libyan opposition council as the only legitimate¹⁷ voice in the North African nation. Foreign Minister Franco Frattini says any solution to the civil war in Libya would first require Colonel Muammar Qaddafi to step down and go into exile with his family. Italy joins France and Qatar to give diplomatic recognition to Libya's opposition council.

The University of Connecticut Hustkies face the upstart Butler Bulldogs in a David and Goliath matchup for the NCAA men's basketball championship tonight in Houston. NPR's Mike Pesca says UConn will try for its third NCAA title, and Butler is in the championship game for the second straight year.

No one is sure of the etymology¹⁸ of the label "mid-major" to describe schools from outside the traditional power conferences. But if Butler wins the championship tonight, everyone will know they are the exemplar of term. The 34-year-old coach Brad Stevens will be the second youngest to win a title and the only man ever to take a school with such a relative lack of resources to the pinnacle¹⁹ of college basketball. Already a Hall of Famer, 68-year-old Jim Calhoun, has won two national titles. The list of men who won three or more is small and storied: Wooden, Rupp, Krzyzewski, Knight²⁰. Calhoun knows that guard Kemba Walker is the key to his offense²¹. Stevens knows that nothing is more important than stopping Walker. History hangs in the balance. Mike Peska, NPR News, Houston.

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News in Washington.

1 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

2 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

3 holder   

n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物

参考例句：

• The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
• That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。

4 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

5 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

6 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。

7 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

8 venue   

n.犯罪地点，审判地，管辖地，发生地点，集合地点

参考例句：

• The hall provided a venue for weddings and other functions.大厅给婚礼和其他社会活动提供了场所。
• The chosen venue caused great controversy among the people.人们就审判地点的问题产生了极大的争议。

9 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

10 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

11 vow   

n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓

参考例句：

• My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿，每星期日都去做礼拜。
• I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。

12 escalate   

v.(使)逐步增长(或发展)，(使)逐步升级

参考例句：

• It would tempt Israel's neighbors to escalate their demands.它将诱使以色列的邻国不断把他们的要求升级。
• Defeat could cause one side or other to escalate the conflict.失败可能会导致其中一方将冲突升级。

13 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

14 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。

15 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。

16 hawks   

鹰( hawk的名词复数 )； 鹰派人物，主战派人物

参考例句：

• Two hawks were hover ing overhead. 两只鹰在头顶盘旋。
• Both hawks and doves have expanded their conditions for ending the war. 鹰派和鸽派都充分阐明了各自的停战条件。

17 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

18 etymology   

n.语源；字源学

参考例句：

• The hippies' etymology is contentious.关于嬉皮士的语源是有争议的。
• The origin of OK became the Holy Grail of etymology.OK的出典成了词源学梦寐以求的圣杯。

19 pinnacle   

n.尖塔，尖顶，山峰；(喻)顶峰

参考例句：

• Now he is at the very pinnacle of his career.现在他正值事业中的顶峰时期。
• It represents the pinnacle of intellectual capability.它代表了智能的顶峰。

20 knight   

n.骑士，武士；爵士

参考例句：

• He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
• A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

21 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。