NPR 2011-07-19

House Republicans are spearheading a bill that they say would cut, cap and balance the federal budget. President Obama says if it gets to his desk, he'll veto it. NPR's Ari Shapiro reports this is all part of the contentious¹ debate over reducing deficits² and raising the debt ceiling.

The White House accuses Republicans of pursuing "an empty political statement and unrealistic policy goals." The so-called "cut, cap and balance" plan deeply cuts spending, rules out tax increases and calls for a balanced budget amendment⁴ to the Constitution before Congress raises the debt ceiling. The plan has no chance in the Democrat-controlled Senate. It's more of a statement of purpose by House Republicans. The president‘s veto threat is just as emphatic⁵ a statement calling the bill politics as usual. This back-and-forth shows just how far apart the two parties remain on the debt ceiling negotiations⁶. If Congress does not increase the country's borrowing limit by August 2nd, the US may not be able to pay all of its financial obligations and risks going into default. Ari Shapiro, NPR News, Washington.

Now, NPR's Yuki Noguchi has been monitoring the showdown's impact on the markets where US stocks are ending the day lower for at least a couple reasons.

There are concerns that negotiations among lawmakers in the US aren't making progress on raising the debt ceiling. Meanwhile, leaders of the European Union are said to meet later this week. Inventors appear worried about the ability of banks and politicians to contain the spread of the debt crisis that began in Greece. Investors⁷ sold off their Italian and Spanish bonds. Gold prices, meanwhile, continue to soar in what is another sign of shaken faith in the markets. Yuki Noguchi, NPR News, Washington.

A former Ohio attorney general is President Obama's choice to direct the new consumer protection bureau. Today, the president formally nominated Richard Cordray, who still needs to be confirmed by the Senate.

A new twist of the scandal surrounding Rupert Murdoch's media empire. A whistle-blower from the now defunct⁸ News of the World has been found dead at his home, north of London. Larry Miller⁹ reports Sean Hoare was the first to allege¹⁰ that former editor Andy Coulson, who later served as Prime Minster David Cameron's communications chief, knew the newspaper had hacked¹¹ people's cell phones in pursuit of stories.

Hoare was a former News of the World showbiz reporter. Police say his death is unexplained and not thought to be suspicious, but that their investigation¹² is ongoing¹³. He made his phone-hacking¹⁴ claims to the New York Times, saying not only did Coulson know about the hacking, he actively¹⁵ encouraged staff to intercept¹⁶ calls of celebrities¹⁷. Of Coulson's subsequent denial, Hoare told the BBC it's a lie. Coulson was arrested last week, and the prime minister has been sharply criticized for hiring him. Most recently, Hoare told the Times that reporters paid police to use their technology to track people through their cell phone signals. For NPR News, I'm Larry Miller in London.

News Corp. shares of the company tumbled today in New York 4.5%.

This is NPR.

Judges in Milan are rejecting a request from lawyers for Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to move his sex trial out of court to a special parliamentary appointed tribunal. NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports this is just one of four current cases pending³ against Berlusconi.

The prime minister, who admits to a fondness for young women, stands accused of having paid for sex with an underage Moroccan pole dancer. He's also charged with abuse of office in trying to cover up the affair. Berlusconi denies the charges and claims Milan magistrates¹⁸ are politically biased¹⁹ against him. His critics say he's trying to escape ordinary justice by moving the trial to a special tribunal for ministers, where he would get a more favorable hearing. Today's ruling means the case will go ahead and resume in October. Berlusconi did not appear in court, where there was also a hearing in another case where he stands accused of corruption²⁰. Sylvia Poggioli, NPR News, Rome.

Marine²¹ General John Allen is now in charge of international troops in Afghanistan. He assumed command at a ceremony in Kabul today from General David Petraeus, who recently became the director of the CIA. Allen will oversee²² the US military drawdown in Afghanistan, which began earlier this month.

Tropical Storm Dora is expected to gain strength in the Pacific off southern Mexico. Dora is expected to become a hurricane by Wednesday. However, the National Hurricane Center in Miami says it does not expect the storm to make landfall.

Before the close on Wall Street, Dow Jones Industrial Average down 93 points, or 0.25%, at 12,387 in trading of three billion shares; NASDAQ was down 25, under 1%, at 2,765.

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.

1 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

2 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

3 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

4 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

5 emphatic   

adj.强调的，着重的；无可置疑的，明显的

参考例句：

• Their reply was too emphatic for anyone to doubt them.他们的回答很坚决，不容有任何人怀疑。
• He was emphatic about the importance of being punctual.他强调严守时间的重要性。

6 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

7 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

8 defunct   

adj.死亡的；已倒闭的

参考例句：

• The scheme for building an airport seems to be completely defunct now.建造新机场的计划看来整个完蛋了。
• This schema object is defunct.No modifications are allowed until it is made active again.此架构对象不起作用。在重新激活之前，不能进行任何改动。

9 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

10 allege   

vt.宣称，申述，主张，断言

参考例句：

• The newspaper reporters allege that the man was murdered but they have given no proof.新闻记者们宣称这个男人是被谋杀的，但他们没提出证据。
• Students occasionally allege illness as the reason for absence.学生时不时会称病缺课。

11 hacked   

生气

参考例句：

• I hacked the dead branches off. 我把枯树枝砍掉了。
• I'm really hacked off. 我真是很恼火。

12 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。

13 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

14 hacking   

n.非法访问计算机系统和数据库的活动

参考例句：

• The patient with emphysema is hacking all day. 这个肺气肿病人整天不断地干咳。
• We undertook the task of hacking our way through the jungle. 我们负责在丛林中开路。

15 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

16 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。

17 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

18 magistrates   

地方法官，治安官( magistrate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to come up before the magistrates 在地方法院出庭
• He was summoned to appear before the magistrates. 他被传唤在地方法院出庭。

19 biased   

a.有偏见的

参考例句：

• a school biased towards music and art 一所偏重音乐和艺术的学校
• The Methods: They employed were heavily biased in the gentry's favour. 他们采用的方法严重偏袒中上阶级。

20 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

21 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

22 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。