NPR 2012-05-26

 Indiana police are reporting a hostage crisis in the northwestern city of Valparaiso. According to the  Associated Press, a gunman is holding an unknown number of people captive inside a real estate office. So far, there are no known injures. Local media report that FBI agents have entered the building which is surrounded by police officers. 

 

 

In Alabama, DEA agents and local law officers have taken an elementary school principal into custody¹ for among other things, allegedly selling drugs at the school.  Dan Carson of member station WBHM in Birmingham has the story. 

The school year is not ending well for Shiloh Elementary School, just south of Selma, Alabama. After a month-long investigation², local police and DEA agents have arrested principal, Aaron McKinley, after reportedly witnessing him selling Oxycodone and Hydrocodone at the school. McKinley faces a more severe sentence, because the drug sales allegedly took place on school property. Some of police also say, McKinley knowingly bought and persisted the ** in vehicle. The up and coming young principal had a good reputation, and the committee is reeling. The county school board released a statement saying we were both shocked and saddened about the allegations. And that the school's assistant principal would run the school for the rest of the year, which ends Thursday. For NPR News, I'm Dan Carson, in Birmingham.

 

 

The man who confessed to killing³ a little boy 33 years ago today faces a ** in New York. Pedro Hernandez worked in the neighborhood where Etan Patz was last seeing. While some people are questioning the validity of Hernandez's claim, saying it could be a hoax⁴, which's come around anniversaries of crimes. Still, authorities were confident enough to pursue second-degree murder charges against Hernandez.

 

 

Consumers are feeling more a bit about the economy according to the latest numbers from the Thomson Reuters University of Michigan Index. NPR's ** reports consumers' sentiment  is at a four-year high.

The main Index rose nearly 3 points, that's a big change, it beat analysts⁵ expectations, Richard Curtain is ** director, he says cheaper gas prices are helping⁶ but the key for consumers is job growth. 

They expect the economy to continue to improve and to produce more jobs. 

Curtain is cautiously optimistic. 

The issue is whether consumers' optimism really has outpaced what the performance of the economy will be. 

He says consumer confidence rose nearly as high twice in the past two years, but the economy couldn't sustain  those positive vibes. Both times high gas prices and weak job growth reversed the gains. **, NPR News, Washington.

 

 

At last check on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 67 points, now down more than 1.5% at 12,462; NASDAQ Composite Index off 2 points at 2,838; and the S&P 500 down 2 as well at 1,318.

 

 

This is NPR News.

 

 

 

 

The UN's Atomic Watchdog is reporting traces of uranium enriched at a higher level than previously⁷ reported in Iran, raising concerns that the Islamic-Republic may be closer to developing nuclear weapons material. The International Atomic Energy Agency released its report a day after nuclear talks in Baghdad. Failed to yield  agreement over Iran's nuclear program. The west wants atomic activities to be halted. Iran says it has the right to continue its program. 

 

 

For the first time, Seoul Supreme⁸ Court has ruled in favor of South Korean seeking compensation  from Japanese firms for forced labor⁹ nearly seven decades ago. From Seoul, Doualy Xaykaothao  has details.

South Korea's top court reversed lower court rulings and says Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Nippon Steel Corporation must compensate¹⁰ 9 victims of forced labor during Japan's occupation of Korea from 1910 to 1945. Then thousands of Koreans were forced to work for Japanese companies without pay and some were forced to leave South Korea. Tokyo's chief Cabinet Secretary says Japan has already fully¹¹ compensated¹² Koreans under a bilateral¹³ agreement between Tokyo and Seoul singed¹⁴ nearly 50 years ago. For NPR News, I'm Doualy Xaykaothao, in Seoul. 

 

 

The International Space Station has hooked up with its first commercial supply spacecraft. In a historic moment, the SpaceX Dragon capsule docked with the orbiting outpost today. The unmanned Dragon hold a thousand pounds of supplies. The space station's astronauts are scheduled to open the supply capsule tomorrow. 

1 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

2 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。

3 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。

4 hoax   

v.欺骗，哄骗，愚弄；n.愚弄人，恶作剧

参考例句：

• They were the victims of a cruel hoax.他们是一个残忍恶作剧的受害者。
• They hoax him out of his money.他们骗去他的钱。

5 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

8 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

9 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

10 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。

11 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。

12 compensated   

补偿，报酬( compensate的过去式和过去分词 )； 给（某人）赔偿（或赔款）

参考例句：

• The marvelous acting compensated for the play's weak script. 本剧的精彩表演弥补了剧本的不足。
• I compensated his loss with money. 我赔偿他经济损失。

13 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

14 singed   

v.浅表烧焦( singe的过去式和过去分词 )；（毛发）燎，烧焦尖端[边儿]

参考例句：

• He singed his hair as he tried to light his cigarette. 他点烟时把头发给燎了。
• The cook singed the chicken to remove the fine hairs. 厨师把鸡燎一下，以便去掉细毛。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》