NPR 2009-09-19

As she prepares to head to the annual UN General Assembly, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is warning Iran that she will push for more sanctions soon if the country continues to defy the international community on the nuclear issue. NPR's Michele Kelemen has more.

On the sidelines of the UN meeting, Secretary Clinton will sit down with her counterparts on the Iran issue, the permanent Security Council members plus Germany. They will prepare for the October 1st talks with Iran. Clinton says the US is serious about negotiations¹ and will test whether Iran is too.

There will be accompanying costs for Iran's continued defiance²: more isolation³ and economic pressure, less possibility of progress for the people of Iran.

Speaking at the Brookings Institution, Clinton said the US is trying to resolve this issue diplomatically and not just talking for the sake of talking. She said the Obama administration will take stock at the end of the year to see if there is any movement. Michele Kelemen, NPR News, Washington.

A car bomb that exploded in a market south of Baghdad today has killed at least seven people and wounded 21 others. Officials say the bomb was in a parked car exploded just before the end of the day's Ramadan fasting, a time when the market was packed with shoppers buying food for the evening meal. The area where the bombing occurred, twenty miles south of Baghdad, is home to a sizable Shiite community. There's no immediate⁴ claim of responsibility, but evening gatherings⁵ linked to Ramadan have been targeted by Al-Qaeda in the past.

The unemployment rate rose in 27 states last month, that's according to the Labor⁶ Department. NPR's Frank Langfitt reports.

Even as the stock market rises and the economy seems to stabilize⁷, the job front remains⁸ tough throughout much of the country. That's one of the messages from the Labor Department’s state report for August. Fourteen states had unemployment rates of 10% or more. Michigan, home to the nation's battered⁹ auto¹⁰ business had the highest rate at more than 15%. Nevada, one of the epicenters of the housing collapse¹¹ ranked second with about 13%. The news was not all bad. The unemployment rate declined in 16 states. Some states actually added jobs. They include North Carolina, which added 7,000 jobs and Montana which added 5,000. Economists¹² expect the nation to continue to shed jobs in the coming months even as the economy improves. The national unemployment rate is expected to pass 10% and top out sometime next year. Frank Langfitt, NPR News, Washington.

A government emergency fund that guaranteed as much as three trillion dollars worth of money market assets is being allowed to expire today. Treasury¹³ Secretary Timothy Geithner in a statement about the program noted¹⁴ that the risk of catastrophic failure of the financial system has receded¹⁵. Geithner said last week the financial system was healthy enough to begin unwinding some of the programs put in place last year after the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 36 points. The NASDAQ was up six points today.

This is NPR.

A group of former CIA directors are asking the Obama administration to quash a proposed investigation¹⁶ by Attorney General Eric Holder¹⁷ in the harsh interrogation of terror suspects during the Bush administration. In a letter to the White House, the seven former directors who served under both Republican and Democratic presidents warned the investigation could discourage CIA officers from doing the kind of aggressive intelligence work needed to counter terrorism. Holder announced last month he planned to reopen the investigation into interrogations carried out following the 9/11 terror attacks.

Massachusetts' legislature is expected next week to approve a bill that would allow the governor to appoint an interim¹⁸ replacement¹⁹ to Senator Edward Kennedy's seat. Meanwhile, the race to fill the seat in the special election is heating up. (From) WBUR in Boston, Megna Chakravarti reports.

Massachusetts could have an interim Senator in Washington by next week. The governor says he'll ask the replacement to pledge not to run for the seat in the special election. There are already three Democrats²⁰ and two Republicans officially in the race. The Democrats include Attorney General Martha Coakley, Congressman²¹ Michael Capuano and millionaire businessman Stephen Pagliuca. Pagliuca, a co-owner of the Boston Celtics basketball team, says he'll invest some of his 400-million-dollar fortune to be competitive.

I am running against very seasoned politicians that have been out there for 10-15 years, spent millions of dollars, you know, building their name in image and their brand name.

The Republican challengers both lack name recognition and significant financial backing. For NPR News, I'm Megna Chakravarti in Boston.

Crude oil futures²² ended the week lower. The price of crude fell 43 cents a barrel today to settle at $72.04 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

1 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。

2 defiance   

n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗

参考例句：

• He climbed the ladder in defiance of the warning.他无视警告爬上了那架梯子。
• He slammed the door in a spirit of defiance.他以挑衅性的态度把门砰地一下关上。

3 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

4 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。

5 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。

6 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。

7 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

8 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。

9 battered   

adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损

参考例句：

• He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
• The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

10 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

11 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

12 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

14 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

15 receded   

v.逐渐远离( recede的过去式和过去分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题

参考例句：

• The floodwaters have now receded. 洪水现已消退。
• The sound of the truck receded into the distance. 卡车的声音渐渐在远处消失了。

16 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。

17 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。

18 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

19 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

20 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》

21 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。

22 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。