NPR 2009-01-16

All 153 people aboard a US Airways¹ flight that crashed into New York's Hudson River this afternoon are safe. That's according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Alberto Panero was aboard the plane and told CNN what happened. "All of a sudden, you just heard a loud bang. And the plane shook a bit. And, immediately, the, you know, the, you could smell like smoke or like fire. And, we knew something was going on. 'cause, we're, look, we are turning back. Nothing was happening that smoke was still there, you could smell that. No one knew what was going on. All of a sudden, the captain came on and said 'Brace² for impact'. And that's when we knew we were going down. " US Air Flight 1549 plunged³ into the river's frigid⁴ waters near Manhattan after leaving LaGuardia Airport bound for Charlotte, North Carolina. The FAA has not confirmed the cause of the accident.

Hamas says an Israeli airstrike killed Gaza's interior minister, the most significant Hamas leader to be killed in Israel's offensive so far. NPR's Anne Garrels has details.

Said Sayyam was considered to be among the top leaders of Hamas in Gaza. In his post as interior minister he was in charge of thousands of Hamas's security forces. According to Hamas, a top aide, Sayyam's son, brother and his father family were also killed in the attack. Israeli officials have said many of Hamas's political leaders are hiding in bunkers which Israeli officials say are hidden beneath civilian⁵ structures like hospitals. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who is in the region, said he expects Israel to make an important decision later today on whether to agree to a ceasefire. Anne Garrels, NPR News, Jerusalem.

A special Foreign Intelligence Appeals Court has affirmed the government's right to conduct warrantless wiretapping under certain circumstances. NPR's Martin Kaste has details.

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review doesn't usually publish its secret rulings. But it's made an exception for an opinion that handed down last August. In a partially⁶ redacted version released today, the court says spy agencies do not necessarily have to get the permission of a court to tap Americans' communications with people overseas, as long as there are sufficient and internal safeguards. Civil Liberty's groups have long argued that it's not enough to trust the government to police itself. They say the only way to keep spy agencies honest is to have judges looking over their shoulders. But in this ruling the very courts charged with doing that have said they don't mind that they were kept out of the loop. This ruling is not binding⁷ on other wiretapping lawsuits⁸, but it may be cited as a precedent⁹. Martin Kaste, NPR news.

On Wall Street today, the Dow closed up 12 points at 8, 212. The NASDAQ gained 22 points to close at 1, 511.

This is NPR News.

The number of people applying for unemployment benefits for the first time jumped sharply last week. The Labor¹⁰ Department says 54, 000 more people filed claims. That's more than expected.

Weather forecasters say temperatures in and around Chicago tonight could drop to 29 below zero with the wind chill. Mike Rhee of WBEZ in Chicago reports city workers are already out on the streets, looking for anyone who needs help.

People from the city's Department of Family and Support Services have been out all week, trying to get homeless people indoors. Mary Ellen Caron is the department's acting¹¹ commissioner¹². "We have more human service workers on the streets today even than we did yesterday. The police are working with us. The Health Department, everybody is focused on making sure that we get as many people inside as possible. " Caron says as of noon today, more than a hundred people took advantage of one of the city's six warming centers. She also says there are 5, 000 beds available at homeless shelters across the city tonight. The National Weather Service has issued a wind chill warning for the region until noon Friday. For NPR News, I'm Mike Rhee in Chicago.

Recapping the hour's top story, everyone aboard a US Airway's flight that crashed into New York's Hudson River this afternoon has survived. 148 passengers and 5 crew members were aboard the Airbus 320 heading from LaGuardia Airport to Charlotte, North Carolina when it plunged into the river near Manhattan. Early reports suggested the aircraft's engine was disabled after striking a flock of birds, but the FAA can't confirm the cause of the accident.

1 AIRWAYS   

航空公司

参考例句：

• The giant jets that increasingly dominate the world's airways. 越来越称雄于世界航线的巨型喷气机。
• At one point the company bought from Nippon Airways a 727 jet. 有一次公司从日本航空公司买了一架727型喷气机。

2 brace   

n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备

参考例句：

• My daughter has to wear a brace on her teeth. 我的女儿得戴牙套以矫正牙齿。
• You had better brace yourself for some bad news. 有些坏消息,你最好做好准备。

3 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

4 frigid   

adj.寒冷的，凛冽的；冷淡的；拘禁的

参考例句：

• The water was too frigid to allow him to remain submerged for long.水冰冷彻骨，他在下面呆不了太长时间。
• She returned his smile with a frigid glance.对他的微笑她报以冷冷的一瞥。

5 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。

6 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

7 binding   

有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的

参考例句：

• The contract was not signed and has no binding force. 合同没有签署因而没有约束力。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding. 双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

8 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

9 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

10 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。

11 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

12 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。