NPR 2009-08-05

North Korea's official media agency says the country's leader, Kim Jong-Il, pardoned two jailed American reporters and ordered their release during a visit today with former President Bill Clinton. Former National Security Council member Dannis Wilder says Mr. Clinton's unannounced trip was the result of ongoing¹ talks with North Korean diplomats² in the US.

I think there have been discussions through the what's called the New York channel where there are some North Korean diplomats at the UN for some time. My sense is that the discussions did not get serious however until quite recently.

The two reporters have been detained since March when the North Koreans accused them of illegally crossing into the country from China. The White House is calling the former President's trip "a private mission" and denies North Korean reports that Mr. Clinton delivered a message to Kim Jong-Il from President Obama.

Senate lawmakers from both parties say they're prepared to hold a vote on extending the government's subsidized car trade-in program "Cash for Clunkers". NPR's Audie Cornish reports.

Senate leaders say by Friday they expect to vote on the 2-billion-dollar extension for the "Cash for Clunkers" program that was passed by the House, while Republican objectors have said they will not try to stop the extension. Minority leader and Kentucky Republican Mitch McConnell, says they still want to make changes to the bill.

“What we will be negotiating over is the appropriateness of some amendments³ to the bill. But I would anticipate that the matter will be completed sometime before the end of the week.”

Problem is House lawmakers would have to approve any changes to the extension, and they won't be back from recess⁴ until September. White House officials say they would have to suspend the program by the end of the week if additional money is not approved. Audie Cornish, NPR News, the Capitol.

GMAC, which is transitioning from being the lending arm of General Motors to an independent bank, is posting a net loss of nearly four billion dollars for the last quarter. Amy Miller⁵ of member station WDET has details.

The loss follows a cash injection of $7.5 billion that the company received in May from the Federal government. GMAC execs say converting the company to a private bank that now offers services in addition to mortgages and auto⁶ loans cost more than a billion dollars in tax charges and another billion dollars in charges attributed to the mortgage arm. When the Treasury⁷ Department injected the extra billions, more than half the money was specifically designated for Chrysler dealers⁸ and customers. But the auto section still lost more than 700 million dollars. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is allowing GMAC to issue billions in FDIC-backed debt despite the junk bond rating. For NPR News, I'm Amy Miller in Detroit.

On Wall Street today, the Dow closed up 32 points at 9,320. The NASDAQ gained two points to close at 2,011. The S&P was up three.

This is NPR.

A newly filed court document says jailed polygamous leader Warren Jeffs faced imminent⁹ death last week without immediate¹⁰ medical intervention¹¹. Jail officials indicate he's not in danger now, but still requires force-feeding. NPR's Howard Berkes has more.

The document filed by the medical director at the Mohave County Jail in Arizona describes worsening vital signs, malnutrition¹², and inability to urinate, and growing weakness for Warren Jeffs. The leader of the nation's largest polygamous group faced imminent death, the document says, without forced feeding. Jail officials say Jeffs did go back to eating on his own for a few days and seemed to be recovering. But now he's refusing to eat again, making forced feeding necessary again. Jail spokeswoman Trish Carter says Jeffs is in a cell and under 24-hour observation. Attorney Micheal Piccarreta says his client engages in religious fasts from time to time. Jeffs is jailed and waiting trial in Arizona on charges related to so-called spiritual marriages involving underage girls. Howard Berkes, NPR News.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has fined General Electric 50 million dollars, charging the company misled investors¹³ in 2002 and 2003. The government says GE bent¹⁴ accounting¹⁵ rules beyond the breaking point. GE did not admit or deny wrong doing but said it's in the best interests of the company and shareholders¹⁶ to pay the penalty.

The government today released its first monthly so-called report card on mortgage companies that are implementing¹⁷ the Obama administration's foreclosure prevention plan. The report says, overall, lenders have modified about 9% of their seriously delinquent¹⁸ loans but notes wide variations.

I'm Barbara Klein, NPR News in Washington.

1 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。

2 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 amendments   

（法律、文件的）改动( amendment的名词复数 )； 修正案； 修改； （美国宪法的）修正案

参考例句：

• The committee does not adequately consult others when drafting amendments. 委员会在起草修正案时没有充分征求他人的意见。
• Please propose amendments and addenda to the first draft of the document. 请对这个文件的初稿提出修改和补充意见。

4 recess   

n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处）

参考例句：

• The chairman of the meeting announced a ten-minute recess.会议主席宣布休会10分钟。
• Parliament was hastily recalled from recess.休会的议员被匆匆召回开会。

5 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。

6 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。

7 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。

8 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

9 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

10 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。

11 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

12 malnutrition   

n.营养不良

参考例句：

• In Africa, there are a lot of children suffering from severe malnutrition.在非洲有大批严重营养不良的孩子。
• It is a classic case of malnutrition. 这是营养不良的典型病例。

13 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

14 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

15 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

16 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

17 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句

18 delinquent   

adj.犯法的，有过失的；n.违法者

参考例句：

• Most delinquent children have deprived backgrounds.多数少年犯都有未受教育的背景。
• He is delinquent in paying his rent.他拖欠房租。