NPR 2010-01-08

From NPR News in Washington, I’m Jack¹ Speer.

 

Releasing a preliminary review of the events leading up to the failed Christmas Day bombing attempt against a US-bound jetliner, President Obama today called for additional steps to thwart² terror efforts. Among other things, the president cited the need for wider dissemination³ of intelligence information. That was followed by a briefing by John Brennan, his top counter-terrorism official, and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. Napolitano said there will also be tighter security put in place for people coming from certain countries.

 

"Every individual flying into the United States from anywhere in the world who has an itinerary⁴ or passport from nations that are state sponsors of terrorism or countries of interest is required to go through enhanced screening."

 

Napolitano says the US plans to deploy⁵ additional 300 advanced imaging scanners at US airports this year. The administration says its reports showed there was enough information to have kept the alleged⁶ bomber⁷ off the plane but that officials "failed to connect the dots."

 

Four people are dead and five others were wounded after an early morning shooting at a factory in St. Louis. Richard Leapman with St. Louis Public Radio reports.

 

St. Louis police say the gunman is among those who were killed in the early morning rampage at ABB Inc. The company makes electrical transformers. Police are not confirming the shooter's identity but he’s been widely named as 51-year-old Timothy Herndon, an employee of the factory. St. Louis Police Chief Dan Isom says law enforcement remains⁹ on the scene to make sure Herndon did not leave behind any explosives or other weapons.

 

"But we are, we are confident that we, we have the identity of the shooter and we believe that we have no more victims inside the building."

 

Isom says police recovered an assault rifle, a shotgun and a handgun at the scene. He could not confirm reports that other employees may have shot Herndon. For NPR News, I'm Richard Leapman in St. Louis.

 

Portions of the Deep South are seeing snow today. That comes on top of days of sub-freezing temperatures across the region. From member station WBHM in Birmingham, Alabama, Andrew Yeager reports.

 

Schools across Alabama and Mississippi closed in anticipation¹⁰ of snow and ice. The cold has been blamed for the deaths of an Alzheimer’s patient in Tennessee who wandered outside and a homeless man found sleeping in a tent in South Carolina. A city-backed warming center in Birmingham has hosted around 100 people the last two nights. Jefferson County, Alabama Emergency Management spokesman Mark Kelly says the area isn't in the clear yet.

 

"We are going to have problems with low-lying areas, roads and bridges that may ice. You also get concerns about, about power outages"

 

Power is a concern to some Alabamians given tonight's BCS Championship Game between Alabama and Texas. Utilities have been assuring the public the snowfall shouldn't cause problems with power lines and fans should be able to watch the game uninterrupted. For NPR News, I am Andrew Yeager in Birmingham.

 

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 33 points to close at 10,606 today.

 

This is NPR.

 

Two ex-contractors with the security firm formally known as Blackwater have been arrested on murder charges in connection with the killings¹¹ of two Afghans last year. According to an indictment¹² obtained by the Associate Press, the pair have been charged with second-degree murder, attempted murder and weapons charges. Both men are in custody¹³ but now they maintain they were justified¹⁴ when they opened fire on a threatening vehicle last year. Blackwater which has since changed its name to Xe fired both men after that shooting.

 

Department of Justice says it will review Comcast Corporation's $30-billion deal to take control of NBC Universal. More from Joe Rose.

 

The proposed deal would give Comcast, the nation's largest cable operator, control of a major broadcast network, 26 TV stations, a handful of cable channels and a movie studio. Both Comcast and NBC also deliver video content online. Public interest groups have expressed concern about concentrating so many media outlets¹⁵ in a single company and that the new entity⁸ would control creation of content and distribution. Some of those critics welcomed the announcement that the Justice Department would be scrutinizing¹⁶ the deal. Federal Communications Commission is conducting its own review and members of Congress will get their shot too. The heads of Comcast and NBC Universal are expected to testify before a Senate subcommittee in the coming weeks. For NPR News, I’m Joe Rose in Philadelphia.

 

A government's main unemployment report for December isn't due out until tomorrow. However, a possible hint of what may be to come. Labor¹⁷ Department today released its weekly unemployment figures, shows the pace of layoffs¹⁸ may be slowing. The government says the number of first-time jobless claims rose only modestly last week, more reliable four-week moving average fell for an 18th straight week.

 

I’m Jack Speer, NPR News in Washington.

 

1 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

2 thwart   

v.阻挠，妨碍，反对；adj.横(断的)

参考例句：

• We must thwart his malevolent schemes.我们决不能让他的恶毒阴谋得逞。
• I don't think that will thwart our purposes.我认为那不会使我们的目的受到挫折。

3 dissemination   

传播,宣传,传染(病毒)

参考例句：

• The dissemination of error does people great harm. 谬种流传，误人不浅。
• He was fully bent upon the dissemination of Chinese culture all over the world. 他一心致力于向全世界传播中国文化。

4 itinerary   

n.行程表，旅行路线；旅行计划

参考例句：

• The two sides have agreed on the itinerary of the visit.双方商定了访问日程。
• The next place on our itinerary was Silistra.我们行程的下一站是锡利斯特拉。

5 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

6 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

7 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

8 entity   

n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物

参考例句：

• The country is no longer one political entity.这个国家不再是一个统一的政治实体了。
• As a separate legal entity,the corporation must pay taxes.作为一个独立的法律实体，公司必须纳税。

9 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。

10 anticipation   

n.预期，预料，期望

参考例句：

• We waited at the station in anticipation of her arrival.我们在车站等着，期待她的到来。
• The animals grew restless as if in anticipation of an earthquake.各种动物都变得焦躁不安，像是感到了地震即将发生。

11 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

12 indictment   

n.起诉；诉状

参考例句：

• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
• They issued an indictment against them.他们起诉了他们。

13 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。

14 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

15 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

16 scrutinizing   

v.仔细检查，详审( scrutinize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• His grandfather's stern eyes were scrutinizing him, and Chueh-hui felt his face reddening. 祖父的严厉的眼光射在他的脸上。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• The machine hushed, extraction and injection nozzles poised, scrutinizing its targets. 机器“嘘”地一声静了下来，输入输出管道各就各位，检查着它的目标。 来自互联网

17 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。

18 layoffs   

临时解雇( layoff的名词复数 )； 停工，停止活动

参考例句：

• Textile companies announced 2000 fresh layoffs last week. 各纺织公司上周宣布再次裁员两千人。
• Stock prices broke when the firm suddenly announced layoffs. 当公司突然宣布裁员时，股票价格便大跌