NPR 2011-08-17

 President Obama is reaching out to the nation's heartland to help him identify ways to encourage more economic growth in rural communities. To that end, the president hosted a forum¹ today on rural development at a community college in northeastern Iowa as NPR's Scott Horsely reports.

 

Iowa already enjoys an enviably low unemployment rate of just 6%. But the president says this state's economy is not as strong as it could be. He announced a variety of steps to encourage rural business development, including increased capital and help for hospitals trying to recruit doctors. His administration's also been working to expand broadband Internet service to millions of rural customers.

 

"It's helping² people sell goods, not just down the street but across the country and around the world."

 

One dairyman taking part in the forum complained that government regulations are discouraging job growth. He urged to freeze on any new rules from the EPA. Scott Horsely, NPR News, with the president in Peosta, Iowa.

 

After slowing down the first half of the year, some parts of the economy are faring better than others. Steve Beckner of Market News International has a look at how two major areas are doing so far in the second half of the year.

 

Housing remains³ the weakest sector⁴ of the economy as shown by July residential⁵ construction numbers from the Commerce Department. Housing starts are down 1.5% to an annual rate of 604,000. That's not as bigger drop as feared, but building permits, a leading indicator⁶ of future home construction, are down more than twice as much. On the other hand, the Federal Reserve says July industrial production is up more than expected. Output by the nation's factories, mines and utilities is higher by 0.9%, helped by a jump in auto⁷ manufacturing. Car making had been disrupted due to supply line interruptions caused by Japan's tsunami⁸ in March. For NPR News, I'm Steve Beckner.

 

Heavy machine gunfire is heard across the besieged⁹ Syrian city of Latakia which has been under military assault for the past four days. Activists¹⁰ fighting to overthrow¹¹ President Bashar al-Assad accused troops of killing¹² 35 people so far in Latakia. The military operation is part of a broad government effort to end the five-month-old uprising.

 

The president of Yemen is pledging to return home despite repeated calls by members of the opposition¹³ to stay away. Ali Abdullah Saleh said in a televised address from Saudi Arabia that he will not surrender to critics whom he calls "war merchants and street looters." Saleh has been recovering from wounds sustained in a June attack on his palace compound, fears rising that his return will lead to a civil war.

 

After three days of gains on Wall Street, US stocks were down before the close with investors¹⁴' focus on growth in the global economy after Germany announced its economic growth stalled in the second quarter. The Dow was down 77 points at last check at 11,406. 

 

This is NPR.

 

Earlier, we reported President Obama was in Iowa meeting with voters. The newest Republican presidential candidate was also mangling¹⁵ with voters in Iowa today. Texas Governor Rick Perry was in Dubuque, where he said that some of the reasons the economy has not improved under President Obama is because it is "overtaxed, overregulated and overlitigated."

 

Newly released documents are shedding light on the failed Bay of Pigs invasion. Phil Latzman with member station WLRN in Miami tells us they show that last-minute changes by the US may have doomed¹⁶ the 1961 mission to overthrow Fidel Castro.

 

The newly declassified¹⁷ documents were made available by a Freedom of Information lawsuit¹⁸ filed earlier this year by the Washington-based National Security Archive. Among the revelations in them, a CIA operative accidentally fired on friendly pilots during the invasion, and US officials authorized¹⁹ the use of napalm on Cuban targets. The records also show the Kennedy administration dramatically scaling back the covert²⁰ operation for fear it would be traced back to the US government. About 1,300 Cuban exiles were used in the attempt to overthrow the Castro government that began in April 17th, 1961. They were defeated within a span of 72 hours. The release includes four of the five volumes. A fifth remains classified. For NPR News, I'm Phil Latzman in Miami.

 

Police in northeastern Illinois are investigating an explosion at a natural gas pipeline²¹ company. They say five people were injured this morning at the Herscher plant.

 

Before the close on Wall Street, the Dow was down 77 points or more than 0.5% at 11,406, and the NASDAQ was down more than 1% at 2,523.

1 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

2 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。

3 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。

4 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

5 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

6 indicator   

n.指标；指示物，指示者；指示器

参考例句：

• Gold prices are often seen as an indicator of inflation.黃金价格常常被看作是通货膨胀的指标。
• His left-hand indicator is flashing.他左手边的转向灯正在闪亮。

7 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。

8 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

9 besieged   

包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Paris was besieged for four months and forced to surrender. 巴黎被围困了四个月后被迫投降。
• The community besieged the newspaper with letters about its recent editorial. 公众纷纷来信对报社新近发表的社论提出诘问，弄得报社应接不暇。

10 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

12 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。

13 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

14 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

15 mangling   

重整

参考例句：

• If not, then give up. This is a profound problem in and multicultural mangling. 这也是生活在多文化社会所要面临的重大问题。 来自互联网

16 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

17 declassified   

adj.解密的v.对（机密文件等）销密( declassify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Thousands of classified documents have now been declassified. 数以千计的保密文件现在被解密了。
• The software used for Siemens S7-300 encryption logic block declassified. 此软件用于对西门子S7-300加密逻辑块解密。

18 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

19 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

20 covert   

adj.隐藏的；暗地里的

参考例句：

• We should learn to fight with enemy in an overt and covert way.我们应学会同敌人做公开和隐蔽的斗争。
• The army carried out covert surveillance of the building for several months.军队对这座建筑物进行了数月的秘密监视。

21 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。