NPR 2012-03-31

 The US Supreme¹ Court’s justices are done with a closed-door meeting during which they were expected to cast a preliminary vote on the nation's contentious² health care law. But NPR's Nina Totenberg reports however, each of the nine justices leans on the law's constitutionality; the picture could look much different when the ruling’s out by June.

 

The first vote is just the beginning in a long process. After the vote, the chief justice said he’s in the majority assigned who will write the majority opinion; if he’s not, then the senior justice makes the assignment. In the following weeks even months, drafts fly back and forth³ among the justices. And in the course of that process, justices can sometimes change their minds. Justice Anthony Kennedy, for instance, changed his mind in 1992 when he was assigned to write the court's opinion, upholding the practice of having preyers at public school graduation ceremonies. But he later wrote colleagues that the opinion as he put it just won't write, and he ended up writing the court's 5-4 opinion for the opposite result. Nina Totenberg, NPR News, Washington.

 

More reports are surfacing about military shelling in Homs, Syria, though we cannot verify the contents of this amateur video (that) supposedly captures images of random⁴ strikes on neighborhoods. This comes just days after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad toured devastating⁵ sections of Homs and promised to rebuild, but so far there’s no sign that Assad is following through with the UN-backed plan for a ceasefire and political talks to end the year-old crisis. 

 

Palestinians’ annual day of protests against Israeli land policies has turned deadly. One Palestinian in Gaza was killed by Israeli army gunfire in one of the many demonstrations⁶ staged in the Palestinian territories neighboring Arab countries and Israel, as Daniel Estrin reports from Jerusalem.

 

Israeli forces shot a 21-year-old man who was demonstrating with about 1,000 Palestinians in Gaza. Israel's army says he had approached the border and soldiers fired warning shots before firing at him directly. A Palestinian medical official says four in the West Bank and one in Jerusalem suffered serious head injuries. Arab citizens in Israel also protested. Israeli forces were deployed⁷ along Israel's borders today. They were preparing for a repeat of last year, when protesters in Syria and Lebanon stormed the Israeli border and at least 38 were killed, but today demonstrators in Jordan and Lebanon stayed away from the Israeli border. For NPR News, I'm Daniel Estrin in Jerusalem. 

 

Mastercard is investigating a possible security breach⁸ of cardholders’ accounts. The company would not say how many people or institutions are affected⁹, but it says law enforcement agencies have been notified.  

 

At last check on Wall Street, the Dow was up 74 points at 13,220.

 

This is NPR News.

 

The man tasked with leading the debt-settled city of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania out of its financial crisis has unexpectedly walked away. As Craig Layne of member station WYTF tells us, activists¹⁰ and city leaders see the resignation as a major setback¹¹.

 

David Unkovic, the financial custodian¹² handpicked by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett, had created a plan to help Harrisburg recover from its more than 300 million dollars of debt. Earlier this week, Unkovic complained local elected leaders were creating a hostile environment for his work, and he called for state and federal investigations¹³ into activities that led to the debt crisis. Lawyer Neil Grover with the community group called Debt Watch Harrisburg says that tension likely led to the resignation.

 

“He was going to do an open and fair process, and they didn't want to have any of that.”

 

Unkovic is a municipal bond attorney who came to Harrisburg in December. Neither his office nor the State Department that oversaw¹⁴ him were immediately available for comment. For NPR News, I'm Craig Layne in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

 

A desperate fight to control a wildfire continues in areas west of Denver. It was caused by what was supposed to be a controlled burn. Instead, strong winds sent the flames spreading to dozens of homes, damaging or destroying them and taking at least two lives along the way. A third person is missing. A search is underway.

 

Six hundred forty million dollars, that is the new record jackpot of Mega Millions lottery¹⁵ that's being played in 42 states and the District of Colombia. Chances of winning — one in 176 million. The drawing is tonight. 

 

US stocks gaining ground, with the Dow up 66 points at 13,212.

 

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

3 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

4 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

5 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

6 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

7 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

8 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

9 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

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 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

12 custodian   

n.保管人，监护人；公共建筑看守

参考例句：

• Benitez believes his custodian is among the top five in world football.贝尼特斯坚信他的门将是当今足坛最出色的五人之一。
• When his father died his uncle became his legal custodian.他父亲死后，他叔叔成了他的法定监护人。

13 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

14 oversaw   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去式 )

参考例句：

• He will go down as the president who oversaw two historic transitions. 他将作为见证了巴西两次历史性转变的总统，安然引退。 来自互联网
• Dixon oversaw the project as creative director of Design Research Studio. 狄克逊监督项目的创意总监设计研究工作室。 来自互联网

15 lottery   

n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事

参考例句：

• He won no less than ￡5000 in the lottery.他居然中了5000英镑的奖券。
• They thought themselves lucky in the lottery of life.他们认为自己是变幻莫测的人生中的幸运者。