NPR 2008-06-20

The FBI and the Justice Department today announced arrests and indictments¹ resulting from a probe into the mortgage crisis. Since the beginning of March, more than 400 people have been arrested. In a related sweep, Justice and the SEC announced the arrests and indictments of two Bear Stearns hedge fund managers. NPR’s Yuki Noguchi reports.

The government’s crackdown on mortgage fraud is called “Operation Malicious² Mortgage”. On Wednesday alone, 60 people were arrested. FBI Director Robert Mueller:“We in the FBI have seen a steady growth in pending³ FBI mortgage fraud cases. Our mortgage fraud caseload has doubled in the past three years to more than 1,400 pending investigations⁴.” One related case concerns Matthew Tannin and Ralph Cioffi. They were charged with conspiracy⁵ and fraud for misleading investors⁶. Cioffi allegedly told a colleague he was sick to his stomach over the fund’s performance, but continued to urge investors to keep putting money into the fund. Yuki Noguchi, NPR News, Washington.

Forecasters are warning residents in a number of towns along the Mississippi River to prepare for possible record crests⁷ as flood waters continue to move downriver. In Illinois and Missouri, sandbagging efforts continue. There are also still concerns in Iowa about high water levels in some small towns and fears those communities may never recover. President Bush took a tour of the flood-ravaged region today, stopping in Cedar⁸ Rapids, Iowa where he told flood victims financial help is on the way. “Congress passed a, is about to pass, you know, a big chunk⁹ of disaster money which, which put, which will help put people’s mind at ease and that will…We’ll help you, help you recover.” Presumptive Republican presidential nominee¹⁰ John McCain also toured the flood-damaged southeastern Iowa town of Columbus Junction¹¹.

Iraqi military officials say they’ve entered the southern Iraqi city of Amarah without meeting any resistance from Shiite fighters loyal to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Many of the militia¹² members are believed to have fled. NPR’s Corey Flintoff has more.

There’ve been no reports of fighting from Amarah, a provincial¹³ capital on the Tigris River about 200 miles south of Baghdad. Government troops entered the city at dawn and began searching the houses of suspected militia leaders. Last week, the Iraqi government issued an ultimatum¹⁴, giving militia members four days to give up their weapons or face arrest. Today, some militants¹⁵ were reportedly seen throwing their weapons into the streets or into irrigation canals. This is the fourth US-backed military operation conducted by the Iraqi army to gain control of militia and insurgent¹⁶ strongholds. Government troops have previously¹⁷ moved into the southern oil port of Basra, the Baghdad neighbourhood of Sadr City and the northern city of Mosul. Corey Flintoff, NPR News, Baghdad.

 On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 34 points today, ending the session at 12,063. The NASDAQ was up 32 points. The S&P rose five points. This is NPR.

A truce¹⁸ in the Middle East appears to be holding despite widespread skepticism. A six-month ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip took effect early today. Egypt brokered¹⁹ the deal with an eye toward bringing an end to a year of fighting between the two sides which began after Hamas grabbed control of the Gaza Strip. Under terms of the current agreement, Israel will ease up on the blockade it put in place in an effort to pressure the Palestinian militants to halt rocket attacks on southern Israel.

Parliament in Sweden has approved a law that gives authorities sweeping²⁰ powers to eavesdrop²¹ on all cross-border e-mail and telephone traffic. NPR’s Rob Gifford reports.

The law which comes into effect in January will give the Swedish government the most sweeping eavesdropping²² powers of any country in Europe. It gives Swedish defense²³ officials the right to scan international phone calls, e-mails and faxes for sensitive keywords without a court order. The law was passed narrowly in parliament despite strong opposition²⁴. Hundreds of protestors gathered, handing out copies of George Orwell's novel “1984” about a fictional²⁵ futuristic police state. The Swedish government rejects claims the law will give it unlimited²⁶ powers to spy on its own citizens. Supporters argue the law will help prevent terrorist attacks. Rob Gifford, NPR News, London.

US phone companies that cooperated with the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program could be shielded from lawsuits²⁷. That’s under terms of a measure hammered out today between congressional and White House negotiators. Under terms of the agreement, a court would agree to dismiss a suit if there is written certification that the White House requested the company participate in surveillance activities. The measure is expected to go to the House tomorrow. It would then go to the Senate and be sent onto President Bush for his signature. It’s expected both the House and Senate will approve the bill.

1 indictments   

n.（制度、社会等的）衰败迹象( indictment的名词复数 )；刑事起诉书；公诉书；控告

参考例句：

• A New York jury brought criminal indictments against the founder of the organization. 纽约的一个陪审团对这个组织的创始人提起了多项刑事诉讼。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These two indictments are self-evident and require no elaboration. 这两条意义自明，无须多说。 来自互联网

2 malicious   

adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的

参考例句：

• You ought to kick back at such malicious slander. 你应当反击这种恶毒的污蔑。
• Their talk was slightly malicious.他们的谈话有点儿心怀不轨。

3 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

4 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。

5 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

6 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

7 crests   

v.到达山顶（或浪峰）( crest的第三人称单数 )；到达洪峰，达到顶点

参考例句：

• The surfers were riding in towards the beach on the crests of the waves. 冲浪者们顺着浪头冲向岸边。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The correspondent aroused, heard the crash of the toppled crests. 记者醒了，他听见了浪头倒塌下来的轰隆轰隆声。 来自辞典例句

8 cedar   

n.雪松，香柏(木)

参考例句：

• The cedar was about five feet high and very shapely.那棵雪松约有五尺高,风姿优美。
• She struck the snow from the branches of an old cedar with gray lichen.她把长有灰色地衣的老雪松树枝上的雪打了下来。

9 chunk   

n.厚片，大块，相当大的部分（数量）

参考例句：

• They had to be careful of floating chunks of ice.他们必须当心大块浮冰。
• The company owns a chunk of farmland near Gatwick Airport.该公司拥有盖特威克机场周边的大片农田。

10 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

11 junction   

n.连接，接合；交叉点，接合处，枢纽站

参考例句：

• There's a bridge at the junction of the two rivers.两河的汇合处有座桥。
• You must give way when you come to this junction.你到了这个路口必须让路。

12 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

13 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

14 ultimatum   

n.最后通牒

参考例句：

• This time the proposal was couched as an ultimatum.这一次该提议是以最后通牒的形式提出来的。
• The cabinet met today to discuss how to respond to the ultimatum.内阁今天开会商量如何应对这道最后通牒。

15 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

16 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

17 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

18 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

19 brokered   

adj.由权力经纪人安排（或控制）的v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的过去式和过去分词 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排…

参考例句：

• a peace plan brokered by the UN 由联合国出面协商的和平计划
• Your husband brokered the deal to go in, transfrer the assets and get our man out. 你丈夫后来插了一脚，把生意都抢了过去，我们的人也被挤了出来。 来自电影对白

20 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

21 eavesdrop   

v.偷听，倾听

参考例句：

• He ensconced himself in the closet in order to eavesdrop.他藏在壁橱里，以便偷听。
• It is not polite to eavesdrop on the conversation of other people.偷听他人说话是很不礼貌的。

22 eavesdropping   

n. 偷听

参考例句：

• We caught him eavesdropping outside the window. 我们撞见他正在窗外偷听。
• Suddenly the kids,who had been eavesdropping,flew into the room. 突然间，一直在偷听的孩子们飞进屋来。

23 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

24 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。

25 fictional   

adj.小说的，虚构的

参考例句：

• The names of the shops are entirely fictional.那些商店的名字完全是虚构的。
• The two authors represent the opposite poles of fictional genius.这两位作者代表了天才小说家两个极端。

26 unlimited   

adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的

参考例句：

• They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。
• There is no safety in unlimited technological hubris.在技术方面自以为是会很危险。

27 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