NPR 2011-05-14

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh.

More neighborhoods are taking on water in Vicksburg, Mississippi, where Governor Haley Barbour is sounding this warning.

"You need to go on and get out now while you can."

With the Mississippi River still rising, thousands have already fled as Mississippi Public Broadcasting's Daniel Cherry noticed while touring the port of Vicksburg.

One thing, especially here in the port, that has struck me is how there is just hardly any activity at all, and normally, the port of Vicksburg, employees about 4,000 people, and they're shut down basically until the water recedes¹.

Daniel Cherry reporting. The river is expected to crest² north of Vicksburg by Monday. People in parts of Louisiana are on edge. Governor Bobby Jindal says a massive spillway on the swollen³ Mississippi River north of Baton⁴ Rouge⁵ will probably open this weekend. Eileen Fleming of member station WWNO reports thousands of people are being advised to evacuate⁶.

Governor Jindal says he expects the Army Corps⁷ of Engineers will act quickly once it determines the Morganza Spillway needs to open. He says water will be released gradually into the Atchafalaya River basin, west of the Mississippi.

"We've already notified the sheriffs. Then they should go on to proceed with their door-to-door notification plans. National Guard is supporting them in their mission. "

Jindal says even after the spillway opens to spare flooding in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, high water levels will remain throughout the summer. For NPR News, I'm Eileen Fleming in New Orleans.

Italy's foreign minister believes Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has probably left Tripoli and may have been wounded. NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports the information comes from the top Catholic official in Libya.

Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said Monday he has received the information from the Archbishop of Tripoli Giovanni Martinelli claiming that Gaddafi is probably outside of Tripoli and believed to be wounded. "I lean toward the solution of an escape from Tripoli, not an escape from Libya," Frattini said, adding "Libya is a big country with desert areas." The archbishop has been a vocal⁸ critic of the NATO bombing campaign, which has frequently targeted Gaddafi's compound in the capital. Libyan state TV showed Gaddafi meeting tribal⁹ leaders allegedly Wednesday in a Tripoli hotel, but Frattini voiced strong doubts that the footage was shot that day and in Tripoli. Sylvia Poggioli, NPR News, Rome.

Two NATO service members in Afghanistan are dead, gunned down today by an Afghan policeman. The military alliance says the attack took place inside a police compound in southern Helmand province. The troops were serving as mentors¹⁰ for a local National Civil Order brigade. Their names and nationalities have not been disclosed.

Before the close on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down more than 0.5% at 12,596, and the NASDAQ had fallen 35 points or more than 1% at 2,828.

This is NPR News.

Texas Congressman¹¹ Ron Paul is back in the race for president. He says he's seeking the Republican nomination¹² in 2012. NPR's Giles Snyder explains why Paul is running again.

Paul says he's entering the race because his issues have strong public support right now.

"Time has come around to the point where the people are agreeing with much of what I have been saying for 30 years. So, I think the time is right."

Paul was speaking to ABC's "Good Morning America" from New Hampshire. He is a Tea Party favorite to his long championed calls to reduce the federal debt and government spending. His failed candidacy for the GOP nomination three years ago was an Internet sensation. He also ran as a Libertarian in 1998. Giles Snyder, NPR News, Washington.

Egyptian authorities are detaining Susan Mubarak, the 70-year-old wife of former President Hosni Mubarak. More from NPR's Peter Kenyon.

Susan Mubarak has joined her husband and sons in official custody¹⁴, pending¹³ investigations¹⁵, according to Egyptian officials and the official news agency. Hosni Mubarak was detained last month and has been in a Sharm el-Sheikh hospital since while his sons are in prison. The official MENA news agency reported that the latest round of questioning of the ex-president and his wife focused on the extent and sources of the family's wealth. The questioning involved luxury villas¹⁶ and various bank accounts allegedly controlled by the Mubaraks. Eighty-three-year-old Hosni Mubarak also faces investigations about the deaths of hundreds of Egyptians during the uprising that ended his 30-year rule. Peter Kenyon, NPR News, Cairo.

President Obama says he's accepting the resignation of his Middle East envoy¹⁷ George Mitchell. The former senator announced today he would leave May 20th.

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News in Washington.

1 recedes   

v.逐渐远离( recede的第三人称单数 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题

参考例句：

• For this reason the near point gradually recedes as one grows older. 由于这个原因，随着人渐渐变老，近点便逐渐后退。 来自辞典例句
• Silent, mournful, abandoned, broken, Czechoslovakia recedes into the darkness. 缄默的、悲哀的、被抛弃的、支离破碎的捷克斯洛伐克，已在黑暗之中。 来自辞典例句

2 crest   

n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖

参考例句：

• The rooster bristled his crest.公鸡竖起了鸡冠。
• He reached the crest of the hill before dawn.他于黎明前到达山顶。

3 swollen   

adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀

参考例句：

• Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。
• A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。

4 baton   

n.乐队用指挥杖

参考例句：

• With the baton the conductor was beating time.乐队指挥用指挥棒打拍子。
• The conductor waved his baton,and the band started up.指挥挥动指挥棒，乐队开始演奏起来。

5 rouge   

n.胭脂，口红唇膏；v.(在…上)擦口红

参考例句：

• Women put rouge on their cheeks to make their faces pretty.女人往面颊上涂胭脂，使脸更漂亮。
• She didn't need any powder or lip rouge to make her pretty.她天生漂亮，不需要任何脂粉唇膏打扮自己。

6 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

7 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

8 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

9 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

10 mentors   

n.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的名词复数 )v.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Beacham and McNamara, my two mentors, had both warned me. 我的两位忠实朋友，比彻姆和麦克纳马拉都曾经警告过我。 来自辞典例句
• These are the kinds of contacts that could evolve into mentors. 这些人是可能会成为你导师。 来自互联网

11 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

12 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

13 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。

14 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。

15 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。

16 villas   

别墅，公馆( villa的名词复数 )； （城郊）住宅

参考例句：

• Magnificent villas are found throughout Italy. 在意大利到处可看到豪华的别墅。
• Rich men came down from wealthy Rome to build sea-side villas. 有钱人从富有的罗马来到这儿建造海滨别墅。

17 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。