NPR 2012-02-08

 A federal appeals court says California's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. Joshua Johnson of member station KQED reports the ruling finds Proposition 8 serves no other purpose than to discriminate² against gay and lesbian couples.

 

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Proposition 8 violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment³. The panel also finds that the lower court Judge Vaugh Walker is within his discretion⁴ to rule on the matter, even though he is in a same-sex relationship and could benefit from the case's outcome. A dissenting⁵ opinion questions whether Prop¹. 8 is purely⁶ discriminatory or could serve a legitimate⁷ community purpose. Today's ruling does not answer the question of whether same-sex marriage bans in general are constitutional. It also will probably not clear the way for these unions to resume in California right away, giving time for supporters of Prop. 8 to appeal. For NPR News, I'm Joshua Johnson in San Francisco.

 

A top executive for the Komen for the Cure breast-cancer charity is stepping down. Karen Handel was at the center of the firestorm over the organization's decision to cut off funding for Planned Parenthood. Opponents said the group was bowing to pressure by anti-abortion rights activists⁸. The foundation has since reversed the decision. But Handel says she supported it and is disappointed by what she calls its gross mischaracterization.

 

The Romney campaign is trying to downplay expected losses in contests in Minnesota and Missouri today. Mitt⁹ Romney himself is in Colorado, ahead of this evening's caucuses¹¹. And as NPR's Tamara Keith reports, he's remaining positive.

 

Romney held a rally at a massive RV showroom in Loveland, Colorado.

 

"For the guys way back there behind the RV and behind the cameras, hi, you guys, how are you back there?"

 

There he encouraged supporters to get out and caucus¹⁰.

 

"Colorado's got something to say about who our nominee¹²'s gonna be, and I think I'm gonna be that nominee."

 

In a memo¹³ posted this morning, Romney political director Rich Beeson downplays the importance of today's primaries and caucuses, saying no delegates will be awarded. He argues Romney is the only Republican candidate with the recourses to compete in all of the upcoming contests where more delegates are on the line. Tamara Keith, NPR News, Loveland, Colorado.

 

President Obama's reelection campaign says it now supports his super PAC Priorities USA. Mr. Obama had opposed the 2010 Supreme¹⁴ Court ruling that allows so-called super PACs to amass¹⁵ unlimited¹⁶ amounts of money. The president's reelection campaign has struggled to match the amount of money collected by Republican super PACs. The president's campaign manager Jim Messina is now urging fundraisers to support Priorities USA, saying there can't be two sets of rules.

 

On Wall Street at this hour, the Dow is up 37 points at 12,882; the NASDAQ is up four at 2,906.

 

This is NPR.

 

Los Angeles school officials are removing the entire staff of an elementary school where two teachers are under arrest, charged with lewd¹⁷ acts against students. Authorities are temporarily replacing the principal, teachers, even custodial¹⁸ staff from Miramonte Elementary School, while they conduct an investigation¹⁹ into allegations that include one teacher blindfolding²⁰, gagging and feeding semen to several students. 

 

A new 24-hour cable news channel aimed at the nation's growing Hispanic population could be on the air later this year. Disney and the nation's largest Spanish-language broadcaster Univision are said to be negotiating a deal. As NPR's Giles Snyder reports, the channel would broadcast in English.

 

The discussions for a joint²¹ venture between Disney's ABC News and Univision have reportedly been going on for at least the past six months and reflect efforts by big media companies to target Hispanics. Last year's census²² shows US-born Hispanics who are more likely to speak English as their first language are the fastest growing segment of the nation's Hispanic population. The Wall Street Journal first reported on the talks. The paper says they are ongoing²³ and cautions that the deal could still unravel²⁴, but that the goal would be to begin broadcasting before the November elections. If a deal is reached, it would mark a departure for Univision, which prides itself on its Spanish-language content, and it would give Disney's ABC News a cable-news presence. Giles Snyder, NPR News.

 

Signs today that BP is recovering from the disastrous²⁵ 2010 accident in oil spill in the Gulf²⁶ of Mexico. The oil giant is reporting nearly 40 billion dollars in profits for 2011 and says it's increasing shareholder²⁷ dividends²⁸.

 

I'm Barbara Klein, NPR News in Washington.

1 prop   

vt.支撑；n.支柱，支撑物；支持者，靠山

参考例句：

• A worker put a prop against the wall of the tunnel to keep it from falling.一名工人用东西支撑住隧道壁好使它不会倒塌。
• The government does not intend to prop up declining industries.政府无意扶持不景气的企业。

2 discriminate   

v.区别，辨别，区分；有区别地对待

参考例句：

• You must learn to discriminate between facts and opinions.你必须学会把事实和看法区分出来。
• They can discriminate hundreds of colours.他们能分辨上百种颜色。

3 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

4 discretion   

n.谨慎；随意处理

参考例句：

• You must show discretion in choosing your friend.你择友时必须慎重。
• Please use your best discretion to handle the matter.请慎重处理此事。

5 dissenting   

adj.不同意的

参考例句：

• He can't tolerate dissenting views. 他不能容纳不同意见。
• A dissenting opinion came from the aunt . 姑妈却提出不赞同的意见。

6 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

7 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

8 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》

9 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

10 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。

11 caucuses   

n.（政党决定政策或推举竞选人的）核心成员( caucus的名词复数 )；决策干部；决策委员会；秘密会议

参考例句：

• Republican caucuses will happen in about 410 towns across Maine. 共和党团会议选举将在缅因州的约410个城镇进行。 来自互联网

12 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。

13 memo   

n.照会，备忘录；便笺；通知书；规章

参考例句：

• Do you want me to send the memo out?您要我把这份备忘录分发出去吗？
• Can you type a memo for me?您能帮我打一份备忘录吗？

14 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。

15 amass   

vt.积累，积聚

参考例句：

• How had he amassed his fortune?他是如何积累财富的呢？
• The capitalists amass great wealth by exploiting workers.资本家剥削工人而积累了巨额财富。

16 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。

17 lewd   

adj.淫荡的

参考例句：

• Drew spends all day eyeing up the women and making lewd comments.德鲁整天就盯着女人看，说些下流话。
• I'm not that mean,despicable,cowardly,lewd creature that horrible little man sees. 我可不是那个令人恶心的小人所见到的下流、可耻、懦弱、淫秽的家伙。

18 custodial   

adj.监护的，照管的

参考例句：

• The teenagers were convicted of manslaughter and given a two-year custodial sentence. 这些青少年被判过失杀人罪，及二年的监禁（拘留）刑罚。
• This article interrogates the cultural experience of being a non custodial mother. 本文审视一位无监护权的母亲所感受到的文化体验。

19 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

20 blindfolding   

v.（尤指用布）挡住（某人）的视线( blindfold的现在分词 )；蒙住（某人）的眼睛；使不理解；蒙骗

参考例句：

21 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

22 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

23 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

24 unravel   

v.弄清楚（秘密）；拆开，解开，松开

参考例句：

• He was good with his hands and could unravel a knot or untangle yarn that others wouldn't even attempt.他的手很灵巧，其他人甚至都不敢尝试的一些难解的绳结或缠在一起的纱线，他都能解开。
• This is the attitude that led him to unravel a mystery that long puzzled Chinese historians.正是这种态度使他解决了长期以来使中国历史学家们大惑不解的谜。

25 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

26 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

27 shareholder   

n.股东，股票持有人

参考例句：

• The account department have prepare a financial statement for the shareholder.财务部为股东准备了一份财务报表。
• A shareholder may transfer his shares in accordance with the law.股东持有的股份可以依法转让。

28 dividends   

红利( dividend的名词复数 )； 股息； 被除数； （足球彩票的）彩金

参考例句：

• Nothing pays richer dividends than magnanimity. 没有什么比宽宏大量更能得到厚报。
• Their decision five years ago to computerise the company is now paying dividends. 五年前他们作出的使公司电脑化的决定现在正产生出效益。