NPR美国国家公共电台 NPR 2013-11-29

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The so-called airworthiness directive issued by the FAA focuses on lots of engine thrust and engine damage due to ice-crystal icing, a condition that can develop in some high altitude thunderstorms. The government is now ordering airlines not to operate certain Boeing jets in those conditions. The government is also ordering that flight manuals be changed to highlight the potential problem and the government is ordering post-flight engine inspections² should probably show up. The FAA cited nine instances this year where such problems did occur but there were no accidents. Both Boeing and GE say they are working closely with the FAA to address the problem. Wendy Kaufman, NPR News.  

 

On the eve of the Thanksgiving holiday, President Obama and his family visited a Washington D.C. food bank. NPR’s Scott Horsley reports the first family helped pack and distribute food for needy³ children and seniors.  

 

The Thanksgiving service project is an annual tradition for the Obama family. At the Capital Area Food Bank, they passed out apples, carrots onions as well as White House eminence⁴. Earlier, in a White House ceremony, the president called Thanksgiving a quintessentially American holiday and the time to give thanks for those who show compassion⁵ to people in need.  

 

This is a reminder⁶ that this is a season not only be thankful for the incredible blessings⁷ that we have, but also to remember the neediest and generously serve those who are not as fortunate.  

 

The president was joined at the food bank by volunteers from a veterans organisation⁸ and he offered special thanks to those in uniform who are serving during this holiday period. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.  

 

Economy signs a recovery in the jobs market. The Labor⁹ Department says the number of people signing up for unemployment benefits fell again last week by 10,000. Gus Faucher is an economist¹⁰ at PNC Financial says the number is moving in the right direction. 

 

The general trend is we have a labor market that's improving, we have an economy that’s adding jobs and we will continue to see the job picture get a little bit better over the next few months.  

 

Weekly claims often a proxy¹¹ for layoffs¹² have now come down six of the past seven weeks.   

 

Key measure designed to predict the direction of the economy three to six months down the road showed a healthy increase in October. The non-profit business research group, the conference board, says its leading index of economic indicators¹³ rose 0.2% last month. It’s the sixth gain for the index in seven months, and follows big gains of previous two months.  

 

An update on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 24 points to close at 16,097; the NASDAQ was up 27 points ending the session above 4,000 at 4,044; S&P 500 rose four points.  

 

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The Italian Senate has approved the expulsion of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi from parliament. That follows the conviction of the centre right leader on charges of tax fraud. Seventy-seven-year-old Berlusconi was sentenced in August to four years in prison, which was later committed to a year under house arrest for masterminding an illegal scheme to reduce the tax bill of his media company. The senate vote came after months of political wrangling¹⁴.   

 

The oldest book in America, a book of psalms¹⁶ printed by the Puritans in 1640 fetched more than $14 million at auction¹⁷ yesterday. That’s a new record as NPR’s Lynn Neary explains.  

 

Puritans were not known as an extravagant¹⁸ bunch. So if they were around today, they might raise an eye brower too at the price tag for the Bay Psalm¹⁵ Book, $14.176 million. The book is only one of 11 left out of the 1700 that were printed in 1640 just 20 years after the pilgrims first landed at Plymouth. The new owner of the most expensive book ever sold in auction is David Rubenstein of the investment firm, the Carlyle Group. He told that he doesn’t plan to keep the book from public view, but will lend it to libraries around the country. The book was sold by Boston’s historic Old South Church, which said it needs the money in order to maintain its current level of mission and programming. Lynn Neary, NPR News, Washington.  

 

And the winner of the dinosaur¹⁹ auction is the approximately $650,000 bid from a buyer from an unnamed institution, that’s how much the skeleton of the dinosaur known as Diplodocus, longest due to auction in England. Skeleton of the female dinosaur Misty²⁰ is roughly 55 feet long and 19 feet high.  

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