NPR美国国家公共电台 NPR 2014-03-15

 Ukraine's interim 1 Prime Minister made a direct appeal for talks with Russia in the UN Security Council meeting on the crisis in this country. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports US is also making another diplomatic push, trying to prevent Russia's possible annexation 2 of Ukraine's Crimea Peninsula.  

Ukraine's Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk says his country is facing military aggression 3 from Russia, a veto-holder on the UN Security Council. 
This is absolutely and entirely 4 unacceptable in the 21st century to resolve any kind of conflicts with tanks, artillery 5 and boots on the ground. 
He spoke 6 briefly 7 in Russian to say he doesn't think Russians want a war. Russia's ambassador said no one does, but blasted the west and protesters in Kiev for starting this crisis. The US is proposing a Security Council resolution to protect Ukraine's territorial 8 integrity. Russia is sure to veto it. Michele Kelemen NPR News, Washington.  
 
 
President Obama has signed off on the presidential memorandum 9 that directs the Department of Labour to put in place new rules that will make more workers eligible 10 for overtime 11 pay. The President wanted it the most far-reaching executive action put in force. Rules include retail 12 managers and others who often work more than 40 hours a week, for an additional bump bump in pay, something the President says needs to change. 
It doesn't matter of what you do is mostly physical work like stocking shelves; it doesn't matter of your working 50, 60 or 70 hours a week: your employer doesn't have to pay you a single extra dime 13. And I think that's wrong. 
Legis effort comes as Obama seeks to bypass Congress * on the the zoning areas they can. Critiques of the president's initiative say it would be too much a burden for small businesses. 
 
 
A bipartisan group of Senators is introducing a bill that would increase the capability 14 of the Justice Department. NPR's Carrie Johnson reports law makers 15 wanted an independent watchdog to investigate ethical 16 breaches 17 by prosecutors 18. 
Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah and Democratic Senator Jon Tester of Montana want to give the inspector 19 general more power to look into attorney misconduct at the Justice Department. Under current practice, those investigations 20 to justice are reported up to the attorney general, not an independent agency. But law makers signed a new report by the project on government oversight 21. That study documents 650 cases of recklessness or misconduct by justice lawyers over the past decade. Senator Lee says people need to know more about these cases, and have confidence they will be handled quickly and responsibly. Carrie Johnson NPR News Washington.    
 
 
Consumers are apparently 22 up their spending a bit more last month as the latest released the government's retailer 23 numbers for February show. According to Commerce Department, retail sales last month were up 3/10 of a percent. The gain followed the decline of the previous month. 
 
 
A down day for Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 231 points to 16,108. That was a decline of more than one percent. The NASDAQ was down 62 points. 
 
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New data on some of the models of compact cars has been cut up in a recall by General Motors. According to a study commission by Center for Auto 24 Safety, more than 300 deaths have been recorded in some of the models being recalled after the vehicles' air bags apparently failed to deploy 25. In announcing a recent recall to the potentially faulty ignition switches in some cars, GM had reported 12 deaths and 34 injuries in the recalled models. GM has come under criticism for decades-long failure to issue a recall of the two models Chevrolet Cobalt and Saturn 26 Ion in between 2003 to 2007.
 
 
Americans still love their libraries. That's according to a new study report by the Pew research center. The reports ascertained 27 files of serious studies on American library habits, focused on how much Americans engaged with public libraries. NPR's Lynn Neary reports.
Conventional wisdom may assume that the growth of new technology has taken a big bite of the public's interest in and use of the library. But according to a Pew report, the most highly-engaged library users are also big technology users. From library lovers and information omnivores, to distant admires and off the grid 28, Pew categorized people's attitudes and use of public libraries. Pew found that 69% of all Americans are either highly engaged or moderately engaged with libraries. These groups express broad support for public libraries, and believe there are positive influences on their communities. They also tended to have higher incomes and be more engaged both culturally or socially than groups that had little or no contact with their public libraries. Lynn Neary NPR News Washington.
 
 
Crude oil future's prices closed higher. The price of crude up 21 cents a barrel today to end the session at 98.20 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.