Countdown Newsletter -- 1/10/06: Alito, Dog DNA, and More.

[Patsy Stone]

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Tonight on Countdown
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Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito said Tuesday he would deal with the issue of abortion with an open mind as a justice, though he defended his 1991 judicial vote saying women seeking abortions must notify their husbands. In the second day of Senate hearings, Alito also said no president or court is above the law - even in time of war - as he addressed questions on presidential powers. The issue has been at the forefront since the revelation that President Bush had secretly ordered the National Security Agency to conduct wiretaps of Americans in the terror war. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10786631/

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Alito not on public's radar screen. Disconnect exists between activists' zeal and public's detachment. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10778482/

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher offered a rare defense Monday of longtime friend and lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who pleaded guilty last week to influence peddling charges that have rocked Capitol Hill. About 130 members of Congress took contributions from Abramoff or his clients. Only one, U.S. Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio), is alluded to in the plea agreement. The investigation also may have helped force Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas), who has been indicted in his home state on money-laundering charges, to lose his position as House majority leader. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/politics/cal/la-me-dana10jan10,1,6990747.story?coll=la-news-politics-california

Iraqi police were searching Tuesday for an American journalist who was kidnapped over the weekend when gunmen ambushed her car and killed her translator in western Baghdad. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10779519/

An online publication has alleged that James Frey's best-selling memoir about substance abuse, A Million Little Pieces, wildly exaggerates his past, with inflated claims about his criminal record and about his involvement in an accident that killed two high school students. "Police reports, court records, interviews with law enforcement personnel, and other sources have put the lie to many key sections of Frey's book," according to an article posted Sunday on www.thesmokinggun.com. http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2006-01-09-pieces-disputed-facts_x.htm

A cat owner, frustrated that officials couldn't prove a neighbor's dog had killed her pet, took a cue from television legal dramas and used DNA evidence to pursue the case herself. A lab that analyzed the DNA concluded that the dog was linked to the cat's death, but officials said they still can't make a case because there were no witnesses. http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1487625

That's some of what we're planning for tonight's show.

Finally,
An Australian man had to be rescued after becoming wedged in a washing machine while playing with his children, a newspaper reported Tuesday. Robin Toom, 38, had to be pulled from the 18-pound capacity machine by a local fire officer after he became trapped while playing hide-and-seek with his children, Sydney's The Daily Telegraph reported. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/W/WASHING_MACHINE_RESCUE?SITE=NWCN&TEMPLATE=STRANGEHEADS.html&SECTION=HOME
When they finally got him out he was squeaky clean, though in need of a long tumble dry.

-- Carey Fox

Countdown Home: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/

More:
Iran removed seals on its nuclear facilities Tuesday, allowing work to resume despite warnings from countries concerned about its nuclear ambitions. The United States rebuked Iran for the move, calling it a "serious escalation" toward creating the material for nuclear bombs, while Prime Minister Tony Blair's official spokesman said the international community was "running out of patience" with Tehran. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10784050/

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon showed "improvement" in his recovery from a massive stroke by moving his left hand Tuesday, but doctors said they still cannot assess his abilities to think and reason as they gradually reduce the anesthesia keeping him in a coma. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10709976/

Muslims clash over glut of liquor stores. Black residents, Middle Eastern immigrants differ on view of alcohol sales. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10774140/from/RS.3/

It's time we stopped dismissing middle age as the beginning of the end. Research suggests that at 40, the brain's best years are still ahead. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10753221/site/newsweek/

The mummified body of a woman who didn't want to be buried was found in a chair in front of her television set 2 1/2 years after her death, authorities said. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10785324/