Newsletter for Wednesday!

[crispini]

:hi: all! Because 1) I'm bored and 2) I haven't been around much in the evenings lately so posting the newsletter is a nice little way to say :hi:

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Tonight on Countdown
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The Senate began its historic floor debate Wednesday morning on appeals
court nominee Priscilla Owen, a process that could lead late this week
or next week to a showdown vote on changing the filibuster rule and
making it easier to confirm judicial nominations.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7887817/

Countdown w/ Keith Olbermann broadcasts LIVE at 8 pm et, and the count
is never complete without you. Join us.

The FBI on Wednesday said a grenade found amid the crowd during last
week's speech by President Bush in this former Soviet republic was
capable of exploding. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7894828/

The upsurge in car bomb attacks in Iraq was ordered by al-Qaida's
leader here, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, at a recent meeting of insurgents in
Syria, a senior U.S. military official told reporters Wednesday.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7897149/

"Something is wrong in the judicial protection arena," began U.S.
District Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow as she addressed the Senate Judiciary
Committee Wednesday morning about the safety of judges. The judge's
husband and mother were killed in Lefkow's Chicago home in February by a man
upset with her decision to dismiss his medical malpractice case.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7898398/

Star Wars Extravaganza:
First, the real Star Wars.... The U.S. Air Force is seeking President
Bush's approval of a national security directive that could move the
United States closer to fielding offensive and defensive space weapons,
the New York Times reported Tuesday, citing White House and Air Force
officials. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7896613/

Around the world, this week's opening of the final episode in George
Lucas' sci-fi series - "Episode III: Revenge of the Sith" - is eagerly
awaited. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7884615/

Countdown Hall of Fame: Star Wars Wacky Fans.

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

Finally,
Like a scene from the horror movie "The Birds," large black grackles
are swooping down on downtown Houston and attacking people's heads, hair
and backs. Authorities closed off a sidewalk after the aggressive
birds, which can have 2-foot wingspans, flew out of magnolia trees Monday
in front of the County Administration Building. "They were just going
crazy," said constable Wilbert Jue, who works at the building. "They
were attacking everybody that walked by."
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/ATTACKING_GRACKLES?SITE=NWCN&TEMPLATE=STRANGEHEADS.html&SECTION=HOME
Hitchcock: way ahead of his time.

-- Carey Fox

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

Keith blogs: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7873141/#050516b

More:
CBS said Wednesday it is canceling the Wednesday edition of "60
Minutes," insisting the decision was made because of poor ratings and not last
fall's ill-fated story about President Bush's military service.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7897322/

Toyota Motor Corp., in one of its largest safety recalls ever, said
Tuesday it is recalling more than 750,000 pickup trucks and sport utility
vehicles because of problems with the front suspension that could
hinder steering. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7887155/

Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa unseated Mayor James Hahn on Tuesday to
become L.A.'s first Hispanic mayor in more than a century, confirming
the rising political power of Latinos in the nation's second-largest
city. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7888173/

The NBA wants to kick players out of the league for a third failed
steroid test and double the punishment for a first offense, commissioner
David Stern told a House panel on Wednesday, the latest example of a
professional sport moving to tighten its drug policy in the face of
congressional scrutiny. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7878667/

A new venture, drawing upon a Canadian retooling of 60-year-old rocket
technology and fresh funding from a former backer of Russia's Mir space
station, on Tuesday announced plans to start launching paying
passengers into outer space by mid-2007. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7879142/

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[gkhouston]

1. Hi to you!

:hi: Can't believe they're still pushing Star Wars... talking about the original Money Pit... and what's with grackles in May? Used to be we only had The Birds in the winter months. Maybe they're wreaking some weird revenge for all the vicious tree-trimming that's been going on in the Med Center area in the past 10-15 years... because believe me, the winter bird problem used to be horrendous.