Countdown Newsletter -- 11/28/05: Leak Investigation Marches On

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Tonight on Countdown
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A second Time magazine reporter has agreed to cooperate in the CIA leak case and will testify about her discussions with Karl Rove's attorney, a sign that prosecutors are still exploring charges against the White House aide. Viveca Novak, a reporter in Time's Washington bureau, is cooperating with Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald, who is investigating the leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity in 2003, the magazine reported in its Dec. 5 issue. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/27/AR2005112700691.html

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President Bush will hear no evil on the Iraq war - even when the bad news comes from military brass and top government officials, a new report says. Bush "remains convinced that it is his personal mission to bring democracy to Iraq," according to The New Yorker magazine. The article, echoing a Daily News story yesterday, says Bush and his inner circle are so determined to follow their own plan that generals fear saying what's wrong in Iraq - and senior advisers are snubbed if they have bad news. "I tried to tell" the President about problems in Iraq, one former senior official told the magazine. "And he couldn't hear it." http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/369737p-314505c.html

Embattled White House aides have begun to believe President Bush must take the reins personally if his evaporating agenda and credibility are to be salvaged. "We're just plodding along," admitted a senior Bush aide from deep within the West Wing bunker. "It's up to the President to turn things around now." http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/369436p-314247c.html

The trial of Saddam Hussein for alleged crimes against humanity resumed in a heavily guarded courtroom Monday with the former Iraqi president angrily complaining about having to walk up four flights of stairs under foreign guard. A former U.S. attorney general sat with the defense team. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10208607/

The original 1923 "Hollywood" sign, which proclaimed the American film capital above Los Angeles, is up for sale on internet auction site, eBay. The sign has been put on sale with a reserve price of $300,000 and bidders lusting after the iconic symbol will need considerable space as well, because it stands 14 meters high and is 135 meters long.

Former Dallas Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin was charged with misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia after Plano police officers searched his vehicle during a traffic stop. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/27/AR2005112700642.html

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

Finally,
It's that time of year for the annual holiday special at Greenwood Memorial Gardens & Mausoleum - half price on a cemetery plot and deals on vaults and markers. For years, the cemetery has advertised the special. "This is our way of trying to help families out during the holidays," Manager Gary Blythe said. "A lot of our customers look forward to this time of year." Blythe said he isn't sure if anyone has actually given a spot in the cemetery or a grave marker as a Christmas gift, but business often increases once the sale starts. "Half off of a cemetery space is a good bargain," Blythe said. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CEMETERY_DEAL?SITE=NWCN&TEMPLATE=STRANGEHEADS.html&SECTION=HOME
Discount on plots, why not? But couldn't they bump their annual sale a bit earlier... to Halloween?

-- Carey Fox

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

More:
An explosion ripped through a state-owned colliery in northeast China, killing 134 miners and trapping 15 underground, just days after Chinese leaders called for vigilance to prevent major accidents. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10233300/

An American citizen has been reported missing in Iraq, the U.S. Embassy said Monday, a day after a Canadian Parliament official said that four humanitarian workers had been kidnapped. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10235969/

Blizzard conditions closed hundreds of miles of major highways across the Plains states Monday, part of a treacherous system that also sent tornadoes ripping through Arkansas and Kansas. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10234390/

Back at work, people go online and shop. 'Black Monday' is Internet retailers' holiday season kickoff. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10233177/

President Bush is trying to build support for a comprehensive immigration strategy - and mollify conservatives wary of his guest worker plan for foreigners - even though Congress has shelved the issue for now. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10239677/from/RS.3/

Greeted by welcome signs hung over the door and in the hallways, students began returning Monday to the first regular public school to reopen since Hurricane Katrina hit three months ago. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10238526/