Newsletter The Case Against LibbyMay 23, 2006

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Tonight on Countdown
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Two top CIA officials will bolster prosecutors' charge that Vice President
Cheney's chief aide lied to them, court papers show. Prosecutors say disgraced
Cheney chief of staff Lewis (Scooter) Libby learned CIA spy Valerie Plame's
identity from, among others, agency officials who will be called to testify at
his trial for perjury, false statements and obstruction of justice. Both CIA
officials - including a top architect of the 2003 Iraq invasion - discussed
Plame with Libby a month before columnist Robert Novak blew her cover in July
2003, prosecutors charge.
http://www.nydailynews.com/05-23-2006/news/wn_report/story/420152p-354720c.html

Countdown w/ Keith Olbermann broadcasts LIVE at 8 pm et, and the count is never
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The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois filed suit Monday against AT&T,
alleging that the company invaded the privacy of its Illinois customers by
providing phone records to the federal government without a court order. Several
prominent local residents, including author Studs Terkel, agreed to serve as
plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which targets controversial domestic surveillance
practices.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/custom/newsroom/chi-060522aclu-suit,1,2768911.story?coll=chi-news-hed

The Voice of America's bureau in Baghdad has been closed for the past six
months, ever since the government-funded agency withdrew its only reporter in
Iraq after she was fired upon in an ambush and her security guard was later
killed. All Western news organizations have struggled with the dangerous
conditions in Iraq, which have led to such high-profile incidents as the
kidnapping of Christian Science Monitor reporter Jill Carroll and the wounding
of ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff. But for a federally funded information service
to pull out of Baghdad for such a prolonged period raises questions about the
Bush administration's insistence that conditions there are gradually improving.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/22/AR2006052201386.html

New Orleans' levee system was routinely underfunded and therefore inadequate to
protect against hurricanes, according to an independent report released
yesterday. The report called for an overhaul of the agencies that oversee flood
protection. It took aim at Congress for its piecemeal funding over the past 50
years, and at state and local levee authorities for failing to properly oversee
maintenance of the levees.
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-usnola234753340may23,0,5904122.story?coll=ny-uspolitics-headlines

Simple hurricane evacuation plan: Get out early. Drill in Louisiana to test
emergency systems ahead of storm season. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12927718/

There was more good news Tuesday on Barbaro's recovery from a catastrophic
injury to his right hind leg. "He's actually better today than he was even
yesterday and he was pretty good yesterday," Dr. Dean Richardson said. "He's
walking very well on the limb, absolutely normal vital signs. He's doing very
well."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/23/AR2006052300376.html

The Dixie Chicks' Natalie Maines apologized for disrespecting President Bush
during a London concert in 2003. But now, she's taking it back. "I don't feel
that way anymore," she told Time magazine for its issue hitting newsstands
Monday. "I don't feel he is owed any respect whatsoever."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/21/AR2006052100403.html

ABC appointed Charles Gibson as the new anchor of its struggling "World News
Tonight" broadcast on Tuesday, replacing Elizabeth Vargas. Vargas, who is
pregnant and goes on leave later this summer, will return in the fall to
co-anchor the "20/20" newsmagazine, ABC said.ABC's announcement did not specify
a role for Bob Woodruff, Vargas' co-anchor on the evening news until he was
seriously wounded in a roadside bombing in Iraq on Jan. 29. Woodruff is still
recovering from serious head injuries and broken bones.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12933248/

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

Finally,
BRAWLEY, Calif. -- A man faces a burglary charge after police found him stuck
in a chimney. Matthew Allen, 27, told police he fell down the chimney after
going on to the roof of the house to look at the stars. When he got stuck near
the bottom of the chimney, he took his pants off and began waving them around to
set off the home's motion detectors. Brawley police officers were dispatched to
the house twice Saturday morning but saw no signs of an intruder. Neighbors
eventually heard a commotion coming from the house and called the police.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CHIMNEY_MAN?SITE=NWCN&TEMPLATE=STRANGEHEADS.html&SECTION=HOME
OK, when are these dumb asses going to figure out... chimneys are not the best
way to get into a house?

-- Carey Fox

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

Other News:
The United States is encouraging Israel to hold "serious talks" with Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas as an alternative to the Hamas-dominated Palestinian
Authority. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12926973/

The government closed one of the country's top three newspapers Tuesday,
detaining its editor and cartoonist, for publishing a caricature that caused
members of Iran's Azeri minority to riot in protest.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12023334/

Warplanes from Greece and Turkey collided over the Aegean Sea island of
Karpathos as they shadowed each other Tuesday, and officials said the Turkish
pilot was rescued unhurt and a search was launched for the Greek pilot.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12929072/

Sick poultry and infected people, rather than migratory birds, are more likely
to bring the H5N1 bird flu virus into the United States, although that was
unlikely to happen soon, a leading virologist said.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12933353/

Lack of 'Idol' vote information frustrates fans. But will viewers still call in
if they know one candidate is far ahead? http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12819946/