Countdown Newsletter: 07/18/06 -- Fighting & Fighting Words (Hi, Carey!)

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Tonight on Countdown
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Hezbollah guerrillas pounded Israel on Tuesday afternoon with a new barrage of rocket fire, killing one Israeli in the northern town of Nahariya and wounding several others, Israeli officials said. Rockets also hit the northern city of Haifa. Eli Dayari, a witness interviewed by Israel's Channel 10 television, said the rocket hit a two-story building and an apartment there was on fire. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13912000/

The United States on Tuesday stepped up the pace of planning for the evacuation of Americans stranded in Lebanon, ordering Marines and Navy ships to the area. As hundreds waited to flee the country, the U.S. Embassy tried to calm impatient Americans, saying everyone who wanted to leave will eventually get out. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13914384/

No part of Israel is safe in the current fighting with Lebanon, Iran's parliamentary speaker warned Tuesday, referring to the range of guerrilla rockets. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13913014/

Plenty of neocons are saying that Syria and Iran's support of Hezbollah proves we should be teaching those countries a lesson. After all, look how well our involvement in Iraq is going.

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

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Tuesday that President Bush personally blocked Justice Department lawyers from pursuing an internal probe of the warrantless eavesdropping program that monitors Americans' international calls and e-mails when terrorism is suspected. The department's Office of Professional Responsibility announced earlier this year it could not pursue an investigation into the role of Justice lawyers in crafting the program, under which the National Security Agency intercepts some telephone calls and e-mail without court approval. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13918661/

According to a published report, Ann Coulter has (in jest, we assume) claimed to have sent that mysterious white powder to The New York Times.Reporter Jacob Bernstein, in a "Memo Pad" item <http://www.wwd.com/issue/article/107729> in today's Women's Wear Daily.

Paris Hilton, star of 'The Simple Life', seems to have let her 'career' get to her head, as Paris insists she is the "iconic blonde" for this decade, much like Princess Diana of Wales and Marilyn Monroe were to their time. http://www.postchronicle.com/news/original/article_21228835.shtml

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

Finally,
ROSWELL, N.M. -- Ross Savedra fought aliens to rescue his girlfriend, then popped the question in an out-of-this-world proposal. Savedra, 32, staged his elaborate proposal Sunday afternoon for Ariana Ash, 23, with the help of family members and Roswell's UFO Museum. Savedra and Ash were touring the museum when a silver-suited, masked alien from an exhibit called "alien autopsy" suddenly abducted Ash from in front of a group of tourists. Savedra dashed through the crowd, fought two aliens and rescued her. Then he dropped to his knees, presented her a ring and asked her to marry him. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/ALIEN_PROPOSAL?SITE=NWCN&TEMPLATE=STRANGEHEADS.html&SECTION=HOME
Weren't those aliens good sports? The marriage will be held on the mother ship

-- Carey Fox

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

Other News:
A suicide car bomber struck amid a crowd of laborers across from a major Shiite shrine in southern Iraq Tuesday, killing at least 53 people and wounding 105, officials and witnesses said. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13910972/

Tearful parents searched for missing children and soldiers dug through the debris Tuesday of homes flattened by the second tsunami to hit Indonesia in as many years. At least 339 people were killed, officials said, with more than 600 injured. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13898913/

Another day of searing heat forced millions indoors across the country Tuesday and made for chaotic travel in New York City, where new power outages shut parts of LaGuardia Airport and the city's subway system during the morning rush hour. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13915288/

Implanon, a rod-shaped contraceptive implanted in the upper arm for up to three years, received federal approval, health officials said Tuesday. The matchstick-sized implant releases a low, steady dose of progestin to prevent pregnancy. The rod is inserted by a doctor under the skin of the upper arm. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13917707/

A proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage was headed toward a House vote Tuesday with supporters resigned to another losing effort but determined to highlight it in this fall's elections. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13918660/

American Floyd Landis reclaimed the Tour de France's overall lead Tuesday, taking back the yellow jersey after an uphill finish on the famed L'Alpe d'Huez. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13918047/