Countdown Newsletter 7/21/05: London Attacked Again

[Patsy Stone]

At least we get to temper the bad news from London with some Jude/Sienna dishing from Michael Musto!


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Tonight on Countdown
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Explosions struck three London Underground stations and a bus at midday Thursday in a chilling but less deadly replay of the suicide bombings that killed 56 people two weeks ago. Only one person was reported wounded, but the lunch-hour explosions caused major shock and disruption in the capital and were hauntingly similar to the July 7 bombings by four attackers. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8655541/

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

Keith blogs: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6210240/

Chicago has new technology that "hears" gunshots and instantly trains security cameras on the area. Monica Novotny reports.

A classified State Department memorandum central to a federal leak investigation contained information about CIA officer Valerie Plame in a paragraph marked "(S)" for secret, a clear indication that any Bush administration official who read it should have been aware the information was classified, according to current and former government officials. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/20/AR2005072002517.html?sub=AR

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice demanded and received an apology Thursday after Sudanese security guards manhandled staff members and press accompanying her on her journey to the country. At one point, NBC reporter Andrea Mitchell attempted to ask a question about the killing of innocent civilians in Sudan and was physically pulled away and told no questions were allowed. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/21/AR2005072100319.html

Burnt Sienna; Michael Musto joins us.

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

Finally,
The owner of an exotic animal and petting zoo in Litchfield, Connecticut, is facing criminal charges for allegedly locking up some people. James A. Mazzarelli, 61, of Goshen, has been charged with unlawful restraint, breach of peace and interfering with an officer. One of the six people locked in the park, Kathleen H. Dickey, of Torrington, called 911 to report her party was stuck in the park, state police said. When police contacted Mazzarelli, he told them that Dickey and her group failed to pay the admission fee, police said. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/Z/ZOO_ARREST?SITE=NWCN&TEMPLATE=STRANGEHEADS.html&SECTION=HOME
Failed to pay the admission fee? Then how did they get in? Something, other than the animal cages, stinks in that petting zoo.

-- Carey Fox

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

More:
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits plunged by the largest amount in 2½ years last week, reflecting a slowdown in layoffs in the auto industry. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8655846/

NASA will continue troubleshooting a fuel-tank sensor glitch on the shuttle Discovery, then restart the countdown toward a launch on Tuesday, mission managers said Wednesday. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8645278/

A moderate Democratic senator who helped broker a deal over President Bush's judicial nominations said Thursday that Supreme Court nominee John Roberts doesn't seem to be the kind of right-wing candidate they feared the president would select. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8656981/

The video game industry on Wednesday changed to adults-only the rating of "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas," a best-selling game in which explicit sexual content can be unlocked with an Internet download. Rockstar's parent company, New York-based Take Two Interactive Software Inc., also admitted for the first time that the sex scenes had been built into the retail version of that game. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8647176/