Countdown Newsletter: 10/20/05 -- Unmasking Plame

[Patsy Stone]

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Tonight on Countdown
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White House adviser Karl Rove told the grand jury in the CIA leak case that I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, may have told him that CIA operative Valerie Plame worked for the intelligence agency before her identity was revealed, a source familiar with Rove's account said yesterday. The account is the first time a person familiar with Rove's testimony has provided clues about where the deputy chief of staff learned about Plame, and confirmed that Rove and Libby were involved in a conversation about her before her identity became public. The disclosure seemed to further undermine the White House's contention early in the case that neither man was in any way involved in unmasking Plame. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/19/AR2005101902431.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9759368/

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

Florida got an extra day to prepare for Hurricane Wilma but Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula was told to expect a direct hit Friday, as forecasters on Thursday noted that while the storm had weakened it still packed a massive punch with 145 mph winds. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9710472/

The U.S. military and the Afghan government said Thursday they will investigate a TV report that claimed U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan burned the bodies of two Taliban fighters and taunted other Islamic militants. The U.S. military said it found the report "repugnant." http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9760246/

The Coast Guard resumed searching for two missing children Thursday, a day after their mother allegedly threw them into San Francisco Bay near Fishermen's Wharf. The body of a third sibling was recovered. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9758632/

The NBA has announced that a dress code will go into effect at the start of the season. Players will be required to wear business-casual attire when involved in team or league business. They can't wear visible chains, pendants or medallions over their clothes. http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/12947732.htm

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

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

Finally,
A stay-at-home mom in Frankfort, Indiana, is on strike - giving up her daily chores until her family gives her more help around the house.
Regina Stevenson, 41, sat on a lawn chair Tuesday on the sidewalk outside her home in Frankfort, 20 miles southeast of Lafayette, with a sign saying "Mom on Strike."
Stevenson has four children, ranging in age from 7 to 19. The youngest three live at home with her and her husband, Dennis, along with their daughter-in-law and grandson.
Stevenson says the large household means doing a lot of laundry, cooking, cleaning. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/STAY_AT_HOME_MOM_STRIKE?SITE=NWCN&TEMPLATE=STRANGEHEADS.html&SECTION=HOME

Here's to Regina.

-- Carey Fox

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

More:
President Bush heaped praise Thursday on Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and said prospects for Palestinians gaining a state seem better than ever before. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9760248/

Congress gave the gun lobby its top legislative priority Thursday, passing a bill that would protect the firearms industry from massive lawsuits brought by crime victims. The White House says President Bush will sign it into law. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9762564/

Many doctors and patients are embracing a drug described as perhaps the most powerful cancer medicine in a decade, taking their cue from recent studies showing it can halve the risk of relapse for a very aggressive form of breast cancer. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9753394/

Shanghai police are investigating an online ad offering babies for sale on the Chinese subsidiary of auction Web site eBay, the company said Thursday. The ad was deleted shortly after it was placed Sunday and relevant information has been turned over to investigators, a spokesman for the Eachnet Web site said. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9760283/

Blast off! Astros reach first World Series. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9757743/

Skeeter the narcoleptic dog: The condition, narcolepsy, is extremely rare in dogs and has fascinated Skeeter's veterinarian, Walter Rowntree. The condition is so rare, Rowntree said, that there are no statistics available about its prevalence in dogs. "I called four or five colleagues to brag that I'd diagnosed a narcoleptic dog," said Rowntree. With Skeeter, initially, only the sight of food triggered attacks. His condition has progressively gotten worse, and Rowntree hopes the human medication he prescribed for Skeeter on Tuesday - Ritalin and an antidepressant - will help restore Skeeter's normal routine. Skeeter once spent his afternoons roaming the fence line in the Henderson's one-acre yard. When Shari's husband, Darrell, took him for two-mile walks, he pulled on the chain wanting to walk faster. Now that Skeeter falls asleep in mid-trot, the Hendersons place him in a stroller for his customary walk. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/N/NARCOLEPTIC_DOG?SITE=NWCN&TEMPLATE=STRANGEHEADS.html&SECTION=HOME