Newsletter 9/15/05 - Stubborn Resurgence

[Patsy Stone]

I don't see Dr. O., and the marijuana story's a day early. :hi:

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Tonight on Countdown
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As floodwaters recede from the city's hard-hit east side, a grim scene of destruction has been revealed: Block after block of once-flooded neighborhoods are covered in a slimy, putrid muck and dotted with ruined cars, snapped utility poles and collapsed houses. Although the cleanup will likely take months, Mayor Ray C. Nagin said the tourist-friendly French Quarter and central business district may reopen as early as Monday after the Environmental Protection Agency said the foul-smelling air in the city was not overly polluted. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9156612/

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/

The former FEMA director who became a lightning rod for the sluggish federal response to Hurricane Katrina put the blame on state officials in an interview with the New York Times newspaper. Within hours of Katrina's attack on New Orleans Michael Brown said he told the White House that state officials couldn't get their act together. "I can't get a unified command established," he said he told Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and a White House official. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9350605/
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/15/national/nationalspecial/15brown.html?oref=login

Hurricane Ophelia weakened slightly as it crawled along the North Carolina coast Thursday, and while southern areas saw only moderate flooding and damage, the Outer Banks islands were starting to feel hurricane-force winds expected to last 10 hours. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9317642/

In three days of testimony as illuminating for what wasn't revealed as for what was, John G. Roberts Jr. concluded his public confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, providing tantalizing glimpses of his judicial and personal philosophies on affirmative action, the right to die, capital punishment, the Voting Rights Act, and conflicts between media and government. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9175162/

Preview of the President's speech to the nation tonight.

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

Finally,
It was a terribly low-tech version of drug trafficking. Dwayne Earl Anthony Etzel was arrested on drug possession charges after a police officer caught sight of him pedaling on a bicycle with three uprooted marijuana plants under his arm. Police spotted Etzel, 18, cycling in the early evening Monday with what they described as a "big smile" on his face. It was 5:40 p.m. and still light out. "I see this guy riding up the street with what looked like a big old bush under his arm," said Eugene Narcotics Detective Scott Vinje. "It didn't click right away that it was marijuana. Then I smelled it." When police tried to stop him, Etzel allegedly threw the marijuana plants at the officer's car and pedaled off. After catching up with him, the officer used pepper spray to get the cyclist under control. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MARIJUANA_CYCLIST?SITE=NWCN&TEMPLATE=STRANGEHEADS.html&SECTION=HOME
Trying to elude police on a bike? THAT is the anti-drug.

-- Carey Fox

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

More:
In an "unheard of" rescue operation, eight dolphins that were swept out of their oceanarium by Hurricane Katrina have been rediscovered hundreds of yards out at sea where trainers are tracking, feeding and caring for them. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9343538/

Hurricane Katrina has brought into focus the financial plight of many blacks along the Gulf Coast as well as illustrating the differences in how minorities and whites use and are treated by banks. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9352308/

A total of 68,000 Americans lost their jobs due to Hurricane Katrina and filed for unemployment benefits last week, shoving these applications up by the largest amount in nearly a decade. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9352428/

Use of prescription drugs for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is growing at a faster rate among adults than children, new research shows. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9349317/

Talks aimed at persuading North Korea to give up its nuclear program stalled Thursday amid a dispute between Pyongyang and Washington over the North's demand for a nuclear reactor. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9318334/

Robert Wise, who won four Oscars as producer and director of the classic 1960s musicals "West Side Story" and "The Sound of Music," has died. He was 91. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9347695/

Britney Spears, who sang "I'm not a girl, not yet a woman," is now a mother - and she's "ecstatic" about it. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9343995/