Countdown Newsletter -- 04/03/06: More 'Shuffle' Suggestions

[Patsy Stone]

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Tonight on Countdown
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For the second time in two weeks, a former general has called for the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld over what both generals described as serious mistakes made in the war in Iraq. In remarks Sunday on the NBC News program "Meet the Press," Gen. Anthony C. Zinni, who once led the United States Central Command and retired from the Marines in 2000, said Mr. Rumsfeld, among others, should be held accountable for tactical mistakes in Iraq. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/03/washington/03rumsfeld.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

And more on the White House shuffle.

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

Jill Carroll, the journalist kidnapped in Iraq for 82 days, returned to America and a tearful reunion with her family, enveloping herself in long hugs with her parents and twin sister, and flashing the smile that made her a symbol of sympathy. In a video recorded before she was freed and posted by her captors on an Islamist Web site, Carroll spoke out against the U.S. military presence. On Saturday, she said the recording was made under duress. "During my last night in captivity, my captors forced me to participate in a propaganda video. They told me I would be released if I cooperated. I was living in a threatening environment, under their control, and wanted to go home alive. So I agreed," she said in a statement. "Things that I was forced to say while captive are now being taken by some as an accurate reflection of my personal views. They are not. The people who kidnapped me and murdered Alan Enwiya are criminals, at best." http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12120527/

Thunderstorms packing tornadoes and hail as big as softballs ripped through eight states across the Midwest, killing at least 23 people, injuring scores and destroying hundreds of homes. Tennessee was hardest hit, with tornadoes striking five counties Sunday, the National Weather Service said. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12093497/

A huge military cargo plane developed problems after takeoff and crashed attempting to return to Dover Air Force Base on Monday, breaking apart short of the runway, officials said. All 17 people aboard survived, though several were injured. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12130852/

Laura Bush thinks the Clinton's White House decorating was gaudy? One report says that will come out in a new book tomorrow... and John Kerry doesn't like tomato products. Political oddities today.

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

Finally,
Even cell phone users get irritated at others who yak on their portables about their personal business in public. An AP-AOL-Pew poll found the offended don't think they are among the callers who get on other people's nerves. But almost nine in 10 say they encounter others using those phones in an annoying way. Only 8 percent of cell users acknowledge their own use of cell phones is sometimes rude. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CELL_PHONE_POLL?SITE=NWCN&TEMPLATE=STRANGEHEADS.html&SECTION=HOME
On an unrelated note: "The Sopranos" was classic last night!

-- Carey Fox

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

More:
A divided Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal from Jose Padilla, held as an enemy combatant without traditional legal rights for more than three years, sidestepping a challenge to Bush administration wartime detention powers. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12132372/

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw urged Iraqi leaders to form a government as soon as possible to curb rampant bloodshed and rein in sectarian militias behind much of the violence. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12115902/

Former Liberian President Charles Taylor said Monday he did not recognize an international war crimes tribunal's right to try him, but he then pleaded not guilty to 11 counts for helping destabilize West Africa through killings, sexual slavery and sending children into combat. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12129502/

China suggested Monday that it was open to a visit from the Dalai Lama and to establishing ties with the Vatican. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12132925/

Thousands of commuters scrambled to find rides to work Monday after transportation workers in the Denver area went on strike for the first time in 24 years, a move that halted rail service and shut down more than half the region's bus routes. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12133156/

Sexually charged music, magazines, TV and movies push youngsters into intercourse at an earlier age, perhaps by acting as kind of virtual peer that tells them everyone else is doing it, a study said on Monday. "This is the first time we've shown that the more kids are exposed to sex in media the earlier they have sex," said Jane Brown of the University of North Carolina, chief author of the report. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12130036/