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Tonight on Countdown
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LA TIMES: IF PRESIDENT BUSH HOPES the "shake-up" of his administration initiated last week will re-energize his listless presidency, he's bound to be disappointed. A far more audacious makeover is needed -one that sends Vice President Dick Cheney into early retirement.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-bush23apr23,1,2835625.storyThe White House is now on a survival footing, and Josh Bolten is essentially planning a six-month campaign that will not only prevent a Republican hemorrhage in the fall but might even produce accomplishments for Bush in his lame-duck years. The new chief recognizes that he needs to show results quickly, since aides have claimed to be rebooting the second term so many times (at least three, by TIME's count) that even their allies have lost track. The revamps have come every few months and then been hit by unexpected crises like the uproar a proposal to let a Dubai company operate some key U.S. ports.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1186555-2,00.htmlCountdown w/ Keith Olbermann broadcasts LIVE at 8 pm et, and the count is never complete without you. Join us.
The crackdown on leaks at the CIA that led to the dismissal of a veteran intelligence officer last week included a highly unusual polygraph examination for the agency's independent watchdog, Inspector General John L. Helgerson, intelligence officials with knowledge of the investigation said Sunday.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/24/washington/24leak.html?_r=1&oref=sloginPresident Bush and members of Congress are still making their way back to Washington, but the war over who's to blame for skyrocketing gas prices is already simmering and is expected to reach full-boil status by tomorrow.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3626796/FOR nearly 30 years since the death of Elvis Presley, his impersonators have suffered for their art. They struggle to achieve the perfect quiff. They sweat profusely in white sequined jump suits. Some, whose bellies are bigger than their sideburns, have been floored by gyration-induced hernias. Now, however, America's estimated 30,000 Elvis impressionists are really shook up. They fear that they are about to be put out of business. In a move that has made the ranks of the lookalikes queasier than the thought of a deep-fried peanut butter and banana sandwich -the King's favourite snack in the bloated autumn of his life -a New York businessman has bought the rights to Elvis's name and likeness and has threatened to ban "unauthorised" Elvis clones.
That's some of what we're planning for tonight's show.
Finally,
A startling Internet video that shows someone spraying graffiti on President Bush's jet looked so authentic that the Air Force wasn't immediately certain whether the plane had been targeted. It was all a hoax. No one actually sprayed the slogan "Still Free" on the cowling of Air Force One.The pranksters responsible for the grainy, two-minute Web video - employed by a New York fashion company - revealed Friday how they pulled it off: a rented 747 in California painted to look almost exactly like Air Force One.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AIR_FORCE_ONE_HOAX?SITE=NWCN&TEMPLATE=STRANGEHEADS.html&SECTION=HOME-- Carey Fox
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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/Other News...
Three car bombs exploded in the Iraqi capital Monday, killing at least six people and wounding nearly 50, and police discovered the bodies of 17 Iraqis - apparent victims of sectarian slayings the United States hopes the country's new government can put to an end.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12443056/Enron Corp. founder Kenneth Lay sternly denied Monday he had broken the law and said he was eager to tell jurors in his fraud and conspiracy trial what really happened at the energy giant.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12459379/A 12-year-old boy described by a neighbor as having a volatile temper was arrested in the deaths of his mother and younger brother at their apartment outside Washington, D.C.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10704045/Del Mar College students now have to use computers outside the school's system if they want to visit the popular Web site MySpace.com. The community college has blocked the site in response to complaints about sluggish Internet speed on campus computers.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12459826/Aruban authorities on Monday released a 19-year-old Dutch national suspected of involvement of the disappearance of Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12462771/China's army school bans tattoos, snoring. Military will also test potential officers for drugs, official news agency says.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12463570/Zacarias Moussaoui's lawyer pleaded with jurors Monday to send his client to prison for life - "the long slow death of a common criminal" - rather than give him the martyrdom he seeks through execution. The prosecution argued for a death sentence for the Sept. 11 conspirator because "there is no place on this good Earth" for him.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12458296/The Food and Drug Administration should have the power to require that drug makers conduct studies on the safety of prescription medications already on the market, congressional investigators recommend.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12462196/Architect Frank O. Gehry plans to erect a translucent, glass-curtained tower rising 47 stories above his landmark Walt Disney Concert Hall as the centerpiece of the Grand Avenue project, a bold statement that would alter downtown Los Angeles' skyline and reinforce the civic center area as a hub of cutting-edge architecture.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-grand24apr24,0,2254651.story?coll=la-home-headlines