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Tonight on Countdown
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A handpicked group of U.S. troops told President George W. Bush on Thursday they believed the Iraqi people were eager to vote in a weekend referendum on an Iraqi constitution. In a carefully scripted event, Bush spoke to 10 U.S. troops and an Iraqi soldier in a video teleconference about preparations for the Saturday vote, which is critical to U.S. aims for democracy in Iraq and creating conditions for the ultimate withdrawal of American forces. Bush, suffering job approval ratings below 40 percent, the lowest of his presidency, is eager to show progress in Iraq as the American death toll nears 2,000. A CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll last month said only 32 percent of Americans approved of his handling of Iraq.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N13627152.htmWe will have excerpts of this bizarre teleconference.
And Scott McClellan's press briefing today... notable... you won't want to miss this.
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 Angels lost to the White Sox on Wednesday night after a bitterly contested ruling by the umpires that kept the ninth inning alive and gave Chicago a chance to score the winning run - which it promptly did.
http://www.latimes.com/sports/baseball/mlb/angels/la-sp-angels13oct13,0,4995970.story?coll=la-home-headlines&track=hppromoboxThe Michael Jackson circus is back as the star visits London to produce a song to help victims of Hurricane Katrina. It is the first time he has been seen in public since June when he was cleared of molesting a child after a lengthy trial. Chanting his name and waving banners, the crowd - mostly in their twenties and thirties plus some children - hoped for a glimpse of Jackson.
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/showbiz/articles/20625886?source=Evening%20StandardDeath of the TV theme song.
That's some of what we're planning for tonight's show.
Finally,
It's the thought that counts when it comes to a marriage proposal. Chris Mueller, 25, was nearly finished etching the big question into a harvested soybean field when he realized the 'm' in 'marry' took up too much room. Since he couldn't erase a plowed field, he had a decision to make.
"I figured it would look better to spell it wrong and get a laugh out of it, rather than botch it all," Mueller told the Grand Forks Herald. "I could have fit all the letters in, but it would have looked tacky." Instead, it read: "KATIE WILL YOU MARY ME?"
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MISPELLED_PROPOSAL?SITE=NWCN&TEMPLATE=STRANGEHEADS.html&SECTION=HOME-- Carey Fox
Countdown Home:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/More:
U.S. and Iraqi forces stepped up security across the country Thursday and prepared to impose an overnight curfew to try to reduce insurgent attacks aimed at wrecking this weekend's constitutional referendum.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9659209/With snow falling on parts of Kashmir, the U.N.'s emergency relief chief said Thursday that time was running out for many hungry, homeless survivors of a massive earthquake and urged aid agencies to speed up efforts in remote villages.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9626146/Federal authorities on Thursday opened a criminal investigation into who wrote e-mails that warned private citizens of a possible terror threat to New York City subways days in advance of a city government decision to issue a public alert last week.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9686577/A strain of bird flu that can be deadly for humans has spread from Asia to the fringes of Europe and countries should prepare for a potential pandemic, Europe's health chief said on Thursday.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/Scores of Islamic militants launched simultaneous attacks on police and government buildings in this city in Russia's turbulent Caucasus region Thursday, sparking battles that killed at least 49 people.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9681595/The number of people who have lost their jobs because of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita jumped to 438,000 last week, as the economic shockwaves from the nation's costliest natural disaster continued to be felt six weeks after Katrina careened across the Gulf Coast.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9683640/=========================================
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