Countdown Tonight! karl rove subpoenaed

Senate Democrats called for a special counsel to investigate whether Attorney General Alberto Gonzales lied under oath and subpoenaed top presidential aide Karl Rove Thursday in a widening probe into the dismissal of federal prosecutors. "It has become apparent that the attorney general has provided at a minimum half-truths and misleading statements," four members of the Senate Judiciary Committee wrote in a letter to Solicitor General Paul Clement. They dispatched the letter shortly before Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., announced the subpoena of Rove, the president's top political strategist. We have now reached a point where the accumulated evidence shows that political considerations factored into the unprecedented firing of at least nine United States Attorneys last year," said Leahy, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Administration officials have consistently denied any wrongdoing in connection with the firing of the prosecutors, who were let go last winter. Go
nzales is at the center of the U.S. attorney controversy, but the call for a perjury probe involved alleged conflicts between testimony he gave the Judiciary Committee last year and this week. The issue revolves around whether there was internal administration dissent over the president's warrantless wiretapping program. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19975387/

Looks like the multitude of scandals in this administration are finally coming to roost.

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Defense Secretary Robert Gates wrote to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton hoping to calm a politically stoked exchange between the Pentagon and the Democratic presidential front-runner over planning for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq. In the three-page letter, obtained by The Associated Press Thursday, Gates sought to both agree with Clinton that congressional oversight of military planning is needed and at the same time defend his undersecretary of policy, Eric Edelman. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19976693/from/RS.1/

A bulletin warning airports about possible dry runs by terrorists is "routine" and does not indicate fear of an imminent attack, the federal Transportation Security Administration said yesterday. Seizures of four unusual packages since September prompted the agency last Friday to tell airport security officials to watch for "ordinary items that look like improvised explosive device components." The memo, titled "Incidents at U.S. Airports May Suggest Possible Pre-Attack Probing," said the seizures "raise concern" that terrorists may be trying to "desensitize, distract or adapt plans" in advance of an attack. But the TSA backtracked yesterday, posting a message on its Web site saying last week's bulletin was merely one of 90 such alerts over the past six months. http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-usair265307398jul26,0,540516.story?coll=ny-nationalnews-print
In other words, there's nothing to these "cheese dry runs" and never was.

The J.K. Rowling interview.

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

-- Carey Fox

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

The Daily Links:
Army Secretary Peter Geren is expected to recommend that a retired three-star general be demoted for his role in providing misleading information about the death of Army Ranger Pat Tillman, military officials say, in what would be a stinging and rare rebuke. Lt. Gen. Philip Kensinger, who headed Army special operations, is one of six high-ranking Army officers expected to get official reprimands for making critical errors in reporting the circumstances of Tillman's friendly-fire shooting in Afghanistan in April 2004. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19975042/

The U.S. military has noted a "significant improvement" in the aim of attackers firing rockets and mortars into the heavily fortified Green Zone in the past three months that it has linked to training in Iran, a top commander said Thursday. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19972418/

Job cuts, slimmer losses in North America and good sales overseas helped Ford Motor Co. post surprise second-quarter earnings Thursday of $750 million, its first profitable quarter in two years. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19970567/

Sales of new homes fell in June by the largest amount in five months as the housing industry continued to struggle with its worst downturn in 16 years. The median home price also fell. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19974101/

Wall Street fell sharply Thursday, with the Dow Jones industrial average down over 300 points, extending its weeks-long streak of volatility after disappointing home sales figures added to investors' increasing uneasiness about the mortgage and corporate lending markets. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3683270/

A top South Korean envoy headed to Afghanistan on Thursday, scrambling to save 22 of his country's citizens held captive by Taliban kidnappers after the militants killed one hostage. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19913035/

Michael Vick was due in federal court Thursday to start a legal process that jeopardizes not only his career, but also his freedom. The Atlanta Falcons quarterback was expected to appear at a bond hearing and enter a plea on dogfighting conspiracy charges. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19965019/

Three female mountain gorillas and a male silverback gorilla were found shot dead this week inside a national park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a conservation group said Thursday. The bodies were discovered inside Virunga National Park but it was unclear who killed them and why, the International Gorilla Conservation Program said in a statement. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19974474/

Japanese girls born last year can expect to live to an average age of 85.8 years, making them the longest-lived in the world, according to figures released by the government on Thursday. Their male compatriots fare less well, with a life expectancy of 79 years, second to Icelandic men at 79.4 years, the Health Ministry said. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19975238/

Thawing sea ice in the Arctic could have a chilling effect on ties among countries that share the area, especially now that a Russian ship is headed for the North Pole. The expedition plans to send a mini-submarine crew to plant a flag on the seabed and symbolically claim the Arctic for the Kremlin. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19952934/

Daisy Valdivia is annoyed that someone stole her backyard pool - and baffled at how they did it without leaving behind a splash, drip or trace of the 1,000 gallons of water it contained. Valdivia awoke to find her family's hip-high, inflatable, 10-foot diameter swimming pool gone from her back yard Wednesday. Valdivia told The Record of Bergen County the theft must have occurred between 1 a.m., when her husband went to bed, and 5 a.m., when she awoke. She's amazed someone could steal the pool that quickly and just wanted to know "what the heck they did with the water," she said. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12784369/

:toast:

but at least the Dem's haven't given up,

:hi:

and I suspect they are all relatively good at that too or they wouldn't be where they are. I get disappointed with the Dem's and wonder about the country but I trust they and it will be OK in the end. It does feel good to see some things starting to move though.