Al Qaeda Capture: Newsletter 5/4/05

[Patsy Stone]

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Tonight on Countdown
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The man thought to be al-Qaeda's operations commander, and who might know where Osama bin Laden is hiding, has been arrested in Pakistan, the government announced. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7732035/

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

After a decade of silence, Terry L. Nichols, who was convicted in the Oklahoma City bombings, has accused a third man of being an accomplice who provided some of the explosives used to kill 168 people at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building 10 years ago. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-okcbomb4may04,0,7867030.story?coll=la-home-headlines
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7729978/

An Iraqi carrying hidden explosives set them off outside a police recruitment center Wednesday where people were applying for jobs, police said. The U.S. military said at least 50 Iraqis were killed, making it the deadliest insurgent attack in Iraq in more than two months. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7721003/

Nearly 150 students at the College of William and Mary were evacuated from two residence halls that caught fire Tuesday afternoon. No one was injured, college spokesman William T. Walker Jr. said. Housekeepers in Preston Hall reportedly saw smoke and went from room to room telling students to evacuate when alarms did not sound. Students say alarms later rang after everyone was outside. http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD/MGArticle/RTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031782500696

The saga of runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks continues to generate reaction - some of it creative and some just plain wacky. Some examples: The eBay bidding for Perry Lonzello's hand-carved piece of toast that allegedly resembles Wilbanks had increased Tuesday to $66. There also were two examples of copycat Wilbanks toast on the Internet marketplace. Alternative country artist Jessica Urick has recorded a tongue-in-cheek song called "Leavin' on a Greyhound," sung to the tune of "Leavin' on a Jet Plane," written by John Denver. And eBay bidding on her hit as high as $300 by Tuesday afternoon. http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/gwinnett/0505/04brideside.html

Lending weight to simmering rumors, former "American Idol" contestant Corey Clark has acknowledged he had a sexual relationship with "Idol" judge Paula Abdul and received coaching from her on how to win, according to excerpts of an interview he conducted with ABC News. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7733375/

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

Finally,
It wasn't Laurie Ralston's resume that got the attention of police. It was her record. Ralston applied Thursday for a job as a dispatcher with the Amherst police department. When they did a background check, police quickly found out she has 17 traffic convictions, including seven speeding tickets and two citations for driving without a license. Ralston was called in Friday for what she was told would be an interview. Instead, she was arrested and charged with failing to appear in court and driving without a license. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/INTERVIEW_ARREST?SITE=NWCN&TEMPLATE=STRANGEHEADS.html&SECTION=HOME
Could we make this resume tip any more obvious? Don't apply for a job with the law when you're a law-breaker.

-- Carey Fox

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

More:
Newly disclosed documents from an American territory in the Pacific show that the powerful Washington lobbyist at the center of federal corruption investigations here paid directly for travel to the islands by several members of Congress, Democrat and Republican, as well as two senior aides to Tom DeLay, the House majority leader, despite House rules that bar such payments. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/04/politics/04delay.html?hp&ex=1115265600&en=15771c2c26c6c8cd&ei=5094&partner=homepage
A military court deciding the sentence for a key defendant in the Iraq prisoner abuse scandal was interrupted on Wednesday after the judge questioned the validity of the guilty plea. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7734657/

Body parts in food seen rare. Statistics belie recent rash of incidents. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7714408/

A British boy tucking into his breakfast had a nasty surprise when he discovered a two-foot long snake inside his box of cereal. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7734025/