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The Hardball Briefing On MSNBC
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Seven days and counting folks...That's when we roll out the brand new MSNBC lineup
with Nachman at 7 pm, Donahue at 8 pm ("Be Thinkful") and Hardball at 9 pm et...Check
your local listings for the time in your neighborhood
We'll be moving exclusively to MSNBC so type in your zip code here to find out where
we are on your dial: http://msnbc.com/tools/newstools/n/msnbc_tv.asp
If you don't have MSNBC, please contact your local cable provider and demand it...
With the new lineup, comes a new Hardball...Tonight we'll test drive the new "B-Block"
which is being put together by Howard Mortman, formerly of Hotline notoriety...It'll
be an intense look at the day's headlines complete with tape and graphics..Sort of
like the "Let Me Tell You What I Really Think" segment but longer with sound bites and
other cool stuff...I think you'll like Howard's style...He has a way of taking the
day's news and adding some pizzazz to it...This is definitely a "must watch" segment...
We're even building a brand new set which you'll see next Monday...They're in there
now putting it together...I think you'll like the new look...Chris originates from the
mothership in Secaucus tonight...
Bush's big speech tops the news agenda today...I got a lot of stories on that...He's
delivering it tomorrow and we'll talk to Howard Fineman who'll give us the inside deal
on the speech, the political implications etc...Some Dems and even John McCain are
calling for Harvey Pitt's ouster...He's head of the Securities and Exchange
Commission...Rep. Barney Frank will join us for the congressional angle...
We'll also talk to Senator Evan Bayh about the need to expand the U.S. military
presence in Afghanistan: The killing of a top Afghan official shows that the United
States should use its military to safeguard the fragile new government in Afghanistan,
three U.S. senators said Sunday. Evan Bayh, D-Ind. (USA Today)
http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20020708/4253641s.htm
The head of the NAACP, Julian Bond, slammed Bush over the weekend...We'll play some of
the sound...
Bond on Bush: "We have a president who owes his election more to a dynasty than to
democracy,"
"We know he was in the oil business. We just didn't know it was snake oil."
Bond on Ashcroft: "We have an attorney general who is a cross between J. Edgar Hoover
and Jerry Falwell. And too often, one political party is shameless and the other is
spineless." http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/metropolitan/1486111
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is expected to step down in the coming weeks through
an agreement between the United States, Israel and certain Palestinian and Arab
parties, a Jordanian magazine said Monday. (UPI)
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=08072002-120531-3724r
Washington's goal of a "regime change" in Baghdad is running into strong reservations
from Kurdish leaders who would be crucial allies in any military campaign. (NY Times)
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=68&ncid=68&e=1&u=/nyt/20020708/ts_nyt/kurds__secure_in_north_iraq__are_cool_to_a_u_s__offensive
WashPost: Bush walks delicate line on business...A year ago, President Bush's status
as the first MBA president was an asset, and his administration full of corporate
executives symbolized efficiency and good stewardship. But now that Wall Street and
corporate America have been tarnished by a wave of scandals
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/777298.asp
Two subpoenaed former executives of WorldCom Inc. will refuse to answer questions
Monday from a House committee that is opening an investigation into allegations the
huge telecommunications company defrauded investors of billions. (AP)
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=536&ncid=703&e=2&u=/ap/20020708/ap_on_go_co/business_scandals_14
House Committee to Question Analyst in WorldCom Scandal...E-Mail May Hold Key to
Timing of Stock's Downgrading (The Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A36626-2002Jul7.html
Some key Democratic lawmakers say they favor the ouster of Securities and Exchange
Commission Chairman Harvey Pitt and partially blamed President Bush for recent
corporate scandals that have led him to promise a Wall Street speech on the topic
tomorrow. (The Washington Times)
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20020708-82897438.htm
The two political parties opened a critical week of jousting today over how to respond
to corporate wrongdoing, with Democrats seeking to exploit what they see as President
Bush's vulnerability on the issue and business executives pressing for action to
restore confidence in the financial markets. (NY Times)
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=68&ncid=68&e=3&u=/nyt/20020708/ts_nyt/parties_jousting_over_wrongdoing_by_u_s__businesses
The assassination of one of Afghanistan's vice presidents threatens the fragile
central government and should compel the United States to consider an active role in
providing security in the country, lawmakers said yesterday. "I fear that we may see
this government and our efforts unwind here if we don't make the appropriate
investment of men and effort and resources," said Sen. Chuck Hagel, a member of the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee (AP)
http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20020708-18989256.htm
Afghans Mourn Slain Vice President...Abdul Qadir, the Afghan vice president and ethnic
Pashtun leader assassinated Saturday, was mourned Sunday amid heavy security at a
prayer ceremony in the capital, then laid to rest in his native city of Jalalabad in
eastern Afghanistan. (The Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A36434-2002Jul7.html?referer=email
U.S. to increase airport security...Family and friends gathered Sunday to mourn the
deaths of two people killed in a Fourth of July shooting at Los Angeles airport.
Meantime, the government vowed to step up security throughout U.S. airports.
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/776641.asp
The right-wing conspiracy is operating out of the Department of Justice and the office
of White House Counsel, Julian Bond said last night in a keynote address to the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (The Washington Times)
http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20020708-89210920.htm
Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan held a series of meetings Saturday with Iraqi
officials on the second day of his visit to the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, to discuss
ways to avoid a possible U.S. military campaign. (UPI)
http://www.upi.com/print.cfm?StoryID=06072002-024633-3251r
Question hanging over baseball is whether players, union and owners can deal with
steroids as well as economic challenges to the game...All-Star Derek Jeter is tired of
the never-ending suspicions that baseball players are souped up with illegal
muscle-building drugs called steroids. He knows about privacy issues but says he wants
to be tested to clear the record. (USA Today)
http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20020708/4253642s.htm
Senate primary in Tennessee pits GOP 'solids' against GOP 'plaids'...A television ad
making fun of former Gov. Lamar Alexander's plaid shirt is the latest sign of an
increasingly hard-fought primary in Tennessee's Senate race. (The Washington Times)
http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20020708-5868484.htm
President Bush played one last round of golf Monday in the early morning mist of the
Maine coast before returning to Washington for a week of ceremony and political
challenge. (AP)
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=536&ncid=703&e=3&u=/ap/20020708/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_38
Pledge follows Bush to church...President Bush joined more than 100 parishioners at a
seaside church yesterday in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance during services. (The
Washington Times) http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20020708-52154640.htm
Inner Circle vs. the Outsider: Florida Democrats' Dilemma...Party's Rift Over Reno
Dims Hopes Against Bush (The Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A36578-2002Jul7.html
The way many Libertarians see it, they have come a long way since their party's humble
beginnings in a Colorado living room in 1971. (AP)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A36702-2002Jul7.html
Amid tears, laughter and amens, U.S. Rep. Carrie Meek announced to her Liberty City
church Sunday morning that she would retire this fall after 23 years as a
history-making politician. (Miami Herald) http://www.miami.com/mld/miami/3619535.htm
$100K Club Grows...Despite the slowly rebounding economy, a record number of House
staffers are earning six-figure salaries, a Roll Call study of House payroll records
shows. (Roll Call) http://www.rollcall.com/pages/news/00/2002/07/news0708a.html
Howard: How His Party Frustrated Watts...'Robot-like' allegiances drove him out--but
was there more http://www.msnbc.com/news/775951.asp
Life After Watts...Arguing that there's a big symbolic difference between one and
zero, black GOP House candidates hope that the retirement of Rep. J.C. Watts (R-Okla.)
will prompt Republicans to work harder to elect an African-American this November
(Roll Call) http://www.rollcall.com/pages/politics/00/2002/07/pol0708a.html
Pop singer Michael Jackson has launched a fierce attack on the American music
industry, labelling the chairman of Sony Music a racist and accusing record companies
of a conspiracy to defraud their black artists. (London Guardian)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,751293,00.html
Contenders to replace Rep. J.C. Watts (Okla.) as Republican Conference chairman spent
the recess scrambling to secure as many commitments from their colleagues as possible
before returning to Washington to begin their campaigns in earnest. (Roll Call)
http://www.rollcall.com/pages/news/00/2002/07/news0708d.html
Opinion/Editorial
Quit picking on Pitt...Quit picking on Harvey Pitt. The corporate accounting scandals
aren't the SEC chairman's fault, writes Chris Suellentrop in Slate.
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/776595.asp
Josh Green: The 'Gate-less Community...In any other administration, Bush's
scandal-plagued Army secretary would be history. But the rules have changed
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2001/0207.green.html
Dezenhall: Why We Love to Souffle Martha... Above all else, this nation just can't
stand phonies.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-denz07jul07.story?coll=la%2Dnews%2Dcomment
The Washington Times: The Sweeney tax and the Democrats...The bosses of Big Labor are
once again snatching members' dues to subsidize their political organ: the Democratic
Party. http://washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20020708-31760592.htm
Gephardt: Problem is beyond politics
http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20020708/4253666s.htm
The Washington Post: The President's Choice
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A36830-2002Jul7.html
Novak: Nuke showdown in Senate
http://www.suntimes.com/output/novak/cst-edt-novak08.html
Page: Dems will miss Watts, too
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0702/page.html
Doonesbury http://www.ucomics.com/doonesbury/2002/07/08/
Mallard Fillmore http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/fun/mallard.asp
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