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The Hardball Briefing On MSNBC
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The Big Buzz inside the Beltway is The Washington Post front page story on Powell and
his deputy Richard Armitage...According to the piece, the two will step down on
January 21, 2005 after the President is sworn in for a second term...State is down
playing the story calling it "gossip and rumor" and NBC sources are hearing the story
could have been planted by Powell's Neocon enemies within the administration...
Chris'll be hot on this one I'm sure so we'll do something big on it...
We'll also look that Al-Qaida message to the U.S. on those Gitmo detainees plus the
latest on those pesky terrorist threats...Ashcroft was all over the place yesterday
chatting the topic up...We'll talk to our panel of terror experts...
Dean's getting a lot of Buzz this week with a new poll showing him leading in Iowa,
two major magazine covers and a new ad running in Texas! Mortman's cooking up a hot
"Battle for the White House" segment...
Plus, Lieberman's jumping into the bash Dean jamboree with a major speech at the
National Press Club today...We'll run the sound...
In the Buzz we've got Dornan on the Powell story and the Dean Buzz...
Too early for any more names to throw out at you but stay tuned....
State Dept. Changes Seen if Bush Reelected...Powell and Armitage Intend to Step Down
(The Washington Post) http://msnbc.com/news/947873.asp?0dm=C19NN
But a State Department spokesman vigorously denied the story on Monday. "There's no
basis to the story at all," said Philip T. Reeker. "There was no such
conversation."...Meanwhile, at the White House, Michael Anton, a spokesman for the
National Security Council, said "the conversation didn't happen." (AP)
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=542&e=2&u=/ap/20030804/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/powell
"This is gossip and rumor," said State Department spokesman Philip Reeker when asked
about The Washington Post story. (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=5AWOUWBGBBXVICRBAEKSFEY?type=topNews&storyID=3214786
Mortman's latest...In D.C., summertime is scandal time...For most of America,
summertime means vacations, casual office attire, and relaxed business hours. But in
Washington, the hot summer months bring something else - scandal, scandal, scandal.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/946112.asp
Dominic Bellone wrote, compiled and edited The Hardball Briefing from Washington, DC
Purported al-Qaida message warns U.S. on detainees...An audiotape purportedly of top
al-Qaida official Ayman al-Zawahri warned the United States on Sunday it would pay a
high price if it harmed any of the detainees at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/947604.asp
Attorney General John Ashcroft is warning of a "very real potential" for another
al-Qaida attack on America. (AP)
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030804/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_al_qaida_10
Presidential hopeful Joe Lieberman is warning that Democrats who advocate peace and
expensive social programs "could send us back to the political wilderness,"
challenging the populist message being touted by insurgent candidate Howard Dean. (AP)
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/politics/6452907.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp
Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean has chosen Bush country as the site for
a second television advertisement that will begin broadcasting before any other
candidate has gone on the air. (AP)
http://www.statesman.com/nationworld/content/news/ap/ap_story.html/Elections/AP.V1276.AP-Dean-Ads.html
Dean leader of the pack, Iowa says...Ex-Vermont Gov. Howard Dean is on the covers of
both Newsweek and Time magazines this week - and leading the crowded field of
Democrats in a new presidential poll in Iowa. (NY Daily News)
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/story/106265p-96093c.html
Dean is the first choice of 23 percent of those who say they definitely or probably
will attend the Democratic caucuses. Gephardt is favored by 21 percent. Massachusetts
Sen. John Kerry comes in third in the nine-member field with 14 percent. (Des Moines
Register) http://www.dmregister.com/news/stories/c4788998/21909842.html
The Left's Mr. Right? In your face: His willingness to go after Bush on Iraq thrilled
long-suffering liberals. And his unexpected success at fund-raising gave him crucial
momentum. But is Howard Dean the Democrats' path back to power-or a recipe for another
49-state defeat? (Newsweek) http://www.msnbc.com/news/947647.asp?0cv=KA01
Democratic activist Mary Beth Walz sees presidential candidates. She sees them in her
Bow, N.H., backyard at her annual pig roasts for local politicians. She sees them at
campaign stops. (AP)
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=694&ncid=703&e=4&u=/ap/20030804/ap_on_el_pr/new_hampshire_s_undecideds
While Democratic leaders in Washington debate strategy and demographics for the 2004
election - the wisdom of campaigning from the left, right or center - something far
more visceral is at work in the first caucus state, and in other Democratic redoubts.
(NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/04/politics/campaigns/04DEMS.html?ei=5062&en=901d8e2cbf07ebc4&ex=1060574400&partner=GOOGLE&pagewanted=print&position=
Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry plans an Internet-based petition drive
that is intended to protest the Bush administration's proposal to tighten overtime pay
standards. (AP) http://msnbc.com/news/947749.asp?0cv=CB20
When Richard Gephardt announced his "leadership team" of Iowa supporters a month ago
he said, "I don't take one bit of support for granted," and touted what he called "a
great team of folks behind me." (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/News/F2EEF4C27FFFAB5286256D760031C382?OpenDocument&Headline=Team+touted+by+Gephardt+fades+in+Iowa
Gephardt Goes After AFL-CIO Endorsement...Winning Union's Support Is No Easy Task (The
Washington Post) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16857-2003Aug3.html
Arguing that October's recall election would result in chaos, Democratic Gov. Gray
Davis and his supporters say they will ask the California Supreme Court today to delay
the vote until the March 2004 primary and also place Davis' name on the ballot. (SF
Chronicle) http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/08/04/RECALL.TMP
Will Calif. Democrats Stand by Their Man?...Some Seek Bid by Sen. Feinstein; Some Say
Party Must Stay Unified Behind Davis (The Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16925-2003Aug3.html
First peacekeepers arrive in Liberia...The first contingent of Nigerian troops arrived
in Liberia on Monday, the first peacekeepers to deploy in the war-torn West African
state. http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/937616.asp
Liberians remain skeptical of peace force...The first elements of a West African
peacekeeping force prepared today to arrive in Liberia on Monday, with a contingent of
300 Nigerian soldiers scheduled to land at Monrovia's international airport by midday.
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/947877.asp
Gay bishop on brink of confirmation...Bishops in the Episcopal Church were widely
expected to approve the first openly gay elected bishop in the church's history on
Monday, a move that some fear could prompt conservatives to leave the church.
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/947847.asp
U.S. troops hunting Saddam Hussein and his top lieutenants just missed catching a
senior figure in an overnight raid, but have captured high-profile suspects over the
last few days, the military said Monday. (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=3215323
The Kissinger Files...He was the master diplomat of his time. Now he's got his eye on
history's verdict (Newsweek) http://www.msnbc.com/news/947574.asp?0dm=s15Bk
Opinion/Editorial
Negotiating over nukes...The new promise of multilateral negotiations over the North
Korea nuclear crisis is the result of a compromise as much from Washington as from
Pyongyang, though the U.S. isn't spinning it that way. By Fred Kaplan.
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/947068.asp
Barnicle: Vatican's old men just got more out of touch
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/col/story/105959p-95826c.html
Novak: Hitting the wall on Mideast peace
http://www.suntimes.com/output/novak/cst-edt-novak04.html
Pat: Was Poppy Right After All? After five weeks of air strikes and 100 hours of
ground war, President Bush ordered General Schwarzkopf to end his attacks and halt his
advance. Receiving reports of air massacres of retreating Iraqis on the Highway of
Death out of Kuwait City, unwilling to risk a defection of his Arab allies, Bush I
ordered an end to the war. http://amconmag.com/07_28_03/buchanan.html
Joe's Real Deal: NBC News is exclusively reporting that the Bush Administration is in
secret talks with Iran. Iranian leaders will hand over three high level al-Qaeda
members - but there's a price. The U.S. would have to give up some members of an
Iranian opposition group. If handed over, they'd face certain torture and probable
death. Should we be in the business of dealing with a member of the "axis of evil", a
country that, evidence shows, is building nuclear weapons?
http://www.msnbc.com/news/948019.asp
Doonesbury http://www.ucomics.com/doonesbury/
Mallard http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/fun/mallard.asp
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