Friday Morning Roundup

The New River in Giles County, Virginia

Gingrich Will Star In Democrats’ Anti-Ryan Medicare Attacks
Paul Bedard at U.S. News and World Report Politics
By the time they’re done with him, GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich will look like a leading Democratic spokesman as the party moves quickly to harness his attacks on Republican plans to change Medicare. According to party sources, they plan to use Gingrich’s assault on House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s plan in a bid to knock down every Republican who voted for it.

 

Thanks, Newt.

Mississippi crests in Vicksburg lower than feared
AP
The Mississippi River crested at more than 14 feet above flood stage in Vicksburg on Thursday, slightly lower than expected, easing worries about water potentially spilling over a nearby levee and inundating thousands more acres of farmland.

Fierce forecast: Feds predict up to 10 hurricanes in 2011
USAToday
The USA will have an “above normal” hurricane season this year, with anywhere from 12-18 named storms to form in the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, federal forecasters predicted Thursday.

‘American Idol’ 2011: Goodbye, Haley Reinhart
The Washington Post
Seacrest gathers Lauren, Scotty and Haley on stage for the big moment. First up — to the shock of absolutely no one, Seacrest says Scotty is the first person to make it to the finale. And the person who will compete against him is…Lauren.

Batman Begins (Again): The Dark Knight Rises Starts Shooting
E! Online
Shooting is now underway on Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures’ The Dark Knight Rises, the third and presumably final chapter in director Christopher Nolan’s epic trilogy on the Caped Crusader.

Today’s Birthdays

1768 – Dolley Madison, First Lady of the United States (d. 1849)
1908 – James Stewart, American actor (d. 1997)
1946 – Cher, American singer & actress
1954 – Cindy McCain, American businesswoman, wife of John McCain
1958 – Ron Reagan, American talk show host

American IdolBatmanChristian BaleEntertainmentHurricane SeasonIsraelLifeMedicareMississippiNewt GingrichNOAAPaul RyanVicksburg