R.I.P. Brian Crush and Why is Cal Ripken a Diplomat?

"Morning Meeting" is a recap of our daily editorial meeting. If we had a show today, these are some of the stories you would probably hear.

No show today. We're planning shows for Thursday and Friday. We're also thinking about how to make this blog an even better place to visit, and we'd love your ideas. Keep an eye out for Luke and Alison's posts later today. Alison's interested in Brooke Astor and whether we have our own philanthropist/socialites these days. Luke's got something to say about unfortunate hurricane names (Flossie? Kiko? Norbert Odile?). We've also got a special Dean Martin tribute.

You'll find out what we talked about this morning after the jump. (Can you guess which blog czar makes an estimated $52 million a year?) Oh, we would have made a great show today, had we made a show today.

 

NEWSCAST: A bridge in China's Hunan Province collapsed killing at least 29 people. Last year, China's Ministry of Communications listed 6,300 bridges as structurally dangerous. Rescuers drilled more holes into the Crandall Canyon mine in their continuing efforts to find the miners. Hurricane Flossie approaches Hawaii's Big Island, but forecasters don't expect much damage. NASA says the damaged thermal tiles can't harm the crew. They haven't yet decided whether to send an astronaut on a spacewalk to repair the tile. Some Chinese toothpaste has been recalled because it's made with antifreeze. A homemade bomb derailed a passenger train travelling from Moscow to St. Petersburg.

THE FAST TRACK WITH ALBERTO GONZALES: Attorney General Alberto Gonzales may soon have the jurisdiction to expedite death row executions by shortening the federal appeals process. About 3,350 people in the US are on death row, more than 600 of whom are in California.

POLITICAL STRATEGY UPDATE: Edwards puts all of his eggs in the Iowa basket. The WSJ says Rove's departure gives Republicans a bit more flexibility: "In the past, if a Republican congressman or senator strayed from the White House line, typically as they ran for re-election, Mr. Rove often would call a local Republican official or contributor to pressure the lawmaker back into the fold." Is Clinton running a Rove-style campaign?

ATHLETES IN DIPLOMACY?: Yesterday the State Department named former Orioles player Cal Ripken a Goodwill Ambassador representing the United States: "He's part of an effort, largely orchestrated by longtime Bush confidant Karen Hughes, to expand the role of athletes in diplomacy."

WRESTLER BRIAN "CRUSH" ADAMS DEAD: Yesterday he was found unconscious in his Florida home, still no word on cause of death. Crush was part of the WWE's Demolition trio. He retired from wrestling in 2003 after suffering a spinal injury.

DECREASE IN LIFE EXPECTANCY: Twenty years ago the U.S. held the 11th spot in the international life expectancy rankings. Now we're #42. And the world's oldest living person, Yone Minagawa, died Monday at a hospital in Japan. She was 114.

THE RAMBLE: Nick Denton's Gawker Media earns an estimated $52 million a year...A Georgia woman went to the police to complain that someone sold her fake crack and was promptly arrested for possession of cocaine... French first lady Cecilia Sarkozy's sore throat prevented her from having burgers with President Bush in New Hampshire, but not from "shopping with friends on both Friday and Sunday." The French question the boundaries of Ms. Sarkozy's official role, especially in light of her random involvement in the release of Bulgarian nurses imprisoned in Libya.