Just got up (hey, I was awake all night) and turned on the TV for the shuttle launch. But there’s trouble in Paradise.
First, there will be no shuttle launch today. A faulty fuel tank sensor, not the remnants of Hurricane Dennis or the next approaching storm, Emily, caused the countdown to stop about 3 hours before lift-off. As of this writing, no new launch date has been set.
Then, while I was blearily digesting this information, “Flash News” came on the screen; SCOTUS Chief Justice William Reinquist has been hospitalized with a high fever. It’s being called a “precautionary hospitalization”, but a high fever in an 80-year-old man (or woman) isn’t a minor matter. Could this be the preliminary to the expected retirement announcement? It’s possible he was going to announce last Friday, but declined out of deference to the news out of London. (Brief mention here — check the usual suspects like CNN or MSNBC later for more details).
And I thought it was going to be a slow news day…