Decision Day in Durham

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On Monday, everyone in the cable news business covered immigration. We started our show with a reporter "hit" from Adam Housley at a protest in L.A., but then moved on to other topics. Why? Because I could not think how to advance the story in light of the fact that everyone had gone "wall to wall" on it for many hours preceding us. There is no doubt this is a very, very, very important topic, but I need to figure out how to advance the story for you. We have a challenge in how we present stories since we are the last in prime time. If you have any ideas of how we should cover this important story, please e-mail me. Likewise, if you have any solutions, e-mail me.

Tuesday should be a fascinating and important primary election day in Durham, North Carolina. It is the primary that will decide if DA Mike Nifong — who is prosecuting two Duke lacrosse players — has an opportunity to remain in office. This is only the primary, but to participate in the general election, he needs to win now.

The primary election results might be a referendum on what the people in Durham think about the prosecution of the Duke students. As you might imagine, if the case has captivated many in the nation, it has certainly captivated those — called voters — who live in Durham.

Nifong squares off against Keith Bishop and Freda Black. I read online yesterday that SurveyUSA polled about 500 voters in Durham County this past weekend for WTVD and Freda Black and Mike Nifong are in a tie (she was polled at 39 percent and he was at 38 percent.) Eleven percent of those polled are in favor of Keith Bishop. And the most interesting are the undecided voters — at 12 percent. Bottom line: this is a cliffhanger.

What is most curious is if Mike Nifong loses the DA primary election. He can remain in office until January 2007. Is the trial docket fast enough in Durham that the current two lacrosse players indicted could actually get a trial date before January '07? I read one article (AP/Aaron Beard), which reported that if Nifong loses today he has no intention of stepping down early.

I've posted three pictures today. Two pics show you what we see every day when we walk into the Washington, D.C. bureau of FOX News Channel. The third pic is of Bernie Grimm, Ted Williams and Tito Lacle. Tito was in D.C. last week. Ted and Bernie met him for the first time. You would think that with all the times the three have been on our show that they would have met before — but nope, not until Friday.

Now for some of your e-mails — a few are about the movie "Akeelah and the Bee" that opened a few days ago. I was curious whether people who saw it loved it as much as I did, so I posted every e-mail I could find about the movie. And, after the e-mails, I have posted some articles that caught my attention:

E-mail No. 1

Greta,
This is one of the greatest movies that I have ever seen. The audience in the theatre was of all ages and races. The cheers that erupted during the film were so heartwarming. It was great to see folks cheer for this little girl's gumption and grit. I recommend it to everyone that has a desire to be inspired.
Judy
NJ

E-mail No. 2

Hi Greta,
On your recommendation, my husband, Joe and I saw "Akeelah and the Bee" today (I managed to talk him out of seeing "RV" and that was tough!) and it was a wonderful movie! I loved it — no violence, no foul language just a wonderful story. My husband and I were the only two people in the theater (it was a 2:15 p.m. showing in Hacketstown, NJ) and we were able to root out loud for Akeelah (and attempt to spell some of those words!) Thank you so much for your recommendation, it spared me from seeing "RV"! By the way, Laurence Fishburne is always great whether it's a "Matrix" movie or "Akeelah and the Bee." Now, regarding Mr. Fishburne's wife — Gina Torres — she does an incredible job as spy Anna Espinoza on "Alias" — she can kick some serious butt!
Love you and your panel, Greta! Keep up the good work.
All the best,
Kim Cataldo

E-mail No. 3

What a wonderful movie! Thanks for endorsing it! I may have skipped over it. I have to say it was the most inspirational movie I have seen in a very long time! By the way, one of my favorite movies was, "What's Love Got to Do With It" — I love those two actors and was happy to see them together again! Keke Palmer, what a future that child has!
Thanks again, I am spreading the word!
Dianna D. Barbee

E-mail No. 4

Greta,
Thanks for the heads up about "Akeelah and the Bee," it wasn't a movie I would of noticed if it hadn't been for you talking about it. I took my Mom on Sunday and it was incredible. I knew she would love it but thought I would just kind of go to take her but it sucked me right in and I don't have kids or anything. It was a great experience that leaves me feeling better about everything on this normally crappy Monday morning.... Again, thanks for bringing it to my attention, thanks for all that you bring to my attention with your generosity of spirit and your integrity, you really are a class act.
Stacy

E-mail No. 5

Greta,
I saw "Akeelah and the Bee" this weekend with my daughters. What an amazing movie! It was absolutely wonderful. Thank you for your recommendation. It was thrilling to read your guest list. I am a diehard "24" fan but I found the key for me is to not watch during the regular season and get the DVD sets to watch at my leisure which generally is the entire season over a few weekends. Sounds like you had a great time. Keep up the excellent work!
Frank Drake Jr.

E-mail No. 6

Hi Greta,
My husband and I and some friends went and saw "Akeelah and the Bee" this weekend. It was excellent! When the movie ended, everyone in the theater clapped. It’s been a long time since I have been to a movie where people actually clapped at the end. It just shows how inspiring the movie was. It made me think about all the people in my life who helped shape me into the person I am today — just like Akeelah's 5,000 coaches did for her.
Thanks for recommending the movie!
Melissa
Largo, FL

E-mail No. 7

Greta,
More people need to be promoting this movie, it is very good. It should be shown in every junior high school in the country. Why? Because it has so many good messages, i.e., the conditions in ghetto schools are beyond description; there is much pressure not succeed; life in a single family home can be bad, but coupled with being black in America can be unimaginable, and you can still succeed in America if you really have the desire. Finally, a wholesome, non-sexual, inspiring film from the Hollywood crowd. Hope springs eternal. Kudos to you and Starbucks. Maybe, if we can get this movie seen, more like it will be made. Five thumbs up!
Gary
Jenks, OK

E-mail No. 8

Hi, Greta!
Wow, I haven't seen your show for such a long time! I was away on a fabulous seven-day Caribbean cruise on Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. Want you to know that many passengers were talking about your show!
I mostly wanted to share with you that I (along with many others) were amazed at how well-insulated the cabins are! We didn't even know there was a family in the cabin right next to ours until about the 5th day of the trip, and that was only when they went out on their balcony with their young child while I was out on our balcony. Other than that, we never heard anything. It was a very peaceful trip. Just made us think about how LOUD those men must have been in George Smith's room for his "neighbor" on the ship to have complained about the noise level.
Sorry to go on and on... great show so far tonight! You handled the technical difficulties gracefully, as usual.
Marcia
MD

Finally, some articles that caught my attention:

• Netflix settles, offers month of free DVDs

• Doctors treating two Afghan children

• Rose Jr. sentenced to month in prison

• Family members officially object to Rosa Parks' will

• Accused Palace cup-tosser sentenced to 30 days for assault

Send your thoughts and comments to: ontherecord@foxnews.com

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