(Original graphic by Alex Ross Art)

Nancy Grace has signed on for the new season of Dancing With the Devil Stars.

As one commenter to the article suggested, too bad Casey Anthony can't be her partner. I sure hope Derek doesn't get stuck with her.

Will she be this season's Kate Gosselin?

At least we don't have to listen to her talk while she's dancing. We can just laugh.

Too funny. The half-brother of President Obama's father has been in jail for a week on DUI charges. Authorities aren't sure if he is in the country legally.

Police said that after being booked at the police station, Obama was asked whether he wanted to make a telephone call to arrange for bail. "I think I will call the White House," he stated, according to a police report filed in Framingham District Court.

Police said Obama, who is originally from Kenya and is the half-brother of the president's late father, pleaded not guilty Friday and is being held without bail on a detainer from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In a court document, ICE said Onyango Obama had an earlier deportation or removal order.

Will Obama help him or hang him out to dry? I'd bet the latter. He does have a lawyer at least -- Cleveland immigration attorney Margaret Wong.

College football just around the corner. Go Gators!

Open Thread.

It is bizarre to me that Matt Yglesias thinks this argument makes any POLITICAL sense:

I feel like a lot of highly perceptive skilled writers tend to kind of see the problem and then take their eye off the ball. There’s obstructionism in Congress, not all of it from Republicans. And excuses don’t matter, results do. Therefore, what you need to do is devise a strategy designed to produce the best possible results given the constraints.

(Emphasis supplied.) If Obama follows THIS advice, he might as well start packing his bags. The results have stunk and will stink some more through November 2012. Someone needs to be blamed for the bad results. You can't do that if you don't point out what YOUR best plan is and who is stopping you from doing it. Hell, even the "President is powerless" is a better argument than this one. As Atrios responds:

The point is that what's been on the table so far isn't going to actually achieve results, if by results we mean "lowering unemployment by Nov. 2012" instead of "passing some crap through Congress that at best won't do much." [. . .] I do tend to think if you aren't going to have any results then messaging is all you have left.

(Emphasis supplied.) We've pretty much reached the "messaging is all we have left" stage.

Hitting the reset button and figuring out what is on tap for the week.

Until then, Open Thread.

Sunday and Thursday are currently the best TV nights of the week. Tonight, Food Network's "The Great Food Truck Race" is in Denver.

There's also a new episode of Big Brother and Breaking Bad. And the MTV Music Video Awards are tonight. MTV sent a private jet yesterday to collect Snooki and the Jersey Shore gang from the East Coast so they wouldn't miss it.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Hurricane Irene has been downgraded to a tropical storm. It doesn't look bad in New York City, but police are still advising people to stay indoors. Flooding is still a danger.

Anderson Cooper is reporting from Battery Park. It wouldn't be a hurricane without him.

There was a segment with a group of very feisty women in a senior's home in Atlantic City saying they weren't going anywhere. Gov. Christie said they could only get 100 to leave, 500 simply refused. So far they are okay.

Hurricane Irene has reached New York. Mayor Bloomberg says it's too late to evacuate, just stay indoors.

Here's the current tracker. For those of you on the east coast, how are you doing?

Hurricane Irene is weakening but still a threat. More here.

In New York, there are no planes, subways, buses, Broadway, Bloomingdales or Saks.

Another tracker here.

It's a Hard Rain's Gonna Fall. Goodnight Irene.

This is an open thread, all topics -- and music suggestions -- welcome. Stay safe everyone.

Locked up and left behind. Rikers Island has ten jails on 400 acres and 12,000 inmates. It's built on landfill, which is considered more vulnerable to natural disasters. Yet Mayor Bloomberg announced today there are no evacuation plans for Rikers.

Among the prisoners: Pre-trial detainees who have not been convicted of a crime; juvenile offenders and mentally ill inmates.

Does no one remember the prisoners during Hurricane Katrina? [More...]

The New York Times has this easy to follow graphic Hurricane Irene Tracker where you can follow the storm's progress, estimate the time it will hit various places, and at what strength.

Washington, DC is slated to greet Irene at 8 am Saturday morning. President Obama is leaving Martha's Vineyard a day early. In North Carolina, Irene has been downgraded to a Cat 2. A lot of power outages are expected.

What are you doing to prepare? What online sites are you following for updates? The National Hurricane Center is here. And will there be any other news to follow over the next few days?