IN: Thompson was born in Sheffield, Alabama, on August 19, 1942, the son of Ruth Inez (nee Bradley) and Fletcher Session Thompson (born Lauderdale County, Alabama, August 26, 1919, died Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, May 27, 1990), who was an automobile salesman. Thompson had English and distant Dutch ancestry. He attended public school in Lawrenceburg, graduating from Lawrence County High School, where he played high-school football. Thereafter, he worked days in the local post office, and nights at the Murray bicycle assembly plant.

In 1973, Thompson was appointed minority counsel to assist the Republican senators on the Senate Watergate Committee, a special committee convened by the U.S. Senate to investigate the Watergate scandal. Thompson was sometimes credited for supplying Republican Senator Howard Baker's famous question, "What did the President know, and when did he know it?" This question is said to have helped frame the hearings in a way that eventually led to the downfall of President Richard Nixon.  A Republican staff member, Donald Sanders, found out about the White House tapes and informed the committee on July 13, 1973. Thompson was informed of the existence of the tapes, and he, in turn, informed Nixon's attorney, J. Fred Buzhardt. "Even though I had no authority to act for the committee, I decided to call Fred Buzhardt at home," Thompson later wrote, "I wanted to be sure that the White House was fully aware of what was to be disclosed so that it could take appropriate action."  Three days after Sanders's discovery, at a public, televised committee hearing, Thompson asked former White House aide Alexander Butterfield the famous question, "Mr. Butterfield, were you aware of the existence of any listening devices in the Oval Office of the President?" thereby publicly revealing the existence of tape recordings of conversations within the White House. National Public Radio later called that session and the discovery of the Watergate tapes "a turning point in the investigation."  Thompson's appointment as minority counsel to the Senate Watergate committee reportedly upset Nixon, who believed Thompson was not skilled enough to interrogate unfriendly witnesses and would be outfoxed by the committee Democrats. According to historian Stanley Kutler, however, Thompson and Baker "carried water for the White House, but I have to give them credit--they were watching out for their interests, too... They weren't going to mindlessly go down the tubes [for Nixon]." When the Watergate investigation began to pick up speed, tapes revealed that Nixon remarked to his then-Chief of Staff Alexander Haig, "Oh shit, he's dumb as hell."  Journalist Scott Armstrong, a Democratic investigator for the Senate Watergate Committee, is critical of Thompson for having disclosed the committee's knowledge of the tapes to Buzhardt during an ongoing investigation, and says Thompson was "a mole for the White House" and that Thompson's actions gave the White House a chance to destroy the tapes. Thompson's 1975 book At That Point in Time, in turn, accused Armstrong of having been too close to The Washington Post's Bob Woodward and of leaking committee information to him. In response to renewed interest in this matter, in 2007 during his presidential campaign, Thompson said, "I'm glad all of this has finally caused someone to read my Watergate book, even though it's taken them over 30 years."

what else was he known for during his time with the committee?

OUT: Thompson was informed of the existence of the tapes, and he, in turn, informed Nixon's attorney, J. Fred Buzhardt. "Even though I had no authority to act for the committee,


IN: Mao Asada (Qian Tian  Zhen Yang , Asada Mao, born September 25, 1990) is a former Japanese competitive figure skater. She is the 2010 Olympic silver medalist, a three-time World champion (2008, 2010, 2014), a three-time Four Continents champion (2008, 2010, 2013), and a four-time Grand Prix Final champion (2005-06, 2008-09, 2012-13, 2013-14). She is the only female figure skater who has landed three triple Axel jumps in one competition, which she achieved at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

During the summer of 2007, Asada received additional training in Russia from Tatiana Tarasova, while Arutyunyan remained her primary coach. At the 2007 Skate Canada International, Asada was third in the short program and first in the long, finishing with the gold medal ahead of silver medalist Yukari Nakano. Asada won her second gold at the 2007 Trophee Eric Bompard with over 21 points ahead of silver medalist Kimmie Meissner.  Asada advanced to the 2007-08 Grand Prix Final in Turin, Italy. In the short program, Asada did not do the jump out of footwork required element and placed 6th with a score of 59.04 points. But the next day, she rebounded in the free skating to win the free skating with 132.55 points. She executed a triple axel, a triple flip-triple toe loop combination, a triple loop, a triple flip-triple loop, a double axel-double loop-double loop combination, and a double axel, but had a change-of-edge error in triple lutz. She won the silver medal with 191.59 points, 5.24 behind gold medalist Yuna Kim, who repeated as champion.  As in the previous year, Asada won the 2007-08 Japan Championships. Her final score was 1.15 points ahead of silver medalist and reigning World champion Miki Ando. Asada was placed on the Japanese team for both the World and Four Continents Championships. Before Four Continents, she split with Arutyunyan and returned to Japan to practice on the new Aurora Rink at Chukyo University, where she had no problems obtaining ice time.  Asada competed at both ISU Championships without a coach but an official from the Japan Skating Federation accompanied her as needed. Competing for the first time at Four Continents Championships, Asada won both segments and finished 13.71 points ahead of silver medalist Joannie Rochette. In March 2008, at the Worlds Championships, Asada won her first World title. She was second in the short program, 0.18 behind Carolina Kostner. In the free skating, she was second to bronze medalist Yuna Kim by 1.92 points but 0.88 ahead of silver medalist Carolina Kostner.

what other competitions was she in during the season?

OUT:
ISU Championships