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Happy Birthday to Taylor Griffin! What we know and what we’re reading this Wednesday morning…

TV | ONLINE | WEST WING REPORTAGE | NEWS NOTES | IN MEMORIAM | JOBS

TV

In TV entertainment news… Paula Abdul is leaving “American Idol.” And TLC’s “Jon & Kate Plus Eight”‘s ratings have plummeted after its one month hiatus.

ONLINE

Wired reports the U.S. Marine Corps has banned Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and other social media sites from its networks, effective immediately.

Msnbc.com is being honored with the National Press Club’s Online Journalism Award for “The Elkhart Project.”

Also, according to Playbook: While in Elkhart, NBC News Chief White House Correspondent Chuck Todd will pose questions to President Obama from msnbc.com users and Elkhart residents.

WEST WING REPORTAGE

In honor of the President’s birthday yesterday, Mediaite conjures up what the “media elite” would wish Obama. One of our personal faves… “Happy 48th! I hope your birthday is surprising, enchanting, humbling and troubling.” -NYT‘s Jeff Zeleny.

NEWS NOTES

NYT reports today that both Clintons — the former president and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — played a role in the trip and Euna Lee and Laura Ling‘s release. The trip was a result of weeks of back-channel conversations, and the journalists’ boss, Al Gore, was among the people considered for the humanitarian mission.

WaPo additionally reports that North Korea’s official news agency had claimed Clinton had issued an apology on behalf of Lee and Ling. However, the Post emphasized that U.S. officials have denied that any apology was offered.

Health care is still dominating the headlines, according to the Pew Research Center.

HAT TIPS: mediabistro, FishbowlNY, TVNewser, Politico

IN MEMORIAM and JOBS after the jump…

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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.