Qwest has said that it will withdraw its bid at midnight tonight if MCI doesn't respond.

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At the stroke of midnight, a muffled roar rang out -- I couldn't see the store doors open because I was around the corner -- and the next 10 minutes was a satisfying blur.

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It didn't seem to matter that even summer associates at Cravath were expected to close Time Warner deals way past midnight.

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Separately, Carey said in a memo to employees Wednesday that the company doesn't expect to reach an agreement soon and will likely pull its broadcast programming from the cable network at midnight Thursday.

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