What Caught My Eye Today

Iran - Iran's president Ahmadinejad heads to Saudi Arabia on Saturday for discussions with King Abdullah, an indication that weeks of talks between their envoys on simmering conflicts in Iraq and Lebanon have made some headway. Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia is worried Shiite-Sunni fighting in Iraq — with which the kingdom shares a long border — and sectarian tensions in Lebanon could veer out of control and send shockwaves throughout the Middle East. Saudi official said Ahmadinejad's trip may be the result of a possible realization that he needs to maintain good relations in the region to ensure stability. Well, Iran is running a bit short on friends at the moment. My question is why does Iran suddenly care about good relations in the Middle East now?

2008 Presidential Race - So Senator John McCain announced his candidacy on the Late Show with David Letterman on Wednesday. Let's take a look at the current list of candidates, what with the primary season being only A YEAR AWAY!!! Didn't the last election just finish? How about giving us a breather?

Democrats:
Senator Joe Biden of Delaware
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York
Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut
Former Senator John Edwards of North Carolina
Former Senator Mike Gravel of Alaska
Representative Dennis Kucinich of Ohio
Senator Barack Obama of Illinois

These guys also have the first dropout, Former Governor Tom Vilsack of Iowa, who withdrew because of lack of money.

Republicans:
Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas
John H. Cox of Illinois
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani of New York
Representative Duncan Hunter of California
Former Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts
Michael Charles Smith of Oregon
Senator John McCain of Arizona

Weather - Tornadoes ripped through Alabama and killed at least 18 people Thursday, including 15 at a high school where students became pinned under debris when a roof collapsed. The burst of tornadoes was part of a larger line of thunderstorms and snowstorms that stretched from Minnesota to the Gulf Coast. Elsewhere, Heavy, wet snow and blizzard conditions hit the Plains and Midwest on Thursday, shutting down hundreds of miles of interstate highways. Schools closed in several states, and hundreds of flights were canceled. Two people were killed when their car overturned on a slick road in North Dakota, and snowplows were pulled off the roads in the western Minnesota because of strong wind and heavy snow.

Baseball - Spring training games started this week. Spring training? Tell that to the poor slobs in the Midwest and Gulf Coast.

American Idol - A new sex scandal has hit "American Idol," U.S. TV's most popular program --- but it all could be over on Thursday night if a contestant, Antonella Barba, purportedly shown in some X-rated Internet photos is voted off the show. "Idol" fans have flooded online chat rooms and blogs in recent days buzzing over whether the photos really are of Antonella Barba and whether she'll get kicked off Fox network's singing contest because of themBarba was one of 20 competitors who last week advanced to the latest round, but some expected her to be voted off the show on Thursday by virtue of her mediocre singing when the pool of finalists is narrowed to 16. What's the phrase I'm looking for here? Oh yeah, this one...Publicity Stunt. As if this show doesn't have enough publicity already.

McDonald's - I forgot to mention this one yesterday. The gloves came off in the Big Mac attack during the Prince's trip to Arab gulf states, where obesity is a growing problem. The Prince reportedly sounded off, saying "getting anywhere with McDonald's? Have you tried getting it banned? That's the key." Supposedly the Prince has never graced the golden arches. A McDonald's spokesman called the remark disappointing. He said other members of the royal family "have probably got a more up-to-date picture of us," alluding to reports that Charles' son, Prince Harry, was spotted eating a chicken burger at McDonald's in 2005. Forget the conflict in the Middle East and global warming. This is really serious. Nobody messes with the Big Mac and gets away with it. No sir, not on my watch.