What Caught My Eye Today

Don Imus - So let's recap. The team had just played for the NCAA national championship last week and lost when Imus, on his nationally syndicated radio show, called the players "nappy-headed hos." The statement outraged listeners and set off a national debate about taste and tolerance. It also led to his firing by CBS on Thursday. Today, the Rutgers women's basketball coach said the team had accepted radio host Don Imus' apology. She said he deserves a chance to move on but hopes the furor his racist and sexist insult caused will be a catalyst for change. Amen to that. Now can we please move on?

Iraq - Iraq's parliament met in an extraordinary session of "defiance" Friday, the Muslim day of prayer, and declared it would not bow to terrorism. A bouquet of red roses and a white lily sat in the place of Mohammed Awad, the lawmaker killed in the parliament dining hall suicide bombing claimed by al-Qaida. Thursday's bombing in the heart of Baghdad's most secure region, coupled with the stunning destruction of one of Baghdad's Tigris River bridges, was a heavy blow to the Bush administration's plan to put an additional 30,000 American forces in Iraq by summer. Should we give bonus points for stating the obvious?

Empire State Building - A man jumped to his death Friday out the window of a 69th-floor law office in the Empire State Building. More than 30 people have committed suicide at the Empire State Building since it opened in 1931, including a 21-year-old man in February 2006. The skyscraper reaches 1,454 feet to the top of its lightning rod. Only 30 people in almost 80 years? Wow that's impressive. All suicides are tragic, I'm just a little surprised see such a small number. This is the Empire State Building after all.

Privacy - Or lack thereof. The Bush administration asked Congress to expand the number of people it can subject to electronic surveillance in the United States. The request was contained in a proposed bill authored by intelligence and Justice Department officials that also protects companies that cooperate with spy operations and calls for the 1978 law that governs eavesdropping operations to be updated to combat the threat from Islamist militants who use computer and wireless technology that did not exist in the 1970s. The move was likely to reinvigorate a congressional debate over the effectiveness of the generation-old Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). FISA, which requires the government to get court warrants for surveillance, was at the center of political controversy over President George W. Bush's domestic spying program, which allowed the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on the international telephone calls and e-mails of U.S. citizens without warrants. The program was suspended for a review by a secret federal court that grants FISA warrants. I'm telling you, 'Big Brother Is Watching' is more than just a catchphase now. Tragically, it is reality.

Divorce - Forbes magazine just release its list of the most costly divorce settlements of the stars. Here are the top 10 ranked by the amount of the settlement:
1. Basketball great, Michael Jordan, $150 million (that's like 2 weekends in Vegas)2. Singer/songwriter, Neil Diamond, $150 million (dude, she don't love you anymore)
3. Director, Steven Speilberg, $100 million
4. Actor, Harrison Ford, $85 million
5. Actor/director, Kevin Costner, $80 million (peanuts compared to that Waterworld mess)
6. Singer, Paul McCartney, $60 million (yeah, so far)
7. Director, James Cameron, $50 million
8. Actor, Michael Douglas, $45 million (those scenes in 'Basic Instinct' did look awfully authentic)
9. Singer, Lionel Ritchie, $20 million
10. Singer, Mick Jagger, $15 million (that's it? nice prenup, bro')