What Caught My Eye Today

Iraq - President Bush and the Democratic-controlled Congress lurched toward a veto showdown over Iraq, as the House planned to vote on legislation that would order troops to begin coming home by Oct. 1. Democrats predicted the bill would pass, albeit narrowly, while Republicans said setting a timetable on the war would hand a victory to terrorists. Democrats view the November elections that allowed them to take control of the House and the Senate as a referendum on Bush's conduct of the war. Bush, however, says he stands firm on his latest strategy for winning the war and dismisses as counterproductive the Democratic call for withdrawal. Some Republicans said they would be open to legislation that would condition foreign aid for Iraq on the government's ability to meet certain standards, such as reaching a political compromise on sharing oil revenues. I think I've got this straight now. Democrats have enough votes to send a bill to the President to get vetoed and now some Republicans are now saying what it would take for them to support the legislation. If that's true and Democrats decide to play ball, the President could quickly find himself up a creek without a paddle.

In other news...

Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr strongly condemned construction of a wall around a Sunni neighborhood in Baghdad, calling for demonstrations against the plan as a sign of "the evil will" of American "occupiers." The remarks were the first by the anti-American cleric since the U.S. military announced last week that it was building a three-mile long 12-foot high concrete wall in Azamiyah, a Sunni stronghold that has been targeted by mortar and rocket attacks by Shiite militiamen. Tell me again who thought this was a good idea. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's not like we haven't seen the ineffectiveness of building walls. Anyone remember how that Berlin Wall deal turned out?

Dow Jones - The Dow Jones industrial average shot past 13,000 for the first time Wednesday as stronger-than-expected earnings reports streamed in, suggesting to investors that corporate America is successfully weathering the cooling economy. The Dow climbed to a record as many of the country's biggest companies surpassed analysts' first-quarter earnings projections. Wall Street got an additional lift from the Commerce Department's report on durable goods last month, which showed a gain in orders of business capital goods and reassured investors that demand for U.S. products remains strong. 13,000? Bid deal. You find way to get gasoline prices back under $3.00 a gallon, then I'll be impressed.

Taliban - A top Taliban commander said al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden was behind the February attack outside the U.S. military base in Bagram, Afghanistan, during the visit there by Vice President Dick Cheney. Bin Laden planned and supervised the attack that killed 23 people outside the base during Cheney's visit said the Taliban's main military commander in southern Afghanistan who has had close associations with al-Qaida. On the off chance that this claim is valid, I guess that means bin Laden is still alive and kicking. Lucky us.

Dancing With The Stars - I almost forgot about this one. Heather Mills, the estranged wife of ex-Beatle Paul McCartney, was voted off the hit television show "Dancing with the Stars" on Tuesday after winning widespread praise for performing with an artificial leg. Mills and partner Jonathan Roberts made it to the sixth week of the ABC network's knock-out competition which pairs celebrities with professional dancers, but a tumble on the dance floor last week had put them in the bottom two. Her participation in the fourth season of "Dancing with the Stars" has proved a big ratings draw for the program with nearly 22 million viewers tuning in at one stage to watch her fox-trotting across the floor, the first contestant to compete with an artificial leg. Other celebrity contestants remaining in the show include world female boxing champion Laila Ali (daughter of Muhammad Ali), country music star Billy Ray Cyrus, former 'N Sync boy-band member Joey Fatone and Olympic speed-skater Apolo Anton Ohno.

Hockey - Newsflash, the quarterfinals are over. Only 8 teams remain in the chase for the Stanley Cup. Here's who is left along with my expert opinion of who will advance to the Conference finals:

Eastern Conference:
(6) NY Rangers vs. (1) Buffalo Sabres - Sabres in 6
(4) Ottawa Senators vs. (2) NJ Devils - Senators in 7

Western Conference:
(5) SJ Sharks vs. (1) Detroit Red Wings - SJ in 6
(7) Vancouver Canucks vs. (2) Anaheim Ducks - Anaheim in 5