What Caught My Eye Today

International Space Station - Computers that control navigation and key life-support systems on the International Space Station were partially restored on Thursday after failing the day before. The U.S. space agency and Russian officials are trying to determine the cause of a failure affecting multiple computers that control the navigation and control systems that help the station's gyroscopes maintain its orientation in space and also supply oxygen and water to the station. Without the computer systems to operate the machines that supply oxygen, the station has only a 56-day supply of oxygen. Since an earlier failure on Monday, thrusters on the space shuttle Atlantis have been fired periodically to help maintain the station's position. The Russian and U.S. space agencies said they could extend Atlantis's mission by one or two days to fix the problem. In the worst-case scenario, NASA said the ISS crew members - two Russians and an American - may be evacuated from the station. Not that there is ever a good time for something like this to happen, but how lucky were these guys that the space shuttle happened to be docked with the space station when this crash happened?

Palestinians - A beleaguered Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared a state of emergency and disbanded the Hamas-led unity government after the Islamic militant group vanquished its Fatah rivals and effectively took control of the Gaza Strip on Thursday. His moves will enable Fatah to consolidate its control over the West Bank, likely paving the way for two separate Palestinian governments. See, everything is relative. We think our government is screwed up? Just look at the mess these poor slobs have created for themselves.

NATO - NATO ordered its military experts Thursday to draw up plans for a possible short-range missile defense system to protect member nations that would be left exposed by proposed U.S. anti-missile units in central Europe. Washington says the addition of the European bases to anti-missile installations in North America would protect most of Europe from the threat of long-range attack from Iran or elsewhere in the Middle East. But it would leave Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria and parts of Romania exposed. To fill that gap NATO experts are planning produce a report by February on a short-range anti-missile defenses "that can be bolted on to the overall missile defense system as it would be installed by the United States." I'm thinking, and this is just a hunch, mind you, that our boy Vlad Putin ain't gonna be none to happy about this turn of events.

Bill Clinton - Former President Clinton, who might someday be the first spouse, traveled the globe last year, making more than $10 million giving speeches at corporate retreats, trade group gatherings and motivational venues. But Clinton earned fees from $100,000 to $450,000 by such corporations as IBM, General Motors, and Cisco Systems and trade groups such as the National Association of Realtors and the Mortgage Bankers Association. He also was paid for speeches to at least two charity events — $75,000 to address the TJ Martell Foundation, which finances leukemia research, and $150,000 in a speech in Toronto on behalf of Nelson Mandela's Children's Fund. The former president was particularly popular abroad. During one four-day stretch last September, he was in England, Ireland, South Africa, Germany and Denmark. The trip yielded $1.74 million in speaking fees. No wonder there are so many candidates for President. With payouts like this, I may throw my hat into the ring.

Sexy Bachelors - Matthew McConaughey is People magazine's "bachelor of the year." The magazine also names "sexy and sizzling" bachelors such as Adrian Grenier, Zach Braff, Justin Timberlake, Ryan Reynolds, Ludacris and Apolo Ohno. I know, I know. You're thinking how could this not have been my number one headline for the day.

Golf - The carnage has begun at the U.S. Open in Oakmont, Pennsylvania. Nick Dougherty, looking to be the first Brit in 37 years to win America's national championship, held the opening-round clubhouse lead of the U.S. Open at 2-under 68. Tiger Woods found out during his first tournament round at Oakmont how tough it can be, even though he was only three shots off the lead with a 1-over 71, tied with defending champion Geoff Ogilvy. It was much worse for some other big names. Sergio Garcia shot himself out of contention with a 9-over 79. Colin Montgomerie, Masters champion Zach Johnson and two-time Open titleist Retief Goosen were near the bottom of the scoreboard at 6-over 76. Michael Campbell, the 2005 winner, was at 3-over 73. The USGA was concerned that a storm that dumped about a half-inch of rain on Oakmont in a short time Wednesday took away some of Oakmont's legendary speed and created putting conditions more favorable than it wanted.

Basketball - Speaking of carnage, God willing, the end will come swiftly and mercifully when the San Antonio Spurs figure to finish off a sweep of the overmatched Cleveland Cavaliers tonight in Cleveland to wrap up a fourth NBA championship in nine years.

Soccer - The United States moved up 13 spots to 16th place in the June FIFA rankings following a strong start in the CONCACAF Gold Cup. The Americans reached their highest ranking at No. 4 in April 2006, then dropped steadily to as low as 31st from November to January after their first-round elimination in the World Cup. The latest rankings included the Americans' first two games in the Gold Cup, the championship of North and Central America and the Caribbean. World Cup champion Italy remained No. 1, and World Cup runner-up France moved past Brazil into second. Germany, Argentina, Portugal, Spain, England, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic completed the top 10. We'll see how well that ranking holds up when the U.S. plays some of those European and South American teams. I'm not saying that Trinidad and Tabago isn't a talented team, but it's no Brazil or Italy.