What Caught My Eye Today

Catholic Church - Cardinal Roger Mahony, leader of the nation's largest Roman Catholic archdiocese, apologized to the hundreds of people who will get a share of a $660 million settlement over allegations of clergy sex abuse. The settlement will not affect the archdiocese's core ministry, Mahony said, but the church will have to sell buildings, use some of its invested funds and borrow money. The archdiocese will not sell any parish property, he said. The deal between the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles and more than 500 alleged victims of clergy sexual abuse reached late Saturday is by far the largest payout since the nationwide clergy abuse scandal emerged in 2002 in Boston. $660 million seems like an awful lot of money to settle a suite over 'alleged' sex abuse. For a sum that big, I'm thinking most, if not all, those allegations were true.

Iraq - Iraq's prime minister was misunderstood when he said the Americans could leave "any time they want" an aide said, as politicians moved to end a pair of boycotts that are holding up work on crucial political reforms sought by Washington. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told reporters Saturday that the Iraqi army and police were capable of maintaining security when American troops leave. "We say in full confidence that we are able, God willing, to take the responsibility completely in running the security file if the international forces withdraw at any time they want," al-Maliki said. Those comments appeared to undercut President Bush's contention that the 155,000 U.S. troops must remain in Iraq because the Iraqis are not capable of providing for their own security. Al-Maliki's adviser said that the prime minister meant that efforts to bolster Iraq's security forces would continue "side-by-side with the withdrawal." Yeah, I see what he means..."any time they want" and "side-by-side with the withdrawal" sound totally the same to me.

President Bush - The White House rejected a proposal by two influential Republican senators that would require President George W. Bush to plan for a possible troop withdrawal from Iraq by the end of the year. Bush's national security adviser said it was too early to change Iraq strategy. Any consideration must await a progress report due in September from Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq, and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker. Under the proposal this week by Republican Sens. John Warner of Virginia and Richard Lugar of Indiana, Bush would have to plan for a troop drawdown or redeployment that could begin after December 31. It does not mandate deadlines for action but says the plan should be ready by October 16. Don't feel too bad, Senators Warner and Luger. It's not like Bush listens to any one else in Congress. And, hey, now you share some common ground with Harry Reid -- being ignored by the President.

Pollution - According to the World Bank, these cities have the worst air pollution:

1. Cairo, Egypt (population: 11.1 million)
2. Delhi, India (population: 15 million)
3. Kolkata, India (population: 14.3 million)
4. Tianjin, China (population: 7 million)
5. Chongping, China (population: 6.4 million)
6. Kanpur, India (population: 3 million)
7. Lucknow, India (population: 2.6 million)
8. Jakarta, Indonesia (population: 13.2 million)
9. Shenyang, China (population: 4.7 million)
10. Zhengzhou, China (population: 2.6 million)

Let's give a shout out to Cairo and Jakarta for sticking in there to keep China and India from hogging all the glory to themselves.

Cycling - The Tour de France hit the Alps over the weekend. Denmark's Michael Rasmussen won the eighth Tour stage Sunday to grab the overall leader's yellow jersey. Sunday's trek was the second of three Alpine stages. Levi Leipheimer is shaping up as the biggest American threat in a competitive field. The Discovery Channel team leader placed sixth in the 2005 Tour, ninth in 2004 and 13th last year. Many riders expect the final shakeout in the three-week race to take shape in three tough stages in the Pyrenees mountains at the start of the third week and a time-trial a day before the July 29 finish in Paris. Of the 189 riders that started the tour, 172 remain, with 8 of the 17 dropping out after today's stage. 13 of the 18 teams entered in the Tour, have lost at least one rider. I'm not sure if anyone else is crazy enough to get up in the middle of the night to catch these mountain stages live, but this is some epic action. Seriously.

Motor Sports - Tony Stewart won the NASCAR Nextel Cup race at Chicagoland Speedway on Sunday, breaking a 20-race winless streak that dated to last season. Hendrick drivers Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch and Casey Mears won 10 of the first 14 races. But Hendrick now has been shut out of victory lane for the past five races. Mears was fifth, the highest-finishing Hendrick car. All true, however, Jeff Gordon keeps extending his point lead every week. Gordon recorded his 17th top 10 finish (in 19 starts) and was only bettered by 3 drivers currently in the Chase for the Nextel Cup, which begins 8 races from now.