What Caught My Eye Today

Japan - A strong earthquake shook Japan's northwest coast Monday, setting off a fire at the world's most powerful nuclear power plant and causing a reactor to spill radioactive water into the sea — an accident not reported to the public for hours. The 6.8-magnitude temblor killed at least 8 people and injured more than 900. Officials said there was no "significant change" in the seawater near the plant, which is about 160 miles northwest of Tokyo. "The radioactivity is one-billionth of the legal limit," Oshima said of the leaked water. So like the delay in notifying the public was to determine how bad the leak was? I see. So if the news was worse, would the delay have been longer or shorter?

Middle East - President Bush announced an an international conference this fall to include Israel, the Palestinian authority and some of their Arab neighbors to help restart Mideast peace talks and review progress in building democratic institutions. He said that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would preside over the session. Bush also pledged increased U.S. aid to the Palestinian government of President Mahmoud Abbas and called for the convening of a meeting of "donor" nations to consider more international aid, including the Arab states of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan. Speaking of Condi, have you all noticed how she has been almost non-existent in any of the goings-on involving Iraq? Kind of interesting that our greatest foreign engagement doesn't seem to include our chief diplomat.

Iraq - The U.S. military's top general said Monday that the Joint Chiefs of Staff is weighing a range of possible new directions in Iraq, including, if President Bush deems it necessary, an even bigger troop buildup. Making no predictions, Marine Gen. Peter Pace revealed that he and the chiefs of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force are obliged to consider various troop-level scenarios before September, when Bush will receive an assessment of the Iraq situation from his top commander there, Gen. David Petraeus. Before the ranting begins, let's be fair. It is the job of the military to explore all options--even the wildly unpopular ones that don't have a snow ball's chance in hell of working. Still, let's say there is yet another troop surge. Will Congress be able to muster enough support on both side of the aisle to do anything about it?

North Korea - The United States is looking to build on momentum created by North Korea shutting down its nuclear reactor and will start deliberations on removing the regime from a list of terrorism-sponsoring states. Let me see if I have this straight. We're going to team up with North Korea on the war on terrorism? Talk about the blind leading the blind. I can't wait to see how this lead balloon flies.

Harry Potter - "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" made $77.4 million in its debut to lead the weekend box office, according to studio estimates Sunday. That raised the movie's total domestic gross to $140 million since opening Wednesday. "Order of the Phoenix" also has taken in an additional $190.3 million in 44 other countries. The fifth installment did more business in five days than each of the first three "Harry Potter" movies did in their first full week, and it nearly matched the $146 million first week total of the fourth film, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,"

And, in other Harry Potter related news...

The question of what happens to the boy wizard at the end of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," the seventh and final book in the series, is on millions of lips five days before it goes on sale. Publishers have spent a small fortune protecting the secret. Security measures in place to protect the contents of book seven, expected to sell tens of millions of copies worldwide, sound like something from a heist movie. Trucks carrying books from warehouses to shops this week will be fitted with satellite tracking systems to ensure they stick to their assigned routes. Pallets of books have been fitted with alarms, it said, in an operation estimated to cost 10 million pounds ($20 million). I'm not against drumming up some publicity, but this is bordering on absurd. Honestly, how much more press does this book need. There are 2 million pre-orders, for chrissake. I think it's safe to assume that the book is going to sell a few copies.

Baseball - Well folks, the milestone we've all been waiting for with baited breath has finally come. The Philadelphia Phillies lost a 10-2 decision to the St Louis Cardinals on Sunday for the franchise's 10,000th defeat. The Phillies have built up a record of 8,810-10,000 in 125 years of baseball. Well done, boys. Way to keep your eye on the prize.