What Caught My Eye Today

Minneapolis - At least five people were killed and about 100 injured when the Interstate 35W bridge plummeted more than 60 feet into the Mississippi River on Wednesday afternoon. Fears that the death toll would rise dramatically as workers searched through the wreckage of a bridge that plunged into the Mississippi River eased today when authorities lowered the number of missing from as many as 30 to just eight. First lady Laura Bush visited the scene Friday morning. During a tour of the disaster site, she praised the rescuers who rushed to the bridge in the chaos after the collapse. President Bush was scheduled to visit Saturday for a recovery briefing. The crash immediately launched questions about the safety record of the bridge, which had been declared "structurally deficient" as early as 1990. More than 70,000 bridges across the country are rated structurally deficient like the I-35W bridge, and engineers estimate repairing them all would take at least a generation and cost more than $188 billion. Nationally, about 12 percent of bridges are labeled "structurally deficient." These are rather sobering and, at first glance, overwhelming numbers concerning the overall well-being of the country's infrastructure. But are these really? Consider what we could accomplish with all that money and resources we're spending on the war against terror in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Homeland Security - President Bush signed legislation that intensifies the anti-terrorism effort at home, shifting money to high-risk states and cities and expanding scrutiny of air and sea cargo. The bill requires screening of all cargo on passenger planes within three years and sets a five-year goal of scanning all container ships for nuclear devices before they leave foreign ports. It also elevates the importance of risk factors in determining which states and cities get federal security funds. The measure carries out unfulfilled recommendations that the Sept. 11 Commission made three years ago in the wake of the terror attacks on the U.S. homeland in 2001. It was passed in the House on a 371-40 vote and 85-8 in the Senate. Three years, huh? Better late than never, I suppose. That said, the government dodged a bullet on this one. Imagine, if you will, what the fallout would have been if there had been another terrorist attack that could have been prevented if this legislation had been passed sooner.

Global Warming - I preface this item by saying what you are about to read is not a misprint. President Bush unveiled his plans for a global warming conference by sending invitations to 13 countries and world bodies. The conference, scheduled for Sept. 27 and 28, is intended to bring together the world's biggest polluters in Washington to set long-terms goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. He said representatives would address what happens after the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012 and establish, by the end of 2008, long-term global goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The United States did not sign the Kyoto Protocol and developing countries, such as India and China, are exempt from its obligations. Bush said he wants to bring these nations to the table so they can become part of the solution. I have to say, I didn't see this one coming. I'm sort of at a loss for words. "Green" isn't exactly the first thing that comes to mind when looking to describe Bush. Let's keep our fingers crossed that something useful comes out of this conference.

Stock Market - Stocks fell sharply Friday amid fresh concerns that soured subprime mortgages will ignite a credit crunch and following weaker-than-expected economic readings. The Dow Jones industrials fell nearly 282 points (that's got to hurt). Coming off two straight days of triple-digit gains in the Dow, stocks fell earlier after the government said jobs growth was not as strong as expected last month and a trade group reported that the nation's service sector grew at a slower pace than expected in July. Broader stock indicators also declined. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 27.90, or 1.90 percent, to 1,444.30, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 49.61, or 1.93 percent, to 2,526.37. Two weeks ago, we were celebrating the Dow topping 14,000. You know the old saying, 'what goes up, must come down.' Come to think of it, this phrase figures rather prominently in an Alan Parsons Project song.

Yachting - Looks like we have a good old fashion soap opera gearing up for the 2009 America's Cup. US syndicate BMW Oracle is making plans to challenge America's Cup defenders Alinghi as early as 2008, subject to a bitter legal row which could hold up the scheduled 2009 competition in Valencia, Spain. Oracle has already been in touch with french boat designers to built a 90-foot catamaran boat for use in a 2008 challenge. While five teams are already officially signed up to the next edition of the America's Cup, Alinghi faces a court battle in the United States as Oracle tries to overturn the Swiss decision to name Desafio Espanol of Spain as privileged "Challenger of Record." The Spaniards are represented by the brand new Spanish Nautical Yacht Club, a new institution which BMW Oracle claims does not meet traditional event requirements. The Americans also oppose a new race protocol which they say favours the defending champions. If Oracle wins the legal case in the New York State Supreme Court, Alinghi may have to face a US challenge next year in catamarans.

Meanwhile...

The Italian challenger Luna Rossa will not enter the 2009 America's Cup race in Valencia. Luna Rossa were knocked out of this year's qualifying competition, the Louis Vuitton Cup, in Valencia 5-0 by Emirates Team New Zealand, with the Kiwis going on to lose the final 5-2 against defender Alinghi. Captain Patrizio Bertelli said, "We've had 10 very intense years. It was an unforgettable experience, but we decided that after three challenges, a cycle is over." Sounds like sour grapes to me.

Tennis - This one cracks me up. An online bookmaker has suspended payouts on a match involving Russian world number four Nikolay Davydenko because of irregular betting patterns, the company said on Friday. Davydenko pulled out with a foot injury while trailing 2-6, 6-3, 2-1 to Argentina's Martin Vassallo Arguello in the claycourt tournament at Sopot in Poland on Thursday. Betfair said that around 3.4 million pounds had been bet before the match and during the first set - 10 times the amount typical for a match of this kind, distorting the market. Here's my question. What loser would actually admit to betting on a tennis match?