What Caught My Eye Today

White House - Karl Rove, the political mastermind behind President Bush's races for the White House and an adviser with unparalleled influence over the past 6 1/2 turbulent years, announced his resignation ending a partnership stretching back more than three decades. It was a major loss for Bush as he heads into the twilight of his presidency, battered in the polls, facing a hostile Democratic Congress and waging an unpopular war. A half dozen other senior advisers have left in recent months, forcing the White House to rebuild its staff at the same time the president is running out of influence. Rove was the most polarizing aide in the White House. He urged an uncompromising, take-no-prisoners stand in political battles. "Karl Rove was an architect of a political strategy that has left the country more divided, the special interests more powerful, and the American people more shut out from their government than any time in memory," Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama said. Rove said his resignation would not stop lawmakers from investigating him. He came under scrutiny in a criminal investigation into the leak of a CIA operative's name and more recently refused to testify before Congress about the firing of U.S. attorneys, citing executive privilege. You get the feeling that Democrats are all pissed off now. I bet you they were licking their lips at the prospect of nailing Rove while still under the employ of President Bush. Of course, that assumes they could present actual proof of wrongdoing.

Utah - Ghostly video images from deep underground showed shards of broken rock, a twisted conveyor belt and dripping water but no signs of life as the arduous search for six missing miners stretched into a second week. "There are many reason to have hope still," said Bob Murray, head of Murray Energy Corp. and co-owner of the mine. But he acknowledged the search, which has been interrupted by additional cave-ins and two 1,800-foot holes that came up empty and prolonged silence from underground, has not gone as smoothly as planned. Meanwhile, memos from an engineering firm revealed concern about structural problems at the mine as early as March, when a different underground area was damaged. There will be plenty of time for finger pointing later, and you know there is going to be a lot of it. For the moment, I have to side with Mr. Murray in keeping hope alive for the safe rescue of these mineres. I'd be lying, though, if I didn't say that the prospects for a happy outcome are growing dimmer with each passing hour.

Space Shuttle - Spacewalking astronauts wrestled a 600-pound gyroscope into place on the International Space Station, while NASA managers assessed a small but deep pit in shuttle Endeavour's heat shield. Astronauts replaced one of the space station's four gyroscopes, which spin like tops to keep the outpost properly positioned in orbit, without the use of gas-burning rocket thrusters. Meanwhile, mission managers discussed what to do about a deep cut in two of Endeavour's heat-resistant belly tiles, discovered shortly before the shuttle parked at the station. The gouge was caused by a piece of insulating foam, possibly mixed with ice, that broke off the shuttle's fuel tank during launch Wednesday and slammed into the underside of the orbiter In addition to deciding if fixing Endeavour's heat shield during the mission is necessary to stave off more serious damage from re-entry, which could delay future flights on Endeavour, NASA faces a larger question of whether additional modifications to the tank must be made before any shuttle is cleared for flight. The agency is pressing to complete 11 more construction missions to the space station, two resupply flights and a final servicing call to the Hubble Space Telescope before the shuttles are retired in three years. Well, I suppose its times like this when you take some solace in the fact that NASA really does have a bunch of rocket scientists working on the problem.

2008 Presidential Race - Republican presidential candidate John McCain on Monday shrugged off his 10th-place finish in the Iowa straw poll this past weekend, calling such contests meaningless. The Arizona senator, starting a two-day swing through early voting South Carolina, skipped the Iowa straw poll along with Rudy Giuliani and all-but-declared candidate Fred Thompson. Mitt Romney easily won the Republican-run contest, with Mike Huckabee a distant second and Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback third. While the straw poll outcome has no direct impact on the Iowa delegates who will attend next summer's 2008 Republican national convention, candidates have in the past used high placements to demonstrate strength and build momentum in advance of the Iowa caucuses in January, as well as to force weaker competitors to reassess and, often, drop out of the race. Okay, so a couple of observations here. First, the fact that this poll is making national headlines is proof positive that this Presidential race started way too early. So in a way, I guess I agree with John McCain. Which brings me to my second point. Just out of curiosity, Senator, would you have called this a meaningless contest if you had won it?

Arctic - When I first reported this little news item (August 11), I had no idea how big it actually was. A U.S. Coast Guard cutter is headed to the Arctic this week on a mapping mission to determine whether part of this area can be considered U.S. territory, after recent polar forays by Russia and Canada. This is the third such U.S. Arctic mapping cruise -- others were in 2003 and 2004 -- and is not a response to a Russian mission this month to place a flag at the North Pole seabed, or a newly announced Canadian plan for an Arctic port, U.S. scientists said (Yeah, sure). Under the U.N. Law of the Sea treaty, every coastal state that has the potential to claim some part of the Arctic's undersea mineral wealth must make a claim to the U.N. Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. Coastal states have rights to resources of the sea floor of their continental shelves. Under the Law of the Sea, a country gets 200 nautical miles of continental shelf automatically but may extend that if it meets certain geologic criteria, the oceanic administration said in a statement. The Bush administration wants Senate consent to join the Law of the Sea convention, which would give the United States the same rights as other treaty parties to protect coastal and ocean resources. If President Bush actually wants to sign onto anything associated with the U.N., I'm guessing there must be something of value up there.

Baseball - With his place in home run history secure, Barry Bonds says next season likely will be his last. Bonds said he wants to play one more season because he still has some reachable goals. "Yeah, I need to win a championship and get 3,000 hits, that would be nice to (end) my career," he said. Bonds currently has 2,919 hits. The last-place Giants are expected to undergo an offseason roster overhaul to get younger, and it is anticipated they may finally cut ties with 43-year-old Bonds despite his strong production -- 24 homers and 56 RBIs. Bonds, who has played for the Giants since 1993, is unsigned past this season. Not all that surprising if you think about it. It doesn't take much brain power to figure out that the ownership was probably keeping Bonds on the roster to fill the seats. With the homerun record in the bag, there isn't much incentive to keep the guy around much longer.

Golf - Tiger Woods was tested late but captured his 13th major title, fighting off back-nine charges by Woody Austin and Ernie Els to win the 89th PGA Championship by two strokes. World number one Woods fired a final-round one-under par 69 to finish 72 holes at Southern Hills Country Club on eight-under par 272 with Austin second after a 67 and three-time major winner Els third on 275 after shooting a 66. And now, here's a rundown of just a few of the 'is this guy for real?' statistics surrounding Tiger's latest accomplishment:

Woods moved five majors shy of matching the all-time career record of 18 major triumphs set by Jack Nicklaus. Woods now has won four Masters titles, four PGA Championships, three British Opens each and two US Opens.

Woods won his 13th major crown in his 44th major start as a professional. Nicklaus took his 13th major in his 53rd pro start at the 1975 Masters.

Woods improved to 13-for-13 in majors, and 40-3 in PGA events, when at least sharing the 54-hole lead. The last 11 PGA Championships have been won from the last pairing. All seven Southern Hills majors were won by 54-hole leaders.

Woods, who settled for sharing second at the Masters and US Open and 12th at the British Open, lifted the Wanamaker Trophy for his 59th PGA victory in 213 pro PGA starts, fifth-best on the all-time list.

Woods ranks three shy of Arnold Palmer's fourth-place career win total and five behind Ben Hogan. Sam Snead has the record at 82 with Nicklaus on 73.