Iran

Both President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke this week at the U.N. about stopping Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. They differed in their approach, however, and that has lead to talk about their acrimonious relationship. Obama did call him yesterday and the two presented a more unified front. Clearly this is a very important issue and it's important that the two countries work together to resolve it. I suspect that the two leaders actually work together just fine, but the press is fanning the flames a bit.

Flu Shots

Health officials are urging everybody over 6 months old to get a flu shot this year.

Actually vaccines are recommended every year, as the flu changes annually and the human body's immunity to influenza decreases over time. The flu season starts in October, so now is the right time to protect yourself from this disease because it takes two weeks after vaccination for the body to form antibodies against the flu.

Jimmy Hoffa

The former Teamster boss disappeared in 1975. His body has never been found although authorities have looked everywhere including Giants Stadium in NJ. The latest is a driveway in the Detroit area. They took ground penetrating x-rays and found something. Now they have dug up some dirt and are sending it to a lab to check for any elements of a human body. His death was thought to be a mob hit, so I doubt that they will ever find him, but his memory will certainly live on.

Dancing with the Stars

The "all star" season of DWTS started Monday night with 13 couples. All were previous contestants, who had done well and/or were crowd favorites. In fact six of them were Mirror Ball winners. Thus the level of dancing was much higher than normal, especially in the first week. One of the biggest surprises was Bristol Palin. She looked and danced much better that before. One of the judges, Carrie Ann, even said she was the most improved. The biggest disappointment was Pamela Anderson. She seemed disinterested and high on something (alcohol or drugs). Thus it was appropriate that she was the first one eliminated.

NFL Referees

The NFL has been using replacement referees so far this season because they can't agree on a contract with the union. The replacements have been awful. They are from small colleges and high schools and are in over their heads. The call on the final play of the Green Bay game Monday night was a prime example. Even the NFL office agreed that it was a bad call, but in a twist of logic they also let stand the Seattle victory. Huh?

Emmy Awards

The 64th Emmy Awards were announced last night and "Homeland", "Game Change" and "Modern Family" were the big winners. The big loser was "Mad Men". It was nominated for 17 awards and won zero (a new record). I'm not a fan of the show, so that was fine with me. Actually I don't watch much TV at all and have never seen any of the winning shows.

Bourne Scallop Fest

The annual Bourne Scallop Fest opened yesterday morning. It dates back to 1969. It's the biggest event of the year around here. They are expecting 50,000 people and it's far more than just a scallop dinner. There is entertainment from several bands, rides and games for the kids, and a juried craft show. It takes hundreds of volunteers (of which I am one) and many sponsors to run it. If you are in the area, you shouldn't miss it.

Apple iPhone 5

The latest Apple iPhone hit store this morning. In many locations people were camped out for days to be the first in line to buy one. It's thinner, lighter, faster and has a larger display. It also has a new Maps app that apparently still needs some work and a new dock connector that will require either an adapter or all new cables, chargers and accessories. None of that will matter however to the Apple aficionados. The sales of this new iPhone are expected to be off the charts.

Massachusetts Senate Race

Tonight Scott Brown and Elizabeth Warren had their first debate. That was a big deal around here. As expected there was a tense atmosphere and the candidates sparred back and forth. One example was Mr. Brown opening the debate by questioning Ms. Warren’s character in connection with her ancestry. I thought that was uncalled for. Thus he seemed to me to lose much of his likability, which is his primary asset. For me the winner was clearly Elizabeth Warren. I would much prefer to have her representing Massachusetts.

Mohammed Cartoon

The French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo just published a set of cartoons mocking the Prophet Mohammed. Some even had him naked. Needless to say the timing of this isn't great with the fire still raging over the anti Islam video. The editor however said that it “does caricatures of everyone, and above all every week, but when we do it with the Prophet, it’s called provocation,” adding that if Charlie Hebdo stopped printing satirical work because of pressure or fear of offense, it would be reduced to selling 16 blank pages every week. Meanwhile the French government said it planned to temporarily close its embassies and French schools in 20 Muslim countries this Friday to avert any injuries in the event of demonstrations after Muslim prayers.

War in Afghanistan

The US military announced yesterday that it has temporarily suspended the bulk of joint field operations with Afghan troops amid a wave of so-called insider attacks. US and Afghan troops will continue to patrol, but will not run operations together without the approval of a regional commander. The move comes after Afghan police on Sunday killed four more American soldiers. U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Tuesday the U.S. is concerned about the impact insider attacks are having on its forces in Afghanistan. But Gen. John Allen, the top U.S. commander there, said the attacks do not mean the Taliban are succeeding. Instead, they "are resorting to efforts that try to strike at our force, try to create chaos, but do not in any way result in their regaining territory that has been lost."

Panda Mania

The National Zoo's giant panda gave birth to a cub last night sparking a new wave of panda mania in Washington seven years after the zoo’s only other cub was born in 2005. Officials were delighted, especially because they had not been able to conclusively determine if she were pregnant. Zoo experts did conduct an ultrasound test on the panda on Sept. 4, but it was inconclusive. Apparently it is hard to determine whether a giant panda is pregnant, because the animal can exhibit many false signs, and she has had five consecutive false pregnancies since 2007.

Kate Middleton

You knew that it had to happen. A French magazine, Closer, published photos of the princess topless. They were taken when she and William were at a private estate in southern France last month. The royal family is suing the magazine, but despite that an Italian magazine, Chi, is now planning on publishing them, too. First of all the whole thing is silly. There shouldn't be such a big deal made over seeing a woman's breasts. Of more importance is that Kate shouldn't be hounded by the paparazzi like Princess Diana who died in a car crash trying to avoid them.

Chicago Teachers' Strike

The teachers' strike in Chicago continues. The nation's third largest school system has now been shut down for the whole week and it doesn't look good that the kids will be back in school on Monday. Despite what both sides are saying in public, it's all about the money. Hopefully they will settle soon because it's unfair to the students and their parents that they have to suffer while the negotiations are ongoing.

American Ambassador Killed

J. Christopher Stevens, the US ambassador to Libya, and three other Americans were killed yesterday in Benghazi when an angry mob attacked the American consulate with heavy weapons and then burned it down. The uprising was in response to an American-made Web video denouncing Islam, which was not well known nor widely viewed. President Obama condemned “this outrageous and shocking attack,”  and said “We reject all efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others, but there is absolutely no justification to this kind of senseless violence. None. The world must stand together to unequivocally reject these brutal attacks.”

Andy Murray

Andy Murray won the US Open tennis tournament yesterday in a long tough match with Novak Djokovic. He won the first two sets, but then just fell apart in losing the next two. It certainly did not look like he was going to win his first grand slam tournament and a Britain's first since Fred Perry 76 years ago. This time however he hung on and proved that he was the stronger and tougher player last night. Apparently his new coach, Ivan Lendl, has finally given him the edge he needed. "No excuses."

Football

The NFL kicked off the season this weekend. Lots of big stories and some surprises. In most cases the quarterbacks were the focus. Tom Brady and the Pats looked very sharp in their opening win. Peyton Manning was his old self with Denver after coming back from a serious neck injury. Robert Griffin made a terrific debut in leading Washington to victory over New Orleans. The first pick in the draft, Andrew Luck, however, got a rude welcome to the pros as he fumbled once and had three interceptions for Indy.

New York City Weather

There was lots of rain and some severe storms, including two rare tornado's, in the Big Apple. Needless to say that wrecked havoc with the US Open schedule. They only got in one match, Andy Murray's. The rest were all pushed back a day.

Democratic National Convention

Last night President Barack Obama accepted his party's nomination. His speech wasn't up to the soaring rhetoric of previous convention speeches, but he was never going to top Bill Clinton's anyway. Meanwhile I heard a great quote from a commentator this morning. Asked to compare the two national conventions. He said the Democrats love Obama, but the Republicans are still trying hard to like Romney, which was very similar to the 2004 election between Bush and Kerry. Interesting.

Bill Clinton

Former president Bill Clinton showed last night why he's still a superstar in the Democratic party. His speech ran way over his alloted time, but nobody cared. He "owned the room" and everybody would have listened for hours. He's still got it. I don't know if it will translate into votes for Obama, but it was a great speech.

Sex Change Operation

U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf ruled Tuesday in the case of Michelle (nee Robert) Kosilek, a transgender inmate serving life in prison for murdering his wife. Wolf said the Mass Department of Correction must provide the taxpayer-funded surgery because it is the only way to treat Kosilek's "serious medical need." Wolf is the first judge to actually order sex reassignment surgery as a remedy to gender-identity disorder. Now they have to figure out if he should be moved to a women's prison after the operation. Amazing.

Michael Clarke Duncan

Michael Clarke Duncan died yesterday at the age of 54. He apparently never recovered from a heart attack that he had on July 13. He was best known for his role in "The Green Mile" for which he received an Oscar nomination. He was known as a gentle giant. He was huge, but he also had a smile that could light up the room.

Baseball

The biggest surprise in MLB this year has to be the success of the Washington Nationals and the Baltimore Orioles. They have been two of the worst teams in the league for years and not expected to be much better this year. In May however they were both in first place. You knew that wouldn't last, but it has. The Nationals now have the best record in baseball and the Orioles beat the Yankees last night and are only 2 games out of first. Absolutely amazing! Did somebody put something in the water down there? Can they make it to the end of the season without collapsing? We'll see.

Andy Roddick

Another big name in tennis is retiring after the US Open. Andy Roddick just announced that this is his last tournament. He also showed last night that he still has plenty of good tennis left. He rolled over Bernard Tomic to reach the third round. He won the U.S. Open in 2003, which turned out to be the last Grand Slam singles title for an American man.