Oil prices rise despite the fact the Crown Prince Abdullah has basically been ruling Saudi Arabia for the past decade.

In a weird echo of the trade war which occurred in the 1930's in the run-up to World War II, Japan is imposing retaliatory tariffs of 15% on American steel. No world war expected to result from this trade spat, however. Japan is complaining about the Byrd Amendment, intended to prevent dumping of low-cost foreign goods into the U.S. market.

Item: NASA might try shuttle repair:
NASA managers will decide today if a space walk is necessary to remove filler material observed on the bottom of the space shuttle.

Item: Astronauts repair space station's gyros:
Monday's space walk, in progress at this writing and the second performed by Discovery's crew on this mission, is to replace an attitude control gyroscope on the space station.

Item: A Minnesota woman was severely injured by a bear attack in the woods. She's reported to be in good condition at a Duluth hospital.

Item: Mom fights off cougar with cooler. Hayley Bazille is OK after being attacked by a cougar in British Columbia. Her mom Monique fought off the cat with a cooler containing four bottles of beer.

“I saw that cougar on her and I wasn't the least bit afraid of it,” the Vancouver emergency-room nurse said. “I wasn't afraid of it at all. It's instinctive. Anyone would have done the same thing.”
. . .
Ms. Bazille said she is thankful her daughter is alive and urged parents to keep their children close when in the woods.

Joking, she said she is also thankful that she and her husband make it a habit to bring a cooler of beer to the beach.

Since they don't know when they'll be in space again, NASA has decided to extend Discovery's stay in space by one day. Much the same way Snookums and I decided to stay an extra day in Paris a while back.

Related: NASA can't even keep foam on their gigantic Thermos bottle, and they think they can make it to Mars? How about getting out of the way and letting Burt Rutan and private entrepreneurs have a crack at it?

Slow news day. He's healthy.

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter sighted in Birmingham, England. He can't resist attacking his own country - he never can, when a Republican is in the White House.

In case you missed it, the struggling liberal radio talk network is accused of embezzling nearly half a million Dollars of government money which was intended for a community center. Air America apparently is saying they'll pay the money back. But why did they have the money in the first place?

Hat tip: Free Republic.

Bombay area reeling under monsoons.

Most of the deaths were caused by landslides and flooding after Tuesday's torrential rains cut off the state from the rest of the country. Rainfall was as much as 37 inches in parts of Bombay.

Observations from a columnist who is there.

It was a sight that I had never imagined possible. The airport highway, the main artery that connects Bombay to other cities, had come to resemble a river. The water was neck-deep. Cars were submerged. Cows and buffaloes struggled unsuccessfully to stay above the water level. And everywhere I looked, there were people: ordinary, decent people faced with no option but to brave the water and to walk home, no matter how far the distance or how great the risk.

What's in it for Missouri?
$467.5 million, not including over $400 million of authorization to pour money down a light rail money pit in St. Louis.

For South Dakota?
$1.3 million total, including completing the Heartland Expressway to connect Rapid City to Denver, and completing the Eastern Dakota Expressway to connect Aberdeen to I-29.

Mmm, the smell of fresh pork!