ChristianeAmanpour

Here's a bit of news from our "Department of News that Everyone and Their Mother Saw Coming." Needless to say, they've been a little behind with the health care bill debate, and Tiger Woods' apology .

Christiane Amanpour has accepted the offer from ABC's news division to anchor the Sunday show 'This Week,' taking over for George Stephanopolous, who now anchors 'Good Morning America'. This means she'll be leaving CNN where she has racked up an impressive 18-year body of work consisting mostly of international reporting and journalism.

However, does this give her the chops to moderate a political fueled talk fest? There are yeas and nays on both sides of the question.

The daytime segment of cable's first day concluded with four Turner-related panels: Joy Behar on her new HLN talk show; a CNN panel with John King, Christiance Amanpour, and Soledad O'Brien; a panel with Jerry Bruckheimer and the cast and producers of TNT's Dark Blue; and George Lopez, who is starting a new late night talk show on TBS.

Behar and Lopez bookended the session, and they were an interesting contrast. Two comedians, both opinionated, both with things to say about current events. But while Behar's gentle jabs played to mostly silence among the cranky writers in attendance, Lopez got more than a few of us to laugh. I've never been the biggest Lopez fan, but I have to admit, he was ready for us: he made most of us stand up to talk to him, he jostled us on our reluctance to be enthusiastic, and he was able to make pretty quick comebacks with ease. Must be the years of dealing with hecklers.

Anyway, after the jump, some details of Turner's day in Pasadena, including audio of an interview with O'Brien that I started with the word "cankles."

This Wednesday, CNN is broadcasting a two-hour special hosted by Christiane Amanpour that will track Osama Bin Laden from his early days to his current status as the world's most wanted terrorist leader. Normally I don't bother with basic cable news coverage, but I like Amanpour as a reporter, and based on the clips on the Web page for In the Footsteps of Bin Laden, this looks like it might be quite informative and interesting. Amanpour and her crew traveled to ten countries on four different continents in order to follow Bin Laden's journey, and, little surprise, trying to get coverage and speak to those close to the man wasn't without its dangerous moments. The special will air August 23 at 9 pm.