Jackson Movie Tops Box Office With $30M, Producers Disappointedly Ask “This Is It”? Nov 2, 200912:34 PST

Monday, November 2, 2009.

Michael Jackson’s This Is It took the top spot in theaters around the world this morning, but insiders are saying it ultimately falls flat of the hype. In Afghanistan, the presidential election is finally decided while avoiding a potentially bloody run-off. And the New York Yankees are 27 outs away from their 27th World Series title. This is your Daily Surf Report, using the best videos on the web to keep you abreast of the day’s top stories.

No Do-Over, Karzai Named President

A collective sigh of relief was exhaled on a global scale by those following the political situation in Afghanistan as incumbent President Hamid Karzai was named the ultimate victor in a tumultuous election. The newly democratic country (this was only their second National election) has seen it’s share of growing pains, but President Obama’s White House joined several other nations in congratulation Karzai’s victory.

Ballot stuffing scandals resulted in almost a third of Karzai’s votes being disqualified and would have forced a runoff election between the top two candidates, Karzai and political rival Abdullah Abdullah. Elections officials were scrambling to organize the second round of voting in advance of Afghanistan’s harsh winter and under threat of promises of violence by Taliban terrorists. However, that runoff became unnecessary when Abdullah withdrew from the election in protest of the same election committee that this morning declared Karzai the winner, who were appointed by Karzai and who Abdullah accused of being biased. His withdrawal paved the way for the Election Committee to appoint Karzai the victor by stating that regulations require two candidates in a run off, and avoid a potentially bloody election day.

Although the circumstances are less than ideal and Karzai has fallen out of favor some in Washington, the stability gained by having an accepted leader in place is critical to the ongoing struggle to eliminate the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

This video examines the political impact of the Election Committee announcing Karzai’s victory:

King of Pop Is King of Box Office

This week’s number one movie was the musical documentary “Michael Jackson’s This Is It”, which dominated international theaters to the tune of $101 million world-wide in its five day debut.

Directed by Jackson collaborator Kenny Ortega, “This Is It” was assembled from rehearsal footage taken during preparations for a London concert tour that was derailed when the singer died unexpectedly in late June of this year.

“This Is It” is on track to become the highest grossing concert film of all time, but is it enough? MSNBC reports that while successful, the total may ultimately be a disappointment:

Yanks One Away From History

The most storied franchise in baseball history is one game away from adding another notch to a belt that already includes a record 40 trips to the World Series and 26 wins.

The New York Yankees took both weekend games in Philadelphia, pushing the Phillies to the brink by taking a three games to one lead in the best of seven series. Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez continued a scorching post season with key hits in both games, and C.C. Sabathia returned on three days rest to keep the Phils in check in Game 4.

The Phillies will try to regain the momentum in Game 5 behind the masterful pitching of Game 1 winner Cliff Lee and his minuscule 0.54 post-season ERA. However, even if Lee can deliver once again, the Phillies would still need to win Games 6 and 7 in New York to repeat as World Series champs.

ESPN’s Baseball Tonight looks ahead to Game 5:

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