Just in from around the net, Afilias and GoDaddy have arranged a joint venture called Alliance Registry and have announced their plans to bid for the .US ccTLD that is currently run by NeuStar.
Well recognized and respected industry name Brian Cute was named as the director of usTLD Development, yet another high powered hire in the domain industry to lead the process.
I have no opinion on this process, but this was interesting news today!