From MSNBC today:

BEIJING - U.S.-based toy giant Mattel Inc. issued an extraordinary apology to China on Friday over the recall of Chinese-made toys, taking the blame for design flaws and saying it had recalled more lead-tainted toys than justified.

And from the WSJ Law Blog we learn how to spell mensch (from the L.A. Times):

You can say what you want about [U.C. Irvine Chancellor] Drake, but the guy sure can admit when he’s made a mistake:

• “This is certainly something that I bungled, and I regret it completely and totally
• “I have learned a painful lesson. . . . I have to mend bridges damaged by my actions and work to build bridges to the future
• “I’m not reluctant to say I made a mistake,” Drake added. “Forgive me if I didn’t say that. I certainly did make a mistake. Once you’ve made a mistake and find yourself in the wrong place, the thing to do is to try to correct that and get yourself back on the right path, and I did my best to do that.”

Bravo Chancellor Drake!

For students and academic readers, the most searching and insightful article I know on the use of apology in negotiating the settlement of a dispute is Lee Taft's "Apology subverted: The commodification of apology,"  in the Yale Law Journal 109 (March 2000) 1135-1141 (summary here).

See also Apology Bibliography here.