by the hand of Hamas."

-- Abdel Aziz Rantissi, Hamas leader, after the U.S. veto of a UN resoultion

condemning Israel for assassinating Hamas founder Sheik Ahmed Yassin.

(Rantissi was killed by an Israeli missile a few weeks later)

News of Note
Palestinian Elections
'We Have No Peace Process'
Terrorist group wins Palestinian vote Photos
Timeline: History of Hamas Video: Hamas Wins
Hamas win puts Mideast peace efforts in turmoil
Rice: major powers tell Hamas end violence
Hamas Victory Draws Mixed Reactions
Hamas Win Rocks World Economic Forum
Israel Rules Out Talks With Hamas Leaders
Palestinians here say vote was against corruption

Operation Iraqi Freedom
Five Female Iraqi Prisoners Among Hundreds Freed
Video: Hundreds Go Free
Two German Engineers Kidnapped in Iraq
Al Jazeera Airs Video of German Hostages
Unrest unravels US goals in Iraq
General says US forces 'stretched' but capable

Operation Enduring Freedom
2 Afghan police die; U.S. troops wounded

Homeland Security / War on Terror
Gang member charged in terrorism hoax
Assessing Risk Key to Terrorism Fight
Reefer Madness - Video: Tunnel Vision
Mexico Suggests GIs Aided Pot Smugglers
Bush Says Wiretapping Is Legal, Addresses Hamas
Link to Saddam plagues U.S. mosque

Supreme Court
Kerry, Kennedy Lead Alito Filibuster Charge

Politics
Libby wants what reporters knew in CIA leak case
DeLay says he's not target of probe

Oddities
Starving woman curses God, dies in her sleep
Teachers skip school, trade on stock market
Malaysia scientists to hunt 'bigfoot' in rainforest
Bird lovers' attempts to see owl turn into mouse-capades

Other News of Note
Russian military probes brutal hazing (YIKES!)

Fox News
Enron Execs' Trial Next Week
Iran: Russia Nuclear Plan Worth Pursuing
Video: Probe Into Florida Crash That Killed Seven Kids
Actor Phoenix Uninjured After Auto Accident
New Canada PM Challenges U.S. on Arctic Sovereignty
Mexican Police Nab Two Accused Serial Killers
Mine Survivor Transferred
Muslim Group Seeks Host's Apology for Stampede Joke
Vt. Judge Ups Controversial Sentence for Sex Offender
Budget Deficit to Hit $337B
Probe of Mother, Baby Slaying Goes International
SPORTS NEWS AND SCORES

Reuters: Top News
Pentagon plan calls for new WMD task force: report
Iran cooler on Russian nuclear proposal
Bush resists changing law on spying on Americans - Video
Indiana executes man for 1983 double murder
File shows US 'psychological operations' concerns
Rice: Iran 'feeling heat' on nuclear issue
South Korean auditors question disgraced scientist
Microsoft says Xbox 360 sales started slow
Gates: beating Asia piracy to take 10 yrs
Suburban sprawl an irresistible force in US
Frey admits fictions, Oprah apologizes
Mittal bids for Arcelor in steel shake-up
Disney-Pixar merger pact lays out conditions
Hartford posts lower earnings in 4th qtr
Microsoft quarterly profit edges higher
Fairfax says takeover report "rumour", shares jump
Wet Seal shares up on plan to buy G+G assets
Calumet shares little changed in debut
Stock futures up; Microsoft, Mittal eyed
Steel deal, earnings boost stocks; US GDP awaited
Nikkei ends at new 5-year high, Sony surges
Broadcom profit tops Wall St view, stock up 24 pct
Boston Scientific, Guidant fall on Inet
When to walk away
Target fashion foray a warning to retailers

AP World News
Mexico-U.S. Relations Deteriorating
Activists Hold Separate Forum in Venezuela
Former German President Johannes Rau Dies
Army Officers Vocal in Spanish Politics
Forum Spotlights Problems of Poor Women
U.N. Official Hopeful for Iran Nuke Plan
Chinese Editor Vows to Fight Shutdown
Saudis Recall Ambassador to Denmark
Study: Bird Flu Biggest Current Worry

The Seattle Times
Victory hands leadership to traditional opposition
Sexual-orientation bias complaints rare, tough to prove
Deficit will grow unless tax cuts expire
Free drug benefits for poor rescinded
Secondhand smoke declared a pollutant
Loss of children and father "a burden too big to bear"
Federal rules issued for human testing
Phil's handler chucks his job
China backs Iran nuclear compromise
Sudan battles trigger calls for sanctions
Lovebirds offered an exquisite nest
Russia: Fake rock is worth millions
Chesapeake turtles' rescuer says officials are just too slow
Bird-flu vaccine shows promise
Power, gas shortages put millions in cold

Chicago Sun-Times
Cardinal defends archdiocese
Daley in-law is charged
City panel repeals ban on candy-flavored cigarettes
Stop! In the name of the law: Music copycat bill passes in House
It's official -- '85 Bears best ever
Alderman wants more spy cameras at businesses
Asian Carp barrier costs could fall in Illinois' lap
Union wins fight to probe mine disaster
Hospitalized inmate shoots guard in face
City wants monument with 10 Commandments
Wisconsin teen apologizes for downloading movies
Thailand fights new teen fad: fake braces
Guard dog braves barn fire to herd prized sheep to safety

Boston Globe: World
Snow, severe cold exacerbate energy crisis in nation of Georgia
Aid workers flee renewed fighting in Sudan's Darfur region

Military.com
NASA Remembers Fallen Astronauts
BRAC Panel Wants More Time, Money
Document Shows Messages Boomerang
Navy Emphasizes Anti-Submarine Training
Study Faults Army Brigade Team Plan
Greyhawks Celebrate 55th Birthday in Iraq
Puerto Rico National Guard in Iraq
New Jersey to Get War Dog Memorial
Pentagon Spy Sentenced to 12 Years

Department of Defense
President Stresses Transformation Gains - Story Remarks
Threat Reduction Agency Opens New Headquarters
Marines' Special Ops Will Enhance Readiness
Iraqi Insurgents Battle Al Qaeda Terrorists - Story Video
Rumsfeld: Military Ready for Challenges - Story Transcript Video
Army 'Enormously Capable,' Defense Secretary Says
Many Opportunities Ahead for Iraqis, Casey Says - Commentary

ON THE GROUND
Humvee Rollover Simulator Aims to Save Lives - Story
New Hospital Symbolizes Afghan Progress - Story
Germany Donates 10,000 Pistols to Afghanistan - Story

IN IRAQ
U.S., Iraqis Clean Up Neighborhood for Hajj
Army Reservists Ensure Troops Get Mail
Iraqi Women Work to Increase Opportunities
Captured: Two of Samarra's Most Wanted Photos
Georgia Guard Provides Convoy Security
Unmanned Shadow Watches From Above

IN AFGHANISTAN
Windmills Provide Water Source for Farmers
Vendor Day Educates Business Leaders

FACE OF DEFENSE
Submariner Helps Protect Soldiers in Iraq - Story

Weather
Iraq
Al Azamiyah Al Basrah Al Hillah Al Karkh Al Kazimiyah Al Kut An Nasiriyah Baghdad Baqubah Mosul Najaf Nineveh Tall Kayf

Afghanistan
Bost/Laskar Ghurian Herat Kabul Qandahar

Gitmo

Today in History
0672 - St Vitalian ends his reign as Catholic Pope
0847 - Sergius II ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1302 - Dante becomes a Florentine political exile
1538 - States of Gelderland accepts Willem van Kleef as viceroy
1556 - Willem of Orange becomes knight of Guilder Flies
1593 - Vatican opens 7 year trial against scholar Giordano Bruno
1662 - 1st American lime kiln begins operation (Providence RI)
1671 - Pirate Henry Morgen lands at Panama City
1710 - Czar Peter the Great sets 1st Russian state budget
1736 - Abdication of Stanislas, last king of Poland
1785 - 1st US state university chartered, Athens GA
1823 - President Monroe appoints 1st US ambassadors to South America
1864 - Civil War skirmish at Kelly's Ford, VA; Battle of Fair Gardens, Tennessee
1870 - Manitoba & Northwest Territories incorporated; After accepting 15th amendment, Virginia is readmitted to Union
1880 - Thomas Edison patents electric incandescent lamp
1886 - 1st British government of Salisbury resigns
1888 - National Geographic Society organizes (Washington DC)
1891 - Mine explosion kills 109 at Mount Pleasant, PA
1897 - British troops occupy Bida Gold Coast (Ghana)
1900 - Social Democrat Party of America (Debs' party) holds 1st convention
1902 - 5 workers killed on explosion during IRT subway construction (New York City NY)
1905 - Maurice Rouvier forms government in France
1908 - Pasiphaë, a satellite of Jupiter, discovered by Melotte
1915 - US Marines occupy Haiti
1916 - Communist party "Spartacus Letters" 1st published in Berlin
1918 - "Tarzan of the Apes", 1st Tarzan film, premieres at Broadway Theater
1924 - Egyptian king Foead nominates Saad Zaghloel Pasja premier
1924 - Lenin placed in Mausoleum in Red Square
1926 - US Senate agrees to join World Court
1927 - Harlem Globetrotters play their 1st game
1934 - French government of Chautemps falls (Stavisky Affair)
1941 - Peruvian agent Rivera-Schreibér warns of Japanese assault on Pearl Harbor
1943 - 1st US air attack on Germany (Wilhelmshafen)
1944 - Leningrad liberated from Germany in 880 days, with 600,000 killed
1945 - Nazi occupiers forbid food transport to West (The Netherlands); Russia liberates Auschwitz & Birkenau Concentration Camp (Poland); Wally van Hall, "banker in defiance", arrested
1948 - 1st locomotive to carry 1,000,000 pounds (450,000 kg) operates; 1st tape recorder sold
1951 - US begins 126 nuclear tests at Nevada Test Site
1953 - Netherlands end Marshall aid
1958 - Ferenc Münnich follows Kádár as premier of Hungary
1961 - "Sing Along with Mitch" [Miller] premieres on NBC TV
1963 - Sam Rice, Eppa Rixey, Elmer Flick, & John Clarkson elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
1965 - 1st ground station-to-aircraft radio communication via satellite
1967 - Apollo 1 fire kills astronauts Grissom, White & Chaffee
1967 - Treaty signed banning military use of nuclear weapons in space
1969 - 14 spies hanged in Baghdad; 9 Jews publicly executed in Damascus Syria
1970 - Movie rating system modifies "M" rating to "PG"
1971 - Montgomery St Station, last link in BART, `holed thru'
1973 - William Rogers & Nguyen Duy Trinh sign US-N Vietnam treaty
1976 - "Laverne & Shirley" spin-off from "Happy Days" premieres on ABC TV; Morocco-Algeria battles in Westerly Sahara
1977 - President Carter pardons most Vietnam War draft evaders (10,000); 1st broadcast of "Roots" mini-series on ABC TV
1982 - Mauno Koivisto installed as President of Finland; Roberto S. Cordova installed as President of Honduras
1984 - Michael Jackson is burned during filming for Pepsi commercial
1985 - 15th Space Shuttle (51-C) Mission-Discovery 3 returns to Earth
1988 - Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approves nomination of Judge Anthony M. Kennedy to US Supreme Court
1989 - German war criminals Fischer & Austrian der Fünten freed
1990 - Dissolution of Polish communist party
1991 - Dutch PSP, Pacifist Socialistic Party, disbands
1992 - Mike Tyson goes on trial for rape (he is found guilty); Presidential candidate Bill Clinton (D) & Genifer Flowers accuse each other of lying over her assertion they had a 12-year affair
1993 - DC-3 crashes in Kinshasa, killing 12
1994 - Carlos Reina succeeds President Callejas in Honduras; Romanian social-democrats form government with anti-Semites
1996 - 15 day old siamese twins separated-Sarah Morales survives, Sarahi dies; Germany celebrates its 1st Holocaust Remembrance Day
1998 - Crane crashes into Roosevelt Is (New York City NY) Tram, injuring 10

Birthdays
1546 - Joachim III, Frederick elector (Brandenburg); Abbas I "the Great", shah of Persia (1587-1629)
1822 - Thomas Leiper Kane, Union Brevet Major General
1826 - Richard Taylor, Confederate Lieutenant-General
1828 - Samuel Allen Rice, Union Brigadier General
1830 - William Henry Fitzhugh Payne, Confederate Brigadier General
1832 - Lewis Carroll [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson], author (Alice in Wonderland)
1834 - Dmitri Mendeleev, chemist (discovered periodic table of the elements); Robert Sanford Foster, Union Brevet Major General
1850 - Samuel Gompers, Dutch/US 1st president-American Federation of Labor
1859 - Kaiser Wilhelm II Potsdam, German emperor (1888-1918)
1872 - Learned Hand, Chief judge (US Court of Appeals)
1887 - Carl Blegen, archaeologist (excavator at Troy, Pylos)
1900 - Hyman G. Rickover, US Admiral (father of modern nuclear navy)
1908 - William Randolph Hearst, Jr., newspaper publisher (Hearst Publishing)
1914 - Anna Larina, revolutionary
1921 - Donna Reed, actress (From Here to Eternity, Wonderful Life)
1922 - Wilfrid Bourne, QC/Clerk of the Crown in Chancery
1924 - Kenneth Corfield CEO (STC); Rauf Denktasj Turkish-Cypriot politician; William van Straubenzee, British MP
1925 - Geoffrey Tucker, British political consultant
1927 - Nancy Dickerson, journalist (NBC)
1930 - Esteban Edward Torres (Representative-CA); Roger Sims, British MP
1932 - Neville Trotter, British MP
1933 - Mohamed Al Fayed, CEO (Harrods); Rita Hennessy, matron-in-chief (QARANC)
1934 - Federico Mayor Zaragoza Barcelona, Spain, UNESCO directorl Donald Spiers, controller (Aircraft MoD); Edithe Cresson, premier of France (1991-92); Julian Ogilvie Thompson, CEO (De Beers)
1935 - Gillian Beer, professor/president (Clare Hall-Cambridge)
1938 - Timothy, Captain of The Queen's Flight
1940 - Brian T. O'Leary, astronaut
1945 - Mairead Corrigan-Maguire, North Irish peace activist (Nobel 1976)
1958 - Alan Milburn, British MP
1970 - Carlos Javier Bernardo, Dutch prince

Passings
0098 - Marius Cocceius Nerva, Emperor of Rome (96-98), dies at about 67
0672 - Vitalianus, pope (657-72)/saint
0847 - Sergius II, pope (844-47)
1565 - Robrecht de Berghes, prince-bishop of Liege (1557-64)
1699 - William Temple, statesman
1763 - John Theodor of Bavaria, prince-bishop of Liege/cardinal, dies
1816 - Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood/admiral
1851 - John James Audubon, conservationist (Audubon Society), dies at 65
1857 - Dorothea von Benckendorff. Baltic monarch of Lieven, dies at 72
1889 - Ivan S. Aksakov, Russian journalist, dies at 65
1893 - James G. Blaine, US minister of foreign affairs, dies at 62
1967 - Roger B. Chaffee astronaut, dies at 31 in Apollo I fire; Virgil I. (Gus) Grissom astronaut, dies at 41 in Apollo I fire; Edward Higgins White II, Lieutenant-Colonel USAF/astronaut (Gemini 4), dies in Apollo I fire at 36; Alphonse Juin, French marshal, dies at 78
1974 - Georgios Grivas, Greek General/opposition leader on Cyprus (EOKA), dies at 75
1981 - Leo Collard, Belgian minister of Education (1946/54-58), dies at 78
1983 - Paul "Bear" Bryant, US football coach (Alabama), dies at 69
1986 - L. Ron Hubbard, novelist/founder (Church of Scientology), dies at 74
1993 - Andre "the Giant" Roussimoff, WWF wrestler, dies of heart attack at 49
1995 - Halsey S. Colchester, British SAS/MI6-spy/priest, dies at 76
1996 - Olga Havlova, political activist, dies at 63; Ralph Webster, Yarborough, politician, dies at 92
1997 - Cecil Lewis, airman/writer, dies at 98; Matthew Coady, journalist, dies at 73

Reported Missing in Action
1968
Cordova, Robert J., USN (NE); reported missing overboard, KIA

1969
Conger, John E., US Army (OH); reported WIA

1973
Hall, Harley H., USN (WA); F4J shot down (pilot, w/Kientzler) - Killed in Captivity, remains returned June, 1995 (ID disputed)

Kientzler, Phillip A., USN (CA); F4J shot down (RIO, w/Hall), released by PRG March, 1973

Morris, George W., Jr., USAF (CA); OV10 shot down while looking for Hall and Kientzler (co-pilot), ejected

Peterson, Mark A., USAF (OH); OV10A shot down while looking for Hall and Kientzler (pilot, w/Morris), ejected

1974
Bell, Steve, Civilian; detained 24 hours and released

Collins, Peter, Civilian; detained 24 hours and released