News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Kidnapped Journo Sought in Iraq; U.S. Civilians Killed
Abducted Reporter's Family Makes Appeal
Baby Noor Back in Hospital
Bush Meets Tortured Iraqis
Video: Journalist Missing
Italians Seek U.S. Help in Shooting Probe
Iraq Investigating Possible Bird Flu Death

Operation Enduring Freedom
Afghanistan's president seeks bombing probe

Troops on Trial
Lawyer: Interrogation method in Iraqi's death had commander's OK

Other Military News
Coast Guard Searches for Crew of Cape Fear Boat

Homeland Security / War on Terror
Hunt for Bodies
Fast Facts: Midhat Mursi Bio
British Dads' Group Folds After Blair Plot
"Fearful" that 9/11 still claiming victims

Moonbat Watch
Rights group says U.S. abuse deliberate

Supreme Court
Alito finds scant Democratic support

Politics
White House won't reveal details of Abramoff meetings with staff
House GOP leaders want to change lobbying rules
Bush speech to focus on health care plans
Obama backs Clinton's criticism of GOP
Problems with Medicare plan worry GOP
New Orleans mayor retracts King Day talk

Oddities
Finger Fraud Sentence - Wendy's scammers to jail
And look at what this guy stole..
Wonder why he keeps forgetting..
Mass. 2-year-old gets summons for jury duty
International tequila dispute settled
At 100, groom not too old to get married

Other News of Note
No Negotiations
Iran Pres: West Sits in 'Ivory Towers'

Fox News
Mine Survivor 'Awakening'
Court Dodges Abortion Law - State Abortion Challenges Loom
Tech Woes Lead Market Slide
High Winds Rock Northeast
Apple Profits Nearly Doubles
EBay Q4 Results Strong
Castro: U.S. Afraid to Play Baseball With Cuba
NYCers Mourn Abused Girl
SPORTS NEWS AND SCORES

Reuters: Top News
Tight election race forming in Mexico
Iran scorns EU trio's draft nuclear resolution Video
Democrats propose Congress-lobbying reforms
US strike killed Al Qaeda bomb maker: report Video
Privacy group to sue over US eavesdropping program
Wealthy states back bird flu fund, deaths probed Video
Ex-CIA chief's book to explain "slam dunk" on Iraq Video
Privacy group to sue over US eavesdropping program
Top court orders more hearings on abortion law
NASA's Pluto flight delayed again due to power outage
More Americans trade jobs for life as innkeepers
US stops trial of "intermittent" AIDS treatment
Cingular to sell phone with Microsoft software
H&R Block says Intuit to change ad claims
Drug firms eye fat profits from new obesity pills
US stops trial of "intermittent" AIDS treatment
Kellogg asked to end marketing junk foods to kids
EBay posts strong results, but outlook disappoints
Apple sales outlook rattles shares
AMD reverses loss as sales jump
Abbott role in Guidant bid seen as devices play
Koppers Holdings adds shares to planned IPO
US ad spending up 5.4 pct in 2006: study
Stocks slump as tech earnings disappoint
Apple, eBay decline on Inet
Yahoo, Google shares tumble on lofty expectations
Nautilus plunges 25 percent on Q4 outlook
Oil shares down on warm weather in US Northeast
On the Radar: Defense stocks
Diagnosis for Intel
On the Radar: Stamps.com

AP World News
Europe Rejects Nuclear Talks With Iran
Palestinian Leader Says He May Resign
Ivory Coast Unrest Kills at Least Four
Cold Weather Claims at Least 24 in Russia
Conservatives Surging in Canadian Polls
Castro Announces Overhaul of Electric Grid
Vatican Paper Hits 'Intelligent Design'
French Couple May Face Off for Presidency
Tokyo Stocks Plummet Amid Investigation
Colombian Troops Try to Rid Park of Coca
Mexican Campaign Focuses on Migration
Some Want to Save East German Parliament
U.S. Blocks Syrian Intel Chief's Assets
World Opposed to Nuclear Iran, Rice Says

The Seattle Times
FDA: Hemophilia drug linked to deaths, strokes in off-label use
New air threat: "SUVs with wings"
Calif. district cancels creation course
Study finds teen car crashes kill more than just teens
Face transplant nearly failed, doctor says
Iran lifts CNN ban; apology over mistranslation accepted
Oklahoma City bomb-trials witness to get out of prison
Bolivian Army chief fired over missiles

Chicago Sun-Times
Man gets 12 years in bizarre murder plot
Village closes crossing at site of fatal derailment
Felon charged in rape day after he was freed
Wiseguy is wiseguy in court
GOP calls on Madigan in fight to block keno
Purdue rowers rescued after 16 hours in Atlantic
Saudi Arabia, Egypt tell Cheney to give Iran more time
Firefighter aces exam 12 hours after giving birth
Daley pushes full-day kindergarten
Sex assault rare in prisons, disputed study says
L Car No. 1 travels into history
Rare whales seen in Texas, far from winter turf
Israel's leader eager to restart peace talks
'Little Old Lady Killer' torments Mexico City
Kenya food shortage 'turning into crisis'
'Keep your children away': Bird flu most common in kids

Boston Globe: World
Tape aired of hostage US journalist
Cheney, Arab leaders discuss Hariri standoff
China villagers say police killed girl during protest over seizure of farmland
Tightening of Jordan border leaves many Iraqis frustrated
A death hardens support for Hamas

Military.com
Two U.S. Civilians Killed in Iraq
Milblogging.com Joins Military.com
Navy Shipbuilding Plan Called Unrealistic
Reporter's Family Appeals for Mercy
New Horizons Launch Delayed Again
Italy to Charge GI in Iraq Death

Department of Defense
Bush Meets Victims of Saddam's Regime - Story Remarks
Defense Leader Details U.S. Iraq Strategy - Story
Americans Must Understand U.S. Is at War - Story
Body Armor Evolution Meets Changing Threat - Story

ON THE GROUND
Soldiers Take Out Snipers in Salah Ad Din - Story
Millions Get First Tap Water in Eight Years - Story
Marines Train New Iraqi Logistics Regiment - Story

IN IRAQ
Units Transfer Authority in Iraq Ceremony
Marine Mortarmen Support Infantry Near Hit
Iraqi Helicopter Pilots Make Air Force History
First Fires Brigade Arrives in Theater
Protective Gear Keeps Marines in Iraq Safe

IN AFGHANISTAN
Vendor Day Educates Business Leaders
Photos: Operation Counterstrike

FACE OF DEFENSE
Air Force Handler Adopts K-9 Partner - Story

AMERICA SUPPORTS YOU
Citizen-Soldier Praises Employer - Story

TOP NEWS
IRAQ
U.S., Iraq Begin Ops in Anbar
Pentagon Looks Into Helo Crashes
Suicide Bomber Kills 5, Wounds 18
Iraq, U.S. Troops Find Weapons
Fact Sheet: Progress and Work Ahead
Report: Strategy for Victory in Iraq
Iraq Daily Update
This Week in Iraq (pdf)
Multinational Force Iraq
Eye on Iraq Update (pdf)
State Dept. Weekly Iraq Report (pdf)
'Boots on the Ground' Audio Archive
Iraq Reconstruction
Maps

AFGHANISTAN
Police Discuss Internal Security
Afghanistan Update
Maps

WAR ON TERRORISM
Detainees Released; Bombs Found
Fact Sheet: War on Terror
Fact Sheet: Terror Plots Disrupted
Waging and Winning the War on Terror
Terrorism Timeline
Terrorism Knowledge Base

MILITARY NEWS
Military, Diplomats Need 'Jointness'
National Guard, Reserve Update

CASUALTIES
Officials Identify Army Casualty - 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
0379 - Theodosius installed as co-emperor of East Roman Empire
0973 - Pope Benedictus VI elected
1419 - French city of Rouen surrenders to Henry V in Hundred Years War
1493 - France cedes Roussillon & Cerdágne to Spain by treaty of Barcelona
1668 - King Louis XIV & Emperor Leopold I sign treaty dividing Spain
1746 - Bonnie Prince Charlie's troops occupy Stirling
1770 - Battle of Golden Hill (Lower Manhattan)
1793 - French King Louis XVI sentenced to death
1795 - Democratic revolution in Amsterdam ends oligarchy
1806 - Britain occupies the Cape of Good Hope
1808 - Louis Napoleon signs 1st Dutch aviation law
1825 - Ezra Daggett & nephew Thomas Kensett patent food storage in tin cans
1833 - Charles Darwin reaches Straits Ponsonby, Fireland
1839 - Aden conquered by British East India Company
1840 - Antarctica discovered, Charles Wilkes expedition (US claim)
1853 - Napoleon III marries Eugénie de Montijo
1861 - Georgia becomes 5th state to secede; MS troops take Fort Massachusetts an Ship Island
1862 - Battle of Mill Springs, Kentucky (Fishing Creek, Logan's Crossroads)
1863 - General Mieroslawski appointed dictator of Poland
1865 - Union occupies Fort Anderson NC
1885 - Battle at Abu Klea Sudan 800-1000 killed
1899 - Anglo-Egyptian Sudan forms
1903 - 1st regular transatlantic radio broadcast between US & England
1910 - Germany & Bolivia ends commerce/friendship treaty; National Institute of Arts & Letters incorporated by Congress
1913 - Raymond Poincaré installed as President of France
1915 - 1st German Zeppelin attack over Great Britain, 4 die; Neon Tube sign patented by George Claude
1917 - Silvertown Essex's ammunition factory explodes; 300 die
1918 - Soviets disallows a Constitution Assembly
1920 - Alexandre Millerand forms French government; US Senate votes against membership in League of Nations
1921 - Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras & El Salvador sign Pact of Union
1922 - Geological survey says US oil supply would be depleted in 20 years
1927 - British government decides to send troops to China
1929 - Acadia National Park, Maine established
1937 - Millionaire Howard Hughes sets transcontinental air record (7h28m25s)
1938 - GM began mass production of diesel engines
1939 - Ernest Hausen of Wisconsin sets chicken-plucking record-4.4 seconds
1941 - British offensive in Eritrea; British troops occupy Kassalaf Sudan
1942 - Japanese forces invade Burma; Titus Brandsma (Carmelite priest) arrested by German occupiers for speaking out against Nazism as a "lie" and "pagan"
1943 - Joint Chiefs of Staff decide on invasion in Sicily
1947 - SS Himera runs aground at Athens, kills 392
1950 - Maiden flight by Canada's Avro Canada CF-100 military plane
1952 - PGA approves allowing black participants
1955 - 1st Presidential news conference filmed for TV (Eisenhower); "Scrabble" debuts on board game market
1960 - Eisenhower & Premier Kishi sign US-Japanese Security pact
1966 - Indira Gandhi elected India's 3rd prime minister
1970 - Nixon nominates G Harrold Carswell to Supreme Court (fails)
1972 - Sandy Koufax, Yogi Berra, & Early Wynn elected to Hall of Fame
1974 - Belgium government of Leburton falls
1975 - 4 mail truck assault on El Al B-747 in Paris, escape to Iraq
1977 - President Ford pardons Iva Toguri D'Aquino (Tokyo Rose); World's largest crowd-12.7 million-for Indian religious festival
1978 - Judge William H. Webster appointed head of FBI
1979 - John N. Mitchell (former AG) released on parole from federal prison
1981 - Muhammad Ali talks a despondent 21 year old out of committing suicide; US & Iran sign agreement to release 52 American hostages
1982 - Heater explodes at Star Elementary School-Oklahoma, kills 6 kids & teacher
1983 - Klaus Barbie, SS chief of Lyon in Nazi-France, arrested in Bolivia
1984 - California Supreme Court refuses to allow quadriplegic Elizabeth Bouvia to starve herself to death in a public hospital, she appeals and is later granted the right to die
1986 - Israeli premier Simon Peres visits Netherlands; Spain recognizes Israel
1987 - Guy Hunt becomes Alabama's 1st Republican governor since 1874
1988 - "48 Hours" premieres on CBS-TV
1989 - President Reagan pardons George Steinbrenner for illegal funds for Nixon
1993 - Israel recognizes PLO as no longer criminal; Robert M. Gates ends term as 15th director of CIA; STS-54 (Endeavour) lands

Birthdays
0570 - Mohammed Islamic, prophet (Koran)
1200 - Dogen Kigen, Zen teacher, 1st patriarch of the Japanese Soto
1544 - Francis II de Valois-Angoulême, King of France (1559-60)
1736 - James Watt, inventor (steam engine); Laurens P. van de Spiegel, Dutch regent/secretary of State 1787-95
1749 - Isaiah Thomas, US printer/editor/publisher/historian
1802 - (Jean) Silvain van de Weyer, 1st Belgian minister of Foreign affairs (1831)
1807 - Robert Edward Lee Stratford VA, Confederate General-in-Chief
1809 - Edgar Allan Poe, author (Pit & the Pendulum)
1813 - Sir Henry Bessemer, engineer/inventor (Bessemer engine)
1816 - Henry Gray, Confederate Brigadier General
1820 - John Haskell King, Union Brevet Major General
1830 - George Blake Cosby, Confederate Brigadier General
1863 - Werner Sombart German fascist (Juden und das Wirtschaftsleben)
1869 - Alfred R. Zimmerman, mayor (Rotterdam 1906-22)/Director (League of Nations)
1892 - Olafur Thors, Icelandic PM (6 times, 1942-63)
1904 - James Winston Watts developer (Frontal Lobotomy)
1905 - Oveta Culp Hobby, government official/newspaper publisher/CEO (Houston Post)
1912 - Leonid V. Kantorovich, economist (Nobel); Francis David Charteris Earl of Wemyss & March/Scottish landowner; Jean G.H. "Sjeng" Tans, Dutch socialist democratic chairman (1965-69)
1920 - Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, 5th Secretary-General of UN (1982-91)
1924 - 7th Earl of Carnarvon, English large landowner
1931 - Robert MacNeil, news anchor (NBC Weekend News 1965-67); Ron Packard (Representative-CA)
1938 - Denny Smith (Representative-OR)
1940 - Barend J. du Plessis South African minister of Finance
1944 - Dan Reeves, NFL Coach (New York Giants, Denver Broncos, Atlanta Falcons)
1946 - Alexandr Vladimirovich Shchukin, Russian cosmonaut; Dolly Rebecca Parton, country singer (Dolly, 9 to 5)
1947 - Ann Compton, news reporter (ABC TV)

Passings
0639 - Dagobert I, King of Austrasia/Soissons/Burgundy/Neustrië
1479 - Johan II, King of Aragón/Navarra, dies at 81
1547 - Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, army commander/poet, beheaded at 29
1549 - Barthout van Assendelft, 1st land advocate of Holland
1629 - Abbas I, Shah of Persia (1588-1629), dies at 57
1927 - Charlotte, princess of Belgium/Empress of Mexico (1864-67), dies at 86
1980 - William O. Douglas, Supreme Court Justice (1939-75), dies at 81
1982 - Leopold Trepper Polish/Israeli spy (WWII), dies at 77
1990 - Herbert Wehner German ex-communist/chairman (1958-73), dies at 83
1993 - Reginald Lewis CEO (Beatrice), dies of brain cancer at 50

Reported Missing in Action
1967
Ashby, Donald R., Sr., USN (VA); F4B shot down and crashed in water, KIA, body not recovered

Brady, Allen C., USN (VA); A6A shot down, released by DRV March, 1973 - retired as a Captain - alive and well as of 1998

Ehrlch, Dennis Michael, USN (NJ); F4B shot down over water, KIA, body not recovered

Jayroe, Julius S., USAF (SC); F4C shot down (w/Kramer), released by DRV March, 1973 - retired as a Colonel - alive and well as of 1998

Kramer, Galand D., USAF (OK); F4C shot down, released by DRV February, 1973 - retired as a Lt. Colonel - alive as of 1998

Yarbrough, William P., Jr., USN (TX); A6A shot down (w/Brady) - remains returned August, 1985

1968
Johnson, William D., US Army (NC); disappeared during ambush

Murray, Patrick Peter, USMC (MN); A6A shot down (w/Wallace), remains returned April, 1986

Wallace, Hobart McKinle, Jr., USMC (WV); A6A shot down (w/Murray)

1974
Kosh, Gerald E.; released January, 1974