News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Iraqi President to Call Parliament Into Session
Attacks Kill 10 in Iraq
Pace Denies Iraq Pullout Plan- Calls for Iraqi PM to Resign
Iraq's Anbar Province Shows Signs of Calm
U.S. Marines Wall in Iraqi City With Sand
Rights Group Says Iraq Torture Continues
Long opposed to U.S. presence, Sunnis now want the troops to remain in Iraq
Filling a void, Iraqi militias assert authority
Armed and organized

Operation Enduring Freedom


Homeland Security / War on Terror
FBI Prepares Testimony for Moussaoui Sentencing
Hamas Rejects Support of Al-Zawahri
Guantanamo Inmates Despair of Ever Leaving
5 Ex-Gitmo Prisoners Deny al-Qaida Link
Hundreds of Pakistanis Flee Border Unrest
Militants Vow New Attacks in Nigeria
Testimony Upsets Pakistani Detainee's Wife
9-11 jury to consider death for man who wasn't there
Pakistan military regains control of northern town
Kerry: Fight terrorism by boosting United Nations (Can anyone possibly truly believe this???)
Archbishop denounces Guantanamo Bay camp

Cartooning Muhammad
More Cartoon Protests As Embassy Reopens
50,000 protest Muhammad cartoons, call for hangings

Hamas Rising
Putin briefs Olmert, Bush on Hamas visit

Dubai Port Proposal
Lawmakers Vow Port Deal Approval Process Changes

Worldwide Wackos
Iran Threatens U.N.
Iran Warns on U.N. Sanctions
US and new S.Korea envoy discuss North
ElBaradei says Iran nuclear deal still possible
U.S., S. Korean Envoys Discuss N. Korea
U.S., Iran trade veiled threats as showdown nears
Venezuelan forces start training to repel US

Politics
Bush Expresses Solidarity With Pakistan, Musharraf
Bush to ask Congress for line-item veto power
Fearing more leaks, White House targets officials, journalists

U.N. News
U.N. Official: More Kenyans to Need Aid

The Oscars
The post-Oscars debate: Why Brokeback lost
'Crash'-ing The Party - Racism drama named best film
Quotes
Full Oscars Coverage from Fox News
Winners: 78th Academy Awards
A Look Backstage at the Oscars
Young Stars Wow on Red Carpet
Photo Essay: Stars Arrive on the Red Carpet
First-time Oscar host Stewart draws early mixed reviews
Hollywood basks in Oscar glow - Play Video
Oscar fashion hits and misses
Cruise and Holmes named "most tiresome"

Oddities
Microwaved adult toy puts pair in a hot spot
Visitor hurt while trying to play with zoo elephant
No peace or love for 'hippie chimps'
I'm not dead, 81-year-old keeps trying to insist to the government

News from My Neck of the Woods
Law may require bathroom hooks (Solving the tough global issues, here in CT. But come on, admit it - it's really annoying when public restrooms don't have coat hooks!)

Fox News
Enron Witness Kevin Harron to Continue Testimony
Kirby Puckett in Critical Condition After Stroke
NFL, Players Association Delay Free Agency 72 Hours
Cops: N.C. Dad Killed Kids
Homeless Man Set on Fire
AT&T to Buy BellSouth
Video: NYC Mummy Murder
Missing Man Presumed Dead in W.Va. Power Plant Blaze
Stocks to Watch: Dana Corp.
FULL SPORTS COVERAGE

Reuters: Top News
Israel extradites suspected drug kingpin to U.S
Dalai Lama offers lifeline to Indian tiger
WHO prepares defenses against flu pandemic threat
TV may not cause kids' attention disorders: study
Folic acid blunts severity of birth defects: study
GM unloads most of its Suzuki stake, raises $2 billion
AT&T agrees to buy BellSouth for $67 billion
Bayer shares fall after Q4, forecasts worry
Taylor Nelson profit up 21 pct despite U.S. woes
Novartis signs research deal with US biotech firm
US biotech firm Entelos to list on London's AIM
Stock futures gain; telecoms, risky week eyed
Suzuki shares pare losses as GM-report fears wane
Reliance India phone firm worth $8 bln on debut
Heinz stock could gain on billionaire's move: Barron's
Stocks will watch jobs and rates
Energy worries encourage utility mergers
Japan says unclear if U.S. beef actions would work

AP World News
Ex-Serb Rebel Leader Commits Suicide
Thai Leader Dismisses Calls to Resign
Ally: Olmert Wants Israel to Set Borders
Outgoing Benin Leader Criticizes Election
China Pledges More Spending on Rural Areas

The Seattle Times
Childhood obesity to rise significantly
Daring aerial maneuver rescues three from fiery stack
Margaret Atwood unveils the LongPen, high-tech tool for tired authors

Chicago Sun-Times
Woman accused of stealing $250,000 meant for victims
Wis. group distances itself from man it helped free .
S. Korean leader sorry for golfing during strike

Boston Globe: World
Sharon party eyes settler evacuation plan
N.H. man dies in New Zealand crash
President questions Benin vote process


Military.com
General's War Comments Criticized
Homeland Security Headquarters Insecure
Probe to Delve Further Into Shooting
US Cast Wide Net in Terror War
Navy Orders all Aircraft Grounded

Department of Defense
Pace: Iraq Pulled Back From Civil War - Story
Casey: Crisis Caused by Bombing Has Passed
Army to Launch New Probe of Tillman's Death - Story
Soldiers Nab Terrorists, Capture Weapons - Story
U.S., Pakistan Pledge Unity in Terror War - Story
Bush Pleased with Progress in Afghanistan - Story - Transcript

ON THE GROUND
Iraqis Assume Control In Western Baghdad - Story
Transfer Ceremony Marks Accomplishments
Iraqi Air Force Spreads Wings, Secures Future - Story
Coalition Troops Injured in IED Attack - Story

IN IRAQ
Arizona Guard MPs Reflect on Iraq Deployment
U.S. Army’s Cav Troops Help Train Iraqi Soldiers
U.S. Soldier Starts Tikrit Chapter of Hobby Club

IN AFGHANISTAN
New Zealanders Deliver Roof Beams to Camp
Bagram Airfield Celebrates Black History Month

DefendAmerica Week in Review
Sunday - Monday - Tuesday - Wednesday - Thursday - Friday - Saturday

AMERICA SUPPORTS YOU
Rumsfeld Visits Wounded Troops - Story
Vail Hosts Wounded Troops
Group Helps Soldier, Wife

TOP NEWS
IRAQ
DoD Releases Some Gitmo Records
Ops Net 62 Terrorism Suspects
Forces Limit Damage
Iraqi Course: Convoy Security
Soldier Dies in Non-combat Incident
Terrorists Kill 17 Iraqis
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
Troop Killed in Afghanistan
Coalition Troop Dies
Crews Keep KC-135 Aloft
Bush Salutes Troops - Photos
Bush Visits Kabul - Photos
Afghanistan Update
Maps

WAR ON TERRORISM
Rumsfeld Cites Truman Leadership
U.S. Diplomat Killed in Bombing
U.S., Italy Partners, Bush Says
Fact Sheet: Budget Request
Fact Sheet: War on Terror
Fact Sheet: Terror Plots Disrupted
Waging and Winning the War on Terror
Terrorism Timeline
Terrorism Knowledge Base

MILITARY NEWS
U.S., India Make World Safer
Rumsfeld Praises Future Military
Budget Proposal Matches 1995
National Guard, Reserve Update

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
1205 - Aken, [Philips van Zwaben], crowned Roman-Catholic German King
1323 - Treaty of Paris
1447 - Tommaso Parentucelli succeeds Pope Eugene IV as Nicolas V
1460 - Treaty of Alcacovas-Portugal gives Castile Canary Islands for West Africa
1521 - Magellan discovers Guam
1646 - Joseph Jenkes, Massachusetts, receives 1st colonial machine patent
1664 - King Louis XIV & Emperor of Brandenburg signs covenant
1714 - Peace of Rastatt: French emperor Charles VI of Habsburg
1728 - Spain & England sign (1st) Convention of Pardo
1799 - Napoleon captures Jaffa, Palestine
1810 - Illinois passes 1st state vaccination legislation in US
1816 - Jews are expelled from Free city of Lubeck, Germany
1831 - Edgar Allen Poe removed from West Point military academy
1836 - 3,000 Mexicans beat 182 Texans at the Alamo, after 13 day fight; HMS Beagle / Darwin reaches King George's Sound, Australia
1857 - Dred Scott Decision: Supreme Court rules slaves cannot be citizens
1861 - Provisionary Confederate Congress establishes Confederate Army
1862 - Battle of Pea Ridge, AR (Elkhorn Tavern)
1865 - Battle of Natural Bridge, FL; President Lincoln's 2nd Inaugural Ball
1882 - Monarch Milan Obrenovic of Serbia crowns himself king
1886 - 1st US alternating current power plant starts, Great Barrington, MA
1896 - 1st auto in Detroit, MI - Charles B. King rides his "Horseless Carriage"
1899 - "Aspirin" patented by Felix Hoffmann
1902 - Census Bureau forms
1915 - Greek King Constantine I fires premier Venizelos
1918 - US naval collier Cyclops disappears in Bermuda Triangle
1921 - Police in Sunbury, PA, issue an edict requiring Women to wear skirts at least 4 inches below the knee
1925 - Belgium annexes Eupen, Malmédy & Sankt Vith
1926 - China asks for a seat in the Security council
1929 - Turkey & Bulgaria sign friendship treaty
1930 - Brooklyn's Clarence Birdseye develops a method for quick freezing food
1933 - Poland occupies free city Danzig (Gdansk)
1936 - Belgium ends Locarno-pact
1940 - 1st US telecast from an airplane, New York, NY
1943 - Battle at Medenine, North-Africa - Rommels assault attack; Sukarno asks for cooperation with Japanese occupiers
1944 - USAF begins daylight bombing of Berlin
1945 - 117 SD-prisoners executed at Savage Farm; Assassination attempt on Höhere, SS Police führer Rauter; Chinese 38th division occupies Lashio; Erich Honnecker & Erich Hanke flee Nazis
1946 - France recognizes Vietnam statehood within Indo-Chinese federation
1947 - XB-45, 1st US 4-engine jet bomber, makes 1st test flight, Muroc CA
1951 - Belgium extends conscription to 24 months
1953 - Malenkov becomes chairman of the USSR
1957 - Ghana (formerly Gold Coast) declares independence from UK
1959 - Farthest radio signal heard (Pioneer IV, 400,000 miles)
1960 - President Sukarno disbands Indonesia's parliament
1961 - 1st London minicabs introduced
1962 - US promise Thailand assistance against communist aggression
1964 - Constantine succeeds Paul I as king of Greece
1965 - 1st nonstop helicopter crossing of North America, J. R. Willford
1967 - Muhammad Ali is ordered by selective service to be inducted; Stalin's daughter Svetlana Allilujeva asks for political asylum in US
1974 - An Italian loses a record $1,920,000 at roulette in Monte Carlo
1978 - Hustler publisher Larry Flynt shot & crippled by a sniper in Georgia
1981 - Soyuz 39 returns to Earth; Walter Cronkite signs-off as anchorman of "The CBS Evening News"
1982 - Susan Birmingham makes loudest recorded human shout (120 dB)
1985 - Mexican authorities find body of US drug agent Enrique C Salaazar
1986 - USSR's Vega 1 flies by Halley's Comet at 8,889 km
1987 - 6.8 earthquake hits Ecuador, kills 100; Belgian ferry boat Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes and sinks - 192 die
1988 - 3 IRA suspects shot dead in Gibraltar by SAS officers
1990 - SR-71 sets a transcontinental record, flying 2,404 miles in 1:08:17
1991 - Following Iraq's capitulation in the Persian Gulf conflict, President Bush told Congress that "aggression is defeated; The war is over"
1998 - 1st time the British flag is flown over Buckingham Palace; Matt Beck, an angry lottery accountant kills 4 at Connecticut state lottery

Birthdays
1405 - Johan II, King of Castille
1483 - Francesco Guicciardini, Italian attorney/president of Romagna
1761 - Earl d'Andréossi, French General/member of parliament
1806 - Elizabeth Barrett Browning, poet (Sonnets from the Portuguese)
1812 - Aaron Lufkin Dennison, father of American watchmaking
1820 - Horatio Gouverneur Wright, Union Major General
1831 - Philip Henry Sheridan, Union Major General
1835 - Charles Ewing, Union Brigadier General
1909 - Obafemi Awolowo Nigeria, President of Nigeria (1979-83)
1917 - J. A. Mommersteeg, Dutch Assistant Secretary of Defense (KVP)
1921 - Oliver Wright British Ambassador (To US)
1923 - Ed McMahon, TV host (Johnny Carson Show, Star Search)
1924 - William H. Webster, judge/head FBI/CIA
1926 - Alan Greenspan, economist/Presidential advisor (Federal Reserve Board)
1926 - Elwood H. [Bud] Hillis (Representative-IN)
1927 - Leroy Gordon Cooper, Jr., USAF/astronaut (Mercury 9, Gemini 5)
1929 - Hal Miller, British MP; Ho Dam, North Korean Secretary of State (1970-83); Thomas S. Foley (Representative-WA, 1965-94)/majority whip/Speaker of House
1933 - Heiko Wierenga, Dutch social-democrat mayor of Enschede (1977-94)
1933 - William Davis author/broadcaster (Battle at Bull Run)
1936 - A. "Bram" Stemerdink, Dutch minister of Defense (PvdA)
1936 - Marion S. Barry (Mayor-DC)
1937 - Valentina V. Tereshkova-Nikolayev, 1st woman in space (Vostok 6)
1939 - Christopher Bond (Senator-MO)
1941 - Ann Winterton British MP
1946 - Patrick Pierre Roger Baudry Cameroon, astronaut (STS 18)

Passings
1615 - Pieter Both, Dutch Admiral/1st Governor-General (East Indies, 1609-14), drowns
1754 - Henry Pelham, English premier (1745, 46-54), Gin Act, dies at about 57
1836 - Davy Crockett, US pioneer (Alamo), killed in battle at 49
1900 - Gottlieb Daimler, designed 1st motorcycle, dies at 65
1917 - Jules HPFX Vandenpeereboom, premier of Belgium (1899), dies at 73
1932 - John Philip Sousa, US composer (Stars & Stripes Forever), dies at 77
1933 - Anton J. Cermak, US mayor of Chicago, murdered
1941 - John Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum, sculptor (Mount Rushmore), dies at 73
1945 - Jan Thijssen Dutch resistance fighter, executed at Savage Farm
1963 - Kornelis ter Laan, 1st Dutch socialist mayor (Zaandam), dies at 91
1964 - King Paul I of Greece (1947-64), dies at 62
1968 - Joseph Martin, Jr., Speaker of the House, dies at 83
1981 - Klaus Grabowski, child molester, shot by parent
1982 - Ayn Rand author-philosopher (The Fountainhead, Atlas Shrugged), dies in New York at 77
1984 - Martin Niemöller German submarine captain/anti-Nazi minister, dies at 92
1993 - Nicholas Ridley English Minister of Finance, dies at 64
1994 - Tengis Abuladze Georgia SSR MP (Penalty), dies at 71
1996 - Douglas Patrick Thomas Jay, politician, dies at 88
1997 - Jagan Guyanes, Prime Minister of Guyana (1953, 57-64); Michael Manley, Jamaican Prime Minister (PNP, 1972-80, 89-92)
1998 - Adem Jasari, Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) leader, killed

Reported Missing in Action
1967
Carpenter, Howard B., US Army SF (OH); KIA, body not recovered

Small, Burt C., US Army SF (GA); known to be captured

1968
Anselmo, William F., USAF (CO); C123K shot down (w/Rios), KIA, body not recovered

Colombo, Gary Lewis, USMC (WA); CH46A shot down, KIA, body not recovered

Lopez, Robert, US Army SF (WA); CH46A shot down (w/Seward) - remains ID'd June, 2000

Mitchell, Gilbert L., USN (CA); A6A shot down (co-pilot, w/Nelson), KIA, body not recovered

Nelson, Richard C., USN (PA); A6A shot down (pilot, w/Mitchell) - remains returned July, 1984

Rios, Noel L, USAF (NJ); C123K shot down (w/Anselmo), KIA, body not recovered

Seward, William H., USMC (GA); CH46A shot down (w/Lopez) - remains ID'd June, 2000

1969
Coleman, Jimmy L., US Army (AL); shot on bridge, fell off - presumed KIA, body not recovered

McDonnell, John T., US Army (TX); AH1G shot down

1970
Kusaka, Akira, Civilian-Fuji Television (Japan); not on official lists

1971
Hummel, John F., US Army (TX); AH1G shot down (pilot, w/Milliner)

Milliner, William P., US Army (KY); AH1G shot down (co-pilot, w/Hummel)