but we were afraid nothing would ever get passed."
-- Bob Hope

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Bombs Kill U.S. Soldier, Several Iraqi Civilians
Report: Japan to Pull Out of Iraq When U.K., Australia Go
'Mission' Gets Closer to 'Accomplished'

Operation Enduring Freedom
Afghan, bomber, killed in attack on Canadians

Homeland Security / War on Terror
Father Whose Son Attended Al Qaeda Camp Released
Use of secret warrants up last year
Pakistan Detains al-Qaida Fugitive Nasar

Troops on Trial
Second Soldier Pleads Guilty - Admits porn appearance

Immigration
Day Without Immigrants Staged Across the Nation
Republican leader predicts immigration backlash
Pictures: A Day Without Immigrants (Reuters)
Pictures: May Day Around The World

Hamas Rising
Blast in north Gaza kills two security officers
Olmert likely to meet Abbas, Israeli officials say
Quartet envoy questions Palestinian aid cuts

Worldwide Wackos
Iran: We're Ready to Negotiate
Iran says Russia and China will not back sanctions

Politics
Secret Service to Release Abramoff's White House Logs

Supreme Court
Anna Nicole Smith wins ruling

Oddities
Pakistan couple, jailed for falling in love, go free
Thieves gas themselves in cyanide heist blunder

Other News of Note
Going Bust (Social Security / Medicare)
Skakel Lawyer: Two New Suspects in 1975 Murder

Fox News
Israeli General Opposes Occupation of Gaza
Hong Kong Cleric Wants Vatican to Halt China Talks
Stocks to Watch: Hilton Hotels
Duke: Lacrosse Play Should Resume
Small Business Page
Cybersecurity Center

Reuters: Top News
US hikes pressure on Darfur sides to strike deal
S.Lanka Tigers say shelled as violence simmers - Video
Hostage freed unharmed at Arizona prison
Updated list adds more threatened species
Experts say bird flu virus survives longer
China's latest cellphone fad rings up big bucks
Sun rolls out new storage products in data push
Eritrea's last native Jew tends graves, remembers
Vaccine plus antibiotics protects against anthrax
Diuretics first line against heart failure -study
Cruise's appeal put to test as "M:i III" debuts
Keith Richards making "speedy recovery"
Islands dispute
Asia stocks gain
Visteon posts quarterly profit
Ford's China vehicle sales more than double in Q1
Intel to spend $1 bln to push Net in poor nations
Apple-rival Creative seen swinging to Q3 loss
UnitedHealth slashes benefits for senior execs
France's JCDecaux wins Hong Kong tramway deal
PortalPlayer shares drop
Tessera shares fall on profit miss
Court gives Teva hope of generic Zocor exclusivity
Level 3 to buy communications provider TelCove
Exchange shares fall on lackluster volume growth
Not too late to join the party
Valuation Review: Akamai

AP World News
Bolivia Nationalizes Natural Gas Sector
AP: Government Drafts Pandemic Flu Plan
Nepal Prime Minister Announces Cabinet
Enron Jurors Get Peek at Lay's Lifestyle
Clippers Advance to 2nd Round of Playoffs
Clippers Win First Series in 30 Years
Alzheimer's Theory Set for Drug Test
Limbaugh Cuts Deal in Prescription Case
Ortiz Ruins Damon's Fenway Return 7-3
Jimmie Johnson Wins Talladega Shootout
Governors Push for State Health Programs
Yahoo Introduces New Technology Section

Military.com
Army Seeks Blood Donations
Protesters Demand Better Iraq Security
Senate OKs Bill on War Zone Mortuaries
Army Chief Sticking to Troop Cut Plans
Steak Night Treats Vets' Toughest Injuries

CENTCOM: News Releases
AFGHAN JOURNALISTS GRADUATE MEDIA BASIC TRAINING

CCCI CONVICTS 12 INSURGENTS; THREE SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON

AFGHANS CELEBRATE FREEDOM

IRAQI ARMY BATTALION TO ASSUME AUTHORITY IN SINJAR

LASHKAR GAH GETS NEW CONFERENCE HALL

IRAQI GROUND FORCES COMMAND JOINT OPERATIONS CENTER OPENS

COALITION DESTROYS CACHES IN KABUL, KUNAR AND GHAZNI PROVINCES; IEDS DETONATE IN KANDAHAR AND LAGHMAN PROVINCES

ANA SOLDIERS CONDUCT CONVOY TRAINING WITH COALITION FORCES

SOLDIERS VISIT IRAQI STUDENTS, DELIVER GIFTS FROM HOME

ANA COMMUNICATIONS UNIT REACHES CAPABILITY MILESTONE

Department of Defense
Rice, Rumsfeld Brief President on Visit - Story
Casey: Council Represents Another Milestone
'Ring of Steel' Encircles Iraqi Oil Platforms - Story
Trip Gives Civilian Leaders New Perspective - Story
Coalition Forces Kill Enemy in Afghan Action - Story

IRAQIS TAKE THE LEAD
Iraqi Soldiers Graduate from Boot Camp - Story

REBUILDING IRAQ
'Harvest Light' to Help Iraq's Date Industry - Story
Combined Patrols Foster New Relationships

ON THE GROUND
USS Typhoon Operates in Horn of Africa - Story
Dental Clinic Gives Iraqis Reason to Smile - Story
Djiboutian Town Brighter with Task Force Help - Story

IN IRAQ
'Night Stalkers' Tackle Convoy Security in Iraq
Navy Medical Unit Critical to Lifesaving Efforts

IN AFGHANISTAN
C-130 Hercules Support Coalition Operations

IN BAHRAIN
Maritime Operations Have Deterrent Effect
Coalition Cell Develops 'Actionable Intelligence'

AMERICA SUPPORTS YOU
Arizona Bikers Roll Out for Troops

TOP NEWS
IRAQ
Rice: Politics Help Defeat Insurgents
Forces Kill, Capture Insurgents
Forces Nab 10 Terrorism Suspects
Police Progress, Face Challenges
Roadside Bomb Kills U.S. Soldier
Political, Security Strides Evident
U.S. Ready to Help New Government
Renewal In Iraq
Fact Sheet: Progress and Work Ahead
Report: Strategy for Victory in Iraq
Iraq Daily Update
This Week in Iraq (PDF)
Multinational Force Iraq
State Dept. Weekly Iraq Report (PDF)
'Boots on the Ground' Audio Archive
Iraq Reconstruction
Maps

AFGHANISTAN
Leaders Discuss Coalition Efforts
Successes Continue in Ops
U.S. Troop Injured in Copter Landing
Commander Meets With Governor
Taliban Killed; Enemy Targeted
PRT, U.N. Food Program Aid Afghans
Afghanistan Update
Maps

WAR ON TERRORISM
GEODSS Satellite Provides Vital Info
Iran Maritime Relations 'Courteous'
Democracy Will Hurt Terrorism
Al Qaeda Terrorist Leader Killed
USS Reagan Supports Troops
Prosecution Supports Defense Right
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
Abizaid to JCOC: Will Power Critical
JCOC View Air Force Contributions
England Signs NSPS Into Effect
U.S. Repatriates 10 Somalis
Airmen Work to Avoid Bird Strikes
Military Children Need Consistency
National Guard, Reserve Update

CASUALTIES
Defense Officials Identify Casualties - Story

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

Afghanistan
Bost/Laskar Ghurian Herat Kabul Qandahar

Gitmo

Today in History
1345 - "Quaden Maendach" in Gent: Battles between volders & weavers
1497 - John Cabot departs to North-America
1536 - King Henry VIII accuses Anna Boleyn of adultery & incest
1595 - King Philip II names Albrecht of Austria land guardian of Netherlands
1598 - France & Spain sign Peace of Vervins
1668 - 1st peace of Aken ends French-Spanish War in The Netherlands; Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle ends War of Devolution
1670 - King Charles II charters Hudson Bay Company
1703 - Portugal signs treaty with England to become a Great Covenant
1776 - France & Spain agree to donate arms to American rebels
1780 - William Herschel discovers 1st binary star, Xi Ursae Majoris
1808 - Uprising against French occupation begins in Madrid
1833 - Czar Nicolas bans public sale of serfs
1863 - Stonewall Jackson attacks Chancellorsville, VA, and is wounded by his own men; South defeats North
1865 - President Johnson offers $100,000 reward for capture of Jefferson Davis
1878 - US stops minting 20¢ coin
1885 - Congo Free State established by King Leopold II of Belgium
1887 - Hannibal W. Goodwin patents celluloid photographic film
1889 - Abyssinian emperor Menelik II/Italy signs Treaty of Wichale
1890 - Territory of Oklahoma created
1902 - The 1st science fiction film, "A Trip To The Moon", is released
1907 - Belgium Jules baron de Trooz forms Belgian Government
1911 - French troops occupy Fès El Bali, Morocco
1916 - US President Wilson signs Harrison Drug Act
1919 - 1st US air passenger service starts
1920 - 1st game of National Negro Baseball League played in Indianapolis
1921 - Beginning of 3rd anti-German revolt in Upper-Silesia
1924 - Netherlands refuses to recognize USSR
1926 - US military intervenes in Nicaragua
1927 - International Economic Conference (52 countries including USSR) opens
1933 - In Germany, Adolf Hitler bans trade unions
1934 - Nazi-Germany begins People's court
1936 - Emperor Haile Selassie & family flee Abyssinia
1941 - FCC approves regular scheduled commercial TV broadcasts to begin July 1; Martin Bormann succeeds Rudolf Hess as Hitler's deputy; Nazi-occupied Netherlands layoff Jewish journalists
1942 - Japanese troops occupy Mandalay Burma
1943 - German troops vacate Jefna, Tunisia
1945 - Allies occupy Wismar; Dutch Queen Wilhelmina & Princess Juliana reach Gilze-Rijen; German Army in Italy surrenders; Russia takes Berlin; General Weidling surrenders; Yugoslav troops occupy Trieste
1946 - Prisoners revolt at Alcatraz - 5 die
1949 - Bolivian state of siege proclaimed
1950 - Dutch 1st Chamber accept Laws on immigration; Dutch PM Malan recognizes South Africa, but not China People's Republic
1952 - 1st scheduled jet airliner passenger service begins with a BOAC Comet
1953 - Feisal II installed as king of Iraq; Hussein I installed as king of Jordan
1955 - India poses discrimination "onaanraakbaren" punishable
1956 - US Lab detects high-temperature microwave radiation from Venus; US Methodist church disallows race separation
1965 - Early Bird satellite goes into commercial service
1968 - Israeli television begins transmitting
1969 - British liner Queen Elizabeth II leaves on maiden voyage to New York
1972 - Electrical fire in Sunshine Silver mine - 126 die (Kellogg, Idaho); Lieutenant General Vernon A Walters, USA, becomes deputy director of CIA
1974 - Former Vice President Spiro Agnew is disbarred
1975 - Apple records closes down
1980 - Joseph Doherty & 3 other IRA men arrested for murder; Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in Wall (Part II)" is banned in South Africa
1982 - Falklands War: Argentine cruiser General Belgrano sunk by British submarine Conqueror, killing more than 350 men
1983 - 6.7 earthquake injures 487 in Coalinga, CA
1990 - South Africa & African National Congress open talks to end apartheid
1992 - Yugoslav Army seize Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic
1994 - Bus crashes into a tree at Gdansk, Poland, killing 30; Dr. Kevokian found innocent on assisting suicides
1995 - Serb missiles exploded in the heart of Zagreb, killing six
1997 - Republic of Texas security chief Robert Scheidt surrenders

Birthdays
1729 - Catherine II (the Great), Empress of Russia (1762-96)
1810 - Leo XIII, 257th Roman Catholic pope (1878-1903)
1821 - Abram Sanders Piatt, Union Brigadier General
1844 - Elijah McCoy, Black inventor, held over 50 patents including a lubricator for steam engines ("the Real McCoy")
1849 - Fürst Bernhard HM von Bülow, German chancellor/Prussian PM (1900-09)
1918 - Frederick Archibauld Warner, diplomat
1930 - Morris Courtright, manned spaceflight pioneer and Arizona State legislator
1935 - Faisal II, King of Iraq (1939-58)/son of Ghasi I; Hussain ibn Talal, King of Jordan (1952-99)
1938 - Constantine Bereng Seeiso, King Moshushoe II of Lesotho
1940 - Sari van Heemskerck Pillis-Duvekot, Dutch MP (VVD)
1941 - Jules Wijdenbosch, premier of Suriname
1947 - Bill Lowery (Representative-CA); Jo Ann Pflug Atlanta GA, actress (MASH, Candid Camera, Rituals)
1954 - Bulelani T Ngcuka South African attorney/leader (UDF)

Passings
1250 - Toeransa, sultan of Egypt, murdered
1459 - Pierozzi Antoninus, Italian archbishop of Florence/saint, dies
1488 - Jacob van Horne, Burgundy statesman
1818 - Herman W. Daendels, Governor-General of Guinea (1815-18), dies at 55
1849 - David H. Chassé, Baron/General (fought Napoleon at Waterloo), dies at 84
1945 - Martin Bormann, propoganda minister for Hitler
1957 - Joseph McCarthy Communist-hunting senator (WI), dies at 47
1968 - Donald L. Hall, airplane designer (Spirit of St Louis), dies at 69
1969 - Franz von Papen, German chancellor (1932), dies at 89
1972 - J. Edgar Hoover, head of FBI (1924-72)/cross dresser, dies at 77
1985 - Milton S. Eisenhower, US diplomat, dies at 85
1990 - Oleg Anatolyevich Yakovlev, Russian cosmonaut, dies at 49
1992 - Wilbur Mills (Representative-AR)/involved with Fanne Foxe, dies at 82

Reported Missing in Action
1966
Wood, Walter S., USN (NC); A4E shot down, KIA/BNR

1968
Englander, Lawrence J., US Army SF (CA)

1969
Mascari, Phillip L., USAF (NJ); O2A disappeared on mission

1970
The following US Army personnel reported MIA when their UH1H was shot down (one passenger made it back to US lines):
Crowson, Frederick H. (FL); crew, released by PRG February, 1973 (injured) - retired as a CSM - alive as of 1998

Griffin, Rodney L. (MO); passenger

Maslowski, Daniel L. (IL); crew, released by PRG February, 1973 - retired as a Lt. Colonel - alive as of 1998

Price, Bunyan D., Jr. (NC); passenger

Richardson, Dale W. (WI); passenger, died in Cambodia September, 1970 - remains returned July, 1989

Varnado, Michael B. (LA); passenger, died in Cambodia September, 1970 - remaisn returned July, 1989

Young, Robert M. (PA); passenger, reportedly DIC due to lack of medical care September, 1972

1972
The following US Army personnel reported MIA when their UH1H was shot down:
Berkson, Joseph Mike (IL); remains recovered July, 1972

Jesse, William Clifton (OK); remains recovered July, 1972

Morgan, Charles Vernon (KY); remains recovered July, 1972

Petrilla, John Joseph, Jr. (PA); remains recovered July, 1972

Porterfield, Dale Kyette (CA) remains recovered July, 1972