News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Iraqi Troops Seize Mosque Bomber(includes video)

Operation Enduring Freedom
Soldiers Take Actions to Suppress Taliban (includes video)

Homeland Security / War on Terror
New Bin Laden Tape - Video
White House says bin Laden offers only war
Bin Laden endorses al-Zarqawi's successor
Israeli Planes Hit Palestinian Prime Minister's Gaza Office
Israeli strike on Gaza power plant will cost US
Official: Abducted Soldier Alive
Video: Israel Rejects Demands
Editors Defend Reporting on Gov't Tracking Terror Funds
Calif. anti-terror agency denies tracking

Worldwide Wackos
N.Korea says to bolster deterrent against US
Bolivia's Morales pushes radical overhaul

Homegrown Moonbats
Hippie group founder urges suit vs. feds

Politics / Government
Security in Iraq, Afghanistan Worsening, Lawmakers Say
Cheney Moves From Behind Scenes to Front Row
Cheney hopes to fire up "NASCAR dads" at race
Koizumi all shook up
New Jersey partly closes, casinos might be next
Kerry faces hard road in presidential bid
Bush faces 60th birthday with wisecracks

Hurricane Season / Wild Weather
Wildfires Rage in Arizona

Oddities
'Green' burials growing in popularity

Other News of Note
Launch Scrubbed

Fox News
Mexico Presidential Election Expected to Be Close Race
Agassi, Venus Williams Bow Out of Wimbledon
FULL TENNIS COVERAGE
France Upsets Brazil - Shocking exit for tournament favorite

Reuters: Top News
Canada, US finalize softwood lumber deal
Gorilla dies during heart surgery at Washington zoo
Nokia's Ollila sees scope for growth in mobile mkt
Mexico election buzz reaches remote Huichol Indians
Soul2Soul with country music's reigning couple
Kuwaiti Election
Death Anniversary Of A Rabbi
Huangmei Opera Performance
New Beatles' production in Las Vegas
Pam names and shames fur lovers
Chrysler to produce Dodge Challenger muscle car
Corporate crackdown hits legal roadblocks
Knowing when to take a tax hit
US approves Genentech eye drug
Verizon sues Maryland county
Shaw hikes forecast as profit jumps
Stocks give investors a wild 2nd-qtr ride - Video
Stocks eye inflation and jobs in July 4th week
EMC shares fall on RSA acquisition price
Deluxe sinks 18 percent on lower EPS view
Stocks fall on qtr's last day as PMI disappoints - Video
Dollar woes seen continuing despite Fed
On the Radar: Chile ADRs

AP World News
Bikers defy officials, rally in Calif.
Camera seized in Pitt-Jolie photo probe
Cubs fans pelt field after Pierzynski HR
Piracy hurting China's own industries
Defiant Blair hits back at his critics
Russia pirate industry is booming
Genealogists discover royal roots for all
WTO negotiators fail to agree on barriers
Portugal defeats England 3-1 in shootout

Department of Defense
IN IRAQ
Construction Plan Focuses on Water, Roads
Tanks Support 'Darkhorse' Grunts in Habbaniyah
Marines’ Goal: Gain Trust, Improve Community

IN AFGHANISTAN
KC-135 Aircrew Vital Part of Mission Success
Air Force Turns to Old Standby for Army Re-supply
Medical Assistance Team Visits Afghan Villages

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

BACKGROUND
IRAQ
Renewal In Iraq
Iraq: Security, Stability
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
Weekly Reconstruction Report (PDF)
Iraq Reconstruction
Maps

AFGHANISTAN
Afghanistan Update
Maps

WAR ON TERRORISM
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

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
1776 - The Continental Congress resolves "these United Colonies are and of right ought to be Free & Independent States," as the British army and navy arrive in New York.
1777 - Vermont becomes the first American colony to abolish slavery.
1843 - An alligator falls from the sky during a thunderstorm in Charleston, SC.
1863 - The Battle of Gettysburg enters its second day, with the Union holding the high ground.
1864 - Confederat General Jubal Early's forces reach Winchester; The U.S. Capitol's Statuary Hall is established.
1881 - In a Washington railway station, Charles J. Guiteau, a disappointed office-seeker, shoots President James A. Garfield, mortally wounding him. The President several weeks later, on September 19th.
1926 - The U.S. Army Air Corps is created; The Distinguish Flying Cross is authorized.
1937 - Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan disappear over the Pacific Ocean.
1943 - Lt. Charles Hall becomes the first African-American pilot to shoot down a Nazi plane.
1964 - President Lyndon Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act.
1976 - North and South Vietnam are formally reunified.
1976 - The Supreme Court rules that the death penalty is not inherently cruel or unusual.
1982 - Soyuz T-6 returns to Earth.
1990 - Imelda Marcos and Adnan Khashoggi are acquitted of racketeering.

Birthdays
419 - Valentinian III, Roman emperor
1903 - Lord Alex Douglas-Home, British PM; King Olav V of Norway
1908 - Thurgood Marshall, first African-American Supreme Court Justice
1939 - John Sununu, U.S. Secretary of State
1952 - Linda M. Godwin, PhD/astronaut

Passings
1566 - Nostradamus, astrologer/physician/prophet
1644 - William Gascoigne, introduced telescopic sights
1822 - Denmark Vesey and 5 aides, hanged at Blake's Landing, Charleston, SC.
1882 - James Garfield, assassinated by "job-seeker."
1961 - Ernest Hemingway, suicide
1987 - Karl Linnas, accused Nazi

Reported Missing in Action
1967
Kasch, Frederick M., USNR (CA); Killed when his A4B experienced engine failure and crashed remains returned February, 1989

Rayford, King D., Jr., US Army (MI); released by PRG March, 1973; one of several mentioned in a 1972 Viet Cong "Liberation Radio" broadcast; later accused of collaboration

Wilson, Wayne Vaster, USMC (NC)

1968
Tipping, Henry Albert, US Air Force (PA); A1H shot down

1969
Fransen, Albert M., USN (NV); KIA when his swift boat (PCF-87) was hit by mortar fire, body not recovered

1970
Harber, Stephen J., US Army (MN); unaccounted for after his position was hit by enemy fire