News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
U.S., Iraqi Forces Raid Hospital in Search of Insurgents
Troops celebrate low-key 4th in Iraq
Bush says enemies are vulnerable
Former regime said at core of insurgency

Operation Enduring Freedom
Three Explosions Kill 1, Injure 47 in Afghanistan

Homeland Security / War on Terror
Israeli aircraft attack Interior Ministry in Gaza
Palestinians Hit Israeli City
Video: Gaza Standoff

Troops on Trial
General Vows Investigation Of Iraq Murder, Rape Case
Iraq Rape-Slay Reaction
Iraqis blast U.S. over rape-slaying case
In Texas town, few knew ex-soldier charged
Inquiry Focuses on Supervision of Soldiers

Other Military News
Navy to use passive sonar in exercise
Clerical Error Sends Man to Iraq
Homelessness a Threat for Vets

Immigration / Border Control
Bush Signaling Shift in Stance on Immigration

NSA / CIA
Report: CIA Closes Unit Leading Hunt for bin Laden

Worldwide Wackos
North Korea Launchs 7th Missile
North Korea Test Fires Another Missile
Asian Nations Condemn Launches
White House: Firings a 'Provocation'
Japan to Introduce U.N. Resolution
South Korea: Return to Nuke Talks
Video: North Korean Missile Launch Fails
NORAD Monitored Launch of Missiles
Iran says EU nuclear talks postponed

Politics / Government
Bush Praises Troops- Video: Bush at Fort Bragg
Bush vows to stay course in Iraq

Oddities
AIDS Speaker Faked Illness?
Japanese man eats record 53 3/4 hotdogs
Scorpions, worms and ants on the menu at NY club
Pranksters play hard ball with soccer fans
Man prefers jail to being at home with grandpa

Fox News
Space Shuttle Discovery Launches on Fourth of July
Sudan Seeks Foreign Help After Raid by Darfur Rebels
Stocks to Watch: GM
Italy Advances to Finals
FULL WORLD CUP COVERAGE
Sharapova Heads to Semis
FULL WIMBLEDON COVERAGE

Reuters: Top News
Mexican leftist threatens street protests over vote - Video
Cheaper US housing overshadows world economy: Soros
Astronauts to inspect shuttle Discovery for damage
Foam still vexes NASA after fixes to shuttle
Music industry prepares lawsuit against Yahoo China
Paris wants wireless Internet access across city
Study finds breast feeding wards off bed-wetting
Canada confirms mad cow disease in Manitoba cow
Final two "Sopranos" end pay rift
Keira Knightley plays down anorexia rumors
BAE Systems says plans to conduct Airbus audit
Renault CEO set to meet GM head in July: report
Bertelsmann mulls sale of part of Sony BMG: source
Starbucks Japan to open at least 100 stores a year
Pfizer eyes Y48 bln peak yr sales from Japan Zoloft
UBM buys Commonwealth Business Media for $152 mln
Stocks set to ease, weighed by N. Korea fears - Video
Asian markets fall after N.Korea missiles
European stocks track Asia down after N.Korea test
Nikkei ends down after N.Korea tests missiles
TomTom shares rise on takeover talk, firm denies
Dollar woes seen continuing despite Fed

AP World News
N.J. casinos slated to close Wednesday
Parades, fireworks mark July 4 festivities
Tahoe bear swills booze with pizza snack
High Tylenol doses linked to liver woes
Royals stop Twins 11-game winning streak
Tribe fireworks barrage blasts Yanks 19-1
Keith Richards to be in 'Pirates' movie
Italy boots Germany 2-0 to reach final
Sharapova streaks into Wimbledon semis
Obituaries in the news
State news of national interest

Military.com
In Ramadi, Fetid Quarters and Unrelenting Battles
Bush Denounces Early Pullout in Iraq
Troops Swap Aggression for Courtesy
Veterans March on Frostburg

CENTCOM: News Releases
IRAQI ARMY, MND-B SOLDIERS SUBDUE TERRORIST ATTACK

COALITION PATROL REPELS ATTACK; TWENTY EXTREMISTS KILLED

27 SOLDIERS TO TAKE NATURALIZATION OATH ON INDEPENDENCE DAY

COALITION FORCES KILL ONE SUSPECTED TERRORIST, DETAIN SEVEN OTHERS

5TH IRAQI ARMY DIVISION ASSUMES SECURITY LEAD IN DIYALA

Department of Defense
ON THE GROUND
Servicemembers Gain U.S. Citizenship in Iraq - Story
Forward Operating Base Repeats History - Story
Reporter Spends 101 Days with 101st Airborne - Story
Store's Grand Opening Boosts Troop Morale - Story
Aviation Provides Troops Safer Transportation - Story

IN IRAQ
Soldiers Help Save Life of Wounded Student
Husseiniya Firefighters Move into New Facility

IN AFGHANISTAN
Engineers Move Mountains to Improve Roads
KC-135 Aircrew Vital Part of Mission Success

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
1643 - Essex County, Massachusetts, sees the first recorded tornado in the U.S.
1687 - Isaac Newton's PRINCIPIA is published in England.
1808 - Battle of Buenos Aires.
1811 - Venezuela becomes the first South American country to gain independence from Spain.
1814 - American forces defeat the British and Canadians at Chippewa, Ontario.
1830 - France invades Algeria, beginning a forty-year conquest.
1859 - Captain N.C. Brooks discovers the Midway Islands.
1861 - Fighting at Carthage, Missouri.
1865 - William Booth founds the Salvation Army.
1935 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the National Labor Relations Act.
1940 - The British break off diplomatic relations with the Vichy government in France.
1944 - Harry Crosby takes the first rocket airplane, the MX-324, for its maiden flight.
1950 - The Law of Return is passed, guaranteeing all Jews the right to live in Israel.
1962 - Algeria gains its independence after 132 years of French rule.
1966 - The National Guard mobilizes in Omaha after a third night of riots; the Saturn I rocket launches at Cape Kennedy.
1970 - An Air Canada DC-8 crashes only seven miles from Toronto's airport, killing 109.
1978 - The Soyuz 30 spacecraft touches down in Soviet Kazakhstan.
1984 - The Supreme Court rules that evidence seized with defective warrants can now be used in criminal trials, weakening the 70-year-old "exclusionary rule

Birthdays
1794 - Sylvester Graham (inventor of the Graham Cracker)
1801 - David G. Farragut, naval hero
1810 - Phineas Taylor ("P.T.") Barnum, circus promoter (Barnum & Bailey)
1891 - John Northrop, American biochemist (crystallized enzymes), Nobel Prize winner
1902 - Henry Cabot Lodge, politician/ambassador/VP candidate
1904 - Don Goddard, news ancher (ABC Evening News)
1909 - Andrei Gromyko, Soviet President
1952 - Terence T. "Tom" Henricks, Lt. Colonel, USAF/astronaut (STS 44)

Passings
1950 - U.S. Army Pvt. Kenneth Shadrick of WV, the first American KIA in the Korean War.

Reported Missing in Action - July 4th
1967
Craig, Phillip C., USN (NY); A4C shot down, remains returned November, 1986

1969
Fallon, Patrick M., USAF (PA); A1H shot down over Laos

1970
Bookout, Charles F., US Army SF (OK); KIA during ambush

Reported Missing in Action - July 5th
1965
Eisenbraun, William F., US Army SF (CA); fourth tour of duty (1 Korea, 3 Vietnam) - DIC August, 1965

1966
Jackson, James E., Jr., US Army SF (NY); captured during an ambush, released in Cambodia November, 1967

1967
Dodge, Ward Kent, USAF (KS); F105G shot down, remains returned March, 1974

Frederick, William V., USAF (OH); F105D shot down, remains returned January, 1990

Waddell, Dewey W., USAF (GA); F105D shot down, released by DRV March, 1973 - retired as a Colonel in 1987 - alive and well as of 1998

1968
Burns, Michael T., USAF (IN); F4D shot down, released by DRV in March, 1973 - alive as of 1998

Crumpler, Carl B., USAF (FL); F4D shot down, released by DRV March, 1973 - retired as a Colonel as of 1996 - alive and well as of 1998

Dewberry, Jerry D., USMC (OK); KIA while on patrol, body not recovered

Lawrence, Bruce E., USAF (NJ); F4C shot down, believed KIA, body not recovered (see Silver, Edward D.)

Silver, Edward D., USAF (OR); F4C shot down, POW reported seeing VC propaganda film showing body in flight suit with name of "Silver," believed KIA, body not recovered

1972
Elander, William J., Jr., USAF (NC); F4E shot down, released by DRV March, 1973 - retired as Lt. Colonel as of 1996 - alive as of 1998

Logan, Donald K., USAF (CA); F4E shot down, released by DRV March, 1973 - alive as of 1998

Spencer, William A., USAF (TX); F4E shot down, released by DRV March, 1973 - retired as a Lt. Colonel as of 1996 - alive and well as of 1998

Seek, Brian J., USAF (CA); F4E shot down, released by DRV March, 1973 - retired as a Colonel as in 1995 - alive and well as of 1998