News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
White House Brushes Off McCain's Iraq War Criticism
2 U.S. Soldiers Killed During Anti-Terror Raid in Iraq

Operation Enduring Freedom
Coalition Refutes Taliban Claims
U.S.-Led Afghan Operation Kills Seven Al Qaeda Agents

Homeland Security / War on Terror
12 Detained After 'Suspicious' Behavior on Flight to India
Prosecutors Take Case of 12 Men Arrested on NWA Flight
Six kidnapped oil workers freed in Nigeria: govt
Custody extended for bomb plot suspects
Second Suspect in Attempted German Train Blasts Nabbed

Other Military News
Female Citadel cadets report assaults

Mideast Ceasefire
New Zealand Won't Negotiate With Journos' Kidnappers
Video: 'Fairly Good Condition'
State Dept. Rejects Demands by Journalists' Kidnappers
Video: 'Fairly Good Condition'
Text: Kidnappers' Statement
Syria Rejects Force on Border
Lebanon Calls on U.S. to Help End Israel's Air, Sea Blockade
Palestinian killed in Israeli army raid in Gaza

Immigration / Border Control
SWAT teams may step up role on U.S.-Mexico border - Video

Worldwide Wackos
Iran's Nuke Response 'Falls Short'
U.N. Security Council sanctions loom - Video
Congress report faults intelligence on Iran
Iran, N.Korea spur PAC-3 missile demand
U.S. warns banks of Iran, N.Korea links
North Korea's Kim may visit China next week: report
Iran urges West to see 'positive' signs

In the Courts
Families, Survivor Sue Sago Mine Operators
Judge orders probe of leak in spy case

U.N. News
Annan plans Mideast trip to Syria and Iran - Video

Mother Nature
Tropical Storm Debby Weakens in Eastern Atlantic
Video: Mountain Lion Wrecks Havoc
Katrina: One Year Later
New Orleans questions
Katrina recovery has "gross inequalities": Oxfam
Nagin urges evacuees to come home
More stories, video from New Orleans...
Bush: Katrina recovery will take time
Rebuilding a Shattered Art Scene

News from My Neck of the Woods
Lieberman's lead on anti-war rival narrows
Lieberman Back on Ballot

Oddities
Police crack down on striptease funerals...
Robber mistakes town hall for a bank
Medicare erroneously pays patients $50M
New restaurant bears Hitler's name

Other News of Note
Karr's 'Fascination' Revealed in 2001
Video: DNA May Not Be Key to Case
Video: Is Karr Planning Insanity Defense?
Comments by JonBenet suspect fuel skepticism - Video
Bodies recovered from Russian plane crash site - Video
Mourning Relatives Visit Site of Russian Jet Crash
New 'Survivor' divides groups by race

Fox News
Astronomers: Pluto's Status as Planet Looks Doomed
Pluto No More? - Astronomers to vote today
Company: Stem Cell Process Doesn't Destroy Embryos
Apple to Pay $100 Million to Settle iPod Patent Lawsuits
Unprovoked Attacks Against Homeless on Rise in U.S.
China Pledges to Use Prosperity to Promote Peace
Stocks to Watch: Apple

Reuters: Top News
Darfur sex attacks rise as security deteriorates
Brazilian policeman convicted over Rio massacre
NASA names new moon spaceships Orion
Apple to pay $100 mln to Creative in settlement
Canon to start making its own photo printers
California middle-class packing up, heading east
Wish you were here? Mediterranean jellyfish pose problem
Sleep apnea in kids linked to brain damage
1 in 10 teenage girls self-harm: study
Criticism of Tom Cruise stirs Hollywood debate
"Trainspotting" author says his wild days are over
Bernanke gets message across
Stocks slide on weak housing data, Iran standoff
Home builder shares fall on existing home data - Video
Chico's falls 16 pct on Inet
Medtronic firms after results in line with views
American Woodmark misses Street view
Long-term care coverage
Value investors eye Getty
Apple to pay $100 mln to Creative in settlement
McDonald's says president and COO Roberts resigns
Condos may become rentals in slow U.S. housing market
Weyerhaeuser to merge copier paper unit with Domtar
Michigan economic gloom tied to autos: economist

AP World News
McPhee not counting calories on tour
White Sox finally win, but lose Thome
Riley seeks 'two-peat' with Miami Heat
Huff keys wacky rally as Astros win 7-3
Tom Cruise's star likely to shine on
Dow ends down 42, Nasdaq closes down 15
Anthony's 35 helps U.S. improve to 4-0
IBM to acquire Internet Security Systems
Pastor accused of molesting girls
Vegas closing 24-hour marriage office
Woman admits stealing to play lottery

Military.com
Navy's New Tack on Mine Warfare
Vets Await Ruling on Benefits Enhancements
Commanders Want THAAD Fielded Early

CENTCOM: News Releases
TRIPARTITE COMMISSION MEETS FOR 18TH TIME

UNNAMED TALIBAN SPOKESPERSON MAKES FALSE CLAIMS TO MEDIA

TALIBAN MAKE ADDITIONAL FALSE CLAIMS

EXTREMIST'S ROCKETS INJURE NOMADS

SUSPECTED TERRORISTS CAPTURED NEAR PARU KHYL VILLAGE

IA, MND-B SOLDIERS SEIZE WEAPONS, MUNITIONS, DETAIN 5 SUSPECTED TERRORISTS

USJFCOM
Speech-to-speech translation capability makes its way to Iraq breaking down language barriers - podcast

Department of Defense
NEWS UPDATES
For Top News Visit DefenseLink

ON THE GROUND
Air Force ‘Legal Eagles’ Meet Afghan Lawyers - Story
Civil Affairs Soldiers Monitor Progress - Story
Seahawk 2006 Hones Anti-Terrorism Skills - Story
Purple Heart Recipient Praises Training - Story

IN IRAQ
Iraq's Army Striding Towards Independence
Baghdad Shows Progress, Battle Not Over
Soldiers Help Citizens of Southwest Baghdad
Local Leaders Discuss Progress, Stability
Chief of Staff Visits Soldiers at Speicher
Iraqi Police Receive Protective Vests

IN AFGHANISTAN
A-10 Thunderbolts Surge for Afghan Offensive
Chief Master Sgt. Praises Afghan Progress
Security Forces ‘Fly Away’ to Support Mission

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
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

CASUALTIES
Officials Identify Casualties - 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
79 - Mt. Vesuvius erupts, burying Pompeii and Herculaneum.
410 - Rome is overrun by the Visigoths, symbolizing the fall of the Western Roman Empire.
1572 - King Charles IX orders the massacre of thousands of French Protestants.
1662 - The Act of Uniformity requires all English to accept the book of Common Prayer.
1682 - Delaware is awarded to William Penn.
1751 - In England, Thomas Colley is executed for drowning a supposed witch.
1814 - The British sack Washington, D.C., burning the White House.
1853 - In Saratoga Springs, NY, Chef George Crum prepares the first potato chips.
1869 - The waffle iron is invented.
1891 - Thomas Edison patents the motion picture camera.
1909 - Workers start pouring concrete for the Panama Canal.
1912 - The Territory of Alaska is organized.
1912 - The U.S. passes the Anti-gag law, giving Federal employees the right to petition the government.
1932 - Amelia Earhart completes the first non-stop transcontinental flight by a woman.
1949 - The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is established.
1950 - E.S. Sampson becomes the first U.S. Negro delegate to the U.N.; Operation Magic Carpet transports 45,000 Yemenite Jews to Israel.
1954 - At the height of McCarthyism, the Communist Control Act is passed.
1956 - The first non-stop transcontinental helicopter flight arrives in Washington, D.C.
1959 - Hiram L. Fong is sworn in as the first Chinese-American Senator, while Daniel K. Inouye becomes the first Japanese-American Representative; both are from Hawaii.
1961 - Former Nazi leader Johannes Vorster becomes South Africa's Minister of Justice.
1966 - The U.S.S.R. launches Luna-11 for a lunar orbit.
1968 - France becomes the world's 5th thermonuclear power.
1970 - A bomb kills one person at the University of Wisconsin's Army Math Research Center.
1976 - Soyuz-21 returns to Earth.
1979 - The U.N.'s Vienna office begins issuing postage stamps.
1981 - Mark David Chapman is sentenced to 20-years-to-life for the murder of Beatle John Lennon.
1987 - It is announced that Mars may experience tornadoes.
1989 - Pete Rose is suspended from baseball for life for gambling.
1989 - Voyager-2 flies past Neptune.
1990 - Iraqi troops surround embassies in Kuwait City (including the U.S. embassy).
1991 - Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as head of the U.S.S.R's Communist Party; the Ukraine declares its independence from the U.S.S.R.

Birthdays
1113 - Geoffrey Plantagenet, conquerer of Normandy
1787 - James Weddell, Antarctic explorer (Weddell Sea)
1898 - Albert Claude, physician, Nobel Prize winner (1974)
1922 - Rene Levesque, Quebec premier (1976-85)
1927 - William V. Shannon, journalist / ambassador to Ireland (1977-81)
1944 - Gregory B. Jarvis, astronaut (STS 25)
1946 - Richard "Dick" N. Richards, USN / astronaut (STS-28, 41, sk:50)
1949 - Anna L. Fisher, M.D. / astronaut (STS 51-A)
1962 - Mary E Weber, Ph.D. / astronaut

Passings
1991 - Bernard Castro, patented the convertible couch

Reported Missing in Action
1965
Brunhaver, Richard M., USNR (WA); A4C shot down (pilot), released by DRV February, 1973 - alive as of 1998

Doremus, Robert H., USN (NJ); F4B shot down (NFO, w/Franke), released by DRV February, 1973 - retired as a Captain - alive as of 1998

Franke, Fred A., USN (NY); F4B shot down (pilot, w/Doremus), released by DRV February, 1973 - retired as a Captain - alive and well as of 1998

1967
Allard, Richard M., US Army (MI); UH1H crashed after being caught in a downdraft (crewchief)
Goff, Kenneth B., Jr., US Army (RI); UH1H crasehd after being caught in a downdraft (passenger)

Hess, Jay C., USAF (UT); F105 shot down, released by DRV March, 1973 - retired as a Lt. Colonel - alive and well as of 1998

Holtzman, Ronald L., US Army (VA); UH1H crashed after being caught in a downdraft (gunner)

Schell, Richard J., US Army (MN); UH1H crashed after being caught in a downdraft (passenger)
1968
Heep, William Arthur, USN (CA); F4B shot down (pilot), KIA, body not recovered

Ladewig, Melvin E., USAF (CO); F4D shot down (WSO, w/Read)

Read, Charles H., Jr., USAF (FL); F4D shot down (pilot, w/Ladewig)

1969
Hatch, Paul G., US Army; escaped August, 1969