News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Mass Kidnapping, Killings Plague Iraq - VIDEO
Most hostages in Iraqi mass kidnap said freed - Video
Poll: Most doubt Dems have plan for Iraq

Troops on Trial
Marine pleads not guilty in Iraq grandfather death

Other Military News
U.S. Commander Says Chinese Sub Came Close to American Ships in Pacific
Toys for Tots Rejects Talking Jesus Dolls
Rights groups file war crimes suit against Rumsfeld

Mid-East Ceasefire / Hamas Rising / Israel at War
Lebanon cabinet defies growing Hezbollah challenge
Hamas says new government won't recognize Israel

Worldwide Wackos
Plutonium Traces Found In Iran Waste Facility - VIDEO
Ahmadinejad: Iran Willing to Talk If U.S. 'Corrects Behavior'
U.N. agency: unclear if Iran's nuclear aims peaceful - Video

Politics / Government
Dem Leadership Race Gets Nasty - VIDEO
Dems Choose Harry Reid as Next Senate Majority Leader
Bush Holds Talks With Big 3 U.S. Automakers
Convicted Lobbyist Jack Abramoff Heads to Prison
White House contenders quick to take 2008 plunge
Bush departs for Asia today
Analysis: Humbled Bush faces test abroad

Immigration / Border Control
Dallas Suburb Cracks Down on Illegal Immigrants

U.N. News
GOP Rep. Leach's Name Offered for UN Post
Sudan frowns on joint UN-African command in Darfur

Media in the Media / Bloggers in the News
Near-silent start in U.S. for Al-Jazeera

Science / Nature
Tropical Storm Sergio Forms in Pacific Off Mexico
Huge Snowstorm Blasts Denver Mountain Area
Deep-sea trawling destroying underwater mountains
South Korean scientist pressed on mammoth cloning
Researchers spur growth of adult brain stem cells

Oddities
KFC Unveils New Logo With Giant Image in Nevada Desert
Man Found Guilty of Burning Ex-Girlfriend's Kittens
Calif. Couple Faces Federal Charges for Frisky Flight Behavior
Driver threatens police with snake
Stand-in village for Borat's hometown furious

Other News of Note
Holocaust denier goes on trial in Germany
Protesters storm Wal-Mart in Mexico City

Fox News
Stocks to Watch: Abercrombie & Fitch and CDC
Wal-Mart, Target Kick Off Holiday Price Wars
Red Sox to Pay $51.1 M for Rights to Japanese Star
'Grey's Anatomy' Star Ellen Pompeo Engaged to Record Producer Chris Ivery
Anna Nicole Smith Looking for a New House in the Bahamas

Reuters: Top News
Chad orders gun clampdown, peace force calls mount
Smokers, obese should pay more health insurance: poll
Zune music player's slow first day no surprise
Microsoft warns of 5 "critical" security holes
Pizza Hut now a major business for Yum in China
Ending buses to stymie regrowth of New Orleans
Chocolate addiction leads to sweet discovery
James Bond is back, and he's blond and brutal
After the Bell - Analog Devices shares up 6.6 pct
Dow Jones closes at all-time high - Video
Buffett's Berkshire adds to Lowe's, Nike stakes
Cyberonics shares up 20 pct as Icahn takes stake
Oil extends slide on mild US weather
Airline recalls just in line with attrition
On the radar: CarMax
Buffett's Berkshire adds to Lowe's, Nike stakes
News Corp says advertising in major markets flat
Producer prices, retail sales down
Abercrombie 3rd-qtr net income up, shares fall
Australia's Coles Q1 sales rise 3.2 percent
Ericsson says won't shy from making acquisitions

AP World News
Man pleads guilty in '84 college assault
Bishops adopt gay outreach guidelines
Comair flight attendants approve cuts
Comic Relief to raise money for Katrina
Diamondbacks' Webb wins NL Cy Young
Acta hired to manage Nationals
Stocks surge on Fed officials' comments
South Africa parliament OKs gay marriage
Want to live to a healthy 85? Stay trim
Nationals hire Manny Acta as manager
D'backs' Brandon Webb wins NL Cy Young
Wholesale inflation drops record amount
Federer rallies to beat Roddick in China
China love boat wants rich, good-looking

Military.com
Op-ed: Wars and Elections
Defense Tech: 10-Gram Cameras
Blog: Muslim Women Still Hurting
Henderson's Secret Services
Hide Kids From Recruiters?
World's Largest Vet Job Board
Gear in the News: Ticonderoga Class

CENTCOM: News Releases
AIR STRIKE KILLS 3 TERRORISTS IN YUSIFIYYAH

SERVICEMEMBERS BECOME CITIZENS ON VETERANS DAY

EIGHT TERRORISTS KILLED; 41 DETAINED DURING MULTIPLE RAIDS

IA, MND-B SOLDIERS SEIZE WEAPONS IN APARTMENT COMPLEX

AFGHAN FINANCE MINISTER PRAISES ‘AFGHAN FIRST’ PROGRAM

MND-B SOLDIERS RESPOND TO ROCKET ATTACK, DETAIN THREE SUSPECTED TERRORISTS

TERRORIST CAPTURED BY AFGHAN, COALITION FORCES

IRAQI SPECIAL FORCES CAPTURES LEADERS OF INSURGENT CELL

USJFCOM
USJFCOM prepares 82nd Airborne Division for deployment
Omni Fusion ties Army into UR 2015 - podcast
USJFCOM signs cooperative research and development agreement with Raytheon - podcast

Department of Defense
NEWS UPDATES
Pace: New Leadership Won't Affect His Job, Recommendations - Story
For Top News Visit DefenseLink

ON THE GROUND
Turkey-based Airmen Saving Troops' Lives in Iraq - Story
Iraqi Mayor Writes New Chapter of Success - Story
Operating Base Units Receive Combat Patch - Story
Samarra Leaders Meet to Foster Closer Relations - Story

IN IRAQ
Army Soldiers Become U.S. Citizens at Anaconda
Marines Work to Dissolve Cultural Barriers
Iraqis Interdict Insurgents on The Euphrates River
Medical Personnel Provide Care to Residents
Hawija SWAT Unit Graduates Elite Fighting Force
Iraqi Marines Learn Critical Maritime Security Skills

IN AFGHANISTAN
Afghan Officer Saves Governor, Coalition Soldiers
Coalition Sponsors Chamkani Sports Tournament
Afghan Reconstruction Projects Continue
Turkey to Open Provincial Reconstruction Team

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 Army 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

National Hurricane Center

Today in History
1492 - Christopher Columbus notes the first recorded reference to tobacco; in Spain, 6 Jews and 5 Conversos are accused of using black magic.
1763 - Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon begin surveying the Mason-Dixon Line between Pennsylvania and Maryland.
1777 - The Articles of Confederation are adopted by the Continental Congress.
1806 - Explorer Zebulon Pike sights Pikes Peak.
1864 - Sherman burns Atlanta.
1869 - Free postal delivery is formally inaugurated.
1881 - In Pittsburgh, the American Federation of Labor (AFL) is founded.
1884 - The colonization of Africa is organized at the international conference in Berlin.
1889 - Dom Pedro II, Emperor of Brazil, is deposed; a republic is proclaimed.
1919 - The Senate first invokes the cloture rule (Rule 22) to end a filibuster (Versailles Treaty).
1920 - In Geneva, the League of Nations holds its first meeting; the Free City of Danzig is established under League of Nations protection.
1937 - For the first time, a Congressional session is held in air-conditioned chambers.
1939 - Nazis begin the mass murder of Warsaw Jews; the Social Security Administration approves the first unemployment check.
1940 - The first 75,000 men are called to armed forces duty during peacetime.
1941 - The Cow Palace opens in San Francisco.
1948 - William Lyon Mackenzie King retires as PM of Canada.
1954 - The first regularly scheduled commercial flights over the North Pole begin.
1957 - The U.S. sentences Soviet spy Rudolf Ivanovich Abel to 30 years and $3,000.
1965 - Craig Breedlove sets a land speed record (600.601 mph-966.57 kph).
1966 - Gemini XII returns to Earth.
1967 - Michael Adams reaches 80 km in the X-15.
1969 - In Washington, DC, 250,000 peacefully demonstrate against the Vietnam War; Janis Joplin is accused of vulgar and indecent language in Tampa, FL.
1972 - The Small Astronomy Satellite Explorer 48 is launched to study gamma rays.
1977 - President Jimmy Carter welcomes the Shah of Iran.
1979 - ABC-TV announces it will broadcast nightly specials on the Iran hostage crisis; the British government identifies Sir Anthony Blunt as the fourth man in a Soviet spy ring.
1980 - Pope John Paul II begins a five-day visit to West Germany.
1982 - Funeral services are held in Moscow's Red Square for Leonid I. Brezhnev.
1983 - The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is proclaimed.
1987 - 28 of 82 aboard Continental Airlines DC-9 die in a crash at Denver.
1988 - A 91 m radio telescope dish at Green Bank, WV collapses; the PLO proclaims the State of Palestine, and recognizes Israel; the Soviet space shuttle makes its unmanned maiden flight (2 orbits).
1990 - President Bush signs the Clean Air Act of 1990; the U.S.' 68th manned space mission (STS-38 / Atlantis 7) launches into orbit.

Birthdays
1397 - Nicholas V, pope (1447-55); ended schism, founded the Vatican Library
1708 - William Pitt the Elder (Whig), UK PM (1756-61, 66-68), the `Great Commoner'
1738 - Sir William Herschel, astronomer (discovered Uranus)
1815 - John Banvard, painted the world's largest painting (3 mile canvas)
1882 - Felix Frankfurter, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (1939-62)
1887 - Georgia O'Keeffe, painter (Cow's Skull)
1891 - Erwin Rommel, German field marshall (WW II-African campaign); W. Averell Harriman, (Gov-NY) / ambassador to the U.S.S.R. (1943-46)
1925 - Howard Baker (Sen-TN), presidential chief of staff

Passings
1630 - Johann Kepler, German astronomer
1978 - Margaret Mead, anthropologist
1984 - Baby Fae, who received a baboon's heart, dies at California medical center

Reported Missing in Action
1966
Keiper, John C., USMC (PA); U6A crashed (passenger, w/Ravenna)

Ravenna, Harry M. III, US Army (TX); U6A crashed (pilot, w/Keiper)

Timmons, Bruce Allan, USN (FL); KIA; drowned when craft overturned, body not recovered

1968
Birchim, James D., US Army SF (CA); fell during extraction, Killed, body not recovered

1969
Graf, John G., USN (CA); OV1C shot down (crew, w/White) died escaping February, 1970

Suber, Randolph B., US Army SF (MO); KIA when ambushed during reconnaissance mission, body not recovered

White, Robert T., USN (IL); OV1C shot down (pilot, w/Graf), released by PRG April, 1973 - retired as a Major - alive as of 1998