An Iraqi family visits with U.S. Marines assigned to 3rd Civil Affairs Group, attached to 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, during a civil affairs assessment mission in the city of Ar Rutbah, Al Anbar Province, Iraq, June 14, 2006. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Justin L. Schaeffer

U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. John Fugit, assigned to Apache Company, 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, provides security as other members of his platoon disembark their light armored vehicles to conduct a civil affairs assessment mission in the city of Ar Rutbah, Al Anbar Province, Iraq, June 14, 2006. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Justin L. Schaeffer

U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Elbert Kennon, assigned to Apache Company, 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, provides security during a civil affairs assessment mission in the city of Ar Rutbah, Al Anbar Province, Iraq, June 14, 2006. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Justin L. Schaeffer

U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Elbert Kennon, assigned to Apache Company, 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, provides security during a civil affairs assessment mission in the city of Ar Rutbah, Al Anbar Province, Iraq, June 14, 2006. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Justin L. Schaeffer

WAY UP HIGH — A sailor assigned to the “Screwtops” of Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 123 cleans the wings of an E-2C Hawkeye on the flight deck aboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, June 29, 2006. The Enterprise is currently deployed to the Persian Gulf in support of the global war on terrorism. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Milosz Reterski

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
66 Dead in Iraq
Car explodes in Baghdad slum
Female Sunni Politician Kidnapped
Ambassador: Iraq Detainees Releases Complete
Slovakia May Pull its Troops
U.S. probes possible 'friendly fire' death

Homeland Security / War on Terror
Bin Laden Sends Message to Militants in Iraq, Somalia
Israel rejects militant demands
Palestinian Official: Abducted Israeli Soldier Is Alive
Freeing Israeli troop key to ending crisis: Bush

Troops on Trial
GIs May Have Planned Iraq Rape
Soldier Admits Role in Attack

Other Military News
Bush address pays tribute to armed forces

Homegrown Moonbats
Video: Sen. Kerry on Iraq

Politics / Government
Webb: GOP Can't Fix Iraq
Corzine Shuts Down N.J. Gov't
Docs: Dick Cheney's Pacemaker Working Properly
Ark. governor seeks gay foster parent ban

In the Courts
US top court term: two new members, major rulings

Oddities
Weighted toys may help kids get fit during playtime
Jamaica decides not to give out condoms in prisons
Autopsy: Boy at Disney had heart defect

Other News of Note
Ready to Launch?
Red Cross laptop with donor data stolen (WHAT is going on with these laptops?!?)

Fox News
40M to Travel July 4 Weekend
Vatican to Canonize 4 in Oct.
Winkler: I Shot Him After Fight
Portugal Sends England Packing With Shootout Win
Agassi Loses to Nadal
FULL TENNIS COVERAGE
Tour de France Begins After Doping Scandal's Jolt
MORE TOUR COVERAGE

Reuters: Top News
Mexican conservative could buck trend - Video
"El Norte" tallies few votes in Mexico election
Revolt under way within Episcopal church
Nokia's Ollila sees scope for growth in mobile mkt
Beautiful game fails to win over Americans
Mexico election buzz reaches remote Huichol Indians
Pomegranate juice may be cancer weapon
US to subsidize state purchases of Tamiflu
Jennifer Lopez thwarts tell-all book, for now
Star Jones Reynolds sorry for wedding spectacle

AP World News
Jessica Simpson, Lachey divorce final
WTO talks fail to lower trade barriers
Portugal defeats England 3-1 in shootout
Agassi loses in farewell to Wimbledon
China opens world's highest railway
Christian movie's rating worries lawmakers
Top of AL Central continues to cruise
Marlins end Red Sox winning streak at 12
Utah police officer cited for DUI resigns
Mixed picture emerges of global gay rights

Military.com
Two U.S. Navy Ships Dock in Vietnam
NASA to Launch Space Shuttle
States Pledge More National Guard Troops
VA Can Publicize Credit Monitoring Offer
Air Force Budget Picture Looks Bleak

CENTCOM: News Releases
AFGHAN, COALITION FORCES CONDUCT RAID, DETAIN EIGHT EXTREMISTS

OPERATIONS IN BOTH EASTERN, SOUTHERN AFGHANISTAN CONTINUE

URUZGAN GOVERNOR CONDUCTS A SHURA WITH CHORA DISTRICT RESIDENTS

5th IRAQI ARMY DIVISION ASSUMES AUTHORITY

MND-B TO LAUNCH INVESTIGATION

Department of Defense
ON THE GROUND
Soldiers Help Save Life of Wounded Student - Story
Husseiniya Firefighters Move into New Facility - Story
Iraqi Security ‘Roars’ in the Desert - Story
Engineers Move Mountains to Improve Roads - Story

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

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

CASUALTIES
Officials Identify Army Casualty - 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
1535 - Sir Thomas More goes on trial for treason in England.
1690 - England's Protestant King William III defeats Roman Catholic King James II in the Battle of the Boyne in Ireland (Now celebrated as "The Battle of the Orange").
1776 - The first vote on the Declaration of Independence.
1795 - John Rutledge (member of Continental Congress, Declaration of Independence signer, assisted with drafting the Constitution) becomes the second Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
1847 - The first U.S. postage stamps go on sale, (5¢ Franklin, 10¢ Washington).
1861 - In San Francisco, the first public schoolhouse opens.
1862 - Congress outlaws polygamy; Day 7 of the 7 Days-Battle of Malvern Hill.
1863 - The Battle of Gettysburg begins
1869 - The U.S. mint at Carson City, NV, opens.
1870 - James W. Smith of SC is the first African-American to enter West Point; the second, Henry Flipper, enters West Point this day in 1873.
1874 - Four-year-old Charles Ross is held for $20,000; the first U.S. kidnapping for ransom.
1881 - The first international telephone conversation takes place ( Maine to Canada).
1889 - Frederick Douglass is named Minister to Haiti.
1898 - Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders charge up San Juan Hill.
1919 - The First Class postage rate drops from 3¢ to 2¢.
1943 - Taxes are first withheld from paychecks.
1963 - The USPS institutes the zip code (Zone Improvement Plan).
1968 - The U.S., U.S.S.R., Britain, and 58 other nations sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation treaty.
1982 - The Kosmos 1383, first search and rescue satellite, is launched.
1997 - China regains sovereignty of Hong Kong.

Birthdays
1810 - Walter White, NAACP secretary
1861 - Samuel D. Riddle, racehorse owner (Man 'o War)
1872 - Louis Bleriot, first man to fly an airplane across English Channel
1879 - Léon Jouhaux, French socialist, co-founder of the UN International Labor Organization, Nobel Prize winner
1930 - Imelda Marcos former First Lady of the Philipines / shoe collector
1934 - Jamie Farr, actor (Klinger-M*A*S*H, AfterMASH)
1961 - Lady Diane Spencer (Princess Di), Princess of Wales

Passings
1958 - Dr. Harry Nicholls Holmes, crystallized Vitamin A
1983 - R. Buckminster Fuller, inventor/philosopher

Reported Missing in Action
1966
Campbell, Burton W., USAF (OH); F105 shot down, released by DRV February, 1973 - retired as a Lt. Colonel in 1996, alive and well as of 1998

Peters, Charles Henry, USN (NE); A4E shot down, remains returned October, 1988

Williams, Robert C., USAF (IL); A1E shot down, remains returned October, 1998

1972
Cheney, Kevin J., USAF (FL); F4E shot down, released by DRV March, 1973 - retired as a Lt. Colonel as of 1996 - alive as of 1998

Robinson, Paul K. USAF (OH); F4E shot down, released by DRV March, 1973 - retired as a Colonel in 1988 - alive and well as of 1998