Beirut, Lebanon (July 19, 2006) - U.S. Marines assigned to the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit prepare U.S. citizens to be loaded onto a Marine Corps CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter heading to Cyprus following their departure from Beirut, Lebanon. At the request of the U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon and at the direction of the Secretary of Defense, the United States Central Command and the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (24 MEU) are assisting with the departure of U.S. citizens from Lebanon. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Gunnery Sgt. James H. Frank

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The AP has this update to a story I posted yesterday:

SEATTLE (AP) -- A neighbor arrested in the slayings of an Iraq soldier's family told police he woke up in the victims' home after an alcoholic blackout, covered in blood, according to court records.

While prosecutors said they expect to file murder charges against the neighbor, National Guard Sgt. Leonid Milkin returned to his burned-out home Thursday, still wearing his fatigues. He glanced briefly at a memorial before entering the home with investigators, but spent most of the day with family...

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by Gary L. Kieffer

July 20, 2006

A Soldier from the 1st Armored Division engages the “enemy” during Exercise Immediate Response, near Novo Selo, Bulgaria. Romanian and Bulgarian troops also are participating.

Keith, one of the Heroes I'm working with as part of Soldiers' Angels Operation Outreach Team, sends this poem he wrote, dedicated to military wives (especially his).

News of Note
Israel at War
U.N. Post Hit in Lebanon
Israeli jets pound bridges and highways in southern Lebanon
An American in Beirut: As War Approaches
Israel Urge Lebanese to Leave Ahead of Ground Assualt
Americans Line up in Beirut for Evacuation
Israel kills 4 in Gaza - Video
Israel warns residents to leave south Lebanon - Video
Thousands of Lebanon evacuees flood into Cyprus
2nd plane with U.S. evacuees lands in Md.
USS NASHVILLE, MARINES AND SAILORS ASSIST AMERICANS CITIZENS DEPARTING FROM LEBANON
American Evacuees Bring Back Horror Tales
U.N. Outlines Proposal to Resolve Lebanon Crisis
Hezbollah Trained for 6 Years
Israel Steps Up Attacks

Operation Iraqi Freedom
Curfew extended as Baghdad violence mounts - Video
Iraq Militants Planning 'All-Out Assault'

Operation Enduring Freedom
OPERATION MOUNTAIN LAMB BEGINS

Homeland Security / War on Terror
Indian Police Arrest 3 for Mumbai Train Bombings
White House talking on Guantanamo trials
Pakistani given 30 years in New York al Qaeda case
Islamists rally as Ethiopians said advancing - Video
Charges dismissed against Saudi national

Troops on Trial
Former Navy Football Star Acquitted of Rape Charges
Navy Will Seek Death for Sailor

Other Military News
U.S. sets military drills on tense Korean peninsula

Worldwide Wackos
Germany rejects parts of Ahmadinejad letter

Politics / Government
Bush laments poor Republican relations with Blacks
Senate approves child abuse, predator bill
'None of the Above' term sought on ballot
Voting Rights Act headed to Bush's desk
AP: Democrats plan $30 million ad buy
Democrats set to shake up primary calendar

Hurricane Season / Wild Weather / Mother Nature
Tropical storm Beryl heads for Cape Cod
Death Toll From Indonesian Tsunami Hits 547
Guard to Evacuate St. Louis After Heat Wave, Blackouts
Indonesia president to visit tsunami-stricken town - Video

News from My Neck of the Woods
Governor closes part of Big Dig tunnel

Oddities
Las Vegas Makes it Illegal to Feed Homeless in Parks
Cop censured for under the covers work
Does this sound familiar, or what?

Other News of Note
Khmer Rouge "Butcher" Ta Mok dies - Video

Fox News
Russia Launches Military Satellite Into Orbit
Bonds Indictment Postponed
Stocks to Watch: Microsoft
Landis Pulls Off Surprising Tour de France Comeback
Fugitive Child-Rape Suspect Found Working at Carnival

Reuters: Top News
Virginia brings back electric chair for execution
It's not what you said ..
California to lend stem-cell center up to $150 mln
Toshiba to mass-produce microSD memory cards: paper
"Law & Order" video game targets wider audience
Even in war, life must go on, say Beirut night owls
Kenya sinks deeper in corruption
Antibiotics not advised for treating runny nose
Kids need more exercise to cut heart risk: study
Colin Farrell confronted by woman on TV show
James Bond shoots for 22nd movie in 2008
Amgen shares rise on Inet
US stocks drop on Intel and data, Microsoft up late - Video
Google slips in after hours trade
Microsoft rises 6 pct
Travelzoo profit up, but revenue misses forecast
Packaged retail plays
A bigger bite of Apple
Xstrata keeps Teck's bid for Inco alive
Vivendi bid near $2 bln for BMG: paper
Adelphia creditors' talks make progress: paper
Nissan-Renault CEO: GM capital tie not precondition
Schlumberger second-quarter earnings climb
Ericsson Q2 stung by further losses at Marconi

AP World News
Remini held Suri Cruise during L.A. visit
DiMarco surges into lead at British Open
Neanderthal genome project launches
Report: Drug errors injure more than 1.5M
Google winning the search engine wars
Woodpecker halts Ark. irrigation project
Timberlake says he still roots for Spears
Obituaries in the news
Teachers get conflict-resolution training
Law pushing foster adoptions successful

Military.com
Strapped for Money, Army Extends Cutbacks
Fighting Drug Rebates
Lawmaker Calls for Study on Small Carriers
US, Japan to Start Deploying Missile Interceptors
Top-Secret World Loses Blogger

CENTCOM: News Releases
EXTREMISTS ATTEMPT TO DELAY AFGHAN ROAD PROGRESS

IRAQI ARMY, MND-N SOLDIER LAUNCH OPERATION GAUGAMELA

IRAQI ARMY, MND-B SOLDIERS THWART IED EMPLACEMENT, CAPTURE 12 TERRORISTS

MND-B SOLDIERS PREVENT TERRORIST ATTACH, DETAIN TERRORIST

'TOGETHER FORWARD' IRAQI SECURITY AND COALITION FORCES CAPTURE TERRORIST

IRAQI ARMY SOLDIERS DETAIN 6 TERRORISTS, CAPTURE MULTIPLE WEAPON CACHES

IA, MND-B SOLDIERSKILL 1 TERRORIST, DETAIN 10 DURING FIREFIGHT

9th IA THWARTS ROADSIDE BOMB ATTACK. 6th IA SEIZES WEAPONS CACHE

1/9 IA CONDUCTS LARGE OPERATION

Department of Defense
Iraqi, Coalition Troops Launch Operation - Story
For More Top News Visit DefenseLink

ON THE GROUND
Iraqi Security Forces Accept Control of Bases - Story
Airborne Soldiers Add Armor to Humvees - Story
Denver Broncos Cheerleaders Rally Troops - Story

IN IRAQ
Airmen Teach Iraqi Volunteers to Battle Blazes
Soldiers Expand Forward Operating Base

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 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

Gitmo

Today in History
1588 - The English fleet defeats the Spanish Armada.
1861 - The CSA is victorious at the first battle of Bull Run (Manassas), the first major battle of the Civil War.
1873 - Jesse James commits his first train robbery.
1898 - Spain cedes Guam to the U.S.
1930 - The U.S. Veterans Administration is established.
1940 - The Soviet Union annexes Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia.
1944 - U.S. forces liberate Guam from the invading Japanese.
1949 - The U.S. Senate ratifies the North Atlantic Treaty.
1954 - In Geneva, France agrees to independence for North and South Vietnam.
1955 - The Seawolf, the first submarine powered by a liquid metal-cooled reactor, is launched
1966 - Gemini X returns to Earth.
1969 - Neil Armstrong steps on the Moon at 2:56:15 AM (GMT)
1969 - Russia's Luna 15 impacts on the moon after 52 lunar orbits.
1973 - The U.S.S.R. launches Mars 4 for a fly-by of that planet.
1976 - 29 are killed in Philadelphia, in the first outbreak of "Legionnaire's Disease."
1978 - The U.S. Postal Service and the unions agree on a contract, averting a mail strike.
1983 - The Polish government ends 19 months of martial law; the U.S. announces that Lebanon has freed American hostage David Dodge
1984 - Harry Allen, a worker at Diecast Corp. in Jackson, MI, has the dubious honor of becoming the first person killed by a robot in the U.S. when he is pinned between the back of the industrial robot and a factory pole.

Holidays
Guam - Liberation Day (1944)

Birthdays
1804 - Victor Schoelcher, French humanitarian, sat on the commission that abolished slavery in France, later elected Senator for life.
1816 - Paul Julius Baron von Reuter, founder of Reuters news service
1856 - Louise Blanchard Bethune, first female American architect
1899 - Ernest Hemmingway, writer, Nobel Prize winner
1924 - Don Knotts, actor (Amdy Griffth Show, Three's Company)
19-- - My Mom - Happy Birthday, Mom!!!!
1947 - Cat Stevens aka Yusuf Islam, rocker ("Peace Train," "Father & Son")
1952 - Robin Williams, comedian

Passings
1796 - Robert Burns Scottish poet
1957 - Bernard Spooner, American inventor of the bulletproof jacket
1972 - Jigme Dori Wangchuck, King of Bhutan
1976 - Christopher Ewart-Biggs, British ambassador to Ireland, assassinated
1982 - Dave Garroway, TV host (Today Show)
1984 - Harry Allen, first human killed by a robot in the U.S.

Reported Missing in Action
1966
Tiffin, Rainford, USAF (CA); F105D shot down

1967
Flora, Carroll E., US Army (MO); CH47 shot down, released by PRG March, 1973 (injured)

1968
Flanagan, Sherman E., Jr., USAF - NG(MD); F100D shot down, believed to be the first Maryland National Guard member KIA, body not recovered

Willing, Edward A., USMC (DE); disappeared while on guard duty, presumed KIA, body not recovered

1970
Schultz, Ronald J., US Army (KS); presumed killed, body not recovered