The Iraqi Army commander of Alpha Company, 4th Battalion, 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division adjusts the collar of his guide-on bearer prior to the pass and review portion of a turn over of authority ceremony at Forward Operating Base O'Ryan, Iraq, July 13, 2006. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Jeremy L. Wood

Iraqi Army soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division begin the pass and review portion of a turn over of authority ceremony at Forward Operating Base O'Ryan, Iraq, July 13, 2006. Authority of Forwarding Operating Base O'Ryan and the surrounding area south of Balad, Iraq, is being passed from the U.S. Army's 4th Infantry Division to the Iraqi Army. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Jeremy L. Wood

Iraqi Army Gen. Abdul Jabar Salah Rabah, commander of 4th Infantry Division, salutes his soldiers as they march by during the pass and review portion of a turn over of authority ceremony at Forward Operating Base O'Ryan, Iraq, July 13, 2006. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Jeremy L. Wood

Iraqi Army soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division form up for the pass and review portion of a turn over of authority ceremony at Forward Operating Base O'Ryan, Iraq, July 13, 2006. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Jeremy L. Wood

Local sheiks and businessmen attend a turn over of authority ceremony at Forward Operating Base O'Ryan, Iraq, July 13, 2006. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Jeremy L. Wood

Iraqi Army leadership from the 4th Infantry Division hold their guide-on during a turn over of authority ceremony at Forward Operating Base O'Ryan, Iraq, July 13, 2006. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Jeremy L. Wood

An Iraq Army soldier from the 4th Infantry Division salutes his commanding officer during the pass and review portion of a turn over of authority ceremony at Forward Operating Base O'Ryan, Iraq, July 13, 2006. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Jeremy L. Wood

Iraqi Army soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division pose for a group photo after the pass and review portion of a turn over of authority ceremony at Forward Operating Base O'Ryan, Iraq, July 13, 2006. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Jeremy L. Wood

MARKETPLACE — U.S. Army Sgt. Christina Watkins, 402nd Civil Affairs Detachment, provides security for fellow Soldiers during a climate assessment of a marketplace in Tikrit, Iraq, July 5, 2006. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika

News of Note
Israel at War
Moving Forward
Israelis seize border village
Humanitarian Aid Arrives in Lebanon
Marines Help Americans Evacuate
Pope Prays for Mideast Peace
Video: Rice Heads to Mideast
Video: What's in Hezbollah's Arsenal?
Mass Grave in Lebanon
Photo Essay: Mideast Crisis Explodes
Rice, UN to consider peacekeepers at Rome meeting: official
Democrats call for Bush to send Mideast envoy
Rice to go to Mideast but shuns ceasefire calls
Israeli troops raid Lebanese village
Rice seeks long-term peace on Mideast trip
U.S. evacuation from Lebanon nears end

Operation Iraqi Freedom
Iraq holds reconciliation talks amid skepticism
Explosions, shootings shatter calm in Iraq

Operation Enduring Freedom
NATO Plans to Expand Afghanistan Presence

Homeland Security / War on Terror
FBI Frees Final Detainee From Sept. 11 Terror Sweep
Wis. Lawmakers Want Prof. Fired for Sept. 11 Comments
Somali Islamists break off talks with government
Indian police make first arrests in Mumbai blasts

Other Military News
Pentagon okays $276 mln Saudi military deal

Worldwide Wackos
China reluctant to hold five-party nuclear talks: media

Politics
Quayle Leaves Mellencamp Concert After Bush Comment
Schwarzenegger's star falls with Hispanics

U.N. News
White House moves to confirm Bolton to UN post

Hurricane Season / Wild Weather / Mother Nature
Heat Wave Kills 28 Nationwide
Firefighters Set Backfire to Contain Calif. Forest Blaze
Fears of disease rise in tsunami-hit Indonesia
Death toll from Indonesia tsunami hits 659
New storm socks Ameren St. Louis customers
Cooler weather brings relief to St. Louis
Researchers link wildfires, climate change
Moderate quake in southwest China kills 18: report

Oddities
Cops: Sex Predator Used Vampire Site to Lure Girls
A Penny Earned ... $660Gs
They're felons, and they've got your number...
For the richest guy in Margaritaville...
Man in chicken suit cries foul over abuse
Zippo fanatics gather in small Pa. town

Other News of Note
Tears and prayers for the Khmer Rouge "Butcher"

Fox News
Judge Rules in Jordan's Favor in Battle With Ex-Lover
Microsoft to Take On iPod
8 Stabbed at Grocery Store, Employee Arrested
Venezuela Formally Joins Mercosur Trade Bloc
Tiger Takes Lead at Brit Open- British Open Leaderboard
Landis in Third at Tour

Reuters: Top News
California to lend stem-cell center up to $150 mln
Microsoft ready to do the robot
Gadget gear is buzzing; but who's buying?
"Jungle justice" on the rise in Cameroon
Living with dirty air may boost heart attack risk
Creaking health systems hampering AIDS battle: WHO
Colin Farrell confronted by woman on TV show
"Heaven Can Wait" star Jack Warden dies at 85
Earnings and Mideast to keep stocks on edge
Wireless, Web seen driving AT&T, Verizon earnings
Google stock treads water despite standout results
Amylin shares fall on Lehman downgrade
Stocks drop as Dell weighs on tech shares
On the Radar: LatAm ADRs
The Reuters Select wrap-up
Teck Cominco extends Inco bid deadline
Bernanke's fluid inflation tone bemuses Wall St.
Dell shares tumble on outlook
Morgan Stanley says SEC seeks Mack testimony
The divorcing woman's dilemma
Microsoft music player to take on Apple's iPod

AP World News
Jury convicts Ind. man of killing family
Sorkin quickly rues 'crack' TV metaphor
Young comes back from DL with 2 hits
Virginia firm offers spacewalks for $35M
Nissan pulls hot car ad with Kim Cattrall
Feds, local police team up on D.C. crime
A-Rod youngest player to reach 450 HRs
FBI drug sting nets 3 Boston policemen
Bear killed after biting Boy Scout
Another amazing shot for Tiger at a major
36 pit bulls euthanized in Denver
Obituaries in the news
2 arrested for parking attendant's death

Military.com
Video: Hostile Demise (Insurgents, meet the Apache)
Army Aviation Modernizes
Israel Massing Troops on Lebanese Border
Ex-Pentagon Officials Accused of Fraud
Showdown Brewing over F-22 Sales
Two Israeli Helicopters Collide

CENTCOM: News Releases
MND-B SOLDIERS CAPTURE WANTED TERRORIST

IARQI, MND-B SOLDIERS SCOUT OUT EXPLOSIVE DEVICES, RENDER THEM HARMLESS

COALITION TURNS OVER AMIR GUL TO AFGHAN GOVERNMENT

TWO IRAQI FORCE RAIDS IN BAGHDAD NET FOUR INSURGENTS

URUZGAN GOVERNOR RETURNS TO CHENAR TU

COALITION SOLDIER KILLED FROM ROCKET ATTACK IN SHARANA

COALITION FORCES CONDUCT RAID NORTHWEST OF BAQUBAH

IWO JIMA ESG ARRIVES TO ASSIST WITH DEPARTURE OF AMERICAN CITIZENS FROM LEBANON

IRAQI ARMY SOLDIERS KILL 5 TERRORISTS, WOUND 13, DETAIN 47 DURING FIREFIGHT

Department of Defense
NEWS UPDATES
Iraqis Net Insurgents, Weapons - Story
Forces Kill, Detain Terrorists
For Top News Visit DefenseLink

ON THE GROUND
Chinooks Save Lives by Transporting Troops - Story
Iraqi Government Assumes Control in Mosul - Story
Iraqi Security Forces Accept Control of Bases - Story
Elite Marine Unit's Training Sharpens Skills - Story

IN IRAQ
Denver Broncos Cheerleaders Rally Troops
Airborne Soldiers Add Armor to Humvees
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
Marine Killed; Casualties Identified - 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
1298 - The English defeat the Scots at the Battle of Falkirk.
1775 - George Washington takes command of American troops.
1796 - Cleveland, OH, is founded by General Moses Cleaveland.
1812 - In Spain, the Duke of Wellington defeats the French at the Battle of Salamanca.
1864 - Confederate General John Bell Hood attacks William Sherman's Union forces at the Battle of Atlanta; the Confederates suffer terrible losses.
1916 - During the San Francisco Preparedness Parade, anti-militarist terrorists detonate a bomb, killing 10.
1917 - Alexander Kerensky becomes PM in Russia.
1937 - The U.S. Senate rejects FDR's proposal to enlarge the Supreme Court.
1942 - Gasoline rationing begins in the U.S.; the Nazis begin deportations from Warsaw to Treblinka.
1943 - Allied forces captured Palermo, Sicily.
1944 - Soviets set up the Polish Committee of National Liberation.
1950 - After six years in exile, King Leopold returns to Belgium
1952 - The Polish constitution is adopted (National Day)
1955 - Richard Nixon becomes the first U.S. Vice President to preside over a Cabinet meeting.
1962 - Mariner 1, the first American Venus probe, fails at lift-off.
1969 - The U.S.S.R. launches Sputnik 50 and the Molniya 1-12 communications satellite.
1972 - Venera 8 makes a soft landing on Venus
1975 - The House of Representatives votes to posthumously restore citizenship to General Robert E. Lee.
1981 - In Rome, Turkish terrorist Mehmet Ali Agca is sentenced to life.
1983 - Polish PM Januzelski lifts martial law.
1986 - The U.S. House of Representatives impeaches Judge Harry E. Claiborne on tax evasion
1987 - The Soyuz TM-3 Is launched with three cosmonauts (1 Syrian); the U.S. begins escorting Kuwaiti tankers in the Persian Gulf.
1991 - Jeffrey Dahmer confesses to killing 17 young men in 1978.

Birthdays
1478 - Philip I (the Handsome), first Habsburg king of Spain (1506)
1822 - Gregor Mendel, monk/geneticist; discovered the laws of heredity
1849 - Emma Lazarus, poet ("The New Colossus," at the base of the Statue of Liberty)
1887 - Gustav Hertz, quantum physicist, Nobel Prize Winner
1890 - Rose Kennedy, mother of JFK, RFK, Ted
1921 - William Roth (Sen-DE)
1923 - Robert Dole (Sen-KS)
1930 - Yuri P. Artyukhin, cosmonaut (Soyuz 14)
1955 - Willem Dafoe, actor (Platoon, Roadhouse 66, Mississippi Burning)

Passings
1461 - Charles VII king of France (1422-61), dies at 58
1802 - Marie-François-Xavier Bichat, one of the founders of histology (microscopic study of tissue)
1826 - Giuseppe Piazzi discoverer of 1st asteroid, dies
1934 - John Dillinger shot dead at Biograph Theater in Chicago
1967 - Carl Sandburg, poet (Abraham Lincoln: The Prarie Years)

Reported Missing in Action
1966
Wells, Robert J., US Army (PA); drowned when his safety line broke as he was crossing a river, Killed, body not recovered

1972
Paige, Gordon C., USN (CA); RF8G shot down, released by DRV March, 1973 - alive as of 1998