News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
U.S., British Forces Search For Abducted Contractors
4 Americans, Austrian still in captivity in Iraq
Four Americans Kidnapped in Ambush Near Nasiriyah
2 gunmen killed in Iraq after hijacking
Few Military Options in Iraq

Operation Enduring Freedom
Deadly floods hit Afghanistan

Troops on Trial
U.S. soldier in Iraq gang rape gets 90 year sentence

Other Military News
Defense Sec'y. Nominee to Meet Senate Leaders
Pentagon Changes Listing of Homosexuality as Mental Illness
Defense pick Gates remembered as elegant, arrogant
U.S. vets make Vietnam-Iraq generational transition

Mid-East Ceasefire / Hamas Rising / Israel at War
Israel developing anti-militant "bionic hornet"

Worldwide Wackos
North Korea calls on U.S. to move in nuclear standoff

Politics / Government
Florida Officials Open Criminal Probe of Mark Foley
Hoyer Wins Majority Leader Race Despite Pelosi
McCain Files 2008 Presidential Bid Paperwork
In Vietnam for APEC, Bush talks on Iraq
Bush says Vietnam visit proof of reconciliation
GOP set to elevate leadership team
McCain calls for common sense in GOP

In the Courts
Man sues cardinals in L.A., Mexico

U.N. News
Leaders OK African Union and U.N. Troops for Darfur
Sudan still disagrees on detail of Darfur force
U.N. climate talks struggle to agree tiny steps
Ban Ki-moon begins U.N. takeover talks

Science / Nature
Deadly Storms Move North
Japanese technology enables instant tsunami alerts
Robot, heal thyself -- welcome to the future
Signs of warming continue in the Arctic
Small earthquake hits Salt Lake Valley

Oddities
Fuhrman: O.J. 'Is Out of His Mind'
Publisher: I Wanted O.J.'s Confession, but I Didn't Pay Him
Careful Where You Choose to Consummate Your Love
Gay penguin book shakes up Ill. school
Woman in `Borat' seeks investigation
Italian mayor chats up TomKat wedding
Worker, boss dead in murder-suicide

Fox News
Gaming Fanatics Get Hands on PlayStation 3
Coach Graham Pleads Not Guilty in Doping Probe
Stocks to Watch: Starbucks and Hewlett Packard
Nobel-Winning Economist Milton Friedman Dies
The Wii: One Small Step for Nintendo, One Giant Leap for Gaming
James Bond 2006: Awesome

Reuters: Top News
France's Socialists back Royal for president
British man freed after 18 years in Pakistan jail
Popular painkiller may pose heart danger: study
FDA OKs Genentech drug for early breast cancer
Publicists warn Cruise, stars on news blackouts
Bono, Pearl Jam kick-start G20 protests
Oil slips under $56 to 12-month low
Stock futures dip; housing starts ahead - Video
Dollar rises to one-week highs on rate outlook
Nikkei slips as lower oil price hits energy stocks - Video
Gold jittery as dollar firms
Equities bull rampages -- everywhere
Limits pushed in hot debt markets
Delta seeks creditor help to fend off US Air bid: report
Qualcomm investors back legal fight: CEO
Ford expects to keep doubling China sales
Lone Star says Kookmin talks on hold
CA sues ex-CEO for repayment of $14.9 million: WSJ

AP World News
McGrady, Rockets hold off Bulls 101-100
Bob Geren promoted to manager of A's
Brazil model who battled anorexia dies
Brazil says plane warning systems failed
HP shares slip despite surging 4Q profit
Bonds' trainer ordered jailed again
Fishermen race to harvest Dungeness crab
SF Chinatown still home to young and old
Audio 'Bible Experience' a big hit
Man arrested after 5 shot in Detroit
1 dead, 11 hurt in Fla. bus crash

Military.com
Op-ed: "Phased Redeployment"?
Blog: NASCAR Freebie for Troops
Sgt. Shaft: Research Your Coverage

CENTCOM: News Releases
ONE TERRORIST KILLED, FOUR CAPTURED BY AFGHAN, COALITION FORCES

IRAQI BRIGADE CONDUCTING OPERATION NEAR KIRKUK

NINE TERRORISTS KILLED, NINE DETAINED SOUTH OF YUSUFIYAH

USJFCOM
Milestone reached in development of Cross Domain Collaborative Information Environment - podcast
Liveblogging: Unified Endeavor 07-1
Omni Fusion ties Army into UR 2015 - podcast

Department of Defense
NEWS UPDATES
NATO Defense Leaders Focus on Progress, Challenges in Afghanistan - Story
For Top News Visit DefenseLink

ON THE GROUND
International Zone Soldiers Run Marathon for Vets - Story
Iraqi Soldiers Begin Sweep in Northern Iraq - Story
1st Cavalry Division Takes Reins in Baghdad - Story
Maintenance Marines Provide Needed Protection - Story

IN IRAQ
Turkey-based Airmen Saving Troops' Lives in Iraq
Iraqi Mayor Writes New Chapter of Success
Operating Base Units Receive Combat Patch
Samarra Leaders Meet to Foster Closer Relations
Army Soldiers Become U.S. Citizens at Anaconda
Marines Work to Dissolve Cultural Barriers
Iraqis Interdict Insurgents on The Euphrates River

IN AFGHANISTAN
Engineers Dodge Explosives to Provide Services
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 Marine 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
1278 - 680 Jews are arrested (293 are hanged) in England for counterfeiting coins.
1558 - Elizabeth I ascends the English throne upon the death of Queen Mary.
1800 - Congress holds its first session in Washington, DC.
1853 - Street signs are authorized at San Francisco intersections.
1862 - Confederate Secretary of War George B. Randolph resigns.
1869 - In Egypt, the Suez Canal opens.
1913 - The Panama Canal opens.
1927 - A tornado hits Washington, DC.
1937 - In the beginning of appeasement, Britain's Lord Halifax visits Germany.
1938 - Italy passes their own version of the anti-Jewish Nuremberg laws.
1945 - H.J. Wilson of the RAF sets a world air speed record 606 mph (975 kph).
1948 - Britain's House of Commons votes to nationalize the steel industry.
1959 - The De Beers firm of South Africa announces the production of a synthetic diamond.
1962 - President Kennedy dedicates the Dulles International Airport outside Washington, DC.
1966 - The Leonids meteor shower peaks (150,000+ per hour).
1967 - Surveyor-6 becomes the first man-made object to lift off the Moon.
1970 - Russia lands the Lunokhod-1 unmanned remote-controlled vehicle on the Moon.
1973 - President Nixon tells the AP "...people have got to know whether or not their President is a crook. Well, I'm not a crook."
1977 - Egyptian President Sadat formally accepts an invitation to visit Israel.
1988 - Benzir Bhutto wins the election in Pakistan.
1993 - The U.S. Congress votes for NAFTA.

Birthdays
1755 - Louis XVIII, first post-revolutionary King of France (1814-24)
1887 - Bernard L. Montgomery, British general (WW II-African campaign)

Passings
1962 - Arthur Vining Davis, CEO (Alcoa-1910-57)

Reported Missing in Action
1965
Bowling, Roy H., USN (CA); A4E shot down (w/Taylor)

1965
Hiemer, Jerry A., US Army (TN); reported KIA in firefight, body not recovered

Taylor, Jesse, Jr., USN (CA); A4E shot down (w/Bowling), remains returned December, 1975

1967
Cappelli, Charles R., USAF (RI); F105D shot down, remains returned April, 1989

Emrich, Roger Gene, USN (FL); F4B shot down (w/McGrath), remains returned, ID'd February, 1997

Key, Wilson D., USN (NC); A4C shot down, released by DRV March, 1973 - retired as a Captain - alive and well as of 1998

McGrath, William Darrell, USN (CA); F4B shot down (w/Emrich), remains recovered December, 1985

1968
Derby, Paul D., USMC (WI); F4B shot down, KIA, body not recovered