U.S. Army soldiers, Iraqi Army soldiers, and city councilmen walk through a hallway of Al Thabat Primary School in Kunan, Iraq, during a mission to distribute school supplies to the students, Nov. 8, 2006. The U.S. Army soldiers are from E Company, 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Elisha Dawkins


A teacher at the Al Thabat Primary School in Kunan, Iraq, speaks to U.S. Army soldiers, Iraqi Army soldiers, and city councilmen about the need for school supplies, Nov. 8, 2006. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Elisha Dawkins

Students at Al Thabat Primary School in Kunan, Iraq, listen to a teacher's greeting, during a mission by U.S. Army soldiers, Iraqi Army soldiers, and city councilmen to distribute school supplies to the students, Nov. 8, 2006. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Elisha Dawkins

U.S. Army soldiers, Iraqi Army soldiers, and city councilmen distribute school supplies to students at Al Thabat Primary School in Kunan, Iraq, Nov. 8, 2006. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Elisha Dawkins

Members of the city council in Kunan, Iraq, and an Iraqi army soldier deliver school supplies to the students at Al Thabat Primary School, Nov. 8, 2006. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Elisha Dawkins

U.S. Army Capt. Travis Tilman, company commander of E Company, 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, shakes hands with students at Al Thabat Primary School in Kunan, Iraq, Nov. 8, 2006, during a mission to deliver school supplies. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Elisha Dawkins

U.S. Army 1st Sgt. Dain Harrison interacts with a student from the Al Thabat Primary during a mission to distribute school supplies to the students, Nov. 8, 2006, in Kunan, Iraq. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Elisha Dawkins

Iraqi children run toward U.S. Army soldiers during a mission to distribute school supplies to the students at Al Thabat Primary School in Kunan, Iraq, Nov. 7, 2006. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Elisha Dawkins

SCANNING THE DISTANCE — U.S. Army Spc. Bruce Blachly uses the scope on his M4 rifle to scan the distance during a joint U.S. and Iraqi cordon and search operation conducted near Kirkuk, Iraq, Nov. 15, 2006. Blachly is assigned to the 25th Infantry Division's Company D, 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Michael Guillory

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Cheney Seeks Sunni Support in Saudi Arabia
Cheney returning to U.S. after talks with Saudis - Video
U.N. urges Iraq to halt slide to civil war
Rumsfeld okayed abuses says former U.S. general
Iraq insurgency now financially self-sustaining: NYT
Hoyer: U.S. commitment to Iraq is finite
Iraq PM struggling ahead of Bush talks
Coalition Destroys Bomb Making Factory
More Troops Dying in Anbar Province

Operation Enduring Freedom
U.S. Units Steadily Secure, Rebuild Afghanistan
Military Missions Change as Afghan Army Evolves
U.S. Soldiers Work to Fortify Afghan Army

Homeland Security / War on Terror
Extremist Charged in N. Ireland Bomb Plot

Mid-East Ceasefire / Hamas Rising / Israel at War
Israel, Palestinian Militants Strike Gaza Cease-Fire Deal
Move ends five months of back-and-forth fighting
Lebanese government approves Hariri tribunal

Worldwide Wackos
Thousands rally for Chavez opponent

Politics / Government
Democrats promise "new direction" in Iraq
Waxman has Bush administration in sights

NSA / CIA
CIA applicants can take personality quiz

Oddities
Web catalog offers prison-made products

Other News of Note
DA Grills Cops Who Shot at Bachelor Party, Killing Groom, Wounding 2
Eatery Linked to Spy to Be Cleansed
UK moves to allay fears after spy radiation death - Video
Rwanda President says France implicated in genocide

Fox News
20-Year-Old College Student Missing in Chicago
FBI Expands Search for 2 Missing Minnesota Boys
Wisc. Parents Try to Toss Angelou Bio From Class
Husband of Slain Prositute Found Near Atlantic City Mourns Her Death
Reporter: John Mark Karr Still a Suspect in JonBenet Ramsey's Death
Holiday Shooting Claims 3 in African Immigrant Family in California

Reuters: Top News
Mexican police clash with protesters in Oaxaca
China coal mine gas explosions kill dozens
Correa ahead in poll on eve of Ecuador election
Boat capsizes in Philippines, at least 14 dead
Nissan plans to sell electric cars in 3 yrs: Nikkei
Tosoh develops substitute for LCD-use indium: paper
Web sales down on Black Friday
Nissan plans to sell electric cars in 3 yrs: Nikkei
Sri Lanka confirms Chikungunya viral fever epidemic
China police ban hemophilia forum: source
Invoking Lennon, Ono asks suffering souls to forgive
Stones roll by U2 for top-grossing tour ever
Stocks may stumble on dollar and data
Oil rallies towards $60 on Nigeria, dollar
Isilon to sell 8.35 million shares at $8.50-$9.50 in IPO
Bond buyers and the dollar
Bears maul the dollar
Wal-Mart sees weak sales as holiday season starts
Beware: Heavy store traffic doesn't mean huge sales
Do the housing loan shuffle
Tosoh develops substitute for LCD-use indium: paper

AP World News
Black Friday sales up 6 percent from '05
Richards, Jackson to discuss racist rant
10 is the new 15 as kids grow up faster
AP analysis: Firms crimping oil supplies
No. 12 Boise State wraps up trip to BCS
West Va. stunned by South Florida 24-19
Staph infections rise among athletes
Domingo lends voice to hearing impaired
No. 4 Gators beat rival Seminoles 21-14
Rodriguez has 2 movies opening soon
Wildlife under pressure find 2nd chance
European minorities torn between worlds
One woman's return to ravaged Congo
Tenn. jail Web cam jeopardizes security
Texas mall lures rich Mexican shoppers
Florida's Harvin injured against FSU
GOLDBERG: Mediocrity reigns atop NFL

Military.com
AWOL Soldier Says Army Ignoring Him
Tell Us What Gear Worked at Kit Up!
Def Tech: Another Bad Atomic Idea

CENTCOM: News Releases
FOUR TERRORISTS KILLED, SIX SUSPECTS DETAINED

USJFCOM
Exercise preps 82nd Airborne Division staff for Afghanistan deployment
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
Bush Expresses Thanksgiving Appreciation to Servicemembers - Story
For Top News Visit DefenseLink

ON THE GROUND
Soldiers in Baghdad Partake in Holiday Feast - Story
U.S. Troops Share Thanksgiving With Iraqis - Story

IN IRAQ
Preparation Provides Key to Turkey Day in Iraq
Army’s BOLT Helps Secure Iraqis Future
New Iraq-Zakros Primary School to Open in Kirkuk

IN AFGHANISTAN
Gainey Visits Deployed Troops for Thanksgiving
Top Afghan Enlisted Soldier Helps NCO Corps
Training Center Prepares Future Afghan Soldiers

DefendAmerica Week in Review
Sunday - Monday - Tuesday - Wednesday - Thursday - Friday - Saturday

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
1703 - Bristol, England is damaged by a hurricane; the Royal Navy loses 15 warships.
1716 - Boston is the site of the first American exhibition of a lion.
1778 - Captain Cook discovers Maui (Sandwich Islands).
1789 - First national thanksgiving.
1832 - In NYC, the first streetcar railway in America starts operating.
1885 - 1st meteor photograph
1924 - Mongolian People's Republic proclaimed
1940 - Nazis force 500,000 Warsaw Jews to live in a walled ghetto.
1941 - Lebanon gains independence from France.
1949 - India adopts a constitution as a British Commonwealth Republic.
1950 - China enters the Korean conflict, sending troops across the Yalu River.
1965 - France launches its first satellite, the 92 lb (42 kg) A1-capsule (Asterix).
1973 - Nixon's personal secretary, Rose Mary Woods, tells a federal court she accidentally caused part of an 18-minute gap in a key Watergate tape.
1974 - Approximately 140 die when a suspension bridge collapses in Nepal.
1975 - A Federal jury finds Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme guilty of attempted assassination.
1982 - Yasuhiro Nakasone is elected PM of Japan, succeeding Zenko Suzuki.
1983 - Heathrow Airport is robbed of 6,800 gold bars, worth $38.7 million.
1985 - The 23rd Space Shuttle Mission (61-B, Atlantis 2) is launched.
1988 - Alexander Volkov, Sergei Krikalev and Jean-Loup Chretien launch; Pioneer-6 makes its closest approach to Earth since its 1965 launch (1.87 M km).
1990 - Mikhail Gorbachev tells Iraq to get out of Kuwait.
1991 - Condoms are handed out to thousands of NY High School students.

Birthdays
1607 - John Harvard England, clergyman/scholar, major benefactor & namesake to Harvard University
1792 - Sarah Moore Grimk‚ American antislavery / women's rights advocate
1832 - Mary Edwards Walker, doctor / women's rights leader
1876 - Willis Haviland Carrier, developer of air-conditioning equipment
1894 - Norbert Wiener, mathematician / discoverer of cybernetics
1912 - Eric Sevareid, newscaster (CBS Weekend News)
1922 - Charles M. Schulz, cartoonist (Peanuts)
1937 - Boris Yegorov, cosmonaut (Voskhod 1)
1938 - Tina Turner (Anna Mae Bullock), singer (Proud Mary)
19?? - My sister! Happy Birthday, Melissa!
1981 - Jamie Fiske, liver transplant recipient

Passings
1883 - Sojourner Truth, abolitionist, women's rights advocate
1939 - James Naismith, Basketball inventor
1970 - B.O. Davis, Sr., first Black general

Reported Missing in Action
1967
Brennan, Herbert O., USAF (NE); F4C shot down (bombardier / navigator, w/Condit)

Condit, Douglas C., USAF (OR); F4C shot down (pilot, w/Brennan), remains ID'd January, 1993

1968
Hartness, Gregg, USAF (TX); O2A shot down (pilot)

1971
Beutel, Robert D., USAF (IL); F4D shot down (backseater to Steadman)

Steadman, James E., USAF (CO); F4D shot down (pilot, w/Beutel)