News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Bush to Reveal Iraq Strategy Next Week
Bush's Iraq fresh start to include new advisers - Video
Iraq threatens arrest of police officer
Iraqi PM accuses Sunni clerics of fuelling tension
Marines in Iraq Surpass Reenlistment Goal

Homeland Security / War on Terror / Hamas-Hezbollah Happenings
New Al Qaeda Rallying Cry
Zawahiri urges Muslims to join fight in Somalia
Hamas Gunmen Kill Palestinian Security Chief
Abbas and Haniyeh agree to defuse tensions in Gaza
9/11 hijacker friend seeks halt to sentence hearing
Pakistan court remands London plot suspect in custody
Gunmen kidnap five Chinese workers in Nigeria

Other Military News
Bush to Name New Military Leadership
Army Eyes Advanced Hypersonic Weapon

Religion of Peace??
Somali Islamists weakened, not defeated
Somali, Ethiopian troops prepare assault

Worldwide Wackos
China urges Iran to respond to U.N. resolution
Activity spotted at North Korea nuclear test site

Politics / Government
Historic Firsts for New House
Nancy Pelosi Elected First Female House Speaker
First Muslim Congressman Uses Koran in Photo-Op
Ethics Package Leads Way in New Congress
REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK: Lofty Language, Unpredictable Kids
VIDEO: House Confirms First Female Speaker
Lofty Language, Unpredictable Children Mark Pelosi Vote
George H.W. Bush Has Hip Replacement
White House Counsel Harriet Miers Resigns
Nuke Weapons Head Ousted After Lax Security
"No back rubs," Bush tells Germany's Merkel
2008 buzz fills the halls of Congress
Statement may allow gov't to open mail
Lawmakers to debate 'pay as you go' rule

In the Courts / Crime and Punishment
'He Has Motive and Opportunity'
VIDEO: Prof Carries Drink in One Hand, Wife's Coffin in Other
Washington Teen Refuses to Tell Cops Why He Shot and Killed Fellow Student
Former Duke Student Sues University, Says Professor Gave Him Bad Grade for Being on Lacrosse Team
Duke Rape Accuser Gives Birth to Baby Girl
12-Year-Old Special Education Student Charged With Disorderly Conduct for Wetting Pants
Cops Find SUV Possibly Tied to Bronco Slay
U.S. death sentences drop to 30-year low

U.N. News
Source: Iraq Envoy to Be U.N. Ambassador
U.N. Can't Punish Bad Peacekeepers

Media in the Media / Bloggers in the News / Watching the Web
YouTube ordered to block video in Brazil

Science / Nature
Parents Under Fire for Making Daughter Stay Child Forever
Surgery on girl raises ethical questions
Robot mother helps South Koreans prepare for birth
NASA veteran takes reins at Kennedy Space Center
Russian rocket rains space junk on western U.S
Orphaned bear cub not hibernating

News from My Neck of the Woods
Estate of Missing Connecticut Man to Receive Over $1 Million From Cruise Line
Connecticut DMV Instructor Accused of Giving Passing Grade in Exchange for Striptease

Oddities
Saddam Hanging Blamed in Houston Boy's Accidental Death (Give me a flippin' break)
Bank issues credit card to cat
A guide to understanding rude Parisians

Other News of Note
American Sailor Adrift off Chile's Coast Rescued
Feds Indict Man in Grenade Attack Plot
More coup rumors rattle Bangkok

Fox News
Gates-Backed Company Offers Microjets
Playboy Wants Miss USA Tara Conner on Cover; Trump Reportedly Mulling Offer
Hybrid Discs, Machines May Soon End DVD Format War
GRRR! Britney Spears' 'Collapse'
Spokane Diocese to Pay $48M for Sex Abuse

Reuters: Top News
Indonesia says no timeline for plane search - Video
Fiji coup leader sworn in as premier - Video
Boosting intelligence among poor is child's play
Price battle hits soaring Christmas handset market
Italy gives Litvinenko contact withering welcome
Slovak PM riding high on popular measures
Boosting intelligence among poor is child's play
Soap and water as good as sanitizers to clean hands
Judge freezes O.J. Simpson's "If I Did It" money
Liz Hurley to wear pink sari for wedding: report
Motorola shares drop on outlook
Futures point down; eyes on Motorola, jobs
Oil below $56 after plunge on mild weather
Nokia shares fall as Motorola warns on Q4
BOJ hike talk boost yen; dollar awaits payrolls
Refining, not running
Big Oil braces for battle
Best Buy December same-store sales up 7 percent
GM CEO sees more job cuts in 2007
Price battle hits soaring Christmas handset market
Motorola cuts view on cell phone results
QBE to buy Winterthur for $1.2 bln
Amaranth founder may start new business: report

AP World News
No survivors found at plane S.C. crash
Stock futures fall ahead of payroll data
J.Lo honored by People en Espanol
Bill Cowher expected to resign Friday
Teen pleads not guilty in school slaying
GM vows to defend title against Toyota
Woman sues Oprah studio over show injury
Taylor takes AP Defensive Player honors
Art Shell steps down as Raiders coach
Gap woes deepen in bleak holiday season
For extreme tree hunters, redwoods rule
Bush to name retired admiral as top spy
Yanks, D-Backs agree on Big Unit trade
FTC fines weight loss pill firms $25M
Lohan to have surgery to remove appendix

Military.com
2007 COLA Rate Calculator
Op-ed: What's Hillary's Problem?
The Best of the Milblogosphere
DT: Contractor Abuse at Gitmo?
Somebody Else's Turn to Fight?
Podcast: Saddam's Death and the Surge
COLA Rates Updated

CENTCOM: News Releases
COMBINED TASK FORCE 150 MAINTAINS PRESENCE OFF EAST COAST OF AFRICA

TRIGGERMEN, BOMB MAKER DETAINED IN JOINT OPERATION

TROOPS SEIZE ANTI-AIRCRAFT WEAPONS, FIND IED

U.S. AND IRAQI TROOPS DETAIN TWO, FIND CACHE

IRAQI ARMY, COALITION TROOPS FIND THREE WEAPONS CACHES NEAR TAJI

USJFCOM
U.S. Joint Forces Command bringing together military, interagency for Multinational Experiment 5 - podcast
2006 -- The Year in Review
USJFCOM gets approval to connect U.S., Australian networks - podcast

Department of Defense
NEWS UPDATES
Iraqis, Coalition Detain Suspects - Story
Stability & Security in Iraq Report (pdf)
For Top News Visit DefenseLink

ON THE GROUND
Coalition Ships Maintain Presence off Africa - Story
Warrior Brigade Re-enlists More Than 120 - Story
Infantry Soldiers Help Injured Iraqi Children - Story
U.S. Army Veterinarian Tends to Iraqi Animals - Story
Stateside Communities Rally Support for Marines - Story

IN IRAQ
Iraqi Police Graduates Begin Working in Baqubah
Physical Therapy Team Comes to Front Line
Soldiers Work Fast to Keep Aircraft Refueled
Top Marines Visit Camp Taqaddum in Iraq
Raids in Iraq Yield Terrorists, Terror Leaders
Stryker Brigade Reunites in Baghdad
Coalition Troops Kill 4 Terrorists; Iraqis Detain 21
Iraqi Doctors Facilitate Change in Healthcare

IN AFGHANISTAN
Afghan Officials, U.S. Troops Open Runway
Chief of Chaplains Brings Support to Region
Buccaneers Return from Afghanistan Tour

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 Army Casualties - Story

Weather
Afghanistan
Bost/Laskar Ghurian Herat Kabul Qandahar

Germany
Ansbach Aschaffenburg Berlin Berlin-Tempelhof Berlin/Schonefeld Bremerhaven
Darmstadt Frankfurt Frankfurt/Main Freiburg/Breisgau Garmisch
Garmisch-Partenkirchen Geilenkirchen Gelnhausen Giessen Kitzingen
Hanau Am Main Heidelberg Mainz Mannheim Nurnberg Stuttgart Trier
Wiesbaden Wurzburg

Gitmo

Guam
Agana Agana Heights Agat Andersen AFB Asan Barrigada

Iraq
Al Azamiyah Al Basrah Al Hillah Al Karkh Al Kazimiyah Al Kut
An Nasiriyah Baghdad Baqubah Mosul Najaf Nineveh Tall Kayf

Japan
Kadena Air Base Okinawa Tokyo Yokohama

Philippines
Baler Radar Site Catanduanes Radar Site Manila

South Korea
Cheju Upper/Radar Chonju Chunchon Inch'on Kunsan Masan Mokp'o
Osan Pusan Seoul Suwon Taegu Taejon Tonghae Radar Site Ulsan Yosu

* If you're deployed, and want to see your location's weather listed here, please email me! *

Today in History
1349 - Margaretha of Bavaria names her son Willem V Earl of Holland/Zealand
1438 - Pope Eugenius IV deallocated council of Basel to Ferrara
1477 - Battle at Nancy, Burgundy vs Switzerland, 7000+ killed
1500 - Duke Ludovico Sforza's troops reconquer Milan
1531 - Pope Clemens VII forbids English king Henry VIII to re-marry
1554 - Great fire in Eindhoven, Netherlands
1593 - William Louis of Nassau becomes Governor/Viceroy of Drenthe
1638 - Petition in Recife Brazil leads to closing of their 2 synagogues
1675 - Battle at Turkheim (Colmar) French army beats Brandenburg
1709 - Sudden extreme cold kills 1000s of Europeans
1717 - Prussian King Frederik Willem I buys conscript for nobles
1719 - England/Hannover/Saxony-Poland/Austria sign anti-Prussian/Russian pact
1757 - Failed assassination attempt on French king Louis XV by Damiens
1776 - Assembly of New Hampshire adopts its 1st state constitution
1781 - British naval expedition led by Benedict Arnold burns Richmond VA
1804 - Ohio legislature passes 1st laws restricting free blacks movement
1809 - Treaty of Dardanelles concluded between Britain & France
1822 - Central America proclaims annexation to Mexican Empire
1825 - Alexandre Dumas fights his 1st duel
1834 - Kiowa Indians record this as the night the stars fell
1836 - Davy Crockett arrives in Texas -- just in time for the Alamo
1841 - James Clark Ross (UK) is 1st to enter pack ice near Ross Ice Shelf
1854 - Steamship San Francisco wrecked-300 die
1859 - 1st steamboat sails, Red River
1861 - Alabama troops seize Forts Morgan & Gaines at Mobile Bay; 250 Federal troops are sent from New York to Fort Sumter
1875 - President Grant sends federal troops to Vicksburg MS
1888 - Dutch Heidemaatschappij established
1892 - 1st successful auroral photograph made
1895 - French Captain Alfred Dreyfus, convicted of treason, publicly stripped of his rank; later declared innocent
1896 - German physicist Wilhelm Roentgen's discovers x-rays
1903 - San Francisco-Hawaii telegraph cable opens for public use
1905 - Charles Perrine announces discovery of Jupiter's 7th satellite, Elara; National Association of Audubon Society incorporates
1909 - Colombia recognizes Panamá's independence
1911 - Portuguese expel Jesuits
1916 - Austria-Hungary offensive against Montenegro
1918 - British premier Lloyd George demand for unified peace
1919 - National Socialist Party (Nazi) forms as German Farmers Party; Spartacus uprising in Berlin state of siege
1925 - Nellie Taylor Ross became Governor of Wyoming, 1st woman governor in USA; Under Polish control, Danzig establishes Port Gdansk post office
1929 - Coup by King Alexander in South Slavia
1930 - Mao Tse-tung writes "A Single Spark Can Start a Prairie Fire"
1933 - Work on Golden Gate Bridge begins, on Marin County side
1937 - Only unicameral state legislature in US opens 1st session (Nebraska)
1940 - FCC hears 1st transmission of FM radio with clear, static-free signal; Finnish offensive at Suomossalmi against Russia
1941 - British/Australian troops conquer Bardia Lybia
1942 - 55 German tanks reach North-Africa
1943 - William H. Hastie, civilian aide to secretary of war, resigns to protest segregation in armed forces
1945 - Pepe LePew debuts in Warner Bros cartoon "Odor-able Kitty"; Surprise attack on Liese-Aktion-office on Marnix St, Amsterdam;
1949 - President Harry S Truman labels his administration the "Fair Deal"; General Spoor orders cease-fire on Sumatra
1952 - Flying Enterprise sinks
1953 - Passenger ships Willem Ruys & Orange collide in the Red Sea
1957 - Eisenhower asks Congress to send troops to the Mid East
1959 - "Bozo the Clown" live children's show premieres on TV
1961 - US breaks diplomatic relations with Cuba
1964 - Pope Paul VI visits Jordan & Israel
1968 - Dr. Benjamin Spock indicted for conspiring to violate draft law; Dubcek succeeds President Novotny as party leader of Czechoslovakia
1969 - USSR Venera 5 launched for 1st successful planet landing (Venus)
1970 - 23,000 Belgian mine workers strike
1971 - Harlem Globetrotters lose 100-99 to New Jersey Reds, ending 2,495-game win streak
1972 - President Nixon signs a bill for NASA to begin research on manned shuttle; West-Pakistani sheik Mujib ur-Rahman freed
1973 - Mali & Niger break diplomatic relations with Israel; Netherlands recognizes German Democratic Republic
1975 - 14 die when British freighter "Lake Illawarra" rams pylon bridge between Derwent & Hobart, Tasmania & ship sinks; Salyut 4 with crew of 2 is launched for 30 days
1976 - "MacNeil-Lehrer Report" premieres on PBS; Cambodia is renamed "Democratic Kampuchea"
1977 - Kenya President Jomo Kenyatta disbands parliament
1981 - British police arrest Peter Sutcliffe, a truck driver later convicted of "Yorkshire Ripper" murders of 13 women
1982 - Arkansas judge rules against obligatory teaching of creation
1988 - Austrian President Waldheim's war record investigated
1989 - 2 French TV newsmen arrested for trying to plant fake bombs on three airlines at JFK airport in security test
1991 - Kevin Bradshaw of US International scores NCAA Division 1 record 72 points
1995 - Lockheed C-140 Jetstar crashes at Isfahan Persia, 18 killed
1998 - Vandals decapitate Copenhagen's Little Mermaid

Birthdays
1759 - Jacques Cathelineau, French royalist/army leader
1779 - Stephen Decatur, US Naval hero (War of 1812); Zebulon Montgomery Pike, explorer (Pike's Peak)
1813 - Thomas Neville Waul, Confederate Brigadier General
1822 - Joseph Brevard Kershaw, Confederate Major General
1828 - August Valentine Kautz, Union Brevet Major General
1840 - John Doby Kennedy, Confederate Brigadier General
1848 - Khristo Botev, hero of Bulgarian revolt against Turkey, poet
1855 - King Camp Gillette, inventor (safety razor)
1859 - DeWitt B. Brace, inventor (spectrophotometer)
1874 - Joseph Erlanger, doctor (shock therapy-Nobel 1944)
1876 - Konrad Adenauer, chancellor of Germany (1949)
1896 - Hendrik Algra, Dutch MP (ARP)
1900 - Yves Tanguy, French/US sailor/surrealistic painter
1901 - H.L. Honore comte d'Estienne d'Orves, French officer/resistance fighter; Mario Scelba, premier Italy (1954-55)
1912 - Frank Pace, Jr., US Secretary of Army (1950-53)
1921 - Jean d'Aviano, grand duke of Luxembourg (1964- )
1923 - Robert L. Bernstein, publisher (Random House)
1928 - Walter Fritz Mondale (Senator-MN)/42nd US Vice President (1977-81); Zulfikar Ali Khan Bhutto President/Premier (Pakistan)
1930 - Edward Galven Givens Jr Quanah TX, Major USAF/astronaut
1932 - Raïsa Maximovna Titorenko Gorbachev, Russia's First Lady (1982-1991)
1935 - Nancy L. Johnson (Representative-CT, 1983- )
1938 - Juan Carlos I, King of Spain (1975- )
1947 - Michael DeWine (Representative-OH, 1983- )

Passings
1066 - King Edward the Confessor of England
1387 - Pedro IV king of Aragon/conqueror of Sicily, dies at 67
1425 - John of Bavaria/Bayern liege of Holland/Zealand/Dordrecht, poisoned
1477 - Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy/writer, dies at 43
1589 - Catherine de' Medici Queen mother of France, dies at 69
1592 - Willem II, Duke of Gulik/Kleef/Gelre, dies at about 75
1762 - Elisabeth Petrovna tsarina of Russia (1741-62), dies at 52
1796 - Samuel Huntington, US judge (signed Declaration of Independence), dies at 64
1827 - Frederick of York English duke/bishop/General , dies at 63
1858 - Johann Radetzky von Radetz Austrian earl/field marshal, dies at 91
1860 - St John Nepomucene Neumann 1st male US saint, dies
1891 - Guillaume L. Baud, Dutch minister of Colonies (1848-49), dies at 89
1922 - Sir Ernest Shackleton, Antarctic explorer (Endurance), dies aboard his ship at 47
1933 - Calvin Coolidge 30th President (1923-29), dies in Northampton MA at 60
1942 - Yves Paringaux French chief of staff, murdered
1943 - George Washington Carver, famous Black American agricultural scientist, dies at 81
1952 - Victor Alexander John Hope, viceroy of India (1936-43), dies at 64
1960 - Pavel P. Parenago Russia, cosmonaut, dies at 53
1970 - Joseph A. Yablonski, candidate for United Mine Workers president, murdered; Max Born German/British physicist (Nobel 1954), dies at 87
1973 - Cornelis van Dis, Dutch MP (SGP), dies at 79
1981 - Harold C. Urey, US chemist (Deuterium, Nobel 1934), dies at 87
1991 - Vasko Popa Serbian, WWII-partisan/poet (Sporedno Nebo), dies at 68
1993 - George L. George, Russian/US journalist/director/producer, dies at 85; Henk Knol, Suriname MP (PvdA), dies at 61; 1993 Klaas Wiersma Dutch Secretary of Justice (VVD), dies; Nyamuisi Muvingi Zaire minister of Culture, murdered
1994 - Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill (D-MA)/Speaker of House (1977-86), dies at 81
1995 - Yahya Ayyash, PLO bomb maker, booby trapped cellular phone at 28
1998 - Sonny Bono (Representative-CA)/singer (Sonny & Cher), dies skiing at 62

Reported Missing in Action
1967
Stratton, Richard A., USN (MA); A4E shot down, released by DRV March, 1973 - alive and well as of 1998

1968
The following US Army personnel reported MIA when their UH1C was shot down:
Anton, Francis G. (NJ); pilot, released by DRV March, 1973 - retired as a CW4 - alive and well as of 1998

Lewis, Robert III (TX); crewchief, released by PRG - alive as of 1998

Pfister, James F., Jr. (IN); doorgunner, released by PRG March, 1973 - alive as of 1998

The following US Army personnel reported MIA when their UH1D was shot down:
Brigs, Ernest F. (TX); crew chief

Gallagher, John T., US Army SF (CT); passenger

Hamilton, Dennis C. (IA); aircraft commander

Schultz, Sheldon D. (PA); pilot

Williamson, James D. (WA); crewman

Also reported MIA in 1968:
Foulks, Ralph E., Jr., USN (CA); A4E disappeared on bombing mission - remains ID'd January, 1993

Fantle, Samuel, USAF (SD); F105F shot down (w/Hartney), Killed in Captivity, remains returned by SRV September, 1977

Hartney, James C. USAF (FL); F105F shot down (w/Fantle), remains returned, ID'd November, 1989

Jones, William E., USAF (TX); F105D shot down, remains recovered August, 1985

Schweitzer, Robert J., USN (PA); A4E shot down released by DRV March, 1973 - deceased (auto accident in 1974

1970
Burnes, Robert Wayne, USMC (OK); F4B crashed (backseater, w/Robinson), KIA, body not recovered

Robinson, Larry Warren, USMC (NE); F4B crashed (pilot, w/Burnes); KIA, body not recovered

1971
Cramer, Donald M., US Army (MO); AH1G disappeared on training mission