News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
U.S. Military Reports 7 Soldiers Killed
Car bombs kill 15 in Baghdad shopping area - Video

Homeland Security / War on Terror / Hamas-Hezbollah Happenings
Israel May Have Misused U.S.-Made Bombs
Ethiopia to withdraw third of Somalia troops
Palestinian factions fight gunbattles in Gaza - Video
Suspected suicide bombing kills 11 in Pakistan

Other Military News
U.S. Army Probes War Contractor Fraud
Navajo Marine Granted Conscientious Objector Status for Being Medicine Man

Worldwide Wackos
Iran Pushes Nuclear Program Forward
Iran issues conflicting signals on nuclear work

Homegrown Moonbats
Tens of Thousands Protest Iraq War in D.C. -

Politics / Government
Sen. Clinton: 'I Take Responsibility' For Giving Bush Power to Act in Iraq - VIDEO
Clinton in Iowa: "About time" for woman president
Hello, How Are You? (Former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami with Sen. John Kerry at World Economic Forum)
Kerry: U.S. Has Become 'International Pariah'
Japan Official: Women 'Birth-Giving Machines' (Nice, huh?)
Bush brushes aside criticism of health plan
Bush chides Dems on reflexive response
Ex-Cheney aide details media tactics
House GOP shut out despite promises

In the Courts / Crime and Punishment
Mystery in Montana - Missing boy, 3, found in closed septic tank
Suspect Nabbed in Kidnap, Sexual Assault of Arizona Girl
Ben Ownby Gets 'Welcome Home'
Mo. kidnap suspect had good childhood
Girl: Cop Made Me Do Topless Jumping Jacks
Ex-Spy Poisoning Suspect: It Wasn't Me
Cops Kill Teen Who Killed Mom With Sword
Man Suspected of Stealing Tour Bus Caught
Vegas Priest Suspected of Sex Assault
Man and Two Women Charged With Producing More Than 1 Million Pieces of Child Pornography
Escapee arrested after multistate trek

Media in the Media / Bloggers in the News / Watching the Web
YouTube to share revenue with users

Science / Nature
NASA Marks 40th Anniversary of Apollo Deaths
Scientists use radio waves to detect explosives
Washington wakes up to global warming

Oddities
Teacher Barred for Genitalia Drawing Exercise
Man Tasers Grandmother in Spanking Dispute
Hospice Helps Dying Man Lose His Virginity

Other News of Note
Barbaro has procedure on right hind leg

Fox News
Britney Spears Photographer Tells FOXNews.com: 'I Didn't See Her Try to Cover'
Tailgating Banned at Dolphin Stadium for Super Bowl Sunday
Serena Williams Wins Australian Open to Capture Eighth Grand Slam Title

Reuters: Top News
Ministers agree to resume WTO talks - Video
Deportation fears for West Bank heart surgeon ease
Armed man held after Turkish ferry hijack bid
Moore's Law seen extended in chip breakthrough
Internet to revolutionize TV in 5 years: Gates
Users go professional with online video
Supreme Federer talks down his legacy
Diet, exercise take off equal pounds, study finds
"Presenteeism" afflicts business, experts say
"Padre Nuestro," "Manda Bala" top Sundance awards
Actor awards show may be the key to Oscar victories
For stocks, earnings may trump Fed and jobs
Novelis stock surges on talk of company sale
Nickel hits new high
Amgen shares fall on drug setbacks
Fortune Brands outlook misses view
Spinning profits from spinoffs
Buying into battered energy
Ministers agree to resume WTO talks
Inflation still a major global risk: ECB's Trichet
Dow Chemical CEO says could do $10 bln deal
Internet to revolutionize TV in 5 years: Gates
Markets understand ECB inflation resolve: Weber
Research firm hunts for clues in insider sales

AP World News
Kids learn to cope with mother's illness
Miller leads 76ers past Hawks 104-89
B.B. King released, back to 'old self'
Marcia Wallace honored by cancer center
2 rookies tied at Buick Invitational
Prince Charles visits Independence Hall
Meissner wins national skating title
No. 4 N. Carolina drills No. 17 Arizona
Melinda Gates takes on a public role
Intel head links technology, health care
Super Bowl's economic impact debated

Military.com
Mobilizations - Round Two
Find a Military.com Career Fair Near You
Connect With Your old Military Buddies
Six Tips for Better Money Management
Check Out Military.com's Equipment Guide

CENTCOM: News Releases
MILITANT ATTACK USED DECEPTION, U.S. ARMY TYPE UNIFORMS
IA CAPTURES LEADER OF TERRORIST BOMBING CELL
IA SAVES IRAQI FAMILY FROM TERRORIST THREAT NEAR TAJI
IRAQI POLICE-LED OPERATION FINDS TORTURE HOUSE AND WEAPON CACHES, DETAINS 21
NINE INSURGENTS KILLED DURING WEAPONS DISTRIBUTION
FOOD DROP OPERATIONS IN WESTERN BAGHDAD NEIGHBORHOOD FOSTERING GOODWILL FROM RESIDENTS
IP CAPTURES LEADER OF TERRORIST BOMBING CELL NEAR HASWAH

USJFCOM
USJFCOM begins Integrated Battle Command Experiment Series - podcast
USJFCOM, others evaluate individual augmentee process - podcast
Training comes to a close in exercise for Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa - podcast
Liveblogging: Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa Mission Rehearsal Exercise 07-1
USJFCOM hosts first-responder focused modeling and simulation demonstration event

Department of Defense
NEWS UPDATES
Stability & Security in Iraq Report (pdf)
For Top News Visit DefenseLink

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

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
'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: Terror Plots Disrupted
Waging and Winning the War on Terror
Terrorism Timeline
Terrorism Knowledge Base

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
1077 - Pope Gregory VII pardons German emperor Heinrich IV
1099 - 1st Crusaders begins siege of Hosn-el-Akrad Syria
1495 - Pope gives his son Cesare Borgia as hostage to Charles VIII of France
1547 - 9-year-old Edward VI succeeds Henry VIII as king of England
1561 - By Edict of Orleans persecution of French Huguenots is suspended
1613 - Galileo may have unknowingly viewed undiscovered planet Neptune
1689 - English parliament ends king Charles II reign
1788 - Lord Gordon found guilty of libel of queen of France
1807 - London's Pall Mall is 1st street lit by gaslight
1821 - Bellingshausen discovers Alexander Island off Antarctica
1824 - William Kneass becomes 3rd US chief engraver (1824-40)
1848 - King of Naples grants his subjects a constitution
1858 - John Brown organized raid on Arsenal at Harper's Ferry
1860 - Britain formally returns Mosquito Coast to Nicaragua
1864 - Battle of New Bern, NC
1865 - President Jefferson Davis names 3 peace commissioners
1871 - Paris surrenders to Prussians
1878 - 1st telephone exchange (New Haven CT); George W Coy hired as 1st full-time telephone operator; Yale Daily News published, 1st college daily newspaper
1881 - Battle at Laing's Neck Natal - Boers beat superior powered British
1902 - Carnegie Institute founded in Washington DC
1904 - 1st college sports letters given to Seniors who played on University of Chicago's football team are awarded blankets with letter "C" on them
1909 - US military forces leave Cuba for 2nd time
1915 - 1st US ship lost in WWI, William P. Frye (carrying wheat to UK); US Coast Guard created from Life Saving & Revenue Cutter services; US President Wilson refuses to prohibit immigration of illiterates
1916 - 1st Jewish Supreme Court justice, Louis Brandeis, nominated; German colony of Cameroon surrenders to Britain & France
1918 - Strike on Berlin ammunitions factory; Trotsky becomes leader of Reds
1927 - Serbian-Croatian-Slavic government of Oezonowitsj falls
1928 - Christopher Hornsrud chosen PM of Norway at age 101
1932 - 1st US state unemployment insurance act enacted-Wisconsin; Japan occupies Shanghai
1933 - French government of Paul Boncour falls; German government of Von Schleicher falls
1934 - 1st US ski tow (rope) begins operation (Woodstock VT)
1935 - Iceland becomes 1st country to legalize abortion
1942 - General Timoshenko's troops move into Ukraine; German troops occupy Benghazi, Libya
1944 - 683 British bombers attack Berlin; U-271 & U-571 sunk off Ireland
1945 - General "Vinegar Joe" Stillwell & truck convoy reopen Burma Road to China; Dutch airplanes dump pamphlets on Java; Swedish ships bring food to starving Netherlands
1949 - UN Security council condemns Dutch aggression in Indonesia
1950 - Preston Tucker, auto maker, found not guilty of mail fraud
1956 - Elvis Presley's 1st TV appearance (Dorsey Brothers Stage Show)
1958 - Construction began on 1st private thorium-uranium nuclear reactor
1959 - Soviet Union wins 62-37 for 1st international basketball loss by US
1960 - 1st photograph bounced off Moon, Washington DC
1961 - Republic of Rwanda proclaimed
1970 - Lubomír Strougal succeeds Cernik as premier of Czechoslovakia
1981 - William J Casey becomes the 13th director of CIA (until 1987)
1982 - US General Dozier freed from Red Brigade of Padua Italy
1986 - 25th Space Shuttle (51L)-Challenger 10 explodes 73 seconds after liftoff
1988 - Canada's Supreme court declares anti-abortion law unconstitutional
1990 - East German agreement to form all-party government
1991 - Dictator Siad Barre flees Somalia, ending 22 year rule

Birthdays
1457 - Henry VII Pembroke Castle, 1st Tudor king of England (1485-1509)
1578 - Cornelis Haga, Dutch lawyer/ambassador to Constantinople (1611-39)
1600 - Clement IX [Giulio Rospigliosi], 238th pope (1667-69)
1693 - Anna "Ivanovna," tsarina of Russia (1730-40)
1717 - Mustapha III, Sultan of Turkey (1757-74)
1768 - Frederick VI, Danish king (1808-39); lost Norway to Sweden (1814)
1784 - George HG Earl of Aberdeen, English Secretary of State
1815 - Andrew Jackson Hamilton, Union Brigadier General
1818 - George Sewall Boutwell, Union MC
1822 - Alexander MacKenzie, 2nd PM of Canada (1873-78)
1825 - George Edward Pickett, Confederate Major General
1828 - Thomas Carmichael Hindman Major General (Confederate Army), died in 1868
1831 - Henry Brevard Davidson Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1899
1833 - Charles George Gordon London England, military hero/general (China, Khartoum)
1841 - Stanley, British journalist/explorer (found Livingston in Africa)
1865 - Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg, 1st President of Finland (1919-25)
1909 - Lionel KP "Buster" Crabb, British diver (WWII-George Medal)
1918 - Trevor Skeet, British MP
1922 - Robert W. Holley, biochemist, worked with RNA (Nobel '68)
1924 - Frank R. Lautenberg (Senator-NJ)
1927 - James Callaghan, British MP
1928 - Martin Sinnatt, Major-General/Secretary (Kennel Club); Slade Gorton (Senator-WA)
1930 - David Morris, British MEP
1931 - Timothy Kitson, British MP
1932 - Thomas J. Bliley, Jr. (Representative-VA)
1936 - Alan Alda [Alphonso D'Abruzzo], actor (Hawkeye Pierce-M*AS*H)
1939 - John M. Fabian, Colonel USAF/astronaut (STS 7, STS 51G)
1944 - James Cran, British MP
1945 - Nick Raynsford, British MP
1948 - Mamoru Mohri Yoichi-machi, astronaut (STS 47)
1949 - Thomas J. Downey (Representative-NY)
1950 - David Carl Hilmer, Colonel USMC/astronaut (STS 51-J, 26, 36, 42); Glyn Ford, British MEP
1951 - Gordon Prentice, British MP

Passings
0814 - Charlemagne, German emperor/Roman Emperor (800-814), dies at 71
1119 - Gelasius II [Giovannis Caetani], pope (1118-19), dies
1256 - Willem II, Earl of Holland/German emperor (1238, 47-56), dies at 22
1547 - Henry VIII, King of England (1509-47), dies at 55
1612 - Thomas Bodley, diplomat/founder (Bodleian Library), dies
1621 - Paulus V [Camillo Borghese], 233rd pope (1605-21), dies at 68
1687 - Johannes Hevelius, astronomer (star cataloger), dies on 76th birthday
1725 - Peter I "the Great" Romanov, czar of Russia, dies at 52
1895 - François Certain de Canrobert, French marshal, dies at 85
1939 - William Butler Yeats, Irish poet (Nobel), dies in France at 73
1959 - Joseph Sprinzak, Speaker of Israel Knesset (1949-59), dies at 73
1975 - Antonin Novótny, Czechoslovakian President (1957-68), dies at 70
1980 - Jimmy Durante, comedian (Jimmy Durante Show), dies at 86
1986 - Christa McAuliffe astronaut/teacher; Ellison S. Onizuka, Major USAF/astronaut; Francis R. Scobee, USAF/astronaut; Gregory B. Jarvis, payload specialist/astronaut; Dr. Judith Arlene Resnik, astronaut; Michael J. Smith, Commander USN, astronaut; Ronald E. McNair, astronaut - all killed in the Challenger Space Shuttle disaster
1995 - James P. Grant, US director of UNICEF (1980-95), dies at 72

Reported Missing in Action
1966
McPherson, Fred Lawer, USAF (CA); A1E shot down - remains returned June, 1983

1967
Biediger, Larry W., USAF (TX); F105D shot down, - remains returned June, 1983

Thornton, William D., US Army (NY); drowned, body not recovered

1968
Benge, Michael, Civilian; Agency for International Development; released by PRG March, 1973 - alive as of 1998

Singson, Wilfredo D., USMC; AWOL

1970
The following USAF personnel reported MIA when their HH53B was shot down during a search and rescue mission:
Anderson, Gregory L. (IL); passenger, KIA, body not recovered

Bell, Holly G., (TX); pilot - remains returned May, 1989

Leeser, Leonard C. (NY); crewman

Pruett, William D. (VA); crewman

Shinn, William C. (CA); crewman

Sutton, William C. (NC); crewman

Also reported MIA this day in 1970 (the plane the HH53B was looking for):
Mallon, Richard J., USAF (OR); F105G shot down - remains returned May, 1989

Panek, Robert J., Sr., USAF (IL); F105G shot down - remains returned April, 1989