News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Turkey's Gul reaffirms army's right to act in Iraq - Video
U.S. calls for political progress to back up "surge"
Death toll for Iraqis falls again
Iraq PM asks Bush to order Saddam cousin's handover
In Iraq, the big trends suggest emerging success
Views on Iraq War Softening in U.S.

Operation Enduring Freedom
Afghanistan army to reach targeted strength by March

Homeland Security / War on Terror / Hamas-Hezbollah Happenings
Somalia PM wants dialogue; 6,000 dead this year
Olmert plays down peace deal chances by end of 2008
NY pols assail proposed anti-terror cuts

Supporting Our Heroes
New Orleans workers reach out to troops

Other Military News
Filipino Protesters Pelt U.S. Embassy Over Marine

Religion of Peace??
Saudi rape ruling puts govt on defensive

Worldwide Wackos
Chavez Pushes for Expanded Executive Powers
Iran says sanctions won't help end nuclear row

Politics / Government
Hillary Clinton Draws Boos at Iowa Campaign Event, 1 Day After Hostage Situation
Democrats differ on Cuba policy at Iowa debate
IRS: 38 Million Tax Refunds Could be Delayed
Clinton, Giuliani give rivals reason to hope
Clinton volunteer recounts close call
Short voting gap shapes presidential race - Video
Secrecy invoked on Abramoff lawsuits
Putin, Chavez Seek Tighter Grip on Power
Russians, Venezuelans vote in key elections - PHOTOS
Russia goes to the polls - Video
Bhutto: Foreign Troops Could Enter Pakistan
Hong Kong votes in symbolic by-election
S.Africa's Mbeki may call early polls if loses ANC

In the Courts / Crime and Punishment / Law and Order
No bond for Sean Taylor murder suspects
Wisconsin Toddler, 1, Left in Day Care Van Overnight
Cops: Wisconsin Parents Poured Water on Pantsless, Duct-Taped Children Outside
Police Investigating Accident That Killed Alabama Cheerleaders
New Hershey Candy Leaves Sour Taste in Cops' Mouth
Woman Stabs Autistic Nephew in His Eyes, Then Stabs Herself
Truckers Say Husband of Stacy Peterson Asked Them to Move Package
Missing Kansas Porn Star Student's Body ID'd
FBI Arrests Pair Wanted in $7 Million Robbery
Report: Sophisticated Robbers Target Tourists in Baja California
Investigators probe Chicago train crash
States rethink charging kids as adults

Media in the Media / Bloggers in the News / Watching the Web
Leno to pay salaries of laid-off staffers
Judge: Trial stays put despite blog fuss
Imus' return to radio loaded with drama

Science / Medicine and Health / Technology
S.Africa cites progress on AIDS - Video
Death-toll rises from Uganda's Ebola outbreak
Space Station lab will boost Europe's status in space
Japan's robots slug it out to be world champ
Digital developments could be tipping point for MP3
Mandela: Halting new HIV infections key
Energy plan pushes automakers on mpg

Mother Nature
Mexico's 'Popo' Pops Its Top
Snow Storm Blasts Midwest
Death toll rises from traffic fatalities - PHOTOS
Van Crash Kills Purdue Hockey Player
Bali talks to seek global climate deal in 2009

Oddities
Mafia boss arrested while watching Mafia TV show
Officials in tears over comatose croc
Huge truffle fetches $330,000 at Macau auction - Video

Fox News
Early Holiday for Gun Owners (San Francisco is trading gift cards for guns)
FOXBusiness: Can Mortgage Plan Save Borrowers?
Top Ranked Teams Fall, Create Bowl Season Chaos

Reuters
U.S. clinch Davis Cup with Bryan brothers win
China cheers first Miss World title - Video
Mirren wins best actress at European Film Awards
Osbourne charity sale reaps $800,000
Stocks' recovery turns on subprime plan
Dow, S&P 500 gain on housing plan as Nasdaq dips - Video
Dollar rallies on month-end deals as yen stumbles
Dell shares tumble on profitability concerns
Homebuilder shares up on hope for subprime deal
Bear market fears ease, for now
E*Trade firesale seen hurting portfolios
Mortgage industry hashes out rate-freeze plan
Agility eyes $10 bln Saudi rail project: report
Treasury near subprime aid deal
Motorola CEO Zander to be replaced by COO Brown
Exit of Cruz leaves few women execs on Wall Street
Starbucks plans 2nd farm support center in Rwanda

AP World News
Sooners destroy Mizzou's BCS title hopes
Curse of No. 2 alive; Buckeyes in mix
Kennedy Center honors for 5
West Va. stunner opens door for Ohio St.
Miles, LSU rally past Vols for SEC title
Acrobats, fire dancers fuel circus craze

CENTCOM: News Releases
BLACK LIONS ARREST ALLEGED EXTREMIST LEADERS
COALITION FORCES TARGET FOREIGN TERRORIST FACILITATORS, CAR-BOMBERS, PROPAGANDA CELLS; ONE TERRORIST KILLED, 17 SUSPECTS DETAINED

USJFCOM
Capability development leadership to change
More about Capability Development
USJFCOM readies for Joint Task Force Senior Medical Leadership Seminar - podcast
USJFCOM garners cutting edge technology award - podcast
New USJFCOM super computer will enhance command efforts - podcast

Multi-National Force-Iraq
Prominent Sheik Hosts Reconciliation Meeting
Muthanna Governor Thanks Army Corps Engineers for Work in his Province
Roadside bomb targets MND-B patrol (Baghdad)
4 suspects detained in Rashid
Coalition forces target car-bombers, assassins, kidnappers; one killed, 16 detained
Concerned Local Citizens, Coalition Forces secure 3 weapons caches
Coalition forces capture two targeted suspects; disrupt criminal network

DefenseLink
TOP NEWS
Pilot Program Saves Time, Speeds Veterans' Benefits
Bush Visits Pentagon, Speaks On Defense Budget Shortfall - Photos - Video
Army Funds Crunch Would Affect Installations Worldwide

IRAQ NEWS
Soldiers’ Trust Contributes to Success
SWAT Unit Targets Bomb-Making Cells
Business Leaders Help Revitalize Iraq
Mosul Passenger Terminal Ready for Flights

AFGHANISTAN NEWS
Afghan Security Forces Prove Themselves
Medical Outreach Treats 450 Afghans

MILITARY NEWS
Navy Claims Sixth Straight Victory Over Army
Sealift of Life-Saving MRAP Vehicles Begins
Pentagon’s Homeland Defense Office Matures
Military Must Understand, Master Change

HUMANITARIAN RELIEF
Bangladeshis Thank U.S. Sailors, Marines
Experience Lends Lessons to Bangladesh Relief

WHY WE SERVE
Chef Happiest at Sea

AMERICA SUPPORTS YOU
Online Treasure Hunt
Holiday Gifts for Troops

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

Today in History
1620 – In Amsterdam, the English language newspaper "Namloos" begins publishing.
1682 – The English Earl of Shaftesbury flees to Amsterdam.
1763 - Touro shul of Newport, RI (the oldest existing U.S. synagogue) is dedicated.
1777 - British General Howe plots an attack on Washington's army for December 4.
1790 – The Austrian army occupies Brussels.
1802 – The English sell Suriname to the Dutch.
1804 – In Paris, Pope Pius VII crowns Napoleon Bonaparte the first emperor of France.
1805 - Napoleon defeats the Russians and Austrians at Austerlitz.
1812 - James Madison is re-elected President of the U.S.
1816 - The first savings bank in the U.S. opens (Philadelphia Savings Fund Society).
1822 - In San Salvador, a congress proposes incorporation into the U.S.
1823 - President James Monroe declares his "Monroe Doctrine."
1840 - William H. Harrison is elected President of the U.S.
1848 - Franz Josef I becomes emperor of Austria and King of Hungary.
1852 – The second French empire is established; Louis Napoleon becomes emperor.
1864 - Skirmish at Rocky Creek Church, GA.
1868 – The first British government of Disraeli resigns.
1887 - French President Grévy resigns.
1891 – The 52nd Congress (1891-93) convenes.
1895 – The 54th Congress (1895-97) convenes.
1899 – The U.S. and Germany agree to divide Samoa between them.
1901 - King Camp Gillette begins selling safety razor blades.
1908 – At age 3, Pu Yi (Hsuan-T'ung) becomes China's Last Emperor.
1914 - The Austrian army occupies Belgrade, Serbia.
1924 – A British-German trade agreement is signed.
1927 – The first Model A Fords are sold, for $385 each.
1939 – British Imperial Airways and British Airways merge to form BOAC; New York's La Guardia Airport begins operations as an airliner from Chicago lands, 1 minute after midnight.
1941 – Naval Intelligence ceases bugging Japanese consul; Yamamoto sends his fleet to Pearl Harbor.
1942 – The first controlled nuclear chain reaction occurs under the supervision of Enrico Fermi at the University of Chicago.
1943 – The first RSHA transport out of Vienna reaches the Birkenau camp.
1944 - General De Gaulle arrives in Moscow; German troops seize the Betuwse dikes, the U.S. 95th Infantry Division occupies the bridge at Saar.
1952 – For the first time, a human birth is publicly televised (KOA-TV, Denver, CO).
1954 – The U.S. Senate censures Joe McCarthy (Senator-WI) for "conduct that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute."
1956 - Fidel Castro lands with "Granma" on the coast of Cuba.
1957 – The first U.S. full-scale atomic electric power plant starts generating power at Shippingport, PA.
1958 – The Benelux treaty is signed by Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
1959 – In France, the Malpasset dam collapses, destroying the Riviera town of Frejus.
1961 - Fidel Castro declares he's a Marxist and will lead Cuba to Communism.
1963 – The first Dutch rocket is launched; it reaches a height of 10 km.
1968 - President Nixon names Henry Kissinger as security advisor.
1969 – the Boeing 747 jumbo jet is first previewed to the public (Seattle WA to New York NY).
1970 – The Environmental Protection Agency begins (Director: William Ruckelshaus).
1971 - Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujeira, Sharjah and Umm ak Qiwain form the United Arab Emirates; Abu Dhabi’s Zayid bin Sultan Al Nuhayyah becomes President; the U.S.S.R.’s Mars-3 is the first to soft-land on the red planet.
1972 – The "December Giant" - largest sinkhole in the U.S. - collapses (Alabama).
1974 - Soyuz-16 is launched into Earth orbit for 6 days.
1975- Laos falls to communist forces; King Sisavang Vatthana resigns, the Lao People's Democratic Republic is proclaimed.
1975 - 7 South Moluccans hijack a train at Wijster Drente, killing 3.
1978 - Chanting "Allah is great,” anti-Shah protesters pour through Tehran.
1979 - Crowds attack the U.S. embassy in Tripoli, Libya.
1980 - 4 American Maryknoll nuns are killed by death squads in El Salvador.
1981 – The Spanish government requests membership in NATO.
1982 – At the University of Utah, the first permanent artificial heart (the Jarvic-7) is successfully implanted in retired dentist Barney Clark; he lives 112 days.
1985 - Philipine Chief of staff General Fabian speaks of B. Aquino's murder.
1988 - 5 gunmen who hijacked a Soviet Aeroflot jet surrender in Israel; the STS-27 (Atlantis) is launched on a secret military mission; the U.N. votes to move the PLO debate to Geneva (151-2; the U.S. and Israel voted no, Britain abstains).
1989 - Vishwanath Pratap Singh is sworn in as President of India.
1990 – The first parliamentary election is held in newly reunified Germany; the U.S.’ 69th manned space mission (STS-35 - Columbia 11) launches into orbit.
1991 – Shiite Muslims release American Joseph Cicippio, held hostage in Lebanon.
1993 – The Space Shuttle STS-61 (Endeavor-5) launches.
1994 – The former Achille Lauro, now the Willem Ruys, sinks off the coast of Somalia; a jury finds Heidi Fleiss guilty of running a call girl ring.

Birthdays
1728 - Ferdinando Galiani, Italian economist/philosopher/diplomat
1802 - Melancthon Smith Wade, Union Brigadier-General
1821 - Rufus Barringer, Confederate Brigadier-General
1825 - Pedro II van Alcantara, Emperor of Brazil (1831-89)
1837 - Charles Garrison Harker, Union Brigadier-General
1846 - Pierre M Waldeck-Rousseau, French Minister of Foreign affairs / premier
1885 - George Minot, American physician, worked on anemia (Nobel 1934); Níkos Kazantazakís, writer (Zorba, Last Temptation of Christ)
1902 - Horace A. Hildreth. (Gov-ME, 1945-49)
1906 - Peter Carl Goldmark, developed color TV and LP records
1908 - Robert F Simon, actor (Custer, MASH)
1915 - Randolph Hearst, newspaper publisher
1924 - Alexander Haig, Jr., U.S. Secretary of State (1981-82) / general
1929 - Jaap Boersma, Dutch Minister for Social Affairs (ARP)
1931 - Edwin Meese III, U.S. Attorney General (1985-88)
1946 - Gianni Versace, fashion designer (Versace)
1954 - Stone Phillips, news host (NBC Dateline)
1981 - Britney Jean Spears, singer (Oops I Did It Again)

Passings
0537 – Sylvester, Italian Pope (536-37)
1463 - Albrecht VI, archduke of Habsburg, dies
1515 - Gonzalo de Córdoba, Spanish general/strategist/viceroy of Naples
1592 - Alexander Farnese, land guardian of Netherlands (1579-92)
1723 – Philip, French duke of Orléans /regent (1715-23) / PM (1723)
1814 - Marquis de Sade, writer
1859 - John Brown, U.S. abolitionist, hanged in Charles Town, WV
1864 - Archibald Gracie, Jr., Confederate Brigadier-General, in battle at age 31
1919 - Henry Clay Frick, builder of the largest coke and steel operation
1935 - Albert Kessel, first to die in the California gas chamber
1944 – J.W. Ummels, Dutch resistance fighter (House of Saxon-Nazi)
1967 - Cardinal Francis Spellman, archbishop of New York
1969 - Kliment J Voroshilov, President of U.S.S.R. (1953-60)
1972 - Friedrich Christian Christiansen, German Luftwaffe General
1981 - Nicolaas "Cola" Debrot, Governor of Dutch Antilles (1962-70); Wallace K. Harrison, U.S. architect (U.N.)
1982 - Marty Feldman, comedic actor (Young Frankenstein), of a heart attack at age 49
1986 - Desi Arnaz, actor (Ricky Ricardo-I Love Lucy), of lung cancer
1990 - Aaron Copland, composer (Fanfare for the Common Man)

Reported Missing in Action
1965
Austin, Carl Benjamin, USN (OR); F4B shot down (pilot), KIA, body not recovered

Logan, Jacob Drummond, USN (WA); F4B shot down (aircrew); KIA, body not recovered

Roberts, Gerald Ray, USN (TX); A1H shot down, KIA, remains returned 1993 – 1994, ID’d October, 1996

1966
The following personnel reported MIA in one incident – two from a SF team, and two during an extraction attempt when their UH1H was shot down:

Bott, Russell P., US Army SF (MA)

Dyer, Irby III, US Army SF (TX); KIA in the UH1D (medic)

Stark, Willie E., US Army SF (NE)

Sulander, Daniel A., US Army (MN); KIA in the UH1D (crew)

Also reported MIA this day in 1966:
Berger, James R., USAF (OH); F4C shot down, released by DRV February, 1973 – retired as a Lt. Colonel - alive as of 1998

Burns, Donald R., USAF (TX); F4C shot down (weapons/systems officer, w/Ducat), released by DRV March, 1973 – retired as a Colonel – deceased April, 1996

Cordier, Kenneth W., USAF (OH); F4C shot down (pilot, w/ Lane), released by DRV March, 1973 – retired as a Colonel - alive and well as of 1998

Ducat, Bruce C., USAF (MD); F4C shot down (pilot, w/Burns), SRV returned remains to PCOM March, 1977

Gregory, Robert R., USAF (MO); RF4C shot down, remains returned March, 1988 – ID’d June, 1988

Lane, Michael C., USAF (FL); F4C shot down (weapons/systems officer, w/Cordier), released by DRV February, 1973 – alive and well as of 1998

McRae, David Edward, USN (GA); F4B shot down (pilot, w/ Rehman), likely KIA

Moorberg, Monte Larue, USAF (NE); F105D shot down, KIA, remains returned August, 1985

Nystrom, Bruce A., USN (OH); A4C shot down (in same incident w/Worrell), likely KIA

Rehmann, David G., USN (CA); F4B shot down (w/McRae), released by DRV February, 1973 – retired as a Lieutenant - alive and well as of 1998

Stutz, Leroy W., USAF (KS); RF4C shot down (w/Gregory), released by DRV March, 1973 – retired as a Colonel alive and well as of 1998

Worrell, Paul L., USN (PA); A4C shot down (in same incident w/Nystrom), remains returned August, 1965

1967
The following US Army personnel reported MIA when their UH1D was shot down:
Crosby, Richard A., (WA); door gunner

Leeper, Wallace W., (CO); aircraft commander

Moreida, Manuel J., (TX); crewchief

Strange, Floyd W., (CA); co-pilot

1969
The following US Army personnel reported MIA when their UH1B was shot down:

Dunlap, William C., (AZ); pilot, remains ID’d February, 1990

Sanderlin, William D., (TX); crewchief, remains ID’d February, 1990

Shanley, Michael H., Jr., (CA); gunner, remains returned March, 1990; mother did not accept ID
Vanden Eykel, Martin D. II, (IL); aircraft commander, ID’d February, 1990 (disputed)

1972
Shine, Anthony C., USAF (NY); A7D shot down, remains returned September, 1996

Labels: Headlines, History