News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Petraeus: Upcoming Troop Reduction Plans ‘On Track’
MND Soldiers, Iraqi Police Conduct Combined Operation with CLCs
Iraqi Civilians Lead Troops to Explosives Cache
Soldiers find two caches in Doura
Coalition forces target al-Qaeda in central Iraq; 18 suspects detained
Anti-Coalition forces operative captured; criminal networks disrupted (Baghdad)

Operation Enduring Freedom
Canada threatens to pull soldiers from Afghanistan

Homeland Security / War on Terror / Hamas-Hezbollah Happenings
Hamas, Egyptian Guards Partly Seal Gaza Breach
Abbas gets European and Arab backing - Video
Thousands bid farewell to Palestinian leader Habash
Colombian rebel leader gets 60-year U.S. prison term
U.S. used waterboarding but no more: ex-spy chief

Fallen Heroes
5 US soldiers killed in N. Iraq

Wounded Warriors
Center Gears Up for Mental Health, Brain Injuries
Wounded Troop Care Must Be ‘Cutting Edge’

Other Military News
U.S.-China 'Hotline' Elusive, Pacific Commander Says
U.S. defers sensitive Africa HQ decision for now
Bush to seek $70 bln in partial 2009 war funding
Future Role in Iraq, Afghanistan Will Drive Rebalancing Military, Mullen Says

Politics / Government
Bush: Trust PeopleWith Their Money - VIDEO
BRAINROOM: State of the Union Briefing Book (PDF)
RAW DATA: Excerpts from State of the Union Address
RAW DATA: Democratic Response to State of the Union
Bush seeks to ease Americans' fears over economy
McCain, Romney: You're a Liberal - VIDEO
Ted, Patrick, Caroline Kennedy Endorse Obama
POLITICAL WIRE: Romney, McCain Neck-and-Neck in Fla.
'Steamy Texting' Scandal Forces Detriot Chief of Staff Out
Man Threatens Bush, Leaves Package Outside W.H.
California universal health care bill falls short
Bush seeks to make amends on New Orleans
Lawmakers ready with stimulus language
McCain edges into Florida lead: poll - Video
Knoblauch to talk with House committee
Morrison endorses Obama for president
Indicted Obama fundraiser's bond revoked
Senate Democrats adding to stimulus

In the Courts / Crime and Punishment / Law and Order
Jury Selection to Begin for Ohio Mother Accused of Microwaving Month-Old Baby
Spitting Image: Detectives Narrow In on Man Who Looks Identical to Sketch of Suspected Madeleine McCann Kidnapper
Glen Stewart Godwin Wanted for Murder, Escape From Prison
New Jersey Cop Tickets Fellow Officers on Last Day on Job
Cops Link Missing Nevada Student and Earlier Sex Assault
Teacher Arrested After Forcing Pupils to Undress at Knifepoint, Stealing Their Underwear
Using DNA Evidence Cops Arrest Suspect in 10-Year-Old Murder of Colorado Coed
Man Beaten to Death Protecting Son Dies Like Father
Police: Big Break in Missing Reno Coed Case - VIDEO
Couple Cops to $8 Million Armored Car Robbery
''Rogue'' trader in Paris court

U.N. News
Annan presses Kenyan rivals to end bloodshed - Video

Media in the Media / Bloggers in the News / Watching the Web
MySpace Nightmare: Cyberbullies Hijack Florida Teen's Page
Study shows eBay buyers save billions

Science / Medicine and Health / Technology
Dangerous Meds
First Blurry Pictures of Near-Miss Asteroid Released
Exercise keeps you younger, study finds
A little worry may be good for your health
Snoring found to lead to bronchitis
Study finds more elderly develop diabetes
Black Death did not kill indiscriminately, experts say
Satellite unlikely to pose danger to humans
RIM jazzes up BlackBerry for broader appeal
Startups rush to pave way for Web video
New treatment can clear brain clots
Qtrax debut on hold amid licensing snag
New flu vaccine may not need needles

Mother Nature
Wild Elephant Attacks American Tourist at Chinese Nature Reserve
Winter Storms Batter California; TV Actor Dies in Avalanche
West Coast storms cause power outages

News from My Neck of the Woods
Brady not concerned with injured ankle
Brady gets taped up for Patriots workout

Oddities
Heath Ledger's 'Death' Video a Collectible
Is the Empire State Building New York's Bermuda Triangle?
Model to Undergo Plastic Surgery to Make Eyes Look Japanese
11-Year-Old Boy Partially Deaf for Nine Years Is Suddenly Cured
Where's the rest of my mouse?
How's it going? Oh, can't complain..

Other News of Note
Peru death squad ate cake after Fujimori-era hit
Tourist killed in machete attack (Kenya)
Ethnic clashes spread in western Kenya

Fox News
FOXBusiness: New Home Sales Show Record Drop
Writers Guild OKs Members to Work on Grammys
Sister: Diana Feared Dodi's Father Was Spying on Her
Mormon Church President Gordon B. Hinckley Dead at 97

Reuters
Mormon church well prepared to handle leader death
SocGen under pressure over rogue trade warning - Video
"No Country For Old Men" positioned for Oscar - Video
Rate cut, stimulus plan could restart housing - Video
Legg Mason names Fetting as new CEO
American Express profit down 10 percent
Liberty seeks to remove Diller from IAC board
CME eyes Nymex for $11 billion
New home sales plunge record 26 percent in '07
Alliance Data takeover by Blackstone in jeopardy
Market liquidity returning: Treasury's Ryan
Rate cut hopes lift Wall Street - Video
Gold and platinum hit record on supply concerns
Oil at over $91 on hopes for Fed cut
VMware revenue falls short, shares tumble 26 percent
Verizon wireline weakness overshadows mobile growth
McDonald's tumbles on flat same-store sales
SanDisk "cautious" on current quarter, shares drop
Big Internet earnings week points up uncertainties
Corning stock jumps after quarterly profit report
DealZone BlogThey've come undone
The next break-up?

AP World News
An economy grows around Britney Spears
New home sales fall by record amount
Stocks rise on rate cut hopes
Clemens' son defends him at Astros camp
Rocket's agent unveils statistics report
Led Zeppelin guitarist wants world tour
Unbeaten Memphis remains atop AP poll
`No Country' dominates weekend awards

CENTCOM: News Releases

USJFCOM
USJFCOM readies for Noble Resolve 08 - podcast
More about Noble ResolveCombined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa Mission Rehearsal Exercise prepares forces to help “Africans solve African problems” - podcast
Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa Mission Rehearsal Exercise commences - podcast
2007 -- The Year in Review - photos

Multi-National Force-Iraq
Sixteen IEDs, cache turned in by CLCs
CLCs contribute to finding enemy weapons
Busy roadway reopens in Baqubah

DefenseLink
TOP NEWS
Troops Invited to Attend State of Union Address
Bush Signs Fiscal 2008 Defense Budget Legislation Into Law
Military Alone Can’t Solve Afghanistan’s Problems

AFGHANISTAN NEWS
Afghan Police Training Progresses
Center Blazes Trail in Services
Wrestling Tour Rolls into Bagram

IRAQ NEWS
Security Promotes Reconciliation
Alleged Terrorist Scout Captured
Security Forces Gain Capabilities
General Lauds Joint-Service Effort

MILITARY NEWS
Military Health Care Rivals Industry, Official Says
Cooperation Key to Military Health Success
DoD Celebrates Record-Breaking Contributions

AMERICA SUPPORTS YOU
New Fund Offers Financial Aid for N.C. Troops

FACE OF DEFENSE
Officer Prevails Over IED

WHY WE SERVE
Soldier is Proud Mentor

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

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

Labels: Headlines, History