PATRIOT STRIKE
Army Staff Sgt. Joe Hammond, right front, leads his squad through a gully during Operation Patriot Strike in Ubaydi, Iraq, Dec. 29, 2007. Hammond is assigned to the the 101st Airborne Division's Company B, 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment. U.S. Army Sgt. Ben Brody

Labels: 101st Airborne Division, 2-502nd Infantry Regiment, Iraq, Operation Patriot Strike, photos, Ubaydi, US Army

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
U.S., Iraqi Forces Launch Major Push Against Al Qaeda
Giant Step Forward: Iraqi Police Assume Security Mission in Anbar Province City
How the ‘Devil Dogs’ Do It: U.S. Marines Continue Training Iraqi Soldiers
Health Clinic Opens in Former Insurgent Stronghold, Fresh Water Flows
Operation Marne Thunderbolt continues (Arab Jabour)

Operation Enduring Freedom
Forces Disrupt Insurgents, Bolster Institutions
Marines Climb Mountains to Help Afghan Army

Homeland Security / War on Terror / Hamas-Hezbollah Happenings
Abbas, Olmert agree to get talks moving for Bush visit - Video
U.S. wants life in prison in Padilla case

Fallen Heroes
DoD Identifies Army Casualty (Salman Pak)

Other Military News
Soldier: Policy on gays may be shifting

Religion of Peace??
Jordanian Charged in Honor Killing of Dating Daughter

Worldwide Wackos
Ahead of Mideast Trip, Bush Calls Iranian Act 'Provocative'
Recordings show Iran-US clash in Gulf

Politics / Government
John McCain Wins New Hampshire GOP Primary, Clinton Leads Obama
POLITICAL WIRE: Clinton Campaign Shake-up?
CAMPAIGN CARL - BOURBON ROOM (Fox News)
GOP Candidates Debate Thursday in S.C. on FNC
Factbox: New Hampshire and its presidential primary
Factbox: Next stop -- Michigan
Candidate profiles: Read the latest news, compare the issues, and view factboxes
Live BlogTales from the Trail (Reuters)
GOP's Thompson in SC instead of NH
Obama family in Kenya watches US vote
NH voters come out in large numbers
Giuliani focuses on Florida after loss
Romney says he's in it for the long haul
Edwards vows to press on despite loss
Mayor's Racy Lingerie Photo on MySpace Upsets Residents
La. Sen. Mary Landrieu Denies Watchdog's Complaints
Georgia opposition says election body stole votes
Britain, Spain settle a dispute over Gibraltar

In the Courts / Crime and Punishment / Law and Order
Friends Mourn Woman Who May Have Been Eaten by Boyfriend
2 Girls Killed in 'Strange Ritual' Slaying in Iowa
Officials: Hiker Died of Blow to Head, Later Decapitated
Cops Accused of Sex With Prostitutes While on Duty
Football Player, Wife Charged in Death of His High School Cheerleader Ex
Man Gets Probation for Mailing Cow Head to Wife's Lover
Moron Arrested After Driving Truck Into House
81-year-old Aussie nabbed selling weed
Man who hid knives in pants stabs self
Pair wheel corpse to store to cash check

Media in the Media / Bloggers in the News / Watching the Web
WEBCAMS AROUND THE WORLD: Milwaukee

Science / Medicine and Health / Technology
Third Man Dies From Tainted Dairy Products
Girl, 12, Dies After Mystery Illness Causes Series of Mini Strokes
Panasonic Debuts 150-Inch Plasma TV
Anxious people have higher heart risk
Rural U.S. faces organ transplant hurdles: study
Microsoft's Xbox could consider Blu-ray support - Video
Comcast unveils movie-TV hub Fancast.com
Hubble Telescope upgrade on hold
Tropical dengue fever may threaten U.S.: report
Food safety an Olympic challenge for Beijing Games
Healthy habits can mean 14 extra years

Mother Nature
Dog Triggers Shotgun Blast, Killing Owner in Freak Hunting Accident
Rare Winter Tornadoes Rip Through Midwest; Houses Destroyed, Power Down, 3 Dead - VIDEO - PHOTOS

Oddities
Mexican Emergency Services Free Boy, 10, Who Glued Himself to Bed to Avoid School
These guys have got to be hustlers...
Official fired for mother's lavish funeral

Other News of Note
Boy Scout Grabs Attacker's Knife, Saves Maldives President From Assassination (Hey, they don't say 'Be Prepared' for nothing!)
1864 American Flag Found in Closet

Fox News
FOXBusiness: Dow Plunges 238 Points
FOXNews.com Goes Inside CES 2008
'American Idol' Winner Taylor Hicks Dropped By Record Label
Joe Gibbs Resigns as Coach of Washington Redskins
Tom Cruise's $100 Million Nazi Movie

Reuters
Taylor trial hears how child was dismembered
Chile's Bachelet fires 5 ministers in shuffle
Mexico sends police to combat Tijuana violence
Sarkozy hints he is ready to wed Bruni - Video
Drivers face $3.50 gasoline this spring
New York City too expensive? Try a room at IKEA
Briton finds ethical jewellery good as gold
Scrapped Golden Globe ceremony hits Hollywood hard - Video
Victoria Beckham not so "Posh" in '07 - Video
Star banker replaces Cayne as Bear Stearns CEO
Many chains expected to post softer Dec. sales
Best Buy CEO sees signs of tougher climate
Ford CEO says U.S. economy a concern
Merrill to keep HQ at World Financial Center: report
Wall St's early bruising spells trouble ahead in 2008
GM sees potential opportunity in India partnerships
New year sees shake-ups in corporate America
Nikkei hits new 18-month low as U.S. recession looms
Asian stocks sink to 3-week low
Gold hits record above $890 on dollar, oil
Yen slips as Australian dollar gains on data, gold
Countrywide denies bankruptcy, stock plunges 27 pct
ETrade plans to exit institutional business
Airlines shares plunge on oil, economy
Record weak start to year for U.S. stocks
Oil up further on Nigeria, U.S. crude stock concerns - Video

AP World News
People's Choice Awards get around strike
Lawyer asks Congress to get McNamee tape
Eminem recovering from pneumonia
Police: Rocket accuser lied in rape case
Oops, now Britney's lost her car
Goose Gossage elected to Hall of Fame
Panama plane crash survivor back in U.S.

CENTCOM: News Releases
COALITION FORCES DISRUPT AL KUT CRIMINAL ELEMENT NETWORKS, 11 TERRORISTS KILLED

USJFCOM
Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa Mission Rehearsal Exercise commences - podcast
2007 -- The Year in Review - photos
U.S. Joint Forces Command, IBM sign new cooperative research and development agreement
More about CRADAs

Multi-National Force-Iraq
Local Tip Leads Iraqi SWAT to Weapons Cache
Air strike destroys AQI safe house, reveals large cache (Busayefi)
MPs assist Iraqi Police at Al Kut checkpoints
Iraqi Special Operations Forces detain extremist cell leader, 3 suspected extremists (Baghdad)
Iraqi Army, Coalition Forces find caches, detain terrorist (Kirkuk)

DefenseLink
TOP NEWS
Bush: Reconstruction Teams 'Vital' to Iraq
Gates Calls on Iran to Disavow Aggressors at Sea

IRAQ NEWS
Petraeus: Surge, Strategy Working
Exercises Keep Soldiers Alert
Hajj Pilgrimage Deemed a Success

WHY WE SERVE
Program Connects Troops, Civilians

MILITARY NEWS
Personnel System Offers Boost to Careers

AFGHANISTAN NEWS
Air Force Trio Brings Economic Growth to Villagers

FACE OF DEFENSE
Face of Defense: Soldier Follows in Father’s, Grandfather’s Footsteps

AMERICA SUPPORTS YOU
Group Offers Spirituality

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
0624 - Muslim army occupies Kurashitische Caravan
0794 - Church at Lindisfarne, England destroyed by Vikings
0871 - Battle at Ashdown - Ethelred of Wessex beats Danish invasion army
1198 - Lotario di Segni elected Pope Innocentius III
1214 - Earl Ferrand of Flanders drops ties with France
1499 - Louis XII of France after papal divorce marries Anne, Duchess of Brittany to keep the duchy for the crown
1558 - French troops under Duke de Guise occupy Calais
1598 - Jews are expelled from Genoa Italy
1716 - Dutch gang leader "Sjako" arrested
1745 - England, Austria, Netherlands & Saxon sign anti-Prussian Quadruple Alliance
1746 - Bonnie Prince Charlie's troops occupy Stirling
1760 - Comet C/1760 A1 (Great comet) approaches within 0.0682 astronomical units (AUs) of Earth
1790 - George Washington delivers 1st "State of the Union" address
1798 - 11th Amendment ratified, judicial powers construed
1800 - Austrians defeat French in 2nd battle of Novi; Wild Boy of Aveyron discovered in southern France
1806 - Cape colony becomes English colony; Lewis & Clark find skeleton of 105' blue whale in Oregon
1811 - Louisiana slave revolt by Charles Deslondes at German Coast
1815 - Battle of New Orleans-War of 1812 ended 12/24/1814 but nobody knew
1830 - Dutch King Willem I fires displeasing parliament members
1833 - Boston Academy of Music, 1st US music school, established
1838 - 1st telegraph message sent using dots & dashes, New Jersey; Rebellion at Amherstburg, Ontario breaks out
1853 - 1st US bronze equestrian statue (of Andrew Jackson) unveiled, Washington
1856 - Dr. John A Veatch discovers borax, Tuscan Springs CA
1867 - Legislation gives suffrage to DC blacks, despite President Johnson's veto
1870 - US mint at Carson City NV begins issuing coins
1878 - Secret meeting of King Leopold II's agent & Henry Morton Stanley
1884 - Chrome tanning process for leather patented by Augustus Schultz
1889 - Dr. Herman Hollerith receives 1st US patent for a tabulating machine (1st Computer)
1894 - Columbus World's fair in Chicago destroyed by fire
1904 - Pope Pius X banned low cut dresses in the presence of churchmen
1917 - Austria-Hungarian troops conquer Forlani, Italy
1918 - Mississippi becomes 1st state to ratify 18th amendment (prohibition); President Wilson outlines his 14 points for peace after WWI
1925 - 1st all-female US state supreme court appointed, Texas
1926 - Abdul-Aziz ibn Sa'ud becomes king of Hejaz; renames it Saudi Arabia
1932 - Ratification of present San Francisco City Charter
1935 - Spectrophotometer patented, AC Hardy
1940 - Britain's 1st WWII rationing (bacon, butter & sugar)
1947 - General George Marshall becomes Secretary of State
1948 - Queen Wilhelmina signs death sentence against Ans van Dijk for treason
1951 - Thought extinct since 1615, a Cahow is rediscovered in Bermuda
1952 - Jordan adopts constitution
1953 - René Mayer forms French government
1958 - Cuban revolutionary forces capture Havana
1959 - Charles de Gaulle inaugurated as President of France's 5th Republic
1963 - "Mona Lisa", on loan, unveiled in America's National Gallery of Art
1964 - President Lyndon B Johnson declares "War on Poverty"; European Parliament accept Mansholt Plan
1965 - Star of India returned to American Museum of Natural History
1966 - Georges Pompidou appointed French premier
1968 - Jacques Cousteau's 1st undersea special on US network TV
1971 - Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota established; 29 pilot whales beach themselves & die at San Clemente Island CA
1973 - Secret peace talks between US & North Vietnam resume near Paris; USSR launches Luna 21 for Moon landing
1974 - Loch Ness Monster photographed
1975 - Judge Sirica orders release of Watergate's John W. Dean III, Herbert W. Kalmbach & Jeb Stuart Magruder from prison
1978 - Israel's Cabinet votes to `strengthen' settlements in occupied Sinai
1979 - 512 die as oil tanker Bantry Bay blows up
1979 - Vietnamese troops overtake Khmer Rouge & occupy Phnom Penh
1982 - Justice Department withdraws antitrust suit against IBM, pending since 1969
1985 - Japan launches Sakigake space probe to Halley's Comet
1986 - President Reagan freezes Libyan assets in the US
1987 - Dow Jones closes above 2,000 for 1st time (2,002.25)
1988 - Hewlett-Packard introduces the HP-28S Advanced Scientific Calculator
1989 - Soviet Union promises to eliminate stockpiles of chemical weapons; Boeing 737-400 crashes in England, 46 die
1992 - US President George Bush gets ill; vomits on Japanese prime minister's lap during Japanese tour
1994 - Russian manned space craft TM-18, launches into orbit
1996 - Blizzard buries eastern US causing at least 50 deaths; For 1st time in 25 years no one is elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
1998 - Unabomber suspect Theodore Kaczynski asks to act as his own lawyer; World Trade Center bomber Ramzi Ahmed Yousef sentenced to life

Birthdays
1081 - Henry V. Roman, German king/emperor (1098/1111-25)
1767 - Abraham de Veer, Dutch Governor-General of Suriname (1822-28)
1791 - Jacob Collamer (Senator-VT)
1814 - Thomas Green, Confederate Brigadier General
1815 - George Webb Morell, Union Major General; Lawrence Pike Graham, Union Brigadier General
1817 - John Selden Roane, Confederate Brigadier General
1821 - James Longstreet, Confederate General (1st Corps, ANV)
1823 - Alfred Russel Wallace, British zoologist/co-discoverer (evolution)
1830 - Governer Kemble Warren, Union Major General
1836 - Fannie M. Jackson pioneer & educator, 1st US Black woman college grad
1851 - Gérard Leman, Belgian count/General
1862 - Frank Nelson, Doubleday publisher/founder (Doubleday & Co.)
1867 - Emily Green Balch, US sociologist/feminist/pacifist (Nobel 1946)
1868 - Sir Frank Dyson, proved Einstein right about light bent by gravity
1870 - Miguel Primo de Rivera Orbaneja, dictator of Spain (1923-30)
1885 - John Curtin Victoria, Australian PM (Labor, 1941-45)
1891 - Walther Bothe Germany, subatomic particle physicist (Nobel 1954)
1899 - Solomon WRD Bandaranaike premier of Ceylon (1956-59)
1900 - Queen Marie of Yugoslavia
1902 - Georgy M. Malenkov, Stalin's successor as head of CPSU, PM (1953-55)
1920 - Hendrikus J. Wittebold, civil servant/resistance fighter
1923 - Joseph Wiezenbaum, artificial intelligence pioneer; Larry Storch, comedian (F Troop, Larry Storch Show)
1926 - Soupy Sales [Milton Hines], North Carolina, comedian (Soupy Sales Show)
1928 - Sander Vanocur Cleveland OH, news anchor (NBC Weekend News)
1933 - Charles Osgood New York City NY, news anchor (CBS Weekend News)
1935 - Elvis Aaron Presley, rocker (Blue Suede Shoes, Hounddog); Jesse Garon Presley, stillborn twin brother of Elvis
1936 - Ferdinand Hartzenberg, South African minister of Education (1979-82)
1941 - Graham Chapman England, comedian (Monty Python's Flying Circus)
1942 - Stephen Hawking, English physicist (Black Holes & Baby Universes)
1942 - Vyacheslav Dmitriyevich Zudov, cosmonaut (Soyuz 23)
1944 - Terry Brooks, sci-fi author (Sword of Shannara)
1946 - Tod Brannan, corporate Vice President (Logos Network Corp)
1947 - David Bowie (Jones), singer/actor (Major Tom, Ziggy Stardust)
1951 - Gérard Leman Belgian General

Passings
0482 - Severinus, German monastery founder/saint
0624 - Abu Sufjan ibn Harb Kurashite, chief, in battle
1198 - Coelestinus III (Giacinto Bobo), pope (1191-98)
1324 - Marco Polo, Venetian explorer/Governor of Nanking
1455 - Laurentius Justitianus (Lorenzo Giustiniani), saint, dies at 73
1598 - Johan Georg, elector of Brandenburg (1571-91), dies at 72
1642 - Galileo Galilei, Italian physicist/astronomer, dies at 78
1711 - Philips van Almonde Zealand, Lieutenant-Admiral, dies at 66
1775 - John Baskerville, English printer/type designer
1796 - Jean-Marie Collot d'Herbois, French National Convention chairman, dies at 46
1808 - Messenger, horse that sired many great trotters
1811 - Samuel Story, Dutch rear admiral (Battle of Kamperduin), dies at 58
1815 - Edward Pakenham, English General (Battle of New Orleans), dies in battle
1842 - Pierre Earl the Cambronne, French General (Waterloo, Elba), dies at 71
1880 - (Joshua A.) Norton I, self-proclaimed "Emperor of the US/Protector of México," dies at 60
1941 - Lord Robert Baden-Powell founder of the Boy Scouts, dies at 83
1950 - Joseph A. Schumpeter, Austrian/US economist/Minister of Finance, dies at 66
1952 - Antonia Maury, discoverer (supergiant, giant & dwarf stars); Joseph Arendt, Belgian worker's union leader, dies at 66
1964 - Julius Raab, Austrian chancellor (1953-61), dies at 72
1976 - Chou En-lai, China's PM (1949-76), dies of cancer in Beijing at 78
1980 - Oscar Ewing, US government official (Everybody's Business), dies at 90
1988 - Frank Pace, Jr., US Secretary of Army (1950-53), dies at 76
1992 - Menachim Begin, Israeli PM, dies at 78 of a heart attack
1993 - Asif Nawaz, Pakistani General; Hakija Turajlic Bosnian vice-premier, murdered
1994 - Lady Caithness, wife of British undersecretary, commits suicide
1996 - Francois Mitterrand, President of France (1981-95), dies of cancer at 79
1998 - Walter Diemer, inventor (bubble gum 1928), dies of heart failure at 93

Reported Missing in Action
1968
Bifolchi, Charles L., USAF (MA); RF4C disappeared on reconnaissance mission (pilot, w/Smith)

Fischer, Richard W., USMC (WI)

Smith, Hallie W., USAF (OR); RF4C disappeared on reconnaissance mission (navigator, w/Bifolchi)

The following US Army personnel reported MIA during heavy ground action:
Cannon, Frances E., US Army (AZ); DIC September, 1968 - remains returned August, 1985

Harker, David N. (VA); released by PRG March, 1973 - alive as of 1998

Strickland, James H. (NC); released November, 1969

Williams, Richard F. "Top" (CA); DIC September, 1968 - remains returned August, 1985

1971
Curry, Keith R., USN (WV); A6C shot down, KIA, body not recovered

1973
The following US Army personnel reported MIA when their UH1H disappeared while on mission:
Bush, Elbert W. (MS); passenger, remains returned 1996 - ID'd October, 1999

Deane, William L. (FL); passenger, remains returned 1996 - ID'd October, 1999

Knutson, Richard A. (MN); pilot, remains returned and ID'd November, 1995

Lauterio, Manuel A. (CA); crew chief, remains returned and ID'd November, 1995

Stinson, William S. (AL); gunner, remains ID'd November, 1999

Wilson, Mickey A. (CA); aircraft commander, remains returned in 1996 - ID'd October, 1999

Labels: Headlines, History