CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq
4/1/2008 4:03 PM, Sgt. Nathaniel C. LeBlanc
A Mine Resistant and Ambush Protected “Buffalo” vehicle from Reaper platoon, Company A, 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 1 creeps down a rural road with its flood lights revealing the ground below, allowing combat engineers to observe for any suspicious objects in their path during a route clearance mission. The Reapers have successfully cleared nearly 9,000 miles of roads throughout the area of operations at a crawling pace of 10 miles per hour, and discovered six improvised explosive devices during their seven month deployment.

Labels: 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, Buffalo, Camp Fallujah, Iraq, military vehicles, MRAP, photos, Regimental Combat Team 1

An MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle takes off in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The 432nd Wing at Creech Air Force Base, Nev., marked its first year May 6 as the Air Force's only MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle wing. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Rob Valenca)

Read the Story Associated with this Photo

Labels: 432nd Wing, aircraft, Creech AFB, MQ-1, photos, Predator, USAF

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Iraqi civilians flee fighting in Baghdad militia stronghold
Coalition Forces, Iraqi Army Work Together, Detain 29

Operation Enduring Freedom
GI's Graphic Afghan Firefight Recorded on Family's Voice Mail (Yes, he's OK)
Gates: Afghanistan command restructuring worthy of consideration

Homeland Security / War on Terror / Hamas-Hezbollah Happenings
FBI Identifies Mystery Men Seen Aboard Washington State Ferries as Tourists

Fallen Heroes
Taliban kill Canadian soldier in Afghanistan

Wounded Warriors
Iraq war strains army mental health system
A tale of two soldiers scarred by war
Committee chairman accuses VA of criminal negligence

Other Military News
"Lioness" shows women on frontline
Long deployments strain marriages
Georgia says "very close" to war with Russia

Homegrown Moonbats
Rosie O'Donnell: Rev. Jeremiah Wright 'Made Sense to Me' (Why doesn't this surprise me?)

Politics / Government
Obama Wins North Carolina Primary, Clinton Leads in Indiana
EXIT POLLS: Economy, Wright Controversy Matter to Voters
RAW DATA: Karl Rove on Polling Trends
BRIEFING BOOK (pdf)
DELEGATE COUNT
WATCH LIVE: Strategy Room - Clinton HQ
Senators Vow to Block U.S.-Russian Nuke Pact
As Food Costs Rise, Pols Debate Ethanol Benefits (Did anyone NOT see this coming??)
AEHQ: Nuns Lacking ID Turned Away from Polls (As well they should have been)
John Edwards Plays it Down Middle in N.C.
North Carolina's presidential primary
Video: Focus on superdelegates
Obama searches for votes and food
House Democrats favor timetable for Iraq troops
Obama wins N. Carolina, CBS says Clinton takes Indiana - Video
Bush, Democrats near deal on election commission
Exit polls: Race key in NC, IN but Wright's impact mixed
Pelosi says more stimulus needed, Bush "in denial"
USTR defends handling of trade deals with Congress
U.S. slams Russia over rising tensions with Georgia
Video: Democratic race hits crucial phase
Russia swears in new leader, but will he be boss?

In the Courts / Crime and Punishment / Law and Order
Interpol Launches Worldwide Manhunt for Pedophile After 'Severe Abuse' Seen in Photos
Judge Calls Indian 'Tribe' Bogus, Orders It to Pay Damages
Report: Austrian 'Horror House' Dad May Have Raped Granddaughter
Austrian incest victim may sue for compensation - Video
Pregnant Policewoman's Request for Light Duty Denied by New Jersey Township Officials
Apocalyptic Sect Leader Arrested on Sex Charges
Pics of Burglary Suspects Found on Stolen Camera
Man Shoots Girlfriend, 2 Kids, Self in Virginia Home
Man, Missing Girl Charged in Death of Elderly Man
D.C. Sniper Seeks to Halt Death-Row Appeal
U.S. executes first inmate after moratorium
Man convicted of stalking Uma Thurman
Britney Spears wins more time with sons
Brazil jury absolves rancher in murder of U.S. nun
Special counsel's office raided amid obstruction probe
TV video shows Philly officers kicking, hitting 3 suspects
Calling all carbs: Dietitian hired to arrest officer obesity
Students claim police chief who shot himself was careless

U.N. News
UN Refugee Agency Offers Legal Help to Roma

Media in the Media / Bloggers in the News / Watching the Web
Google in driver's seat after Microsoft-Yahoo bust
Yahoo shares up on hope of talks, Google deal - Video
Yahoo teams with McAfee to offer search results security
Colbert, will.i.am among special Webby award recipients
Does Google Abet Human Rights Violations in China?

Science / Medicine and Health / Technology
Huge Black Hole Catapulted Through Space
Scientists find something good about a big bottom
Blocking brain enzyme helped mice stay slim
Child virus fears spread to China's capital - Video
Bone marrow treatments restore nerves, expert says
Electronic Arts looks to Wii to drive sports growth
Microsoft brings TV shows from NBC, others to Zune
Verizon joins another undersea cable network
Vodafone, Tel.Italia iPhone deals end exclusivity
10M children worldwide die from lack of health care
Pandemic flu threat remains substantial, health experts say

Mother Nature
International Aid Filters to Cyclone Victims in Myanmar
Bush Calls on Myanmar to Allow Cyclone Aid
Cyclone Death Toll Tops 22,000, 41,000 Missing
Junta says "doing its best"
Myanmar urged to accept U.S. help
Factbox: Aid offers for Myanmar
Bamboo village resists cyclone's wrath
Emergency evacuation as Chile volcano spits lava - Video

Oddities
Florida Teacher Fired for 'Wizardry'
Registering potentially dangerous knives
Rugby strip show caught on video
Firm in trouble for slum tour with a twist
Drivers fined for slow-drive on scenic bridge
Yankees-Red Sox argument ends in murder?
Video: Record breaking 10-scissor haircut
Elderly couple is accidentally sealed inside New Delhi home

Other News of Note
Protest Over Eight Belles Death Draws Both Sides
Israel at 60
Altered outlook for Mideast Jews
Israelis feel pride, Palestinians pain
Russia lures back Jews
Israel's 60th anniversary celebrations
Israel's painful birth in 1948
"Super-spike" could lift oil to $200
Eight Belles' trainer denies fallen filly was on steroids

Fox News
FOXBusiness: Oil Rises to Record High
FOXSexpert: Casual Sex, Can You Handle It?
Pop Tarts: Gwyneth Paltrow: 'Everyone Has the Wrong Idea of Me'

Reuters
Travelers may rebel against higher fares
Factbox: Why prices are at record high
In food price crunch, more Americans seek help
U.S. sees oil use down on weak economy and high prices - Video
Japan's Nikkei up 0.7 pct led by Canon
No honeymoon
Reuters Summit: Exchanges & Trading
Commentary: Is the housing tsunami receding?
Sprint, Clearwire to reveal $12 bln JV: sources
Cisco strikes cautious tone, results beat view
Paulson says markets emerging from crunch: report
Bear market reality check revisits Wall Street
Co-branded Nike-Finish Line store targets runners
UBS axes 5,500 jobs as it sells down subprime - Video
ArvinMeritor to split off car unit
Common joins "Terminator" cast
The Police to perform final gig in New York
Christina Ricci goes back to blockbusters
Video: Donahue criticizes Iraq War in film
Lakers guard Bryant finally wins MVP award
Weary Stars vow to rise up against Red Wings
Hot Heatley lifts Canada to last-gasp win over U.S.
Serena Williams eases into Berlin third round
Grant Hackett resurfacing in time for Beijing

AP World News
Co-founder of Baskin-Robbins ice cream stores dies at 90
Fannie Mae sees sharper home-price declines, loses $2.2B
NCAA academic report: Some college teams may be hit hard
Pistons, Hornets take 2-0 leads in the NBA playoff series
Bernanke urges more action to stem home foreclosure crisis

News Blaze
Ironhorse Tracker radio newscast available
MND-B Soldiers Detain 15 Suspects, Seize Bomb-Making Materials
Soldiers' Angels and Patriot Guard
Iraq News
Read about Operations in Iraq
FOB Warhorse Memorial Photos
Videos

CENTCOM
Yusifiyah Farmer's Market reopens
Security in Abu Shemsi offers new opportunities

USJFCOM
Newsmaker Profile: Director of Joint Concept Development and Experimentation Rear Adm. Dan Davenport - podcast
Druid's Dance exercise yields major training milestone
USJFCOM signs agreement with Old Dominion University Research Foundation
Learn more about CRADAs - podcast
Joint Knowledge Online earns prestigious award for distance learning
Learn more about Joint Knowledge Online
Joint Knowledge Development and Distribution

Multi-National Force - Iraq
Iraqi, Coalition Leaders Discuss Piledriver Progress
Australian, U.S. Army Join Forces with Dhi Qar PRT to Teach ISF International Law
14th Iraqi Army Learns Biometric Database
ISF, MND-B soldiers seize 3 weapons caches, destroy enemy fighting position (Baghdad)
Two key suspects captured in Musayyib operations
Insurgent attack kills 3, wounds 7 in Salah ad Din
MND-B soldiers detain 9 suspected criminals in Rashid
Iraqi leaders cut ribbon on grand opening of Jameat Market (Basrah)
Criminals injure Iraqis in rocket attack (Baghdad)

DefenseLink
TOP NEWS
Military Spouses Earn Presidential Award - Video
Pentagon Anticipates War Funding Soon - Video
U.S. Navy Ready to Help Burmese Victims

IRAQ NEWS
Troops Teach International Law to Iraqis
Iraqi, Coalition Forces Detain 15 Suspects

AFGHANISTAN NEWS
Coalition Forces Fight in Two Provinces

MILITARY NEWS
‘Army Wives’ Cast Aims to Portray Real Military Life
Navy Uses NASCAR Star to Accelerate Recruiting

FACE OF DEFENSE
Marine Becomes Jack of All Trades for Iraq Unit
Military Experience Leads to Success for Miss Utah


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
1355 - 1,200 Jews of Toledo Spain killed by Count Henry of Trastamara
1429 - English siege of Orléans broken by Joan of Arc
1579 - Congress of Cologne forms in Netherlands
1624 - Admiral Hermites conquering fleet reaches Callao the Lima, Peru
1638 - Cornelis S. Goyer takes possession of Mauritius (uninhabited)
1660 - Isaack B. Fubine of Savoy, in The Hague, patents macaroni
1700 - William Penn begins monthly meetings for Blacks advocating emancipation
1727 - Jews are expelled from Ukraine by Empress Catherine I of Russia
1748 - French troops conquer Maastricht
1765 - Admiral Nelson's sailboat HMS Victory runs aground
1775 - Turkish state of Bukovina secedes from Austria
1789 - 1st inaugural ball (for George Washington in New York, NY)
1792 - Captain Robert Gray discovers Grays Harbor (Washington)
1800 - Indiana Territory organized
1832 - Greece becomes independent republic; Otto of Bavaria is chosen King
1840 - Tornado strikes Natchez MS, kills 317
1847 - American Medical Association organizes (Philadelphia)
1848 - Prussians stop insurrection in Varsovia
1856 - Argentine & Brazilian sign a navigation pact
1861 - Riot occurs between prosecessionist & Union supporters in Knoxville, TN
1862 - Battle of West Point, VA (Eltham's Landing, Barnhamsville)
1862 - Much of Enschede Netherlands destroyed by fire
1864 - Battle of Wilderness ends (total losses: USA-17,666; CSA-7,500); Skirmish at Port Walthall Junction, VA (Drewry's Bluff)
1866 - German premier Otto von Bismarck seriously wounded in assassin attempt
1867 - Blacks stage ride-in to protest segregation in New Orleans
1873 - US Marines attack Panamá
1875 - German SS Schiller sinks near Scilly Islands, 312 killed
1885 - John E. W. Thompson, named minister to Haiti
1888 - George Eastman patents "Kodak box camera"
1891 - Battle in Bunyoro: Captain F. Lugard stops Muslim rebellion, 300 killed
1902 - Soufriere volcano on St Vincent kills 2-5,000
1909 - Construction begins on first 100 houses in Ahuzat Bayit (Tel Aviv)
1912 - Columbia University approves plans for awarding the Pulitzer Prize in several categories The award is established by Joseph Pulitzer
1913 - British House of Commons rejects woman's right to vote
1914 - US Congress establishes Mother's Day
1915 - Lusitania sunk by German submarine; 1198 lives lost
1920 - USSR recognizes independence of Georgia
1924 - Peruvian Torre forms APRA, Alianza Popular Revolutionaria Americana
1928 - England lowers age of women voters from 30 to 21
1934 - Netherlands Princess Juliana opens Juliana Canal; Part of Khabarovsk becomes a Jewish Autonomous Region
1938 - Dutch Minister of Justice Goseling calls fugitives of Nazi-Germany "undesired strangers"
1939 - Germany & Italy announce an alliance known as the Rome-Berlin Axis
1941 - British House of Commons votes for Churchill (477-3)
1942 - Battle of Coral Sea ends stopping Japanese expansion; Nazi decree orders all Jewish pregnant women of Kovno Ghetto executed
1943 - British 11th Huzaren occupies Tunis, Tunisia; Dutch men 18-35 obliged to report to labor camps; Liberty Ship George Washington Carver, named after scientist, launched; US 1st Armour division occupies Ferryville, Tunisia; US 9th Infantry division occupies Bizerta/Bensert, Tunisia
1944 - German assault on Tito's hideout in Drvar, Bosnia
1945 - Branch Rickey announces formation of the US Negro Baseball League; Formal undertaking of complete German surrender; German General Keitel repeats surrender signing in Berlin for the benefit of the Russians; WWII ends in Europe; Mauthausen Concentration Camp liberated; Nazi Generals Jodl & Von Friedenburg surrender; SS open fire on crowd in Amsterdam, killing 22
1946 - William H. Hastie inaugurated as 1st Black governor of Virgin Islands
1947 - General MacArthur approves Japanese constitution; Paraguayian Government unleashes contra revolt
1948 - Nazi collaborator V-Mann Antonius van de Waals sentenced to death
1951 - International Olympic committee allows Russia to participate in 1952 Olympics
1954 - French surrender to Vietminh after 55-day siege at Dien Bien Phu; US, Great-Britain & France reject Russian membership in NATO
1955 - USSR signs peace treaty with France & Great-Britain; West Europe Union established
1956 - Battle at Oran, Algeria, kills 300
1958 - Major Howard Johnson, USAF, sets aircraft altitude record in F-104 (Lockheed Starfighter), 27,810 meters
1960 - USSR announces Francis Gary Powers confessed to being a CIA spy
1969 - Lieutenant General Robert E. Cushman, Jr, USMC, becomes deputy director of CIA
1975 - President Ford declares an end to "Vietnam Era"; Small Astronomy Satellite Explorer 53 launched to study X-rays
1979 - 5th UNCTAD-conference opens in Manila
1980 - Josip Tito, Yugoslav President, buried
1982 - Federal jury rules NFL violates antitrust laws in preventing Oakland Raiders from moving to Los Angeles; IBM releases PC-DOS version 1.1
1984 - $180 million out-of-court settlement reached in Agent Orange suit
1986 - Phillies outfielder Garry Maddox, retires
1989 - Panamanian voters reject dictator Manuel Noriega's bid for presidency
1992 - Constitutional amendment barring mid-term congressional raises passes; Jockey Angel Cordero retires after winning over 7,000 horse races
1992 - US space shuttle STS-49 launched (maiden voyage of Endeavour)
1993 - South Africa agrees to multi-racial elections
1994 - Edvard Munchs painting "The Scream" recovered 3 months after stolen
1995 - Jacques Chirac wins French presidential election
1997 - Galileo, 4th Ganymede Flyby (Orbit 8)

Birthdays
1530 - Louis I Condé, French prince/leader of Hugenots
1574 - Innocent X [Giambattista Pamfili], 236th Roman Catholic pope (1644-55)
1763 - Josef Poniatovski, Polish general/marshal of France
1774 - Sir Francis Beaufort, naval officer; devised wind force scale
1826 - Varina Howell Davis, Confederate First Lady
1827 - Francis Engle Patterson, Union Brigadier General
1832 - Carl G. Neumann, German mathematician/physicist (Neumann-functions)
1847 - Archibald Primrose, Earl of Rosebery (Liberal), British PM (1894-95)
1892 - Josip Broz Tito, WWII partisan, leader of Yugoslavia (1943-80)
1901 - L. T. Coggeshall, medical scientist/ US Secretary of HEW (1956-58)
1903 - Basil Nield, judge/politician
1917 - William Geoffrey Biddle, bomb disposal expert
1919 - Eva (Evita) [Duarte] Perón, Argentinian actress / First Lady
1923 - Pete V. Domenici (Senator-NM)
1930 - Aviard Gavrilovich Fastovets, cosmonaut
1931 - Nel J. Ginjaar-Maas, Dutch under-secretary of Education (VVD)
1932 - Pete Domeneci (Senator-NM)
1939 - Rudolphus F.M. "Ruud" Lubbers, director Dutch/CDA-premier (1982-94)
1945 - Wim A. Mateman, Dutch MP (CDA)
1946 - Richard L. Brodsky, US lawyer/NY State Assemblyman
1959 - Tamara E. Jernigan, PhD/astronaut (STS 40, 52, 67, 80)
1960 - Arnon Ohad, co-pilot (El Al) plane that crashed on Bijlmer, Amsterdam

Reported Missing in Action
1970
The following civilians reported Missing in Cambodia:
Dudman, Richard; released June, 1970

Morrow, Michael; released June, 1970 (USG spells Morow)

Pond, Elizabeth; released June, 1970

1972
Consolvo, John W., Jr., USMC (VA); F4J shot down

Kernan, Joseph E., USN (DC); RA5C shot down (w/Polfer), released by DRV March, 1973 - served as Mayor of South Bend, IN, Lt. Governor of IN (1997 - 2003), and then Governor of IN (2003 - 2005) - alive as of 2006

Polfer, Clarence, USN (MO); RA5C shot down (w/Kernan), released by DRV March, 1973 - alive and well as of 1998

1973
Kay, Emmet J., Civilian (HI); released by Pathet Lao September, 1974 - deceased

Labels: Headlines, History