TIKRIT ASSAULT - U.S. and Iraqi soldiers head out during an air assault mission geared toward forcing insurgents out of the village of Al Fatah Miaya near Tikrit, Iraq, July 25, 2008. The soldiers are assigned to Troop G, 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Kyle Richardson

Labels: 2-3 ACR, Al Fatah Miaya, Iraq, Iraqi Army, photos, Tikrit, US Army

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
‘Sustained Progress’ in Iraq, New Deployments Reduced to 12 Months
Monthly U.S. Troop Fatalities Hits All-Time Low in Iraq
Fewer Iraqi civilians killed in July
Iraq suffers from dirty water, fears about cholera
South Baghdad ready for transition
IA tracks down AQI fleeing from Diyala (Salah ad-Din)
IA detains suspects connected to deaths of U.S. Marines

Operation Enduring Freedom
Kabul book-seller uses Web to spur reading

Homeland Security / War on Terror / Hamas-Hezbollah Happenings
Scientist Suspected in Anthrax Attacks Dead
Attack Details Emerge After Suicide - VID - PICS
FAST FACTS: Anthrax — How It Kills
Report: Pakistan Tied to Attack - PHOTOS
Pakistan Denies ISI Behind India Embassy Blast
Pakistan undermines U.S. war paper
U.S. says spies forewarn Qaeda allies
Fatah: Hamas Seizes More Fatah Leaders in Gaza
U.S. agents can seize travelers' laptops: report (Scary)

Religion of Peace??
Saudi Arabia Bans Sale of Dogs and Cats in Capital in Effort to Keep Sexes Apart

Worldwide Wackos
EU awaits Iran nuclear response, not watching clock
Green group touts Al Gore's clean energy goal

Politics / Government
Sen. Stevens Pleads Not Guilty - Federal Indictment (pdf)
ELECTION HQ: Playing Race Card? - VIDEO
POLL: Obama Lead Shrinks in Battleground States
The "race card"
Blog: Comparing Obama to Britney
Video: VP stakes for Obama, McCain
Blog: McCain dodges Favre brawl
Obama shifts on offshore oil drilling
McCain chides Obama over school vouchers
Lawmakers head home after impasse on gas prices
New Ad Compares Obama to Moses
Obama Aide: McCain Manufactured Race Debate
Judge: Congress can subpoena Bush aides
Bush to walk careful line in South Korea visit
Congress approves student loan bill
Israeli police question Olmert for fourth time

In the Courts / Crime and Punishment / Law and Order
Nine Charged in Starvation Death of Disabled, 42-Pound Teen
Police: Pennsylvania Couple Went on 18-Month Egging Spree
Missouri Man Found Guilty in Videotaped Sex Slaying
Man Accused of Stabbing, Decapitating Seatmate on Greyhound Bus in Canada
Hunt for Gunman After Four Shot Along Wis.-Mich. Border
FBI: Father May Have Disguised Missing Girl as Boy
Verne Troyer sues ex-girlfriend seen in sex tape
Man arrested in river ambush on 3 Wis. swimmers
Starved, disabled girl was failed at every turn
Canadian bus attack suspect charged with murder
Lawyer: Brazilian man confessed to killing teen

U.N. News
Karadzic at U.N. court
Bosnians want trial to shed light
Factbox: What happens next?
Interactive Timeline: Bosnian War
U.N. renews Darfur peacekeeping mandate

Media in the Media / Bloggers in the News / Watching the Web
No showdown, just outcry, seen at Yahoo meeting
FCC rules Comcast violated Internet access policy

Science / Medicine and Health / Technology
Mars Phoenix Lander Finally Samples Ice
Smokestack China in green revolution
More: Corals hold conservation clues
U.S. cocktails mix it up with molecular gastronomy
Hope and horses: China's rich equine art on display
Universe's first star born tiny, grew huge: study
Eclipse to darken NW China, a week before Olympics
Eclipse revives homemade telescopes - Video
Nintendo Wii outsells PS3 3-to-1 in Japan in July
Disputed Korean rocks bring banking, ring tones
Computer games could get cinema-style ratings
Video: Smart shelves to serve shoppers
MIT develops way to bank solar energy at home

Mother Nature
Alligator Bites Off Arm of 11-Year-Old Louisiana Boy
China quake area hit by two strong aftershocks
Woman, 97, says cat's yowling saved her from fire
Coral "hotspots" hold conservation clues
Turkish forest fires may engulf 4,000 hectares
Infrastructure needs rise as floods recede

News from My Neck of the Woods
New York Woman Burns to Death While Cooking
'Montauk Monster': Creepy Carcass Washes Up - VIDEO
'Montauk Monster' Has Hamptons in a Tizzy

Oddities
Stinky 440-Pound Gambler Fuming After Atlantic City Casino Tosses Him Out
'Designer Vaginas' Blacklisted in Australia
Texas High School Orders Prison Jumpsuits for Offenders of Dress Code
World's oldest joke traced back to 1900 BC - Video
Punishing airlines whose passengers misbehave
Staff urged to dress down, stay cool as U.N. heats up
Police hunt stolen rare shark
Man wins appeal in bizarre gasoline suicide case
Don't streak, get drunk or sleep outside

Other News of Note
Officials to Lift Internet Restrictions (China)
Americans off to Shanghai, look ready for Beijing
Most Californians now favor offshore oil drilling

Fox News
Girls' Dormitory Collapse in Turkey Kills 14
At Least 8 Dead in Charter Plane Crash in Minnesota
Rebates Aided Economy Slightly in Second Quarter
FOXBusiness: Dow Ends July With 205-Point Dive
Arkansas Man Dies Tampering With Electric Meter After Service Shut Off
Hidden Portrait Found Beneath Van Gogh Painting
Pop Tarts: Dakota Fanning 'Embarrassed' About Orlando Bloom Encounter

Reuters
Urban veggie patches to feed poor
Fuel prices hit chaotic W.African travel
Blog: Soaring fuel feeds thought
Blame the deflator
Factbox: New economic stimulus
Video: Keeping recession at bay
Economy grows at a soft pace
Paulson sees economic hardships
Stimulus helps lift spending: study
Stocks fall on U.S. worries, jobs data awaited - Video
Geeks may be overrated in Hollywood
Big Hollywood films shooting despite strike threat
Elizabeth Taylor in hospital but said "fine"
Britney Spears' dad still in charge
French thriller "Tell No One" a word-of-mouth hit
Video: Talk of the Town:Brit dad still boss
Battle of the beetles heats up summer in Tokyo
White Sox swoop for Ken Griffey Jr
Angels crush Yankees
Dodgers grab Manny Ramirez in three-team deal
Federer defeat opens way for Nadal
Blackhawks hire Bowman as advisor

AP News
Lindsay Lohan fires back at police 'gay' remark
LaBeouf lawyers: Left hand was 'crushed'
Chinese cheered by eclipse a week before Olympics
Karstens, Pirates stop Cubs' 5-game winning streak
Person close to deal: Jolie-Pitt pix for $14 mil
Favre could get paid to stay off the field
Jobless rate climbs as 51,000 jobs vanish
GM posts $15.5B 2Q loss, 3rd-worst in its history
At least 32 dead after train catches fire in India
Sharapova says she'll miss US Open after Olympics
Manny, Junior in big deals on deadline day

NewsBlaze
Next 'Greatest Generation' Keeping Apaches in The Sky
Troops Help Iraqi Physicians Support Iraqis in Baghdad
Soldiers' Angels and Patriot Guard
Iraq News
Read about Operations in Iraq
FOB Warhorse Memorial Photos
Videos

CENTCOM
Iraq improving; conditions 'mixed' in Afghanistan
Iraqi troops show increased self-sufficiency
Sheikhs discuss upcoming elections in Samawa
Konar bridge unites divided districts

USJFCOM
Task force assists as health conference promotes continuing Iraqi medical education
Liveblogging: Noble Resolve 08
More about Noble Resolve
Task force opening the judicial lines of communication in Ramadi
Conference to foster medical advancements in Anbar province
Business grows in Ramadi with USJFCOM-provided task force assistance
Task Force Ramadi helping to restore water in the desert
Coalition exercise examines improving combat identification
USJFCOM demonstration aims to enhance combat identification amongst coalition forces
USJFCOM hosts Keystone course for command senior enlisted leaders - podcast
New USJFCOM-funded close air support capability takes off at China Lake - podcast

Multi-National Force - Iraq
Iraqi Police Officers Graduate First ‘Train-the-Trainer’ Class
New Courthouse to Open in Basrah
Teachers Union Reopens in Ramadi
Al Anbar Medical Conference promotes continued education
Detainee Work Program Building Pride
ISF captures three suspected terrorists in separate operations in Iraq Multi-National Corps
Students afforded better learning environment through school improvements (Umm Qasr)

Department of Defense
TOP NEWS
Senate Confirms Generals
Pentagon Promotes 'Soft Power'
Bush OKs Death Penalty for Soldier

MILITARY OLYMPIANS
Soldiers Prepare to Bolster Team USA

60TH ANNIVERSARY OF INTEGRATION
Mullen Discusses Importance of Integration
Special Report: 60th Anniversary of Integration

IRAQ NEWS
Iraqi Forces Keep al-Qaida Off-Balance
Coalition Captures 17 Suspected Terrorists

AFGHANISTAN NEWS
Army Battalion Brings Development to South
Afghan Police Detain Militants in Eastern Province

MILITARY NEWS
Coast Guard Cutter Supports Africa Mission

FACE OF DEFENSE
Teacher Flies Medevacs
Soldier Bonds With Iraqis

AMERICA SUPPORTS YOU
Happy Notes Reach Deployed 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
1291 - The Everlasting League forms; it is the basis of Swiss Confederation (National Day).
1619 - The first Black Americans (twenty of them) arrive in Jamestown, VA.
1789 - U.S. Customs begins enforcing the Tariff Act.
1790 - The first U.S. census lists the population at 3,939,214.
1794 - The Whiskey Rebellion begins.
1798 - Battle of the Nile.
1831 - London Bridge opens.
1834 - Slavery is abolished in the British empire.
1838 - British slaves in the Bahamas are emancipated.
1861 - Brazil recognizes the Confederacy.
1863 - Cavalry units engage near Brandy Station at the end of the Gettysburg campaign.
1867 - Blacks vote for the first time in a state election in the South (Tennessee).
1873 - The first San Francisco cable car begins service.
1876 - Colorado becomes the 38th U.S. state.
1881 - A U.S. Quarantine Station authorized for Angel Island, San Francisco Bay.
1901 - Burial within the San Francisco city limits is prohibited.
1914 - Germany declares war on Russia.
1936 - Adolph Hitler opens the Olympic Games in Berlin.
1950 - Curt Simmons is the first Major League baseball player to fight in Korea; The Territory of Guam is created.
1953 - Northern Rhodesia becomes part of the Federation of Rhodesia/Nyasaland
1955 - Microgravity research begins.
1957 - In Albuquerque, NM, the first commercial solar-heated building opens; Glen Gorbous throws a baseball a record 445 feet, 10 inches.
1958 - First Class postage is raised to $0.04 (it had been $0.03 for the last 26 years).
1960 - Benin (Dahomey) gains independence from France.
1961 - The new San Francisco Hall of Justice opens.
1972 - The first article exposing Watergate hits the press (Bernstein-Woodward).
1975 - The Helsinki Pact is signed by 35 nations.
1990 - Iraq pulls out of talks with Kuwait

Birthdays
10 BC - Claudius 4th Roman emperor (41-54 AD)
126 - Publius Helvius Pertinax Roman emperor (193 AD)
1744 - Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, believed in inheritance of acquired traits
1770 - William Clark, 2nd Lt. of Lewis and Clark Expedition
1779 - Francis Scott Key, composer (Star-Spangled Banner)
1819 - Herman Melville, author (Moby Dick, Billy Budd)
1889 - Dr. John F. Mahoney, developed pencillin treatment of syphillis
1933 - Dom DeLuise, comedian, actor (Cannonball Run)
1936 - Yves Saint-Laurent, fashion designer (Opium, Obsession)
1937 - Alfonse D'Amato, (Sen-NY)
1944 - Yuri V. Romanenko, cosmonaut (Soyuz 26, Soyuz 38, Soyuz TM-2)
1946 - Richard O. Covey, USAF/astronaut (STS 51I, 26, 38)

Passings
1882 - Henry Kendall Australian poet, dies of tuberculosis at 43
1988 - John Cardinal Dearden US cardinal, dies at 80

Reported Missing in Action
1966
Finney, Arthur Thomas, USAF (FL); F104 shot down, remains returned August, 1985

Kwortnik, John Charles, USAF (PA); F104 shot down (pilot), remains returned August, 1985

North, Kenneth W., USAF (NY); F105D shot down, released by DRV March, 1973 - retired as a Brigadier General as of 1996, alive as of 1998

1967
Prewitt, William Roland, USMC (LA); KIA, body not recovered

Winston, Charles C. III, USAF (NY); RF101 shot down, remains returned by SRV September, 1977

1968
Kernan, William (WA); not on official DIA list - remains returned?

Broms, Edward J., USN (PA); A4C shot down, likely KIA

Fowler, Donald R., US Army (GA); UH1C shot down (gunner)

Fernan, William, US Army (WA); UH1C shot down (WO, aircraft commander); casualty file states body recovered, remains returned August, 1971

Hastings, Steven M., US Army (CA); UH1C shot down (crewchief)
Ross, Joseph S., USAF (KY); F4D shot down

Russel, Peter J., US Army (NY); UH1C shot down (pilot); Vietnamese doctor states died on or before Thanksgiving, 1968

Thompson, William J., USAF (TX); F4D shot down

1969
Burd, Douglas G., USAF (VA); F4E shot down (backseater); KIA, body not recovered

Callies, Tommy L, USAF (SD); F4E shot down (pilot); KIA, body not recovered

Labels: Headlines, History