Short-Term Focus in Afghanistan
Obama expected to approve higher U.S. troop levels, may downplay goal of long-term stable government

Other Headlines:
NATO: Members May Use Iran to Reach Afghanistan
Pentagon: Iran's Satellite Launch Cause for Concern

Labels: Headlines

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Iraq Takes Control of Green Zone - VIDEO - PHOTOS
Greetings From Iraq: Happy Sovereignty Day!

Operation Enduring Freedom
U.S. Preps for 20,000 Troop Surge Against Taliban

Homeland Security / War on Terror / Hamas-Hezbollah Happenings
Israel Slams Hamas Homes, Destroys Gaza Mosque
Hamas Resilient Despite Israeli Onslaught
Gaza Decisions Made Day-by-Day - PHOTOS (Graphic)
Fate of Revered Soldier Captured by Hamas Unclear
Hamas Rockets Put Israel's Nuclear Facility in Battle Zone
Pro-Palestinian protesters at Obama's Hawaii house - Video
Judge rejects release of two Guantanamo inmates
Aussies 'Unlikely' to Take Detainees (So we're supposed to close Gitmo, but no one wants their dirtbags back....maybe we should send 'em to the whiners who want them released)
Suspected U.S. Airstrike in Pakistan Kills 3 Militants
India says Pakistan attitude unchanged on militants
Beware of Disinformation From Gaza

Worldwide Wackos
Cuba celebrates revolution's 50th anniversary
Castro: Cuba Revolution Will Last Another 50 Years

Politics / Government
Portland Largest U.S. City With Openly Gay Mayor
Ex-Rhode Island Sen. Claiborne Pell Dead at 90
Mahalo, Hawaii: Obamas Head Home to Chilly Chicago
Caroline Kennedy's Star Rising in Senate Bid
Dems Could Try Stall Tactics to Block Burris From Senate
Obama to meet with congressional leaders on economy - Video
Madoff complying with assets disclosure deadline
China's Hu praises 30 years of ties with U.S.
Video: Illinois Governor arrested

In the Courts / Crime and Punishment / Law and Order
4 Arrested in Calif. Lesbian's 'Extreme' Gang Rape
'Santa Shooter' Led 2 Lives While Plotting Murders
Caylee Anthony's Grandparents Seek Immunity
Officials: Ski Resort Shooter Killed Cat, Committed Suicide
Aspen Man Threatened 'Mass Death' Before Killing Self
North Carolina Father Suspected of Killing 3, Taking His 2 Children
Man says he shot car with paintballs to deter DUI
A look at Illinois' new interlock-ignition law
New ignition lock laws aim to foil drunk drivers

Media in the Media / Bloggers in the News / Watching the Web
Viacom and Time Warner reach deal to avoid blackout - Video

Science / Medicine and Health / Technology
Medics Caught on Tape Allegedly Decided Disabled Man Not Worth Saving
Beatles to zombies, videogamers set for varied '09
NASA says Columbia crew had no chance to survive - Video
Antibiotics before infections save lives: study
Esophageal cancer linked to osteoporosis drugs
Circulating fluid keeps donated kidneys healthier
Microsoft blames leap year for Zune glitch
Beatles to zombies, videogamers set for varied '09
Nokia CEO to favor profit over sales targets: report
China Mobile soars after 3G approval; pushes HSI up
Online holiday sales fall 3 percent
Video - 2008: a take on tech

Mother Nature
Gas Tax Hike a Carbon Surcharge? (Here we go...)
Great Barrier Reef Coral Decline May Spell Disaster
Avalanches Kill 2 at British Columbia's Whistler Resort
Beijing's New Year resolution: scrap polluting cars
Poison shrub oil powers New Zealand airline flight - Video
2009 to be one of warmest years on record: researchers
Whales throw New Year party in Maine: government
Sharks have wimpy bites, study finds
2 major Wash. passes closed by snow; 1 reopens

News from My Neck of the Woods
Special-needs student, 22, left on NYC bus in cold

Oddities
Teens Lost for 3 Days After Trying to Sneak Into Show: We Are Idiots
When to buy? When to sell? When to divorce? - Video
Easy come, easy go after gold glitch
Tick tock ... tick: Extra second added to 2008 - Video
Peruvian Jesus born to Virgin Mary on Christmas
Warner Bros blacks out "Dark Knight" from China
Video: And Finally.. The Oddest of 2008.
Suicides in national parks increase in 2008

Fox News
USC Rolls Over Penn State 38-24 in Rose Bowl
New Year's Day Fire Kills 5 in Washington - PHOTOS
61 Killed in New Years Eve Club Fire - PHOTOS (Graphic)
Reuters
Red Wings beat Blackhawks at Winter Classic
States, cities struggle with economic crisis
Q&A: What is municipal bond market?
Calif. budget woes tarnish outlook
Rhode Island worse-off than most
Wall St bets on bull year for 2009
Stocks end dismal year on higher note
Factbox: S&P 500 winners & losers
Factbox: Worst year ever for Nasdaq
Factbox: Third worst year for Dow
U.S. steel industry urges "buy America" recovery plan
Obama to meet with congressional leaders on economy - Video
Fannie says IndyMac has $1 bln in mortgage obligations: report
Europe's gas flowing day after Moscow cuts off Kiev
Global stocks rise on first trading day of year - Video
Losing the luxury appetite
Technology and Trust
New year, new hope
The nonprofit challenge
Heal your way to higher earnings
Factories slash output and jobs in big emerging markets - Video
City National subject of bailout review: report
Bank of America, Wells close mergers as banking transforms
After worst year ever, commodities may lag recovery
GM gets $4 billion rescue loan, Chrysler on hold
Bank of America, Wells close mergers as banking transforms
More Gulf industrial projects at risk after Dow
ONGC to proceed with Imperial Energy takeover
Heath Ledger 2008's biggest movie story: poll - Video
French actress Huppert to head Cannes film jury
August date for Quentin Tarantino World War II movie - Video
Taylor Swift tops album chart for 4th week
Music album sales tumble further in 2008
Video: New Year river dive stuns crowds
Travel Picks: Top budget-friendly 2009 destinations
Travel Postcard: 48 hours in Tianjin, China
Just a Minute With: Oscar winner Cate Blanchett
Japan shoppers grab lucky New Year bags amid gloom
Magic turn on the style to overpower Bulls
Angels and Fuentes agree on two-year contract
Bruins beat Penguins to notch 10th win in a row
Indians sign infielder DeRosa from Cubs

Associated Press
Aspen tries to recreate New Year after bomb scare
France's Isabelle Huppert to head Cannes film jury
Bernie Hamilton, 'Starsky and Hutch' captain, dies
Virginia Tech tops Cincinnati, ends BCS drought
Prolific mystery writer Donald Westlake dead at 75
Nebraska beats Clemson 26-21 in Gator Bowl
Ask AP: Digital TV switch, keeping sailors healthy
FAA: 2 dead in fiery plane crash at Ill. airport

NewsBlaze
NP ready to take lead in Abu T'shir
Wolfhounds Train Iraqi Police
Soldiers' Angels and Patriot Guard
Iraq News
Read about Operations in Iraq
FOB Warhorse Memorial Photos
Videos

CENTCOM
Job training opens doors for former 'Sons of Iraq'
Medical clinic opens in Kabani
Baghdad operation showcases Iraqi readiness
Sons of Iraq, IP and IA work together to make provinces safe
Mullen surveys Golden Mosque reconstruction

USJFCOM
2008 Year in Review
Command begins new capability development on three projects
USJFCOM fires unit helps training center improve joint training for Army units
More about Joint Fires Integration and Interoperability Team
U.S. Joint Forces Command clarifies Joint Operating Environment 2008
Command releases report examining the future - Read the report
USJFCOM, NATO reach historic first for simulation federation

Multi-National Force - Iraq
Air Force Surgeons Rotate Through Iraq
82nd Paratroopers Prepare for Iraq Mission
Camp Liberty Soldiers Ring in the New Year
Iraqi Commandos Learn Border Security
Citizen's tip leads IA, MND-B Soldiers to Baghdad weapons cache
Airport transitions to civil authority in southern Iraqi province
IA detains 5 after IDF attack near Kut
IA, MND-B Soldiers find weapons caches west of Baghdad
ISF secure warrants, arrest 13 suspected criminals

DefenseLink
HOLIDAY MESSAGES
Bush Thanks Troops for Making Country Safer - Video
Chairman Honors Sacrifices of Troops, Families

TOP NEWS
U.S. Turns Over Green Zone Security Responsibility to Iraq
U.S. Seeks Supply Routes for Afghanistan
Armed Forces Inaugural Committee Moves Into High Gear as Jan. 20 Nears

IRAQ NEWS
Renovations Form Strong Foundation
Diyala 'Sons of Iraq' Invest in Future
Iraqis Lead Coalition to Dismantle Bombs

AFGHANISTAN NEWS
Doctors Combat Waterborne Illness
Coalition Kills 11 in Shootout With Terrorists

MILITARY NEWS
Air Force Surgeons Train in Iraq
Navy to Commission Aircraft Carrier

AROUND THE SERVICES
U.S. Army, Iraqi Leaders Discuss Elections
Female Marines Give Up Locks for Love
Country Singer Brings Cheer to Sailors
Air Force 'Thunderbirds' Set Schedule

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
0069 - Roman Lower Rhine army proclaims its commander, Vitellius, emperor
0533 - John II begins his reign as Catholic Pope
1235 - Emperor Joseph II orders Jews of Galicia Austria to adopt family names
1492 - Spain recaptures Granada from the Moors (Granada Day)
1570 - Tsar Ivan the Terrible march to Novgorod begins
1602 - Spanish forces in Ireland surrender to the English at Kinsdale
1757 - British troops occupy Calcutta India
1776 - 1st revolutionary flag displayed; Austria ends interrogation torture
1788 - Georgia is 4th state to ratify US constitution
1800 - Free black community of Philadelphia PA petitions Congress to abolish slavery
1811 - US Senator Thomas Pickering is 1st senator censured (revealed confidential documents communicated by the President of the US)
1831 - Liberator, abolitionist newspaper, begins publishing in Boston
1839 - 1st photo of the Moon (French photographer Louis Daguerre)
1842 - 1st US wire suspension bridge for general traffic opens in Pennsylvania
1861 - Colonel Charles Stone is put in charge of organizing DC militia; SC seizes inactive Fort Johnson in Charleston Harbor
1863 - Battle of Murfreesboro (Stone's River) ends
1871 - King Amadeus I of Spain inaugurated at 25
1885 - General Wolseley receives last distress signal of General Gordon in Khartoum
1890 - Alice Sanger becomes 1st female White House staffer; Record 19'2" alligator shot in Louisiana by E.A. McIlhenny
1893 - 1st US commemoratives & 1st US stamp to picture a woman issued
1896 - Battle at Doornkop, South Africa (Boers beat Dr Jamesons troops)
1903 - President T. Roosevelt shuts down post office in Indianola MI, for refusing to accept its appointed postmistress because she was black
1905 - Elara, a satellite of Jupiter, discovered by Perrine; Japanese troops capture Port Arthur
1910 - 1st junior high schools in US open in Berkeley CA
1919 - Anti-British uprising in Ireland; Lithuania gains independence
1920 - 10,000 US union & socialist organizers arrested (Palmer Raids)
1923 - Ku Klux Klan surprise attack on black residential area Rosewood FL, 8 killed (compensation awarded in 1995)
1925 - Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region established (now in Tadzhik SSR)
1929 - US & Canada agree to preserve Niagara Falls
1933 - US troops leave Nicaragua
1934 - 1st state liquor stores open, in Pennsylvania
1935 - Bruno R. Hauptmann trial begins for kidnap-murder of Lindbergh baby
1936 - 1st electron tube to enable night vision described, St Louis MO
1938 - Book publisher Simon and Schuster founded
1942 - 28 nations, at war with Axis, pledge no separate peace; German troops in Bardia surrender; Japanese troops occupy Manila, in the Philippines
1944 - 1st use of helicopters during warfare (British Atlantic patrol)
1945 - Allied air raid on Neurenberg; Radio Orange ends cooperation at Liese-Aktion
1947 - Mahatma Gandhi begins march for peace in East-Bengali
1956 - Poujadists/communists win French parliamentary elections
1959 - USSR launches Mechta (Luna 1) for 1st lunar fly-by, 1st solar orbit; Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista flees
1960 - Senator John F Kennedy, announces his candidacy for President; John Reynolds sets age of solar system at 4,950,000,000 years
1964 - Ayub Khan elected President of Pakistan; Failed assassination attempt on President Nkrumah of Ghana
1965 - Martin Luther King, Jr., begins a drive to register black voters; Obverse design of all Canadian coins is changed to depict the Queen with a slightly more mature look
1966 - 1st Jewish child born in Spain since 1492 expulsion
1968 - Christiaan Barnard performs 2nd heart transplant
1970 - US population is 205,052,174
1971 - A barrier collapses at Ibrox Park football ground at end of a soccer match in Glasgow Scotland, killing 66
1972 - Mariner 9 begins mapping Mars
1974 - 55 MPH speed limit imposed by Richard Nixon; Worst fire in Argentine history destroys 1.2 million acres
1975 - US Department of Interior designates grizzly bear a threatened species
1978 - Bülent Ecevit forms government in Turkey
1979 - Sid Vicious' trial for murder of girlfriend Nancy Spingen begins
1983 - Garry Trudeau takes a 20-month break from writing "Doonesbury"
1984 - Riot in Tunis kills over 100; Wilson Goode, sworn-in as Philadelphia's 1st black mayor
1987 - Troops of Chad President Habré conquer Fada oasis
1988 - Oil storage tank spills 3.8 million gallons, Pennsylvania; Mulroney & Reagan sign Canada-US free trade agreement
1994 - Battles between army & rebellious Indians in South Mexico, kill 57
1995 - Bus crashes in Luzon Philippines, 29 killed; Most distant galaxy yet discovered found by scientists using Keck telescope in Hawaii (estimated 15 billion light years away)
1998 - Autopsy of Chris Farley shows he overdosed of opiates & cocaine

Birthdays
1642 - Mehmed IV, sultan (Turkey)
1647 - Nathaniel Bacon, leader of Bacon's Rebellion, Virginia (1676)
1699 - Osman III, sultan (Turkey)
1727 - James Wolfe, commanded British Army (captured Québec)
1835 - Charles Russell Lowell, Jr., Brigadier General (Union volunteers)
1861 - Helen Herron Taft, First Lady (1909-13)
1873 - Anton Pannekoek, Dutch astronomer/marxist theorist (Communist Tactics)
1880 - Louis Breguet, French aviation pioneer
1895 - Count Folke Bernadotte, statesman (Red Cross, UN)
1899 - Paul-Henri Spaak, Premier/Secretary-General of NATO (1957-61)
1913 - Ernest Sidey, British air marshal; Juanita E. Jackson Mitchell, US head (NAACP)
1920 - Penelope Jessel, politcal activist; Peter Harrison Swan, bomber pilot/stockbroker
1927 - Richard Belmont Ray (Representative-GA)
1928 - Dan Rostenkowski (Representative-IL, -94), House Ways & Means Committee chair
1928 - Vaughn Beals, CEO (Harley Davidson motorcycle)
1931 - Toshiki Kaifu, premier of Japan (1989-91)

Passings
1763 - John Casteret Earl Granville, English premier, dies at 72
1861 - Frederik Willem IV King of Prussia (1840-61)/Germany (1849-61), dies at 65
1863 - Roger Weightman Hanson, Confederate Brigadier General, dies in battle at 35
1904 - James Longstreet, Confederate General, dies at 82
1921 - Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg, German chancellor/PM (Prussia); referred to the international treaty guaranteeing Belgian neutrality as "a scrap of paper", dies at 64
1923 - Sam Carter, Black resident of Rosewood FL, lynched by KKK
1945 - Betram Home Ramsay, English Admiral/Commander Naval Forces (Normandy), dies at 61
1955 - José Antonio Remon, President of Panamá (1952-55), assassinated
1960 - Friedrich Adler, Austria social-democrat, assasinated PM Stürgkh, dies in Zürich at 80
1990 - Alan Hale, Jr., actor (Skipper Jonas Grumby-Gilligan's Island), dies of cancer at 71
1994 - Caesar Romero actor (Joker-Batman), dies at 86; Dixy Lee Ray, chairwoman (US Atomic Energy Commission), dies at 79
1995 - Mohammed Siyad Barre, President of Somalia (1969-91); Siad Barre, General/President of Somalia (1969-91), dies at 84

Reported Missing in Action
1966
MacLaughlin, Donald C., USN (MD); A4C disappeared while on combat mission

1967
Menges, George Bruce, USAF (OH); O1F shot down - remains returned August, 1980

1970
Brooks, Nicholas G., USN (NY); A6A shot down (w/Fryar); remains returned February, 1982

Fryar, Bruce C., USN (NJ); A6A shot down (w/Brooks)

Lindstrom, Ronnie G., USAF (MN); F4D shot down (w/West)

West, John T., USAF (MD); F4D shot down (w/Lindstrom)

Labels: Headlines, History

News of Note
'Tis the Season
Video: And Finally... Holiday Gift Guide
Travel Picks: Top 10 unusual stores for holiday gifts
Iraqi Logistics System Takes Shape, Boosts Efficiency
NORAD Prepares for 50th Year of Tracking Santa

Operation Iraqi Freedom
Shoe-Throwing Journalist 'Appears Beaten' - PHOTOS
Palestinian Offers Shoe-Throwing Reporter a Bride
Report raps ex-White House pair on Iraq claims
Freedom of the Press in Sadr City

Homeland Security / War on Terror / Hamas-Hezbollah Happenings
Jury in Fort Dix Trial Scheduled to Resume Deliberations
Rockets, Gunfire on Gaza Border as Ceasefire Ends
U.S. not ready for cyber attack

Welcome Home!!
Lithuanians Conclude Mission in Iraq

Troops (and Contractors) on Trial
Blackwater radio logs: Guards took incoming fire

Supporting Our Heroes
Gold Star Mom heads to Guantanamo Bay!
Celebrities, Volunteers Assemble Care Packages

Other Military News
Russia to Cut Arms if U.S. Drops Missile Defense
China Sending Ships to Battle Somali Pirates - PHOTOS

Worldwide Wackos
Israel Urges Russia Not to Sell Weapons to Iran

Politics / Government
Mideast Donors Big on Bill Clinton's List - LIST
End to Mideast Cease-fire Poses Challenge for Obama
Watergate 'Deep Throat' W. Mark Felt Dies at 95 - PHOTOS
Emanuel 'Spoke Directly' to Blago About Senate Seat
Deference to Feds Could Slow Blago Impeachment Push
Illinois AG: Blago Can't Use Taxpayer Funds for Defense
Legal fight planned over Ill. governor wiretaps
Obama plans week's 5th news conference for Friday
Bush, Abbas to assess negotiations with Israel
Auto Aid Announcement Imminent
Coleman's Lead in Senate Race Down to 2 Votes
Obama promises to bolster financial regulation - Video
Obama starts to put stamp on Fed with Tarullo - Video
Obama spurs EU on economy
Obama defends choice of pastor for invocation
Saudis, Indians among Clinton foundation donors
Schwarzenegger to veto Democrats' budget plan
Sharpton takes Caroline Kennedy to lunch in Harlem

In the Courts / Crime and Punishment / Law and Order
Ultimate Fighter, Wife Found Shot Dead in Bed
Did Madoff Pull Off Ponzi Scheme Alone?
Alleged Scheme Could Cost IRS up to $17B
After shock, Madoff fraud victims struggle to cope - Video
Did Bernard Madoff act alone? Investors doubt it
Mass. investor saw inside Madoff scam
Caylee Tipster Questioned; Cops Find Bones - PHOTOS
Anthony Defense Wary of Evidence Tampering
NASCAR settles $225 million suit with ex-official

U.N. News
U.N. divided over gay rights declaration
US balks at backing condemnation of anti-gay laws

Media in the Media / Bloggers in the News / Watching the Web
Man wins first case vs China's "human flesh search engine"

Science / Medicine and Health / Technology
Real-Life 'Da Vinci Code' Found on Back of Masterpiece
'Audio Aquarium' Technology Helps Blind 'See' Fish
Solar Flare Could Cripple Communications in '12 - VIDEO
Daddy day-care: dinosaur fathers guarded the eggs
Shocking study finds most will torture if ordered
Mineral points to Martian water suitable for life
Experts urge safety probe of plastics chemicals
Fatal attraction: How leukemia seduces blood cells
Japanese group asks Google to stop map service
U.S. government lab, 14 firms team up on lithium battery
U.S. not ready for cyber attack
Government website rates nursing homes
Portable devices give "cloud" computing new clout
More than 54 million disabled in U.S., census says
Electric cars no panacea
Shocking study finds most will torture if ordered
Panasonic to spend at least $4.5 billion to buy Sanyo

Mother Nature
Las Vegas gets record Dec. snowfall, 3.6 inches
Pet lovers protest cats on the menu in China
River pilot's jealousy linked to massive oil spill
Three Gorges Dam tested as water rises
Coal should be warming concern: scientists
EU draws closer to finalizing new pesticides law
African ministers say share water to combat hunger - Video:

News from My Neck of the Woods
NY man charged with insider trading on wife's info
NY man pleads guilty to YouTube baby food threat

Oddities
Duggar Family Welcomes 18th Child - PHOTOS
Tumor Removed From Newborn's Brain Contained Foot
NASCAR Settles $225M Racial, Sexual Harassment Lawsuit
Church Threatens to 'Out' Sins
More? What the Dickens are you talking about?
Carla Bruni wins damages for nude handbag
Snowfall buries skiers' credit crunch fears
Father offers daughter to shoe-thrower
Lawyers turn to Facebook to serve legal papers
Burger King Launches 'Flame'-Broiled Body Spray
Shooting victim goes to work with bullet in head
Officers: Pierced 'gothic kittens' marketed on Web

Fox News
FOXBusiness: GM, Chrysler Finance Units May Merge
Toyota Vehicle Operations to Post First Ever Loss
Will Smith: Suicide, Career And Otherwise
David Letterman Gets Jen Aniston's 'Naked on GQ' Tie

Reuters
Tsvangirai threatens to suspend Zimbabwe talks
Protesters battle Greek police, flights grounded - Video
From bridges to police: U.S. draws up stimulus plan
Morning Call: Losses at the open
Paulson vague on auto bailout
Economic crisis claims Detroit GP
China's struggle
China tries to lure "sea turtles" home
Video: China grads feel job chill
BOJ cuts rates and pumps funds to fight credit crunch
JP Morgan CEO and Citi's Rubin won't seek bonuses: report
Oil touches fresh 4-year below $36
Global stocks fall on oil and U.S. concerns - Video
Taking on the tomcats
Emerging SE Asia haunted by corruption
The green-collar economy
Fed's greatest bubble of all
GM and Chrysler seen near loan deal Video
Oil price has found floor: OPEC president
GMAC bank bid may fail: report
S&P says GE triple-A could be at risk
BofA to shelve $3 billion CCB share sale plan: report
Dassault Aviation signs $2.26 billion Thales stake deal
General Growth puts more high-end malls on sale
"Doubt" tops SAG film nominees amid strike talk - Video
"Benjamin Button" took decades to reach big screen - Video
Metallica on fire at L.A. show - Video
Golden Globe contenders a complicated bunch
Critics weigh in on year's best films
Caution: Wine label hazardous to your funny bone
Video: Traditional Paithani saris
Manning leads Colts to comeback win
Roy explodes for 52 in Blazers' win
Yankees introduce new aces Sabathia and Burnett
Detroit Grand Prix dropped from Indy schedule
Sixers' Brand out for a month with shoulder injury

Associated Press
Paulson: 'Orderly' auto bankruptcy might be best
Ed McMahon, wife have no plans to move from home
Sundin picks Canucks over Rangers, agrees to deal
Conklin, Datsyuk lead Wings to 6-0 win over Sharks
Official: Clemens' trainer cooperated under threat

NewsBlaze
MND-B Soldiers provide over watch for SoI payday activities
Tribal Sheiks Meet in Suleikh to Discuss Issues
Soldiers' Angels and Patriot Guard
Iraq News
Read about Operations in Iraq
FOB Warhorse Memorial Photos
Videos
California Heading for a Financial and Fiscal Armageddon

CENTCOM
Odierno: Troops out of Iraqi cities by summer
Iraqi bomb experts gain independence
General cites 'monumental' changes during time in Iraq
Iraqi pilots fly night missions
New plant means fresh water for Sadr City

USJFCOM
Command begins new capability development on three projects
USJFCOM fires unit helps training center improve joint training for Army units
More about Joint Fires Integration and Interoperability Team
U.S. Joint Forces Command clarifies Joint Operating Environment 2008
Command releases report examining the future - Read the report
USJFCOM, NATO reach historic first for simulation federation

Multi-National Force - Iraq
Bawi Water Pump, Filter Facility Opens in Salman Pak
Tribal shaykhs meet in Suleikh to discuss issues
Prime Minister addresses British troops in Iraq
Sustainers assist the Iraqi Army with a master driver program
ISF demonstrates integrated training facility�s capabilities
Coalition forces further degrade AQI in central Iraq: 11 suspects detained

DefenseLink
TOP NEWS
Gates Urges Direct Dialogue With President-elect on Iraq
Gates Asks for Guantanamo Closure Plan
Chinese Plans to Fight Piracy Welcomed
Chairman Takes Pulse of U.S. Forces, NATO Commands in Afghanistan
Mullen Sees Golden Mosque Rise Again - Photos
Supply Line Viable Despite Breaches
Agencies Receive Kudos for Cutting Costs
Gates Cites Appreciating Limits as Guide

IRAQ NEWS
U.S. Marines Bring Medicine, Security
Iraqi Forces En Route to Self-Sufficiency
Coalition, Iraqi Forces Capture 24

AFGHANISTAN NEWS
Attack Helicopters Join Afghan Air Corps
Afghan Commandos Detain Insurgent Leader

MILITARY NEWS
No Fancy Venues, But the USO Stars Rock - Photos

NATIONAL GUARD
National Guard to Support Inauguration

AROUND THE SERVICES
Army Cadets Work to Improve Physical Eval Boards
Marines Tackle Pre-deployment Training at Quantico
Trident Submarine Wraps Up Maiden Deployment
Air Force C-17 Revolutionizes Logistics in Antarctica

FACE OF DEFENSE
Soldier Continues Holiday Tradition from Afghanistan

Weather
Iraq
Al Azamiyah Al Basrah Al Hillah Al Karkh Al Kazimiyah Al Kut
An Nasiriyah Baghdad Baqubah Mosul Najaf Nineveh Tall Kayf

Afghanistan
Bost/Laskar Ghurian Herat Kabul Qandahar

Gitmo

Today in History
0401 - St Anastasius I ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1055 - Seldjuken under Toghril Beg occupy Baghdad
1154 - King Henry II of England crowned
1562 - Battle at Dreux: Anne de Montmorency & huguenots under Condé captured
1686 - Robinson Crusoe leaves his island after 28 years (as per Defoe)
1688 - King James II's wife & son flee to France
1732 - Benjamin Franklin (under the name Richard Saunders) begins publication of "Poor Richard's Almanack"
1776 - Thomas Paine published his 1st "American Crisis" essay, in which he wrote, "These are the times that try men's souls"
1777 - Washington settles his troops at Valley Forge PA for the winter
1788 - Chinese troops occupy capital Thang Long Vietnam
1795 - 1st state appropriation of money for road building, Kentucky
1823 - Georgia passes 1st US state birth registration law
1828 - South Carolina declares the right of states to nullify federal laws
1835 - HMS Beagle/Charles Darwin approaches New Zealand
1842 - US recognizes independence of Hawaii
1843 - Charles Dickens publishes "A Christmas Carol" in England
1854 - Allen Wilson of Connecticut patents sewing machine to sew curving seams
1861 - Battle of Black Water
1862 - Skirmish at Jackson/Salem Church TN (80 casualties)
1867 - Victims of "Angola Horror" burned to death (Angola NY)
1871 - Albert L Jones (New York NY), patents corrugated paper
1884 - Italy recognizes King Leopold II's Congo Free State
1888 - Stanley's expedition reaches Fort Bodo, East-Africa
1907 - 239 workers die in a coal mine explosion in Jacobs Creek PA
1910 - 1st city ordinance requiring white & black residential areas (Baltimore); Rayon 1st commercially produced, Marcus Hook PA
1918 - Robert Ripley began his "Believe It or Not" column (New York Globe)
1919 - American Meteorological Society found
1928 - 1st autogiro (predecessor of helicopter) flight in US
1934 - Japan agress to fleet treaty of 1922 & 1930
1939 - Russian air & ground attack against Finnish positions near Summa
1941 - German submarine U-574 sinks; Hitler takes complete command of German Army; US Office of Censorship created to control info pertaining to WWII
1943 - Military coup in Bolivia
1945 - Austrian Republic re-establishes
1946 - War breaks out in Indochina as Ho Chi Minh attacks French in Hanoi
1948 - 2nd political action of Java/Sumatra
1950 - General Eisenhower named NATO commander; Tibet's Dalai Lama flees Chinese invasion
1951 - Nazi General Christiansen leaves Netherlands
1958 - 1st radio broadcast from space (recorded Christmas message by President Eisenhower: "To all mankind, America's wish for Peace on Earth & Good Will to Men Everywhere")
1960 - Fire aboard USS Constellation, under construction in Brooklyn (50 die); Mercury-Redstone 1A reaches 210 km in test flight
1961 - British government begins decimal coin system; Indonesian President Sukarno proclaims general mobilization
1962 - Nyasaland secedes from Rhodesia & Nyasaland; Transit 5A1, 1st operational navigational satellite, launched
1963 - Zanzibar becomes independent from UK
1965 - French President De Gaulle re-elected (Mitterrand gets 45%)
1971 - NASA launches Intelsat 4 F-3 for COMSAT Corp
1972 - Grenada adopts constitution
1974 - Nelson A Rockefeller sworn-in as the 41st Vice-President
1975 - John Paul Stevens becomes a Supreme Court Justice
1976 - President Brezhnev receives his 5th Lenin order
1980 - Iran requests $24 billion in US guarantees to free hostages
1985 - STS 61-C scrubbed at T -13 seconds because of SRB auxiliary power problem
1986 - USSR frees dissident Andrei Sakharov from internal exile
1988 - NASA unveils plans for lunar colony & manned missions to Mars; Unexploded WWII bomb found in Frankfurt, Germany-5,000 evacuated
1991 - Boris Yeltsin takes control of Kremlin

Birthdays
1036 - Su Tung-p'o China, poet/essayist/painter/calligrapher
1683 - Philip V Versailles France, King of Spain (1700-24, 24-46)
1814 - Edwin M[cMasters] Stanton Ohio, US Secretary of War (1861-65)
1817 - James Jay Archer Brigadier-General (Confederate Army) died in 1864
1819 - James Clifford Veatch Brevet Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1895
1821 - Mary Ashton Livermore American reformer/women's suffrage leader
1824 - Hercules Robinson Ireland, South Africa Commissioner (1880-89, 1895-97)
1837 - John Carpenter Carter Brigadier-General (Confederate Army), died in 1864
1852 - A[lbert] A Michelson Strelno Prussia, US physicist (Nobel 1907)
1884 - Antonín Zápotocky premier/President of Czechoslovakia
1891 - Edward Bernard Andre Maria Raczynski Poland, president-in-exile (1979-86)
1906 - Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev Ukraine, 1st Secretary of the Community Party/President of the USSR (1964-82)
1926 - Jeanne Kirkpatrick US ambassador to UN
1943 - William De Vries Brooklyn NY, surgeon-inventor (Symbion artifical heart)
1951 - Fred W Leslie Ancon Panamá, PhD/astronaut (STS 73)

Passings
0401 - Anastasius I Bishop of Rome (399-401)
1370 - Urban V [Guillaume de Grimoard] 1st Avignon Pope (1362-70)
1804 - Mary Bright British PM Rockingham
1915 - Alois Alzheimer German neurologist (first described Alzheimer's Disease), dies at 51
1953 - Robert A Millikan US physicist (Nobel 1923), dies at 85
1968 - Norman Thomas founder (ACLU)/Socialist Party (1926-55), dies at 84
1977 - Nellie Taylor Ross 1st woman governor, dies at 101

Reported Missing in Action
1968
Payne, Norman, US Army SF (OH); disappeared after his unit was ambushed

1971
Forame, Peter C., US Army (VA); OH6A shot down (w/Skiles)

Johnson, Kenneth R., USAF (MN); F4D shot down (w/Vaughan)released by DRV March, 1973 – retired as a Lt. Colonel - alive as of 1998

Poynor, Daniel R., USAF (OK); F4D shot down (w/Thomas), remains ID’d June, 1995

Skiles, Thomas W., US Army (WY); OH6A shot down (w/Forame)

Thomas, Leo T., Jr., USAF (KY); F4D shot down (w/Poynor), remains ID’d June, 1995

Vaughan, Samuel R., USAF (SC); F4D shot down (w/Johnson), released by DRV March, 1973 – alive and well as of 1998

1972
The following USAF personnel reported MIA when their B52D was shot down:

Alexander, Fernando (TX); released by DRV March, 1973 – retired as a Lt. Colonel - alive and well as of 1998

Barrows, Henry C., (NJ); released by DRV March, 1973 – retired as a Lt. Colonel - alive and well as of 1998

Brown, Charles A., Jr. (MA); released by DRV March, 1973 – retired as a Lt. Colonel - alive as of 1998

Cooper, Richard W., Jr., (MD); navigator, presumed KIA

Poole, Charlie S., (LA); tailgunner, presumed KIA

Wilson, Hal K., (NY); released by DRV March, 1973 – retired as a Major - alive and well as of 1998

Labels: Headlines, History

News of Note
'Tis the Season
Child Writes to Santa, Asks for Molestation to End
FOX News Poll: Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays?
Man Arrested for Truckloads of Stolen Christmas Decor
Technology helps Santa make magic, scientist says
Video: And Finally... Holiday Gift Guide.

Operation Iraqi Freedom
Iraqi Shoe-Thrower 'Suffering Broken Bones' - VIDEO
Shoe-thrower expected to appear before Iraqi judge
Chavez: Shoe Toss 'Funny,' 'Courageous' - PHOTOS
Odierno: Troops out of Iraqi cities by summer
Iraqi pilots fly night missions
Women's Newspaper 'Tackles' Issues in Southern Iraq

Homeland Security / War on Terror / Hamas-Hezbollah Happenings
U.S. General Tells Hidden Story of 9-11 Mastermind
U.S. plot suspects had no intent to kill: attorneys
Police find explosives in Paris store after warning - Video

Politics / Government
Blago Chaos in Illinois House
WHERE'S BLAGO?
Ill. Speaker, AG Have Stormy Past with Blagojevich
White House Nears Bailout Decision
URGENT: Obama to Tap Vilsack for Agriculture Secretary
Education Secretary Pick Praised as 'Reformer'
Kennedy and Cuomo Openly Vying for Clinton's Seat
Impeachment query opens against Illinois governor
Houston mayor may pursue Senate seat in 2010
Obama names education chief, focuses on economy
Rep. Becerra says won't take Obama trade job
Video: Illinois Governor arrested
AP source: Donor to Commerce nominee being probed
Ill. parties clash over potential special election

Illegal Immigration / Border Control
$2.7 Billion Mexico Border Fence Now at 500 Miles

In the Courts / Crime and Punishment / Law and Order
Case Closed in Adam Walsh Slaying - PHOTOS
Murder of Adam Walsh: A 27-Year Mystery Solved- VIDEO
Twisted Life of Serial Killer Ottis Elwood Toole
Former Hit Man for Boston Mob Gets Movie Deal
Caylee Anthony Judge Denies Defense Access to Evidence, Will Reconsider Second Autopsy
Police Officer Seen Shoving Bicyclist on YouTube Indicted
Caylee's Grandparents 'Devastated' as Investigators Find More Bones
No Access to Evidence for Anthony Lawyers - PHOTOS
Police: 1981 Murder of Son of America's Most Wanted Anchor John Walsh Is Solved
Guard Fatally Shoots Ex, Self at Pa. Weapons Plant
Va. Cops Hunt Suspect Who Shot Officer, Neighbors
Father of Ore. Bank Bomb Suspect Arrested - PHOTOS
FBI Establishes Hot Line for Alleged Madoff Victims
Madoff tries to stay out of jail as probe widens
Dennis Quaid and his wife settle with hospital
SoCal grandmother held captive 26 hours in own car

Adventures in Political Correctness
Student Says School Persecuted Him for Being Conservative
UK Woolworths Won't Sell Lightsabers: Jedi Weapon Looks Like Gun

U.N. News
U.N. council allows Somali anti-piracy fight on land

Media in the Media / Bloggers in the News / Watching the Web
Australian Couple Defaults on Home, Notified on Facebook
Oprah Winfrey makes TV movie deal with HBO

Science / Medicine and Health / Technology
Scientists Brand AP Story 'Hysteria'
Study: Colonoscopies Less Effective in Fighting Cancer
Phoenix probe sheds new light on Mars weather
"Death map" shows heat a big hazard to Americans
Researchers find short-armed raptor in Argentina
Archeologists in Peru unearth ancient Wari city - Video
Mobile phone market to shrink in 2009
Wireless companies warn of U.S. inauguration delays
Sony, Fox Sports offer 3-D college football event
U.S. cable companies giving free equipment for digital move
Microsoft issuing emergency fix for browser flaw

Mother Nature
Mekong Valley a Treasure Trove of New Species
Arctic ice volume lowest ever as globe warms: U.N.
Luxury downturn hits U.S. beaver trappers
In "eat local" movement, Cuba is years ahead
Calif. near impact report on Monterey desalination
EU agrees to cut pollution from lorries
Video: Protests over Australia climate plan
No respite as wintry storms spread over nation

Oddities
Man Found Hanging From Tree Along Nevada Highway
Missouri Moves to Dump Old Law Banning Margarine
Man dies after retirement party hijinks
Nude models brave cold to protest low pay
Man who snatched wig will have toupee
Peru traffickers hide cocaine in smelly bird dung
Absolute leader's name dropped from anthem
Toilet-maker pledges to repair smoking bidets
Police: Armed burglars demand man's eggbeater

Fox News
No More Failures?
FOMC Cuts Rates to Lowest Level on Record
FOXBusiness: Dow Closes Up Nearly 360 Points
FOXBusiness: Consumer Prices Plunge at a Record Rate
Ski Resort Tower Collapse Traps 12 in Gondola
Exclusive: Hilary Duff 'Absolutely Did Not Say' She Was a Virgin

Reuters
Some 30 Russian tourists die in Israel bus crash
Greek PM vows to fight corruption after 11-day protest - Video
Emerging SE Asia haunted by culture of corruption - Video
Yale says its endowment lost 25 percent since June
What is quantitative easing?
Federal Reserve policy statement
Factbox: Recent Fed comments
Timeline: Rate changes since 1994
Wall Street rallies on Fed's rate cut - Video
Auto rescue being worked on quickly: Paulson
Jobs won't deliver Macworld keynote
Nikkei rises 1.3 percent on Fed rate cut
Morgan Stanley's earnings
Minimizing exposure
Obama spurs EU on economy
Great debt engine slips into reverse
And the band played on
Bold Fed still needs fiscal help
Honda shares dive ahead of possible profit warning
Wanted: Super-human technocrat to run New York Fed
GE says industrial profit could rise 5 percent in '09
Bristol-Myers to cut another 10 percent of workforce
Ford CEO expects lots of interest in Volvo
NAB in talks to buy GE's Australian mortgage unit
Satyam bows to investors, drops deal for builders
Downturn spurs "survival panic" for some - Video
Argentine wine exports seen growing despite crisis
EU plans museum of European history
London animal refuge bursting with abandoned pets
Sole-searching in China after shoe attack on Bush
Video: Death among the ruins
Six Giants and Vikings, seven Jets named in Pro Bowl squad
Orioles sign free agent shortstop Izturis
PGA Tour player award is phenomenal, says Harrington
Beijing a success after initial protests
YEARENDER-Cycling-Spain take the year's honors

Associated Press
Source: Ill. gov nixed job for Jackson Jr.'s wife
SEC chairman says agency failed to probe Madoff
Russian warships causing no ripples in Pentagon
Nation's first face transplant done in Cleveland
Strange dark energy acts as galactic diet enforcer
Marilyn Monroe pics sold for $150,000
Cake request for 3-year-old Hitler namesake denied
Peyton and Eli Manning: QB brothers in Pro Bowl
Document: Actor Peter Falk has Alzheimer's
SIPC chief: Madoff falsified books to hide losses
Stocks surge after Fed cuts rates to record lows
Rafael Furcal near 3-year deal to return to Braves
More than 130 A-list actors oppose strike vote
Harrington voted PGA Tour player of the year

NewsBlaze
DBE Personnel and American Troops Ground Smuggling Operations
PHOTOS: Infantry Soldiers earn Bronze Star Medals
Soldiers' Angels and Patriot Guard
Iraq News
Read about Operations in Iraq
FOB Warhorse Memorial Photos
Videos

CENTCOM
Iraqi bomb experts gain independence
General cites 'monumental' changes during time in Iraq
New plant means fresh water for Sadr City

USJFCOM
USJFCOM fires unit helps training center improve joint training for Army units
More about Joint Fires Integration and Interoperability Team
U.S. Joint Forces Command clarifies Joint Operating Environment 2008
Command releases report examining the future - Read the report
USJFCOM, NATO reach historic first for simulation federation
Multinational conference focuses on joint solutions

Multi-National Force - Iraq
Basra Receives Boost in Clean Water
Department of Border Enforcement, Coalition Forces Ground Smuggling Operations
Mail Team Keeps Morale High Over Holidays
Tip leads MND-B Soldiers to weapons cache
IA, MND-B Soldiers confiscate weapons in Karadah
1 NP, 2 civilians killed, 13 wounded in IED attack
Coalition forces transfer 39 high-value detainees to Iraqi authorities
Iraqi Army achieves milestone at Bayji National Ammo Depot

DefenseLink
Recruiting Still Challenging Despite Low Job Market
Secretary's Article Addresses Need for U.S. to Maintain Conventional Dominance
Chairman Hits the Road With USO Tour - Photos
Bush Cites 'Good Progress' in Afghanistan
Bush, Maliki Sign Security Pact

IRAQ NEWS
Local Contractor Rebuilds Water Facility
Officials Cite Progress in East Baghdad
Coalition, Iraqis Kill Three, Capture 31

AFGHANISTAN NEWS
Airmen Combat Explosive Threats
Forces Capture Taliban Commanders

MILITARY NEWS
Military Housing Allowance Rates Set for 2009
Command Works to Reduce Caregiver Fatigue
Guantanamo Detainees to Transfer

NATIONAL GUARD
Guard Responds to Neighbor's Call for Help

AROUND THE SERVICES
Army Releases New Field Training Manual
Marines Tackle Sludge and Swamps
Naval Aviators Conduct Carrier Landings
Airmen Donate School Supplies to Ecuador

FACE OF DEFENSE
Siblings Serve Together

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
0882 - John VIII ends his reign as Catholic Pope; Marinus I begins his
1431 - King Henry VI of England crowned king of France
1538 - King François I orders renewed pursuit of Protestants
1577 - Danzig surrenders to troops of Polish king István Báthory
1617 - Spanish viceroy Hernando Arias de Saavedra founds provinces Río de la Plata (Argentina)/Guaira (Paraguay)
1631 - Mount Vesuvius, Italy erupts, destroys 6 villages & kills 4,000
1653 - Oliver Cromwell becomes Lord Protector of England, Scotland & Ireland
1659 - General Monck demands free parliamentary election in Scotland
1689 - English Parliament adopts Bill of Rights after Glorious Revolution
1740 - Prussian Libya falls to Silezie
1761 - Russian army occupies Kolberg
1773 - Boston Tea Party
1809 - Napoleon Bonaparte divorces Empress Josephine by the French Senate
1811 - Most violent & prolonged quakes in US begins in Midwest region; 8.0 earthquake shakes New Madrid MO
1817 - Leaders of Molukkas uprising hanged in Ambon
1824 - Great North Holland Canal opens
1835 - Fire consumes over 600 buildings in New York NY
1838 - Boers beat Zulu chieftain Dingaan in South Africa
1857 - Earthquake in Naples, Italy
1858 - Dutch government decides to vacate Schokland Island
1862 - Kingdom of Nepal accepts its constitution
1864 - Battle of Nashville ends after 4400 casualities
1880 - Republic of South-Africa forms
1884 - Great Britain recognizes King Leopold II's Congo Free State
1897 - 1st submarine with an internal combustion engine demonstrated
1900 - Boer army under General Kritzinger take Cape colony
1905 - "Variety", covering all phases of show business, 1st published
1907 - Great White Fleet sails from Hampton Downs on its World Cruise
1909 - US pressure forces Nicaraguan President José Santos Zelaya from office
1912 - 1st US postage stamp picturing an airplane, 20¢ parcel post, issued; Austria-Hungary engage in conflict with Serbia
1913 - Charlie Chaplin began his film career at Keystone for $150 a week
1914 - French offensive in Artois (Pétain)
1915 - Albert Einstein publishes his "General Theory of Relativity"
1920 - Over 180,000 die when 8.6 earthquake destroys 15,000² miles (Kansu China)
1930 - Golfer Bobby Jones wins James E Sullivan Award
1931 - German SPD begins Eiserne Front against fascism
1932 - Heavy earthquake ravages Kansu China, 70,000 killed
1940 - British air raid on Mannheim
1941 - Sarawak occupied by the Japanese
1942 - Hitler orders combat against partisans in Russia & Balkan
1943 - "Tamiami Champion" trains collide, kills 73 & injures 200
1944 - Battle of the Bulge begins in Belgium; German V-2 strikes Antwerp bioscope (638 kill); US 2nd Infantry division occupies "Heartbreak Crossroads," Wahlerscheid
1949 - Sukarno becomes President of Indonesia; Mokammed Hatta becomes premier
1950 - Truman proclaims state of emergency against "Communist imperialism"
1953 - 1st White House Press Conference (President Eisenhower & 161 reporters); Charles E. Yeager flies over 2,575 kph (1,650 mph) in Bell X-1A (first man to fly at nearly two and one-half times the speed of sound)
1960 - 134 die as United DC-8 & TWA Super Constellation collide over Staten Island, New York NY
1962 - Constitutional Monarchical Hindu State of Nepál adopts new constitution
1965 - Gemini 6 returns to Earth; Pioneer 6 launched into solar orbit; Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, becomes King of Tonga
1969 - British House of Commons votes 343-185 abolishing the death penalty
1970 - 1st successful landing on Venus (USSR)
1971 - Bangladesh (East Pakistan) declares independence from Pakistan
1973 - US kidnap victim Paul Getty III freed
1976 - Government halts swine flu vaccination program following reports of paralysis; Andrew Young named Ambassador & Chief US Delegate to UN; Liberian tanker stranded at Nantucket, 180,000 barrels oil in sea
1978 - Ronald Reagan denounces President Jimmy Carter's recognition of China People's Republic
1980 - President-elect Reagan announces Alexander Haig as Secretary of State
1981 - Dutch Van Agt's 2nd government falls
1983 - Riverside CA judge denies cerebral palsy victim Elizabeth Bouviato request to starve herself to death in a county hospital
1988 - Political cult leader Lyndon LaRouche convicted of tax, mail fraud
1990 - Reverend Jean-Betrand Aristide elected President of Haiti
1991 - UN reverses ruling that Zionism is racism by 111-25 (13 abstain) vote
1992 - Israel orders deportation of 415 Palestinians after escalating terrorist activity
1997 - President Clinton names his Labrador retriever, "Buddy"

Birthdays
1485 - Catherine of Aragon, Spanish princess/1st wife of Henry VIII
1622 - Kurt S. Adeler, Danish admiral/ship builder
1742 - Gebhard Leberecht Fürst Blücher von Wahlstatt, German fieldmarshal
1809 - Peter P. van Bosse, Dutch attorney/liberal minister of Finance
1812 - William Grose, Union Brevet Major General
1819 - Robert Selden Garnett, Confederate Brigadier-General
1825 - Henry Heth, Confederate Major General
1828 - John Beatty, Union Brigadier-General
1830 - John Frederick Hartranft, Union Brevet Major General
1851 - Theodoor H. de Meester, Dutch premier (1905-08)
1857 - Edward Emerson, astronomer (Jupiter's 5th satellite)
1863 - Ralph Adams Cram, US gothic architect (Cathedral of St John the Divine NYC)
1888 - Alphonse Juin, French marshal
1906 - John Morrison, politician/landowner; Lord Margadale, English Conservative parliament leader/large landowner
1907 - Ray C. Bliss, Ohio State Republican Chairman
1909 - Henricus Verbunt, civil servant/resistance fighter
1941 - Lesley Stahl, White House correspondent (CBS-TV)
1955 - Carol M. Browner, US Administrator (EPA)

Passings
0714 - Pippin II of Héristal, Duke/prince of France
0875 - Ado of Vienne, French archbishop of Vienne, dies at about 75
0882 - John VIII, Italian Pope (872-82), dies
0999 - Adelheid the Saint, German empress of Otto I/saint, dies at about 68
1404 - Albrecht of Bavaria, duke of Bavaria, dies at about 74
1670 - Dorothy, 1st English marquis of Halifax, dies
1672 - John II Casimir Vasa, cardinal/king of Poland (1648-68), dies at 63
1774 - François Quesnay, French personal physician of Louis XIV, dies at 80
1858 - Richard Bright, British Dr. (Bright's disease/nephritis), dies at 69
1859 - Wilhelm Grimm, writer (Grimm's Fairy Tales), dies at 73
1916 - Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin, powerful Russian monk, murdered at 45
1920 - Ma Mua-Ming-Hsin the Benovelent, Chinese muslim rebel (holy war)
1922 - Gabriel Narutowicz, 1st President of Poland (December 7-16, 1922), assassinated
1944 - Glenn Miller, USAF veteran, jazz composer/orchestra leader (Danny boy), dies at 40 when his plane disappears on the way to entertain US troops
1945 - Fumimaro Konu Japanese prince/PM (1937-39, 40-41), commits harakiri
1949 - Traitsjo Kostov Bulgarian communist vice-premier, executed
1980 - Harland "Colonel" Sanders, founder Kentucky Fried Chicken, dies at 90
1983 - Kusan Sunim, founded Milae Sa temple/Bulsung Sa Zen in Korea, dies at 74
1985 - Paul Castellano, Organized-crime chief, shot dead at a New York, NY restaurant
1987 - Albert P. Morano (Representative-CT, 1951-59), dies at 79
1993 - Bentri Seddik, Algerian court judge, murdered at 46; Kakuei Tanaka premier of Japan (1972-74), dies at 75; Ratu Penaia Ganilau President of Fiji (1987-93), dies at 75
1996 - Jean-Pierre Levy, resistance leader, dies at 85

Reported Missing in Action
1965
Wickhamm, David W. II, USN (WV);A4C shot down, KIA, body not recovered

1967
Hill, Howard J., USAF (IL); F4D shot down, released by DRV March, 1973 - retired as a Colonel - alive as of 1998

Low, James Frederick, USAF (CA); F4D shot down, released August, 1968

1969
Buckley, Victor P., USN (VA); RF8G shot down, KIA, body not recovered

Labels: Headlines, History