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UPDATE: The city of Malibu is advising residents in Puerco Canyon to begin evacuating due to a wildfire driven by powerful winds. This area is north of Pacific Coast Highway and about 1 mile west of Pepperdine University. Residents along the beach on Malibu Road may soon be evacuated. Pacific Coast Highway is closed between Kanan-Dume Road and Topanga Canyon. Residents are advised to head to the west. Evacuation centers are being set up in the Zuma Beach area. A wildfire driven by powerful winds in the Malibu Hills this morning threatened a university, destroyed at least one home and...

Navy corpsman becomes a Marine Oct. 11, 2007; Submitted on: 10/11/2007 08:35:08 AM ; Story ID#: 200710118358 By Lance Cpl. Ubon Mendie, MCRD Parris Island Pfc. Shawn Dickens, a new Marine, was a Navy corpsmen for about four years before deciding to join the Corps. Even throughout recruit training, Dickens was referred to as 'Doc' and aided his fellow platoon members with medical questions. Photo by: Lance Cpl. Ubon Mendie" Pfc. Shawn Dickens, a new Marine shows a mural of what he calls the “Corpsmen Code.” The words read “through hell and back for a wounded Marine.” Words Dickens believes...

Geesh, how much worse does it have to get before they finally admit they've got it wrong? Insurgent attacks in Iraq’s Ninewah province have dropped significantly, and if the trend continues, fewer U.S. troops will be needed in the region, an Army commander in the area said Friday. A sign of the improved security situation in the province is the fact that the province - which includes Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city - will transfer to Iraqi provincial control sometime next month, said Army Col. Stephen Twitty, commander of the 1st Cavalry Division’s 4th Brigade, during a briefing with Pentagon reporters...

After serving in Iraq for more than a year, 2,600 members of the Minnesota National Guard's 1st Brigade Combat Team are finally coming home. The guard members were deployed a total of 22 months, 16 of which were spent in combat zones. That is longer than any other military unit in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Soldiers are returning Monday to armories in 10 different communities including Little Falls, Bloomington, Cottage Grove and Duluth. One of the reunions took place at the Brooklyn Park Armory where 45 soldiers unloaded off buses into the arms of loved ones. The guard members were part...

<p>It was a stand-off on the high seas like that which led to the arrest of 15 British sailors and marines by the Iranians earlier this year.</p> <p>But this time the potential captives were Australians and they were a little less meek in their response.</p>

Her heart was breaking, until the man with the flag restored Monika McGillicuddy's faith.

On a crisp spring morning in 1973 a pale and emaciated man made his way slowly across the Lo Wu bridge from China into Hong Kong. A British soldier at the frontier post saluted him as he approached. This was, the man later reflected, “the first act of dignity shown to him in 20 years”. His name was Jack Downey. He was a CIA agent, and since 1952 he and a colleague, Richard Fecteau, had languished in a Chinese prison, often in solitary confinement, secret hostages in the Cold War between the US and China. The capture, imprisonment and eventual...

WASHINGTON — A campaign by active-duty troops asking Congress to drop plans for a withdrawal from Iraq has collected more than 1,200 signatures in its first few weeks. The “Appeal for Courage” — which reads as a response to the anti-war “Appeal for Redress” presented to Congress last month — has been circulating both at bases in Iraq and online though military blog sites. Organizer Lt. Jason Nichols, a 33-year-old naval projects officer who has been in Baghdad since mid-January, said the goal is to keep lawmakers focused on letting the military finish its mission in Iraq, and not prematurely...

This weeks Sci-Fi Listing: Sunday: 9/8 Dresden Files -- SciFi Channel 10/9 Battlestar Galactica -- SciFi Channel Monday: 8/7 Heros -- NBC Wednesday: 9/8 Jerhico -- CBS

The Weekly Sci-Fi Thread: Sunday: 9/8 - Dresden Files ---> SciFi Channel 10/9 - Battlestar Galactica ---> SciFi Channel Monday: 9/8 Heros ---> NBC Wednesday: 8/7 Jericho ---> CBS

This Week Sci-Fi Listings: Sunday: 8/7 -- Dresden Files -- Sci-Fi Channel 10/9 -- Battlestar Galactica -- Sci-Fi Channel Monday: 9/8 -- Heros -- NBC Wednesday: 8/7 -- Jericho -- CBS

Sorry for not posting last week.... There was no new Dresden Files or BSG... Sunday 02/11/07: 9/8 - The Dresden Files 10/9 - Battlestar Galactica Monday 02/12/07: 9/8 - Heroes

The body of Master Sgt. Shawn A. Richardson arrived at Miami International Airport an hour behind schedule. It was 1:30 a.m. He was greeted by firetrucks and a row of Miami-Dade police officers, an impromptu honor guard that carefully draped the American flag over his casket and escorted the sergeant from the runway. The brief ceremony passed quietly, but not unnoticed. Touched, American Airlines Capt. Gary Blied wrote an essay and e-mailed it to some friends. They forwarded it to others. Blied's moving words spread quickly around the world. Thousands of e-mails popped into his inbox. Tearful phone calls came...

So, which of these 2 soldiers is your hero? By ROBERT L. JAMIESON Jr. P-I COLUMNIST This is the story of two soldiers with a common bond -- the mess that is Iraq. The first soldier, born in Tacoma, put on a military uniform after enlisting out of high school. The 24-year-old was living the bachelor life until the day he walked into the Taco Bell near Fort Lewis and locked eyes with a woman working there. She became his wife. The second soldier isn't married. Nearing 30, he made his way to the same Tacoma-area Army base, hundreds of...

RAMADI, Iraq— “In one of Iraq’s most turbulent areas, we’re seeing signs that the situation is changing,” says Navy Commander James Lee. He just finished a six-month tour with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as their representative on the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) for Al Anbar Province that includes the cities of Ramadi and Fallujah. “At one point the local tribal leaders and the population at large fought against us. But as they observed our continuing efforts to improve their communities, they’ve taken noticeable steps switching their alliance from sympathizing with the insurgents to helping us get the security...

TOTALLY OUTSTANDING..........MUST SEE This is just about the best slide show on Iraq that I've ever seen. I hope you get a chance to take a look at it. Be sure your sound is on. Be patient while it downloads. It's worth waiting for. Click below: http://www.clermontyellow.accountsupport.com/flash/UntilThen.swf

By Julie Carroll 9/6/2006 The Catholic Spirit ST. PAUL, Minn. (The Catholic Spirit) - Minnesota native Thomas Burnett Jr. once told his wife, Deena, that he believed God had a message for him. At the time, Burnett didn’t know what the message was, but he told his wife, “I know it will impact a great number of people, and it has something to do with the White House.” On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Burnett’s words proved prophetic as the hijacked airplane he was on, presumably targeting the White House, crashed in a rural Pennsylvania field. Voice recordings recovered...

Calling all fishermen. the Great state of Tennessee has long been known for its call to service and has earned the title, "Tennessee Volunteers." Well it time to step up to the plate for all of the fishermen out there as well as the lady fishermen. The American Bass Anglers, along with the Paris/ Henry Coounty Chambers, The Stewart Co Chamber, Northwest TN Tourism and the Friends of Paris Landing need your help to take the solders of the 101st Airborne Div on a fishing trip to be held on KY Lake out of Paris landing State Park on Oct...

The Rocky Mountain News was honored Monday with Pulitzer Prizes in writing and photography for its unflinching look at the way U.S. Marines honor comrades who have paid the ultimate price. In a newsroom celebration marked by emotion and tears, reporter Jim Sheeler was recognized for winning in feature writing and photographer Todd Heisler in feature photography for their collaboration, "Final Salute." The special report followed a Marine major who has the difficult task of making death notifications and of helping families begin to face life after loss. And while there was tremendous satisfaction in the awards, there was also...

Fred Phelps and his small group have been in the news garnering disrepute as they cross America and stage vulgar demonstrations at funerals of American soldiers killed in the Iraq war. Phelps’ zealots hold up offensive and profane placards protesting the war in Iraq, abortion, homosexuality and even the Catholic Church. As mourners arrive at the funerals of their loved one, they are faced with scripture quotes, vulgar slurs and offensive signs stating that the death of their loved one is God’s wrath on America because of our sins. Some of their offensive signs read “Thank God for Dead Soldiers”,...