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‘Work is not done,’ widow says Wife of Salvation Army pastor speaks of prayer for his killer EVIN DEMIREL ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE Leading a Sunday service in the building where her husband was shot and killed in a Christmas Eve robbery attempt, Salvation Army Major Cindy Wise said her mission to minister to the people in North Little Rock’s Baring Cross neighborhood has not changed. “I believe I have peace today because I know the work is not done here yet,” Wise told nearly 50 people on Sunday. Standing before the congregation in her navy blue uniform, she said she will...

ABC's Whitney Lloyd reports from New York: Fort Hood – where 13 soldiers were killed and 34 more shot by a fellow soldier yesterday – is at the forefront of an Army experiment to combat the emotional assault of war on soldiers. Major Nidal Malki Hasan, an Army psychiatrist who had treated soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, unleashed his own frustration and fear of an upcoming deployment to Afghanistan in a hail of bullets at Fort Hood – one of only two Army bases participating in a newly launched program to train soldiers in “emotional resiliency.” Opened just last...

A team led by scientists from The Scripps Research Institute has developed a method that dramatically improves the efficiency of creating stem cells from human adult tissue, without the use of embryonic cells. The research makes great strides in addressing a major practical challenge in the development of stem-cell-based medicine. The findings were published in an advance, online issue of the journal Nature Methods on October 18, 2009. The new technique, which uses three small drug-like chemicals, is 200 times more efficient and twice as fast as conventional methods for transforming adult human cells into stem cells (in this case...

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama on Thursday signed into law a $7.5 billion aid package for Pakistan that the U.S.-ally's military criticized as American meddling in its internal affairs. The measure provides $1.5 billion annually over five years for economic and social programs and comes as Pakistan faces a string of violent militant attacks and bombings as its military orchestrates an offensive into the Taliban heartland.

It happened to MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow and CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta. It may have happened to Anderson Cooper. After a summer of Celebrity Swine Flu Watch, Mediaite has learned Fox News White House correspondent Major Garrett is the latest reporter to contract the H1N1 virus, or Swine Flu.

If I recall correctly, Major Garrett was discussing the Van Jones story and said something I found amazing. I thought he reported that the White House said that they knew about Jones' past and statements. The White House (or the President) claims that Van Jones was up front with them about these things, but they thought it would not be an issue. Does anyone else recall this?

JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- Six people were killed in Indonesia after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Wednesday, officials said. The quake was initially categorized as magnitude 7.4 before being downgraded to 7.0 by geological officials. No details were immediately available about the deaths. At least 18 other people were injured around the capital, Jakarta, said Rustam Pakaya, a health ministry spokesman. A tsunami watch went into effect and quickly expired, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. It struck about 2:55 p.m. (3:55 a.m. ET) and was centered 242 km (150 miles) from Jakarta, according the U.S. Geological Survey. The quake...

The season's final major is here!!! The PGA comes back to Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, MN where 156 players get a crack at glory's last shot and try to walk away with the Wannamaker Trophy. Last time we were here, in 2002, little known and unheralded Rich Beem held off Tiger Woods for what is still regarded as one of the biggest suprises in major championship history. This time around Hazeltine will show off the longest course ever in history, playing at 7,674 yards at par of 72. 3 of the 4 par 5's on the course, numbers...

The army has revoked Major Stefan Cox's orders to report to Afganistan.

Major Dickie Head looks bemused as we emerge from the safety of an armoured Iraqi Army Humvee and walk towards what was one of the most dangerous parts of Basra - now a small, but busy, market. This is the first time he has returned to this area since a tour of duty which saw him and his men engulfed in a vicious and lengthy battle near the city centre. His unit was trying to recover the bodies of the five British service-personnel killed when a Lynx helicopter was brought down by insurgents on 6 May 2006.

There are multiple lessons to be gleaned by President Barack Obama from the withdrawal Tuesday of former Sen. Tom Daschle as the White House nominee for secretary of the Health and Human Services Department. Here are four: - What usually works in Chicago to quell ethics controversies doesn’t wash in the nation’s capital. You should think twice about advice you get in the future from your advisers, who thought your November aura was still sufficiently bright enough to get Daschle confirmed. They thought Daschle could just say he’s sorry he forgot to pay $128,000 in taxes owed for his use...

TOKYO (Reuters) - A male Japanese air force major caught naked while shopping for women's underwear has been suspended from his duties for 10 days, a spokeswoman at his base said on Friday. The man, on his way home from a late-night farewell party for a colleague in early September, stripped off his clothes behind a convenience store before going in and buying panties and pantyhose. "He had just his wallet and his shoes on him," said the spokeswoman from the Matsushima air base in Miyagi, northern Japan. "He thought it would be funny if he went into the store...

New York - America's aviation system could be at risk of collapsing by the beginning of next year. --snip- .. there is agreement among airline officials and analysts that Washington and the two presidential candidates need to recognize the severity of the crisis and take some action now to avert an economically crippling collapse in the near future. "Unless something is done to move toward some kind of fix, we're going to see every one of our major airlines in bankruptcy," says Robert Crandall, former chairman of American Airlines. ... As a result of the spike upward in oil prices,...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 11, 2008 – Army Maj. Lisa L. Carter, a two-time Iraq veteran, wants to share her life’s success story with the American public. Army Maj. Lisa L. Carter. Defense Department photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Carter recalled her days as a single mother working at a post office in Atlanta while caring for her 2-year-old daughter a few years after her 1984 graduation from Fulton High School there. “I met a lot of retired military personnel” at the post office, Carter said, noting the veterans encouraged her to join the Army Reserve as a way...

Major Storm Causes Swath of BlackoutsBy CARRIE ANTLFINGER Associated Press Writer December 23. 2007 2:10PM Joshua Crowe, 28, uses a push broom to get his car out of the snow on Saturday Dec. 22, 2007, in Wichita, Kan. Parts of Kansas have been blanketed with snow for the second weekend in a row. (AP Photo/The Wichita Eagle, G. Marc Benavidez) MILWAUKEE Highways were hazardous for holiday travelers Sunday and thousands of homes and businesses had no electricity in the Midwest as a storm blew through the region with heavy snow and howling wind. At least eight deaths had been blamed...

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Nov. 13, 2007) - When he heard he was deploying to Afghanistan with the 25th Infantry Division in 2004, Maj. Todd Schmidt focused on his mission, but he also immediately began planning how he could help the impoverished Afghan people. That desire became Operation Dreamseed, a nonprofit organization that has distributed hundreds of tons of school supplies to local children. Monday he was recognized by the United Service Organization and Microsoft Corp. with the Above and Beyond Award in the Everyday Difference category. The awards recognize the contributions of American citizens who brighten the lives of...

The mayor of Atlantic City whose mysterious absence sparked political chaos and national intrigue was at a rehabilitation facility in Somerset County, his attorney said today. Robert Levy spent the start of his 13-day disappearance from public life at the Carrier Clinic in Belle Mead, his attorney told the Press of Atlantic City for a report on its Web site. Attorney Edwin J. Jacobs said Levy checked into the clinic on Sept. 26 or 27, and returned to Atlantic City last week, the newspaper reported. The 60-year-old mayor has been convalescing in his Venice Park home since Thursday, Jacobs told...

Every few years a new fad sweeps across the public schools. We've had self-esteem, new math, whole language, New Age, outcome-based education, school-to-work, mental health screening, school-based clinics, global education, diversity, multiculturalism, and early childhood education. The newest public school fad was announced last week on the front page of the New York Times, so educators must be taking it seriously. If it hasn't come to your town yet, no doubt it will come soon. Freshmen at Dwight Morrow High School in New Jersey, starting this fall, must declare a major, and they must take at least one course in...

Major Quake Likely in Middle East, Survey Finds Kate Ravilious for National Geographic News July 26, 2007 In A.D. 551, a massive earthquake devastated the coast of Phoenicia, now Lebanon. The disaster is well-documented, but scientists had struggled over the years to locate the earthquake fault. Now a new underwater survey has uncovered the fault and shown that it moves approximately every 1,500 years—which means a disaster is due any day now. "It is just a matter of time before a destructive tsunami hits this region again," said Iain Stewart, an earthquake expert at the University of Plymouth in the...

Leave of absence for major who disappeared Officer serving at Manas said she was kidnapped HENDERSON, N.C. — The Air Force officer who disappeared in Kyrgyzstan in September and reappeared three days later will take a leave of absence from the military to spend time with her husband, her mother said Tuesday. Maj. Jill Metzger talks with family members in September 2006 after arriving at Moody Air Force Base, Ga. Metzger's mother said the major will start an 18-month leave from the military to spend more time with her husband. A Moody spokesman said he could not discuss Metzger's status....

LONDON - A study has determined that men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer are nearly twenty-five times as likely to die from the disease as men who are prostate-cancer free. This conclusion was reached after a team of researchers had carefully recorded the causes of death of more than 300,000 men.

WASHINGTON, April 2, 2007 – More than 7,000 servicemembers will deploy to Iraq in the coming months, including two units that will not have been back at their home stations for the year they expected when they returned home from their last deployments, Defense Department officials said today. The rotations will enable commanders in Iraq to maintain 20 brigade combat teams in the theater through the end of August, officials said. The 3,500 soldiers of the 1st Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y., will return to Iraq 47 days before their one-year stateside “dwell break” is finished. The...

Major climate change report looks set to alarm 11:54 29 January 2007 NewScientist.com news service Catherine Brahic The most important report on the science of climate change for six years is set for release on Friday 2 February, and leaks suggest it will be an alarming read. The minimum predicted temperature and sea level rises will jump, according to media reports, while the blame will be pinned firmly on greenhouse gas emissions from human activities. Its leading line is expected to be "there is a 90% chance humans are responsible for climate change", mostly due to the burning of fossil...

A major snowstorm blew across Colorado toward the Plains on Wednesday, canceling hundreds of airline flights for holiday travelers and shutting down major highways in parts of four states. The National Weather Service posted blizzard warnings for most of eastern Colorado and adjoining sections of Nebraska and Kansas. A day earlier, the storm had pummeled New Mexico with up to a foot of snow. Two feet of snow was possible in the foothills just west of Denver, with 2 to 3 feet a possibility farther north. Up to 20 inches could accumulate on the Plains of eastern Colorado and wind...

Remembering the fallen By Michelle Malkin   ·   December 14, 2006 11:00 AM Maj. Megan McClung was an American Girl. She was the highest-ranking female officer killed in Iraq last week. Watch this video. You will not forget her. (More about Maj. McClung in the OC Register.) Thanks to Ken Noland for pointing us to the memorial video and to the terrific website, Digital Imagery and Video Distribution System , which serves as the public affairs arm for the Third Army and Central Command. Army Capt. Travis Patriquin was killed alongside Maj. McClung. Mike Fumento's memorial is here. Matt at Blackfive...

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation into the disappearance of U.S. Air Force Maj. Jill Metzger, who went missing for three days last month in Kyrgyzstan. FBI officials told FOX News that Metzger's disappearance is being investigated by the FBI, and the center of the investigation appears to be the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria. At the time of her disappearance, Metzer was newly married and on temporary assignment at a U.S. base in Kyrgyzstan. Metzger claims that while shopping at the TSUM department store for souvenirs before a scheduled...

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican archeologists have made the most significant Aztec find in decades, unearthing a 15th century altar and a huge stone slab at a ruined temple in the throbbing heart of Mexico City. The works were uncovered last weekend at the Aztec empire's main Templo Mayor temple, near the central Zocalo square, which was used for worship and human sacrifice. It was the most meaningful find since electricity workers stumbled upon an eight-tonne carving of an Aztec goddess at the same site in 1978. "It is a very important discovery, the biggest we have made in 28...

MANAS AIR FORCE BASE, Kyrgyzstan — Before the major went missing, airmen posted in this former Soviet republic had the best of both worlds. They went hiking and horseback riding in the mountains and were driven to town for shopping and dining. All while getting “imminent fire” pay and performing a mission in support of the Afghanistan campaign. But since the mysterious three-day disappearance of Maj. Jill Metzger, the horses are riderless, the shops unvisited — and the troops disgruntled. For the first extended period since Americans built the base in 2001, because of Metzger’s experience and her alleged abduction,...

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan -- A Kyrgyz police official said Monday that a servicewoman from North Carolina who reappeared in mysterious circumstances after going missing for three days gave confused accounts of her absence and refused further statements after consulting with the U.S. Embassy. Air Force Maj. Jill Metzger, who had been stationed at the U.S. base outside the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek, disappeared last Tuesday while taking part in a military shopping excursion in the city. She resurfaced Friday night when she knocked on the door of a house in Kant, about 25 kilometers (15 miles) outside Bishkek, and claimed she had...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 6, 2006 -- U.S. Air Force special investigators and Kyrgyz authorities are continuing search efforts to locate an Air Force officer missing since Sept 5, officials said. Maj. Jill Metzger, personnel chief at the 376th Air Expeditionary Wing, was last seen by a group of her coworkers at the Zum shopping center in the capital city of Bishkek. “We will not rest until we find Major Metzger,” said Col. Joel “Scott” Reese, the wing’s commander. “She is an extremely valuable member of our warfighting team, and we are doing everything in our power to locate and return her...

BAGHDAD, Iraq (NNS) -- The 354th Civil Affairs Brigade (CAB), the first civil affairs brigade in Iraq made up primarily of Sailors, completed its first four months here, Aug. 16, as the primary administrative controlling manager for civil affairs units throughout Iraq. During the first months of its year-long deployment to Baghdad, the 354 CAB coordinated and ensured the successful completion of numerous community-oriented projects. Among the active-duty individual augmentees and Reservists called upon to deploy with the unit, more than 75 percent of the brigade headquarters is Navy. Army Col. Vernon Harris, 354th CAB's commander, said working in a...

KABUL, Afghanistan, Aug. 11, 2006 – Foreign observers of the U.S. military often say what puts it above other militaries is the quality of the noncommissioned officer corps. Many other nations want the same for themselves. The Afghan National Army is learning from Western military trainers who stress the central role of NCOs in a world-class military. Afghan army Chief of Staff Gen. Bismullah Khan stressed the role of NCOs in the new military by recently appointing the nation's first sergeant major of the army, Roshan Safi. Senior American NCOs say the appointment is crucial to developing an NCO corps...

British to lead major assault on Taliban By Neil Tweedie (Filed: 12/08/2006) British troops in southern Afghanistan are to lead a new offensive against the Taliban in an attempt to regain the initiative after weeks of intense fighting. The plan will involve the use of mobile forces such as the Paras to attack insurgents in their strongholds, rather than defending fixed points. Lt Gen David Richards, the British officer commanding the Nato force in the country, said yesterday that 10,000 troops would be involved in the campaign, which would last at least three months. British, Canadian and other Nato troops...

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Israel and Hezbollah fought bloody ground battles and exchanged fierce air and missile strikes Friday — including bombing raids that severed Lebanon's last major supply link with Syria and the outside world, and the guerrillas' deepest rocket attack inside Israel to date. Loud explosions resounded in Beirut early Saturday as Israeli warplanes renewed their onslaught, carrying out several strikes on southern suburbs, local media said. Israeli helicopters, meanwhile, attacked suspected Hezbollah positions in the southern city of Tyre, according to residents. After days of desultory diplomacy, Washington said it was near agreement with France on a U.N....

TEHRAN, Iran - Iranian officials often say that places with the greatest troubles offer their country the best opportunities. Iranian influence in Iraq has surged since the U.S.-led invasion three years ago. Its reach into Afghanistan continues to grow. And now, the war in Lebanon could make Iran an even more important player in the Islamic world even as its militant Shiite Arab client, Hezbollah, gets pounded by Israel. "Iran sees itself more than just the moral father of Hezbollah. Iran seeks to become a major force across the region as a counterbalance to America and Israel," said Ahmad Bakhshaiesh,...

Iraqi police recruits head toward their sleeping quarters after going through orientation at Forward Operating Base Duke on July 2. Iraqi police recruits go through a two-week training course called the crucible, which is conducted by the U.S. Army's 3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery Regiment and civilian contractors. (U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Katrina Beeler) BAGHDAD -- The Iraqi national security advisor announced the recent killing of several al-Qaida terrorist group leaders and the capture of others during a press conference here yesterday. Calling it “a major blow to al-Qaida in Iraq,” Dr. Mouwafak al-Rubaie said...

FORT BLISS, Texas (Army News Service, June 9, 2006) – Sixteen Afghan pilots, crew chiefs and flight engineers graduated the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy today at Fort Bliss, Texas. The first Afghan aviators to graduate the academy, they will use their new knowledge to help combat narcoterrorists in Afghanistan. “This is a great day for the people of Afghanistan and for the people of the United States,” said Richard J. Douglas, deputy assistant secretary of Defense for Counternarcotics. “This sets the stage for what you have accomplished here at Fort Bliss …by helping President Hamid Karzi’s efforts to suppress...

FORT BLISS, Texas (Army News Service, June 5, 2006) – The first-ever Afghan soldier to attend the Sergeants Major Academy has graduated as a member of SMA Class 56, at Fort Bliss, Texas, May 19. Sgt. Maj. Roshan Safi was selected to attend the U.S. SMA on recommendations from his commanders and U.S. Army mentors in Afghanistan because of his consistent leadership potential as a career-soldier, which began with the post-Taliban controlled Afghan military. “We have officer and enlisted training in Afghanistan,” says Safi. “But in the future we want to establish more non commissioned officer enlisted and officer schools.”...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Three major hurricanes will strike the United States this year, with the storm-battered Gulf Coast most at risk in June and July, forecaster AccuWeather predicted Monday. The outlook comes after a record-setting hurricane season in 2005 that devastated New Orleans and other coastal cities along the Gulf, and dealt a heavy blow to the U.S. oil industry that sent energy prices to record highs. "The 2006 storm season will be a creeping threat," said AccuWeather Chief Forecaster Joe Bastardi. He projected that five hurricanes, three of them with winds over 110 miles per hour, would hit...

WASHINGTON, April 21, 2006 – U.S. soldiers from Task Force Band of Brothers scored successes in two operations this week. Soldiers from the task force caught seven suspected insurgents in the act of emplacing explosives yesterday. Soldiers on patrol with Battery B, 3rd Battalion, 29th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, observed the suspects digging. As the patrol approached, the suspects tried to flee in two vehicles. The soldiers stopped, searched and detained all the suspects. In one vehicle, a blue truck, soldiers discovered more than 120 mortar rounds, fuses and four missiles. At the site where the...

BAGHDAD, April 6, 2006 – U.S. officials announced today that Iraqi forces captured a terrorist leader in Iraq early last month. Iraqi forces captured and arrested Iraqi terrorist leader Muhammed Hila Hammad Ubaydi, also known as Abu Ayman, in the Mahmudiyah neighborhood of southern Baghdad March 7. Investigators held notice of this capture until now to wait for the results of DNA testing, which confirmed the identity of the man in custody. "Ayman's capture was the result of a determined manhunt conducted by Iraqi intelligence professionals and several intelligence agencies within the coalition," U.S. officials said in a release. Until...

A video grab from CNN shows reporter Wolf Blitzer reporting on Israel's largest shipping line endorsing the takeover of six major U.S. ports by Dubai Ports World March 2, 2006. Dubai Ports World $6.85 billion acquisition of Britain's P&O will close on Friday or Monday, despite an additional 45-day review by the U.S. Government in response to security concerns, a U.S Treasury Department official said on Thursday.

FORT HUACHUCA — This year and next will be the toughest for the Army in Iraq and Afghanistan, the service’s top enlisted soldier said Friday. Equating too many things coming together at once to the movie “The Perfect Storm,” Sgt. Maj. of the Army Kenneth O. Preston said the Army is in the midst of a major transformation of creating more brigade combat teams, movement of forces from overseas locations, base closures and realignments, recruiting more soldiers and continuing to fight terrorism. What cannot be lost is protecting the nation, he told nearly 700 noncommissioned soldiers and officers during a...

Baqubah General Hospital underwent major surgery by Claude D. McKinney Gulf Region North U.S. Army Corps of Engineers The 331-bed Baqubah General Hospital can accommodate 400-500 patients daily is one of two hospitals in Baqubah. In the total Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Program, there are 30 Hospital projects planned nationwide, with 16 currently ongoing, and 13 completed. (GRD photo) Baqubah, Iraq—After a year under construction, the Baqubah General Hospital is finished … with a new incinerator and reverse osmosis water treatment system; plumbing and sewer system upgrade; architectural renovation; emergency backup generator and repair of existing elevators. The completed...

John Whyte commanded three companies, including a rifle company in Iraq. John was killed in an accident after returning from combat, when a car struck him while he was standing on the side of a Kansas City highway. There is a proverb that reads, "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." Those who knew John might change it to read, "As iron sharpens iron, so John Whyte sharpens those around him." He was on a self-imposed mission to be the most effective leader that he could be, and even better, he was on a self-imposed mission to help...

Week of Nov. 5, 2005; Vol. 168, No. 19 , p. 294 Volcanic Suppression: Major eruptions can reduce sea level Sid Perkins Large volcanic eruptions can temporarily cool Earth's climate and, a team of scientists now suggests, lower sea level worldwide. BLOWING ITS TOP. Ocean cooling following the June 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines caused sea level worldwide to temporarily drop about 5 millimeters. D. Harlow/U.S. Geological Survey The tiny particles of broken rock and droplets of condensed gases that a volcano ejects high into the atmosphere reflect sunlight into space. So, after an eruption, there's less...

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court refused Monday to disturb New York's system of taxing the income of telecommuters who live elsewhere but are employed by companies in the Empire state. Justices passed up a chance to hear the appeal of a Tennessee computer programmer who claimed that New York's tax law is unconstitutional. Thomas Huckaby had been ordered to pay New York income tax for his full salary, not just the time he spent at the New York offices of the union for which he worked. He lived 900 miles away in Nashville.

A major dust storm has just broken out on Mars and the event will be visible this weekend with good-sized backyard telescopes. The timing is incredible. Amateur skywatchers around the world are planning to gaze at Mars Saturday night because it will be closer to Earth than anytime until the year 2018. The dust storm was no more than a small bright dot Thursday yet it was large and obvious Friday, as seen in images taken by Clay Sherrod at the Arkansas Sky Observatories. NASA took note and is monitoring signals from its Mars rovers, one of which has detected...

TOLEDO, Ohio - A coin dealer and major GOP donor at the center of a scandal in Ohio state government was charged Thursday with illegally funneling $45,400 in contributions to President Bush's re-election bid. Tom Noe was accused in a federal indictment of giving money directly or indirectly to 24 friends and associates, who then made the campaign contributions in their own names. In that way, he skirted the $2,000 limit on individual contributions, prosecutors said. "It's one of the most blatant and excessive finance schemes we have encountered," said Noel Hillman, section chief of the U.S. Department of Justice's...