Wednesday edition - July 5, 2006

• A look at U.S. military deaths in Iraq AP

• Iraq Body Count

• Kidnappers of Iraq lawmaker make demands AP

• Gunmen Release Deputy Cabinet Minister Voice of America

• Afghan capital hit by bomb blasts ABC Asia Pacific 

• Iraq provincial governor threatens to quit AP

• Iraq lawmakers criticize US Baltimore Sun

• EU-Iran nuclear talks off: Iranian official Reuters

• 76 US troops on duty in Iraq take oath of citizenship Boston Globe

Hunger Strikers

Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan began a hunger strike on Tuesday – and Susan Sarandon, Sean Penn and other stars are joining her in her "Troops Home Fast" protest...Sarandon, Penn, Danny Glover, Willie Nelson and the Rev. Al Sharpton will join communities across America on a "rolling fast," giving up food on designated days and encouraging others to fast with them on those days.

So far, more than 3,000 people from the U.S. and 18 other countries have signed up to join the fast.

 

Top Ten Signs You're At A Bad Fireworks Display - David Letterman


10. What you call a fireworks display, the police call arson

9. Best part was when the bug zapper fell in the pool

8. Only celebrity they could get is the Geico lizard

7. Al Gore shuts it down because of atmosphere-warming sulfur emissions

6. It starts at noon

5. It's just a couple of guys yelling, "Ka-Boom!"

4. Finale of show: A stick of dynamite blows up your car

3. Fireworks form a colorful image of CNN personality Larry King

2. You're handed a program and a business card of several personal injury attorneys

1. When you complain that it's over after an underwhelming two minutes, your wife says, "Tell me about it"

The number of reported attempts to penetrate Pentagon computer networks rose sharply in the past decade, from fewer than 800 in 1996 to more than 160,000 last year - thousands of them successful. At the same time, the nation's ability to safeguard sensitive data in those and other government computer systems is becoming obsolete as efforts to make improvements have faltered and stalled.
 

A gopher tortoise moves towards the space shuttle Discovery, seen sitting on the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, July 3, 2006. (Photo/Rick Wilking)

Peace.