GRAB A CUP AND READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 6.21.14 >>>

The House approved a $570 billion defense spending proposal on Friday that would save the A-10 aircraft fleet, prohibit another base closure round and reject most of the Pentagon's planned pay and benefits trims.

Sunni fighters seized a border post on the Iraq-Syria frontier, smashing a line drawn by colonial powers almost a century ago and potentially creating an Islamic Caliphate from the Mediterranean Sea to Iran.

Jihadists in Iraq captured a key Hussein-era factory for chemical weapons, but Washington downplayed the site's significance.

Behind the image of savagery that the extremists of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria present lies a sophisticated organization that deftly employs social media and financial strategies.

How Iran and America can beat ISIS together.

Czech Defense Minister Martin Stropnicky has announced the Czech Republic is in talks to sell Russian-built Mil Mi-24 helicopters to the Iraqi Defense Ministry.

The Iraqi security forces were always America'sticket out of Iraq, so after many early disappointments, U.S. military leaders built the forces in their own image.

Pro-Russian separatists attacked Ukrainian posts on the border with Russia and a military base, and tried to storm an air force base overnight, putting a Ukrainian unilateral ceasefire under pressure.

Troops, vets campaign to award the Medal of Honor to fallen Sgt. 1st Class Alwyn Cashe.

More than 400 large U.S. military drones have crashed in major accidents around the world since 2001, a record of calamity that exposes the potential dangers of throwing open American skies to drone traffic, according to a year-long Washington Post investigation.

Obama: Post-9/11 GI Bill keeps promise to newest vets.

A forcewide review of tobacco that could result in new restrictions on the sale and use of cigarettes is drawing some skepticism from the Defense Department's top officer.

27 high-tension photos of NATO jets intercepting Russian warplanes.

Facebook Pokes: Creepy or funny?

How the hell did Lady Gaga think her "Do Want U Want" video was OK?

America's Euro boyfriend, Benedict Cumberbatch, will teach us foolish colonists all about soccer.

LucasFilm is in talks with Rian Johnson (Looper, Brick, Breaking Bad) to write and direct Star Wars" Episode VIII and IX.

Can you survive the Lego firewalk?

It's Saturday!

LINK: Original photo by Sgt. 1st Class Jon Soucy

GRAB A CUP AND READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 6.20.14 >>>

The US House of Representatives on Thursday evening, during deliberation on the fiscal 2015 defense spending bill, voted to block the US Air Force's plan to cut the entire A-10 fleet.

The House late Thursday defeated an amendment from Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) that would prohibit the use of federal dollars toward combat operations in Iraq amid the country's growing unrest.

The House late Thursday gave voice vote approval to a proposal that would prevent a round of military base closures.

House voted 293-123 to block intel agencies from conducting warrantless searches.

The House adopted a proposal to ban transfers of detainees at the Guantánamo Bay prison to Yemen.

The Army is opening about 33,000 more jobs to women, according to a newly released memo signed by Army Secretary John McHugh.

Retired Marine Cpl. William Kyle Carpenter receives the Medal of Honor from President Obama on Thursday at the White House.

Iraqi forces are massing north of Baghdad today, aiming to strike back at Sunni Islamists whose drive toward the capital prompted the United States to send military advisers to stiffen government resistance.

President Obama's order to rush 300 Special Forces to Iraq is unlikely to heal the deep wounds festering inside most Iraqi units.

The Middle East is no longer stable and, barring a miracle of probably divine origin, it will not be for a long time to come

Today's Iraq Situation Report: Institute for the Study of War

President Obama announced he plans to send about 300 U.S. military advisers to Iraq to assist the government in its fight against extremists from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

Obama outlined a careful commitment of U.S. forces to Iraq, pledging to watch any "mission creep."

Most people in the United States oppose intervening in Iraq.

Fighting raged for a second successive day in the east of Ukraine today, a day after clashes in which Ukrainian government forces said about 300 separatists were killed.

Russia is again building up forces on the border with Ukraine, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said, calling it a "very regrettable step backward."

In Africa counterterror pivot, a focus on ISR.

New research by Army scientists appears to confirm what has been long-recognized as an unfortunate consequence of combat deployment: that troops drink more after going to war.

The U.S. Navy is ordering more "Don't Tread on Me" flag patches eight months after it was reported that Navy Seals had stopped wearing them because the Tea Party used a similar flag.

Finally: Photos of L.A.'s most famous streets when they were dirt roads.

Guy wearing Mentos suit drops into Diet Coke tank and explodes.

10 beach-ready book and music pairings.

No one drinks wine like Cersei Lannister.

Wil Wheaton gets how hard it is to keep track of all of Westeros. Luckily, he gets by with a little help from the Bradys.

World leaders interacting awkwardly with soccer balls.

Meet Smudge

LINK: Original photo by Spc. Erika Montano

GRAB A CUP AND READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 6.19.14 >>>

The Iraqi government has requested U.S. military airstrikes to help combat widespread violence in Iraq, led by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

While fighters for the extremist Islamic State in Iraq and Syria have taken on the most prominent role in the new insurgency, they have done so in alliance with a deep network of Saddam Hussein's former loyalists.

Today's Iraq Situation Report - Institute for the Study of War

As Americans debate assisting Iraq, including the possibility of military intervention, here are 10 things to keep in mind.

The situation in Iraq is giving Congress pause about President Obama's plan to withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan.

Wednesday: A day of budgets and Baghdad for lawmakers.

President Obama believes he does not need authorization from Congress for any steps he might take to quell the al-Qaida-inspired insurgency sweeping through Iraq.

Obama's confusing Al Qaeda strategy.

Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian separatists were locked in fierce fighting in the east of Ukraine on Thursday after rebels rejected a call to lay down their arms in line with a peace plan proposed by President Petro Poroshenko.

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America is backing a government watchdog's refusal to hand over documents from potential VA whistleblowers.

Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James outlined new incentives and measures designed to change the culture of the service's nuclear force.

Obama will present the Medal of Honor today to a veteran who took the blow from a grenade to protect a fellow Marine in Afghanistan, sustaining major wounds, including the loss of his right eye.

A one-star general who led Marines in Fallujah and recently wrote a book about his experiences there said the U.S. military set Iraq up for success, but political leaders there have squandered those opportunities.

U.S. aims trial of Benghazi suspect held on Navy ship.

The House and Senate established conference committees to reconcile differences in legislation to reform the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Being Bad Guy: Pentagon's cyber unit wants to get inside the bad guy's head.

Thanks to researchers from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center and the U.S. Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center, soldiers can now bust through urban walls easier.

The Air Force really, really doesn't want to offer any new details about its Long Range Strike bomber.

Two senators urged Defense Secretary Hagel to end the 5 percent discount on tobacco product sales at military facilities.

The US Army is working on a real-life Iron Man suit, and the first prototypes are coming later this week.

China is building fake islands to bolster its claim to disputed waters.

Harley-Davidson is making an electric motorcycle.

Paramount lays out its next two years of sequels and remakes.

Louie: It's been the Best Thing Ever and The Worst.

Destiny's Child said "yes" to a reunion.

The very funny and adorable Garfunkle and Oates have a new show destined to debut on August 7 on IFC. Here is the opening credits ...

LINK: Original photo by Spc. Erika Montano

GRAB A CUP AND READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 6.17.2014 >>>

Sectarian violence reached Iraq's capital of Baghdad late Monday while Sunni militant forces grew closer to the city, The New York Times reports.

Nearly 300 armed American forces are being positioned in and around Iraq to help secure U.S. assets as President Barack Obama nears a decision on an array of options for combating fast-moving Islamic insurgents, including airstrikes or a contingent of special forces.

The aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush and five other warships are in the Persian Gulf. Hundreds of Marines and dozens of copters are on standby for whatever President Obama orders.

As ISIS marches closer to Baghdad, the world's leading sponsor of terrorism, Iran, is offering the Iraqi government the use of its army and spies.

The Iraq Situation Report: Institute for the Study of War Iraq Update

Iraq refugees flee Mosul.

Capitol Hill calling for US military action in Iraq

U.S. and Iranian officials discussed Iraq briefly on the margins of talks in Geneva on Iran's nuclear program.

The case for doing nothing in Iraq.

Pakistan army in for the long haul in offensive against Taliban.

Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford: U.S. hikes surveillance on Pakistan border.

A House panel would impose new restrictions on the transfer of enemy combatants from the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, a reflection of congressional anger over President Obama's swap of five Taliban leaders for an American soldier held captive for five years in Afghanistan.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) called for the federal government to use "incentive fee contracts" in military procurement programs rather than "award fee contracts," after reports that Lockheed Martin was still receiving bonuses despite not meeting contract goals.

China will strive to eventually push the United States out of Southeast and Northeast Asia.

America's growing list of frenemies.

This is what would happen if Earth stopped spinning right now.

Too Much Free Time: A map of Game of Thrones if it were set in the USA.

Comedian Tracy Morgan's condition upgraded to fair.

10 potentially great TV shows that never aired.

Why did NBC reportedly pay Chelsea Clinton $600,000 a year?

The FBI's official guide to Twitter slang.

Curious about the 1949 equivalent of a Kardashian? LIFE magazine had it covered.

Six TV casts who look the most different out of costume.

Poseidon is saying "would you stop being clowns and GET OFF MY LAWN!"

LINK: Original photo by Rick Rzepka

GRAB A CUP AND READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 6.16.14 >>>

The Defense Department late Saturday officially announced the names of five soldiers killed in combat June 9 while deployed to Gaza Village, Afghanistan.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel today ordered the amphibious transport dock ship USS Mesa Verde into the Arabian Gulf.

Pakistani fighter jets pounded North Waziristan today, a day after the army announced the start of a full-scale military operation to flush Islamist insurgents out of the volatile region bordering Afghanistan.

The Pakistani army says it has launched a "comprehensive operation" against foreign and local militants in a tribal region near the Afghan border.

Sunni militants captured a key northern Iraqi town along the highway to Syria early on Monday, compounding the woes of Iraq's Shiite-led government a week after it lost a vast swath of territory to the insurgents in the country's north.

The United States is contemplating talks with Iran to support the Iraqi government in its battle with Sunni Islamist insurgents.

Two Iraq war veterans now in Congress disagree on a possible solution on Iraq's collapse.

Militants from jihadist group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant have executed dozens of captured Iraqi security forces members, according to photos posted online.

In Iraq Crisis, a tangle of Alliances and enmities.

Iran is the biggest loser in Iraq.

How the Kurds seizes Kirkuk.

WikiLeaks source Chelsea Manning broke her silence on Sunday, writing the US military's control of the media gave the public a distorted view of Iraq and Afghanistan.

The US Navy welcomed four members of China's military aboard one of its aircraft carriers - and said it hoped to receive a return invite someday.

Exhibitors at France's Eurosatory show gave a first glimpse on Sunday of a new armored vehicle designed by General Dynamics and a new Medium Altitude Long Endurance UAV being pitched to European governments by Dassault Aviation, Airbus and Alenia Aermacchi.

The global armored vehicles market is projected to reach $28.62 billion by 2019 with the primary drivers being in the Middle East, North Africa and Asia.

The US Navy's most important and shadowy submarine outposts is not located along the ocean, but rather in a lake in landlocked Idaho.

Ever wish you could pick a place on the planet and instantly have a drone's-eye view? Well, now you can.

Game of Thrones Season 4 Finale Recap: The Children

How Twitter killed the official move website.

Legendary radio personality Casey Kasem dead at 82.

NBC developing the Beatles series.

14 awesome Bill Murray moments.

Abraham Lincoln and painter Michelangelo as crime fighters ...

LINK: Original photo courtesy of U.S. Army

GRAB A CUP AND READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 6.14.14 >>>

Kicking off observances for the Army 239th birthday, Army leaders paid tribute to the service's first commander-in-chief, and presented Purple Hearts to two Soldiers.

Pro-Russian separatists shot down an army transport plane in east Ukraine, killing 49 servicemen and dealing a blow to a military campaign to defeat the rebels and hold the country together. 

A Sunni Islamist offensive threatening to dismember Iraq seemed to slow today after days of lightning advances as government forces reported regaining territory in counter-attacks, easing pressure on Baghdad's Shi'ite-led government.

Iraqis answering top Shiite cleric's rare call to arms.

President Obama said Friday he is considering military action in Iraq, but will not deploy U.S. troops there.

On Iraq, President Obama has chosen the tough-love option. Here is a list of other options he can use.

Pros and cons of drone strikes in Iraq.

Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl "looked good" after arriving back in the United States and is working daily with health professionals after being held by the Taliban for five years in Afghanistan.

Acting Veterans Affairs Secretary Sloan Gibson promised VA employees that whistleblowers will not face harassment or punishment for reporting misbehavior in the department.

Sen. Tom Coburn will release an oversight report next week exposing shortcomings at the VA.

Navy test pilots are conducting shore landings of the carrier variant of the Joint Strike Fighter to get ready for an at-sea landing later this year.

The request for proposal on the US Air Force's long range strike-bomber program will be issued soon.

The entrance to hell is in the center of Asia and it's terrifying.

How to stop Facebook from using your browsing history.

Bill Murray's hilarious costumes in Late Show with David Letterman.

Steve Buscemi's Park Bench Web series features Fred Armisen, Dick Cavett, Debbie Harry and others this week.

Chef Mario Batali delivers another delicious Web series (this time, for Hulu) featuring George Stephanopoulos, and look for Jimmy Fallon and Anthony Bourdain on upcoming installments.

Jeff Krulik's doc Led Zeppelin Played Here, which tries to find out if the rock legends really played a school gymnasium in 1969.

Here's Ice Cube saying "nice things" in an extremely angry way. ...

LINK: Original photo by Chief Petty officer David Votroubek

GRAB A CUP AND READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 6.13.14 >>>

NORAD scrambled two F-22 Raptor and two F-15 Eagle fighters against a fleet of Russian bombers.

Al-Qaida-inspired militants who seized large swaths of Iraq's Sunni heartland this week have pushed into an ethnically mixed province northeast of Baghdad, capturing two towns there.

The Iraq government reportedly requested U.S. air strikes to target some regions housing extremists last month, but the Obama administration has so far declined.

Welcome to the New Iraq War: A few good options for the US.

The Big Burn: The Sunni-Shiite conflict explodes in Iraq.

Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl touched down in the United States this morning in San Antonio, Texas, five years after being captured by Taliban forces. 

From Afghan sell-off to Pacific build-up: The strategy of logistics.

A new bill has been introduced in Congress that aims to offer relief to veterans that have had to pay for emergency health services.

Should the GOP win control of the US Senate, a window will open for lawmakers and the Obama White House to take one more shot at a sequester-killing fiscal deal.

The real five best fighter aircraft of all time.

The 600,000 asteroids we've discovered so far in one scary view.

Scientists have discovered evidence that all Earth may be hiding huge amounts of water - three times the volume of all our oceans combined.

In very bad news, a superbug resistant to last-resort antibiotics was found in imported squid.

Amazon has launched a streaming music service.

Harrison Ford was injured on the set of Star Wars.

Watch the trailer for the new Seth Rogen/James Franco movie, The Interview.

Really? A Cameron Crowe TV series?

Genius!

LINK: Original photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Billy Ho

GRAB A CUP AND READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 5.12.14 >>>

U.S. drones fired missiles at Taliban hideouts in Pakistan killing at least 10 militants in response to a deadly attack on Karachi airport in the first such raids by unmanned CIA aircraft in six months.

On brink of disintegration: Another city falls in Iraq.

The al-Qaida-inspired group that led the charge in capturing two key Sunni-dominated cities in Iraq this week vowed to march on to Baghdad.

The return of al-Qaeda.

The Senate passed a bill Wednesday night that would allow appropriators to begin work on the 2015 Intelligence Appropriations bill.

The Veterans Affairs Department is, by many accounts, broken, and Congress has a lot of ideas to fix it.

The Senate overwhelmingly passed emergency legislation on Veterans Affairs Department health visits and administrator accountability, paving the way for the reforms to become law in a matter of days.

The House adopted an amendment to allow veterans to apply for food stamps while their disability claims are pending with the Department of Veterans Affairs.

After two overwhelming votes in two days, members of Congress say they are confident they can agree on a bill to improve veterans' health care and send it to the president's desk by the end of the month.

US House Majority Leader Rep. Eric Cantor's stunning primary defeat is a huge blow to the US defense sector, and could allow an up-and-coming GOP deficit hawk to replace Cantor, or even become House speaker.

Hagel testified before lawmakers, answering anger-laced questions about the negotiated release of Bowe Bergdahl.

The House Appropriations Committee approved funding for 38 of the fifth-generation fighters - four more than the Defense Department requested.

How the Army should pivot to Asia.

The Air Force just copped to its secret stealth drone.

Program offers partially paid break from Army.

Army develops first-of-its-kind phase-coherent fiber laser array system.

Networking brings international training to JBLM.

A 3,000 gallons per minute reverse osmosis water purification unit and two 3,000 gallon water bags were used in support of the Quartermaster Liquid Logistic Exercise at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

NASA's real life Enterprise may take us to other star systems one day.

How a 3,000-car race would look if the Earth was the Moon.

The world's biggest TV can be yours for $1.7 million.

A new documentary tells the story of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Finally: Puff Daddy/Diddy/Sean Combs released a music video inspired by Game of Thrones.

Be careful when you fry a drone over a beach in Connecticut. ...

LINK: Original photo courtesy of the New York National Guard

GRAB A CUP AND READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 6.11.14 >>>

Straight Talk: Lt. Gen. Stephen Lanza discusses Joint Base Lewis-McChord, the community and the future.

Senate Dems breaking with White House over plan to leave U.S. troops through 2016.

Sunni insurgents from an al Qaeda splinter group closed in on Iraq's biggest oil refinery after seizing the northern city of Mosul in a devastating show of strength against the Shi'ite-led government. 

Iraq's terrorists are becoming a full-blown army.

US urges Iraqi unity to defeat violent insurgency.

Bowe Bergdahl Release: Expect pointed questions as Hagel takes the hot seat.

The president has come under criticism over the swap for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.

Special Forces deaths fuel A-10 debate.

US House appropriators killed an amendment that would have kept alive the Air Force's A-10 fleet, becoming the first defense panel to endorse the service's cost-cutting plan.

Bonus pay is part of Air Force nuke reforms.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers closed another chapter in Afghanistan as the Transatlantic Afghanistan District's South Area Office was inactivated.

This Republican House majority leader Eric Cantor's loss ranks as the biggest Congressional upset in modern memory.

A House of Representatives panel voted for a 1.8 percent troop pay raise in fiscal 2015, though the boost is far from guaranteed.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said a bipartisan deal to overhaul the Veterans Affairs Department will soon hit the Senate floor.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk slams US Air Force certification process.

What the Army's new COIN manual is missing.

The Canadian government has vowed to significantly boost military capability in the Arctic, but after years of such promises, a major roadblock still stands in the way - money.

White supremacists are recruiting at Fort Carson, Colo.

Extremely rare photo of two armed F-16s escorting a Boeing Dreamliner.

NASA releases spectacular X-ray image of an entire spiral galaxy.

Motorcycle jumps over plane that's flying sideways close to ground.

Watch the trailer for Dumb and Dumber To.

Of Course: Morrissey canceled the rest of his tour.

So now Will Ferrell and Chad Smith have challenged Lars Ulrich to a drum-off ...

Lovely: This is a marriage proposal fit for a journalist.

Finally: Get ready for Sloth Week.

This just hurts to watch. ...

LINK: Original photo by Spc. Edward Siguenza

GRAB A CUP AND READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 6.10.2014 >>>

Five American Special Operations service members were killed in southern Afghanistan.

More violence erupts near Pakistan's busiest airport, Taliban vows full-out war.

Islamic militants overran parts of Iraq's second-largest city, Mosul, today, driving security forces from their posts and seizing the provincial government headquarters, security bases and other key buildings.

A Navy ship with Marines aboard became a rescue craft in the Mediterranean, coming to the aid of passengers aboard a sinking boat.

The Veterans Affairs Department's inspector general is investigating 69 medical facilities for manipulation of appointment wait times and has contacted the Justice Department in cases where staff has found evidence of potential criminal or civil wrongdoing.

Developments over the past couple of weeks have led analysts to expect "a wave of attacks" by the Pakistani Taliban, of which the assault on the airport in Karachi from Sunday night into Monday appears to be the first.

The House Armed Services Committee will investigate the Obama administration's swap of an American prisoner held for five years for five Taliban leaders that caused a political firestorm over the lack of congressional notification and fears the high-level Taliban could return to the Afghanistan battlefield.

NATO launched one of its largest military maneuvers in the Baltic states since tensions spiked with neighboring Russia over its annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula.

America's ultimate strategy in a clash with China.

Chinese weapons that worry the Pentagon.

Army kicks off first-of-many 239th birthday events.

Army-licensed action figures, minus the firepower, target preschoolers.

The interior of the VG-22 Osprey could have been used in Aliens.

Guy jumps from speeding truck into 328-foot-deep gorge.

The masterful 360-degree long shot in Sunday's Game of Thrones.

Watch the trailer for Jeffrey Brown's new book, Goodnight Darth Vader.

Watch Arcade Fire cover Echo and the Bunnymen's The Cutter - with Ian McCulloch.

What?: Will The Kinks reunite?

Hear Morrissey perform a new song.

List: Movies that were shelved for years before they were released.

Finally: Ghostbusters infographic.

Getting excited for the World Cup? The whole world is! So much so that they're doing ridiculous things like playing soccer with flaming coconuts that basically shoot out flames whenever they kick it around. Oh and they're doing all that kicking barefoot.

LINK: Original photo by Spc. Joshua Edwards