GRAB A COFFEE POT AND READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 8.6.14 >>>

U.S. officials prepared to fly the body of a two-star general slain in an Afghan "insider attack" back home, as a similar attack saw an Afghan police officer drug and shoot dead seven of his colleagues, authorities said.

Who assassinated Maj. Gen. Harold Greene?

History of U.S. generals killed in combat.

The Obama administration needs to boost its military support to Iraq's Kurdish minority, which has suffered a string of setbacks in the last several days battling a Sunni militant group, according to key members of Congress.

Russia has amassed around 20,000 combat-ready troops on Ukraine's eastern border and could use the pretext of a humanitarian or peace-keeping mission to invade.

The U.S. sent a small team of troops to Ukraine to aid in recovery operations for the victims of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17.

A Senate committee is holding up a plan to shift $100 million to an Air Force space-launch program, telling the service to devise a plan for a new liquid rocket engine.

A government database of known or suspected terrorists doubled in size in recent years, The Associated Press has learned. The growth is the result of intelligence agencies submitting names more often after a near-miss attack in 2009.

Paul Wolfowitz, a former senior George W. Bush official and one of the chief Iraq War architects, said the U.S. "won" the war in Iraq.

The ISIS online campaign luring Western girls to Jihad.

Leading experts in military combat-vehicle research, engineering and design gathered to discuss a single goal: reducing the weight of the Army's tanks and infantry fighting vehicles by 40 percent in the coming decades.

It's a banner year for the Air Force with the Department of Energy recently announcing that service won a lion's share of 2014 Federal Energy Management Program awards.

Court: Leaders not liable for subordinates' bad decisions.

Three current Blue Angels pilots are among the commissioned officers who circulated pornographic messages and photographs among themselves and to other members of the elite flight team, according to copies of phone texts that were part of a recent Navy investigation.

Special Agents from the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, commonly known as CID, are once again warning internet users worldwide about cyber criminals involved in an online crime that CID has dubbed "the Romance Scam."

Abandoned Soviet forced labor camp oddly turns into one of the most enjoyable beaches ever.

Are these the best movie fight scenes ever? You will watch all 11:20 minutes of this.

Ooh, it's an oral history of The Wonder Years.

Glamour has a video feature about The Daily Show's Jessica Williams and Samantha Bee.

What?: "chillax" and "vlog" have been added to the Scrabble dictionary.

Finally: Peter Dinklage, a mullet and a bazooka.

Did Louie C.K. shrink?

LINK: Original photo by Lance Cpl. Sullivan Laramie

GRAB A CUP AND READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 7.26.14 >>>

The United States evacuated its embassy in Libya today, driving its staff under heavy military guard across the border to Tunisia because of escalating clashes between rival militias in Tripoli.

As fires rage in two states in the Pacific Northwest, Defense Department fire-suppression efforts are underway with two Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System-capable C-130s.

Russia has accelerated its intervention, moving more of its own troops to its border with Ukraine.

The Pentagon said Russia is delivering heavier and more sophisticated missile launcher systems to separatists in Ukraine.

Short Gaza truce: Palestinians in the Gaza Strip poured into the streets to recover their dead and stock up on food supplies. 

The House passed a resolution requiring authorization from Congress for a sustained presence of combat troops in Iraq.

Predominant battleground for extremists: The number of foreign fighters in Syria now exceeds 12,000 and rising.

China's naval modernization program is moving at a rapid pace, the chief of U.S. naval operations said.

The Air Force's top officer gives his service top marks for personal behavior, saying he is "very happy with the ethical fabric of the United States Air Force," despite problems that include a cheating scandal at its nuclear missile sites and a general's drunken binge on an arms control mission.

Powerful forces in Congress are working to buy the U.S. Navy an extra amphibious ship, and lawmakers in both the House and Senate have added between $650 million and $800 million to the proposed 2015 shipbuilding budget to begin construction.

$1 billion-plus short: Amphibious add isn't enough, so Navy wants to repurpose it.

Boeing is taking a $272 million hit to its KC-46A tanker contract after discovering a wiring issue that will require fixing on a test aircraft.

Force-wide changes to the military's Tuition Assistance program may require troops to pay back their TA money if they perform poorly in class.

The Webb Space Telescope's sunshield is complete and it looks cool.

Here's Colbert's complete interview with multi-industry mad scientist Elon Musk.

The documentary about Tim Burton and Nicolas Cage's failed Superman movie has a trailer.

Bloopers!

LINK: Original photo by Staff Sgt. Chris Hubenthal

GRAB A CUP AND READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 7.23.2014 >>>

Israeli forces pounded Gaza, meeting stiff resistance from Hamas Islamists, as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry pushes ceasefire talks.  

The costly Iron Dome missile defense system is proving its worth and the need for laser missile defense systems.

To deter Hamas, the military plans to destroy the homes of Palestinians accused of violence - displacing families in the process.

Hamas won't back down. And Israel refuses to stop until it feels the job is done. What is Israel's endgame in Gaza?

Senior U.S. intelligence officials said Russia was responsible for "creating the conditions" that led to the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, but they offered no evidence of direct Russian government involvement.

Russian statements expressing skepticism that the U.S. can produce satellite images showing a surface-to-air missile shooting down the Malaysia Airlines jet on July 17 shows 'desperation' on Russia's part.

Brits investigating assassination of the spy who warned us about Putin.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is urging President Obama to do more to prevent the French government from selling warships to Russia after the crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17.

China's recent unrelenting drive to use coercive and intimidating state power, short of direct application of military force, to advance control of disputed territory in the East China Sea and the South China Sea poses a major problem for the United States.

Shadow Wars: U.S. military - with its signature aircraft carriers, submarines, jet fighters and heavily armored vehicles - may be too deeply invested in very expensive capabilities poorly designed to deal effectively with these new threats.

Budget cuts are forcing the Pentagon to send "pink slips" to thousands of military personnel, including some currently serving in Afghanistan.

VA nominee Bob McDonald: "Change can be achieved"

Air Force launching satellites to spy on other satellites.

The outgoing head of the U.S. Air Force Space Command said the time is right for a new rocket engine to be developed in the United States.

Congress must extent brain rehab program for veterans.

A World War II officer who trained the country's first black Marines was laid to rest at the Roseburg National Cemetery Annex.

SilencerCo's New Shotgun Suppressor: The Salvo 12 is a modular design that allows the shooter to add or remove sections to balance length and weight.

Seeing real U.S. Navy SEALs moving underwater is way cooler than any movie.

This amazing tree produces 40 different kinds of fruit.

All the supernovas ever photographed in one spectacular collection.

List: Here are 10 of the most awesomest movies stunts in film history.

Rob Reiner reflects on Spinal Tap in the latest ep of Sound Opinions. 

Get ready for the seedless mango.

Did you know they've now introduced Peanut Butter Cheerios?

What are the happiest and unhappiest cities in America?

The United States will fall to pieces beginning Aug. 21 ...

LINK: Original photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Joshua Nistas

GRAB A CUP AND READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 7.16.14 >>>

Pakistani security forces captured a key Taliban commander linked to a 2003 assassination attempt on former President Pervez Musharraf as a U.S. drone strike killed 15 militants near the country's border with Afghanistan.

Fighting raged in Ukraine's east today when separatists tried to break through the lines of government forces near the border with Russia and a tentative step toward agreeing conditions for a ceasefire failed.

U.S. Senate panel proposes keeping A-10, 11 aircraft carriers with $547.9B defense bill.

Senate derails Army bid to take Guard helicopters.

Senate panel backs 1 percent pay increase.

Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James: Top 3 Air Force tough money choices.

Senate Defense Bill doubles Obama's request for Israel's Iron Dome.

Iron Dome - savior or sales job?

Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va., called on the Pentagon to shift dollars from its war spending accounts back into its base budget.

The F-35 joint strike fighter will not be flying at the Farnborough International Airshow, to the disappointment of attendees, program supporters and partnered militaries.

Navy tests stealth-like features for Super Hornet.

Adm. Jonathan Greenert, the U.S. chief of naval operations, met his Chinese counterpart, Adm. Wu Shengli, commander in chief of China's navy, for talks aimed at improving cooperation between their fleets following concerns over regional territorial disputes and potential armed conflict.

The U.S. Air Force's top civilian said she wants $100 million in funding this year to hold a rocket launch competition.

The Defense Health Agency is launching a pilot program Friday that will allow Tricare to pay for some medical tests developed by laboratories.

Rep. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) on Tuesday called on the Senate to pass legislation to prevent soldiers from being given notice while serving in a combat zone.

DARPA's $40 million plan to save soldiers' brains.

Futurama in 3D is absolutely stunning.

Newly discovered species could be the last one standing on Earth.

We wish we had a magical shadows pop up book when we were kids.

Marvel's Thor is going to be a woman.

The cast of The Wonder Years reunited on Good Morning America.

Here's a list of the best beers of 2014 (so far).

A banana pudding donut sounds too good to be true.

The Cave Singers play Tacoma's New Frontier Lounge Sunday. Click play and go about your duties.

LINK: Original photo by Sgt. Mary Junell, 382nd Public Affairs Detachment

GRAB A CUP AND READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 7.8.14 >>>

Officials are warning troops and DoD civilians in the state of Washington that indulging in pot could result in consequences.

The Israeli army, air force and navy launched a major operation today against the Islamist militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

An Afghan official says that at least 16 people, including four Czech soldiers, were killed today in a suicide attack near a clinic in eastern Afghanistan.

The top U.S. commander in Europe said he will probably need more troops to counter the renewed military threat from Russia that is roiling the far eastern region of Europe.

NATO leaders will push alliance members to adopt a readiness action designed to improve the speed European militaries can respond to crisis.

It's the tale of the two maritime exercises: In the Black Sea, the U.S. and its allies are starting up multinational training while Russian warships separately maneuver in a large-scale war game.

Report: Engine responsible for F-35 fire.

House Benghazi panel may cost $3 million this year.

U.S. Navy warns it can't meet 30-year funding needs.

Russia to revamp nuclear-missile force within decade.

An international pact on heightened security standards for nuclear materials got one step closer to being implemented when Japan signed on late last month.

The Minuteman has been updated over the years and remains ready for launch, but the items that support it have grown old.

Let's look at storm photos.

Let's watch cells grow.

Kickstarter potato salad guy rules.

MAC is launching Simpsons makeup line.

Pink Floyd has a new album on the way.

Cartoon jokes that went over most kids' heads.

From coal mountains, Walmart, China Buffet, Gus's Guns and PBR, Amanda Nicole demonstrates her hula hooping skills in the Midwest.         

Finally: Hip Hop Family Tree.

Who wants to swim in our pool?

LINK: Original photo by Spc. Philip Diab

GRAB A CUP AND READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 7.7.14 >>>

Israeli air strikes killed seven Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip following the kidnapping and killing of three Israeli youths and a Palestinian teen.

Ukraine to lay siege to rebel-held regional centers.

Ukraine's richest man pleads for city's safety after rebels vow to make stand.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel concerned over U.S. spy claims. 

The U.S. Defense Department is set to roll out a new R&D strategy this week.

The F-35 Joint Program Office has begun carrying out a game-changing plan for sustainment on a global scale.

U.S. Navy's cruiser problem.

Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy wants every sailor to have a tablet.

Opinion: deck stacked again women in experimental task force.

The Air Force says putting "juicy bars" off-limits has helped shut many involved with prostitution and human trafficking.

Army publishes SHARP campaign plan.

Installations to open SHARP Resource Centers.

Army moving education content to cloud for better access.

Natick investigates shelter lighting effects on soldier thinking, mood.

Veterans turning to American Legion in wake of VA scandal.

Fury, scheduled for release Nov. 14, is writer/director David Ayer's new movie about a U.S. Sherman tank mission behind German lines in April 1945.

A tantalizing brief glimpse inside Fabien Cousteau's underwater lab.

Scientists have located the brain's on/off switch for consciousness.

Neil deGrasse Tyson gives a detailed breakdown of NASCAR physics.

The science behind barbecuing.

The new Star Wars movie has picked two new actors from its open casting call.

See Kevin Smith talk about his visit to the Star Wars set.

A new book counts down Bruce Springsteen's 100 best songs.

Dude, you don't ban a kid from a restaurant for wearing a Ninja Turtles shirt.

Finally: Seinfeld breakups

No words can describe this ...

LINK: Original photo by Visual Information Specialist Markus Rauchenberger

GRAB A COFFEE AND READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 7.5.14 >>>

Taliban insurgents set fire to about 200 oil tanker trucks supplying fuel for NATO forces in an attack just outside the Afghan capital Kabul.

Government forces recaptured a flashpoint area of eastern Ukraine from pro-Russian rebels.

Why Putin turned against the U.S.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey: Iraqi military can't regain lost territory on its own.

The Navy and Air Force have grounded the entire fleet of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters.

Crunch time for VA deal.

Quarantine the Middle East.

Faced with a newly aggressive Russia, NATO has been mulling how to react, but it is ruling out one option: rapid expansion.

Custody case highlights a dilemma of deployment.

Queen Elizabeth II smashed a bottle of whisky against Britain's biggest warship on Friday as she gave her name to the new aircraft carrier at a ceremony in Scotland.

The eight presidents with the most badass military records.

Drone captures beautiful film flying through fireworks.

An emoji-only social network: Ridiculous or brilliant?

Breaking ground on the world's largest shopping mall.

City of Wolfsburg - in Germany - is currently hosting the worst Star Wars exhibition ever.

Endless flood of people in Hong Kong is like real life World War Z.

Here's a Burger King video that makes us want to puke ...

LINK: Original photo by Airman 1st Class Gustavo Castillo

GRAB A CUP AND READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 6.30.14 >>>

President Obama has picked an Army veteran and retired chief executive of Proctor & Gamble to head the embattled VA.

Iraqi troops battled to dislodge an al Qaeda splinter group from the city of Tikrit after its leader was declared caliph of a new Islamic state in lands seized this month across a swathe of Iraq and Syria. 

North Korea fired two short-range Scud missiles into its eastern waters Sunday.

The US Army is threatening to slash modernization funding for Stryker, Abrams and Bradley vehicles if the service is forced to halt a $10 billion program to replace thousands of M113 infantry carriers.

Magic Money: DoD's overseas contingency budget might dry up.

A State Department investigation of Blackwater's activities in Iraq was abandoned after the company's top manager there threatened "that he could kill" the chief U.S. investigator.

Sneak peak into Marines' quiet mission in Central America.

Marine corporal who disappeared nearly a decade ago and faces a desertion charge has turned himself in to the military.

Army's Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System blimp has been placed in a "strategic reserve."

The Navy is implementing specific design and engineering improvements to its Littoral Combat Ship.

Tactile belts let soldiers feel their way through the field.

The nearest Earth-like planet is only 16 light-years away from us.

A machine that can disintegrate any tree in seconds.

Disco Game of Thrones.

Chef Gordon Ramsay scares us.

New York magazine has a story about the 25th anniversary of Seinfeld.

Could Phil Collins be mulling a comeback?

Here's a great piece about one writer's cinematic road trip.

See Jack White cover Metallica's Enter Sandman.

Good News: What Sharknado 2 looks like ...

Finally: Weird things you can buy on Amazon.

RIP Bobby Womack ...

LINK: Original photo by Spc. Kimberly Trumbull

GRAB A CUP AND READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 6.23.14 >>>

The militants' capture of Turabil late Sunday followed the fall of three more towns in Iraq's western Anbar province.

U.S. advisers sent to Iraq will likely find an army so lacking that it may not be able to win back significant chunks of territory from militants.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry landed in Baghdad to press Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to form a more inclusive government in response to the Sunni insurgency that is sweeping Iraq.  

Obama: Only Iraqi political leadership, and not U.S. military force, could help solve sectarian divisions threatening to plunge the country into a civil war.

Obama: Afghanistan could be gripped by Iraq-style sectarian violence after the full withdrawal of American troops by the end of 2016.

Fighting flared between Ukrainian and pro-Moscow separatist forces.

Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl has been moved to outpatient care at a Texas military base.

The U.S. missile defense system managed by Boeing Co. on Sunday hit a simulated enemy missile over the Pacific in the first successful intercept test of the program since 2008.

Military now has X-ray guns.

Special Forces conducts naval training as Army emphasizes amphibious.

The Army is evolving its current Integrated Training Environment into a single synthetic training environment that combines constructive, gaming and virtual systems.?

New horsepower for war zones: Special Forces saddle up.

5 revolutionary American weapons of war that never happened.

One handcrafted soda, please, barista. Venti. Light on the fizz. Iced, with a touch of anise.

A haunting look at some of America's abandoned shopping malls.

Slingshot is Facebook's second attempt at trying to jump onto the ephemeral messaging bandwagon.

Cool: YouTuber The Unusual Suspect has released a GotG-style trailer... for Star Wars!

Astronaut Reid Wiseman tweeted this Vine a few days ago from the International Space Station.

See what the women in Robert Palmer's "Addicted to Love" video look like today.

John Landis talks about the Close Encounters trailer on the latest ep of Trailers From Hell.

Watch Pearl Jam cover Let It Go from Frozen.

Finally: Interviews the voice actors for the classic Peanuts specials.

Ouch!

LINK: Original Photo by Seaman Martin Carey

GRAB A CUP AND READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 6.18.2014 >>>

The CIA and other spy agencies are scrambling to close intelligence gaps as they seek ways to support possible military or covert action against the leaders of the al-Qaida-inspired militant group that has seized parts of Iraq and threatens Baghdad's government.

ISIS hits Iraq's biggest oil refinery.

Iran's president vowed to defend Shi'ite holy sites in Iraq as Sunni fighters hold control of the main cities across the north. 

Why Delta Force waited so long to grab a Benghazi ringleader.

Former deputy CIA director Mike Morell suggested the sooner Benghazi suspect Ahmed Abu Khattala gets to the United States, the more likely he will have provided intelligence to U.S. officials. 

Iraq: Exhibit A for why Obama's new counterterrorism strategy won't work.

Iraqi premier Maliki gaining strength as Shiites rally behind him.

Opinion: US air power won't defeat ISIS.

Hillary Clinton: She warned the Obama administration against working with Iran to handle the unraveling situation in Iraq and attributes Banghazi statement to "fog of war."

The latest international crisis may be a terrorist land offensive in Iraq, but concerns about China's ambitions clearly dominate those thinking about strategies for the US Navy.

Issues await next U.S. Marine Corps commandant.

Lockheed F-35 bulkhead cracks solution proposed.

Defense giants score poorly on arms development.

Army senior leaders posit that communications technology is being developed and put into use inside the Army before its vulnerability to cyber-attacks has been fully evaluated.

Air Force C-130s land at Lielvarde Air Base for first time.

Incredible video of wild Alaskan brown bear chilling out with a camper.

Here's how to cut a cake perfectly, according to science.

Audiences are liars, and the media organizations who listen to them without measuring them are dupes.

YouTube will begin pulling indie musicians from the site blocking any artist on a label that refused the company's licensing terms for its forthcoming subscription music service.

Boardwalk Empire to jump ahead seven years for its final season.

In many ways, Season 4 of Louie felt like a call and response between Louis C.K. and the Internet.

So good ...

LINK: Original photo courtesy of 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs