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• Good luck outrunning these cops....

• Syria rejects more IAEA visits for nuclear probe (Reuters)
  Reuters - Syria said on Friday a U.N. watchdog report failed to show anything suggesting a Syrian complex bombed by Israel was a covert nuclear reactor and no further inspector visits would be permitted.
• Solana hopes Obama tackles Mideast peace from day one (AFP)
  

  AFP - European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said Friday that he hoped that US president-elect Barack Obama tackles the Arab-Israeli peace process as soon as he assumes office on January 20.

  
  
• Germany bans Hezbollah television station Al-Manar (AP)
  AP - Germany has banned Hezbollah's television station on grounds that it violates the country's constitution, an Interior Ministry spokesman said Friday.
• UN urges Israel, Lebanon to reach permanent ceasefire deal (AFP)
  

  AFP - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged Lebanon and Israel to seize the chance to move ahead on a permanent ceasefire and settlement, according to a report released this week.

  
  
• Israel in new bid to strip Arab ex-MP of nationality (AFP)
  

  AFP - Israeli Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit launched proceedings on Friday to revoke the citizenship of Arab former MP Azmi Bishara, who fled Israel last year amid claims he had spied for Lebanon's Hezbollah militia, a ministry spokesman said.

  
  
• Syria dismisses nuclear allegations (AFP)
  

  AFP - Syria said Friday a building bombed by Israeli planes last year was not a covert nuclear reactor, as Washington stuck to its allegations which it said was borne in a findings by the UN nuclear watchdog.

  
  
• Gaza groups want calm with Israel: Hamas leader (Reuters)
  

  Reuters - Palestinian armed groups in Gaza remain committed to a truce with Israel if the Jewish state reciprocates, Hamas's Gaza leader said Friday, even as militants launched more attacks from the coastal territory.

  
  
• Rocket hits Israeli city, Gaza still sealed (AP)
  

  AP - Palestinians fired a rocket at an Israeli city near the Gaza Strip on Friday but caused no casualties, police said, as the Israeli military continued its closure of all crossings into the coastal territory because of ongoing rocket fire.

  
  
• Jewish pilgrimage stokes tensions in Hebron (AFP)
  

  AFP - Israel beefed up security on Friday as 25,000 Jewish pilgrims were expected in the flashpoint West Bank city of Hebron amid fears of violence as a group of settlers defied an eviction order.

  
  
• Israel maintains Gaza closure despite humanitarian concerns (AFP)
  

  AFP - Israel said on Friday it will maintain its closure of the Gaza Strip despite international concern over a deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the aid-dependent Palestinian territory.

  
  
• Thousands of Jordanians protest Israeli Gaza blockade (AFP)
  

  AFP - Thousands of people took to the streets of the Jordanian capital on Friday to protest Israel's blockade of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.

  
  
• Palestinian security gets a feminine touch (The Christian Science Monitor)
  The Christian Science Monitor - Palestinian police surround the house of suspected militants and knock, demanding to be let in. Normally, they'd kick in the door if it didn't open immediately, but today they have the thing that every home is said to need: a woman's touch.
• Bush hosts Olmert for likely final talks (AFP/File)
  

  AFP/File - US President George W. Bush will host Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Monday, likely their final talks weeks before both leaders leave office without achieving a Middle East peace deal.

  
  
• OPEC grapples with production cuts, credibility (AP)
  AP - When OPEC announced late last month it was cutting crude oil output by 1.5 million barrels per day, the market barely hiccuped.
• Lebanon seeks wanted Islamists from Palestinian camp (AFP)
  

  AFP - The army is pressing officials in Lebanon's largest Palestinian refugee camp to hand over Islamist suspects wanted in a spate of deadly attacks against its soldiers, a spokesman said on Thursday.

  
  
• Jordan king meets Abbas after 'secret' Israeli talks (AFP)
  

  AFP - Jordan's King Abdullah II held talks on Thursday with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas two days after Israeli leaders made a clandestine visit to the kingdom, a senior Jordanian official said.

  
  
• Israel FM demands world stop ignoring attacks from Gaza (AFP)
  

  AFP - Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni demanded in a telephone conversation with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday that the world stop ignoring attacks on Israel by Gaza militants.

  
  
• Bush, Olmert to meet Monday, review peace efforts (Reuters)
  

  Reuters - President George W. Bush will meet Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Monday to review Middle East peace efforts that the U.S. leader had once hoped would produce an agreement before he left office.

  
  
• Bush, Olmert to hold final meeting in office (AP)
  AP - President George W. Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert — two leaders with just weeks left in office — will discuss a range of issues at the White House on Monday, including Iran's nuclear program, the global financial crisis and efforts to find peace in the Middle East.
• Gaza bakeries 'close to running out of flour' (AFP)
  

  AFP - Bakeries in the Gaza Strip will soon have to shut down for want of flour if Israel does not ease its crippling blockade of the Hamas-run territory, the bakers' association warned on Thursday.

  
  

• Shiites Protest Planned U.S.-Iraq Pact
  BAGHDAD, Nov. 21 -- Thousands of followers of radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr demonstrated Friday against an agreement that would extend the U.S. military presence in Iraq, shouting "America out!" and burning an effigy of President Bush.

  

• U.S. Reports Killing of Iraqi Blamed in Reservist's Death
  BAGHDAD, Nov. 20 -- U.S. forces said Thursday that they had killed an Iraqi insurgent leader responsible for the death of a 20-year-old Army reservist who became a focus of national attention in the United States during the four years he was missing in action.

  

• U.S. Troops in Baghdad Take a Softer Approach
  BAGHDAD, Nov. 19 -- It was billed as a peace concert in war-scarred Baghdad. But after 30 minutes of poetry and patriotic songs, only a scattering of tribal leaders and dark-suited bureaucrats were sitting in the vast expanse of white plastic chairs before a stage painted with doves.

  

• Suspected U.S. Airstrike in Pakistan Kills Six Fighters
  KABUL, Nov. 19 -- A suspected U.S. airstrike deep inside Pakistani territory Wednesday killed six insurgent fighters and wounded several others, according to a Pakistani security official.
  

  

• U.S. Seeks New Supply Routes Into Afghanistan
  TORKHAM, Afghanistan, Nov. 18 -- A rise in Taliban attacks along the length of a vital NATO supply route that runs through this border town in the shadow of the Khyber Pass has U.S. officials seeking alternatives, including the prospect of beginning deliveries by a tortuous overland journey from Europe.

  

• Iraq's Prime Minister Defends U.S. Security Pact in Public Address
  BAGHDAD, Nov. 18 -- Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki addressed the nation Tuesday to defend a security pact that would let U.S. troops stay in Iraq three more years and expressed concern that some lawmakers were trying to block it for political reasons.

  

• Bush's Reversal on Iraq Deadline Gives Obama Flexibility
  By agreeing to a fixed deadline for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq, President Bush contradicted years of promises that he would never agree to anything but a "conditions-based" plan for phasing out the American military role there. But he may also have given President-elect Barack Obama more flexibility in fulfilling his campaign promise to bring the troops home.

  

• Mullen: U.S. Would Need More Than 2 Years for Iraq Withdrawal
  The U.S. military would require two to three years to remove its roughly 150,000 troops and equipment from Iraq safely, and the timing of that withdrawal should be based on security conditions on the ground, the nation's top military officer said today.
  

  

• Iraqi Cabinet Approves U.S. Security Pact
  BAGHDAD, Nov. 17 -- Top U.S. and Iraqi officials signed a pact Monday that would allow U.S. troops to remain in this country for three more years, and the Iraqi parliament began to debate the security agreement that took months to negotiate and must be approved by Iraq's lawmakers in order to take effect. After months of tense negotiations and public protests, the Iraqi cabinet's vote Sunday to approve the bilateral agreement was an indication that most major Iraqi parties support it. An Iraqi government spokesman portrayed the pact as closing the book on the occupation that began with the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

  

• U.S. Ban on Masks Upsets Iraqi Interpreters
  BAGHDAD -- The U.S. military has barred Iraqi interpreters working with American troops in Baghdad from wearing ski masks to disguise themselves, prompting some to resign and others to bare their faces even though they fear it could get them killed.

  

• Iraqi Cabinet Approves U.S. Security Pact
  BAGHDAD, Nov. 16 -- After months of tense negotiations and public protests, the Iraqi cabinet on Sunday approved a bilateral agreement allowing U.S. troops to remain in this country for three more years.

  

• Overhaul of National Security System Sought
  "The simple truth is that the world for which the [U.S.] national security system was designed in 1947 no longer exists. Today's challenges require better integration of expertise and capabilities from across the government. . . . Instead, departments and agencies are often working against one another, the White House is unable to make timely and well-informed decisions, and there is an over-reliance on military force."
  

  

• Iraq Head, Top Cleric Back 2011 Exit by U.S.
  BAGHDAD, Nov. 15 -- Iraq's prime minister and its most influential Shiite cleric have decided to support a security agreement that would allow U.S. troops to remain in the country until the end of 2011, sharply increasing its chances of passage in the Iraqi parliament, officials said Saturday.

  

• Defense Secretary Breaks From Past to Ensure Smooth Transition
  Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is approaching the presidential transition unlike any of his predecessors.

  

• Iraqi Urges Passage of U.S. Deal
  BAGHDAD, Nov. 13 -- Iraq's interior minister has criticized the country's politicians for not approving an agreement that would allow U.S. troops to operate in Iraq after the end of the year, and called their continued presence crucial.

  

• U.S. Soldier, 18 Others Die in Afghan Bombing
  KABUL, Nov. 13 -- An American soldier and 18 Afghan civilians were killed Thursday after a suicide bomber rammed his car into a convoy of U.S. military vehicles in a busy market in eastern Afghanistan.
  

  

• 2 U.S. Troops Killed by Iraqi Soldier
  BAGHDAD, Nov. 12 -- An Iraqi soldier armed with an AK-47 assault rifle rigged with an extra large magazine opened fire Wednesday on U.S. soldiers in the northern city of Mosul, killing two and wounding six, U.S. military officials said. American soldiers returned fire, killing the Iraqi soldier.

  

• 3,300 More U.S. Troops Sought to Train Afghans
  U.S. commanders in Afghanistan are requesting 3,300 more troops to accelerate the training of new Afghan army and police forces, a job seen as critical to defeating Afghanistan's growing insurgency.

  

• Officials Guiding the Process Are Named
  The Obama transition team yesterday rolled out a new list of officials who will help guide the process, singling out the Treasury, Defense and State departments as its first three areas of focus.

  

• Long-Closed Baghdad Bridge Reopens
  BAGHDAD, Nov. 11 -- In the most dramatic sign yet of improving security in Baghdad, officials on Tuesday reopened a bridge where one of the signature horrors of the Iraq war occurred, a stampede that killed more than 800 Shiite pilgrims.
  

  

• Obama to Explore New Approach in Afghanistan War
  The incoming Obama administration plans to explore a more regional strategy to the war in Afghanistan -- including possible talks with Iran -- and looks favorably on the nascent dialogue between the Afghan government and "reconcilable" elements of the Taliban, according to Obama national security advisers.

  

• Bombing Shows Fragility of Iraq's Security Gains
  BAGHDAD, Nov. 10 -- For years, as car bombs rocked Baghdad, a wall of three-foot-high concrete barriers closed off the road next to Imad Karim's restaurant in a northern district.

  

• Around the World
  

  

• U.S. Plans Expansion of Afghan Airfield To House Special Army Aviation Unit
  The Bush administration's plans to increase the U.S. military role in Afghanistan include a $100 million expansion next year of the Kandahar airfield, to accommodate aircraft working for Task Force ODIN, the once-secret Army fighting units that have been successful in Iraq.
  

  

• A Moment for the Ages, Many Years in the Making
  "Obama Makes History," said the headline in this newspaper on Wednesday, a statement of the obvious, but no less momentous for that. Everybody knows it's true -- nearly everybody has been saying it since Tuesday night. But what does it mean to make history?

  

• Self-Sufficiency Still Eludes Domestic Security Forces
  BAGHDAD -- Lt. Col. Kadhem Jabar Kadhem, a veteran of Saddam Hussein's army, has the swagger of the top cop in the sprawling Dora market, one of Baghdad's most dangerous areas until U.S. soldiers ousted insurgents last year.

  

• Good Riddance to Reagan-National Precursor, Hoover Airport
  I read with interest your Nov. 2 article headlined "Pentagon Land Has Long History of Ousted Settlers." I thought the land on which the Pentagon was built was previously the site of Hoover Airport.

  

• Airstrike Kills 12 in NW Pakistan
  ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Nov. 7 -- At least 12 people were killed Friday when two missiles slammed into a village in northwestern Pakistan in a suspected U.S. airstrike near the border with Afghanistan, according to a Pakistani intelligence official.
  

  

• Millions tune in to find out who shot J.R.
  

  On this day in 1980, 350 million people around the world tune in to television's popular primetime drama "Dallas" to find out who shot J.R. Ewing, the character fans loved to hate. J.R. had been shot on the season-ending episode the previous March 21, which now stands as one of television's most famous cliffhangers. The plot twist inspired widespread media coverage and left America wondering "Who shot J.R.?" for the next eight months.  The November 21 episode solved the mystery, identifying Kristin Shepard, J.R.'s wife's sister and his former mistress, as the culprit. 

  The CBS television network debuted the first five-episode pilot season of "Dallas" in 1978; it went on to run for another 12 full-length seasons. The first show of its kind, "Dallas" was dubbed a "primetime soap opera" for its serial plots and dramatic tales of moral excess. The show revolved around the relations of two Texas oil families: the wealthy, successful Ewing family and the perpetually down-on-their-luck Barnes family.  The families' patriarchs, Jock Ewing and Digger Barnes, were former partners locked in a years-long feud over oil fields Barnes claimed had been stolen by Ewing.  Ewing's youngest son Bobby (Patrick Duffy) and Barnes' daughter Pam (Victoria Principal) had married, linking the battling clans even more closely.  The character of J.R. Ewing, Bobby's oldest brother and a greedy, conniving, womanizing scoundrel, was played by Larry Hagman. 

  As J.R. had many enemies, audiences were hard-pressed to guess who was responsible for his attempted murder. That summer, the question "Who Shot J.R.?" entered the national lexicon, becoming a popular t-shirt slogan, and heightening anticipation of the soap's third season, which was to air in the fall. After a much-talked-about contract dispute with Hagman was finally settled, the season was delayed because of a Screen Actors Guild strike, much to the dismay of "Dallas" fans. When it finally aired, the episode revealing J.R.'s shooter became one of television's most watched shows, with an audience of 83 million people in the U.S. alone--a full 76 percent of all U.S. televisions on that night were tuned in--and helped put "Dallas" into greater worldwide circulation.  It also popularized the use of the cliffhanger by television writers. 

  The shooting of J.R. wasn't "Dallas'" only notorious plot twist. In September 1986, fans learned that the entire previous season, in which main character Bobby Ewing had died, was merely a dream of Pam's. The show's writers had killed the Bobby character off because Duffy had decided to leave the show. When he agreed to return, they featured him stepping out of the shower on the season-ending cliffhanger, and then were forced the next season to explain his sudden reappearance.

  The last premiere episode of "Dallas" aired on May 3, 1991. A spin-off, "Knots Landing," aired from December 27, 1979 until May 13, 1993. "Dallas" remains in syndication around the world.
  

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