The U.S. military has announced that 12,000 American and 4,000 British troops will leave Iraq by September. ...more

March 8, 2009

A "substantial" number of the roughly 100,000 U.S. combat troops to be pulled out of Iraq by Aug. 31, 2010, will remain in the war zone through at least the end of this year to ensure national elections there go smoothly, senior Obama administration officials say. ...more

February 27, 2009

President Bush plans to keep the number of U.S. troops in Iraq near the current level through the end of the year and will pull home about 8,000 U.S. troops by February, when the next president will be in charge of wartime decision-making. ...more

September 9, 2008

Republican John McCain's estimate of U.S. troop levels in Iraq touched off squabbling with Democrat Barack Obama on Friday, the latest turn in the presidential rivals' escalating disagreement over the war. ...more

May 31, 2008

LAKE PLACID — Highlands County Lakes Manager Clell Ford said he hopes to begin dredging and cleaning up several residential canals feeding into Lake Istokpoga by November. The county already did some testing on 17 residential canals, including some of the canals located in Mossy Cove, Palms Estates and near the Istokpoga Marina. Ford said he also needed to choose a dump site for an estimated 25,000 cubic feet of sand and muck that would be taken out of the canals. The state budget has $800,000 slated for the maintenance work, and he said he'll try to get some of the needed permits for the projects next month if the county commissioners approve the project in today's meeting. ...more

May 20, 2008

Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Monday endorsed the idea of a pause in the drawdown of U.S. troops this summer, as bombers killed at least 22 Iraqis in attacks targeting U.S.-allied tribal leaders. ...more

February 12, 2008

The Bush administration is sending strong signals that U.S. troop reductions in Iraq will slow or stop altogether this summer, a move that would jeopardize hopes of relieving strain on the Army and Marine Corps and revive debate over an open-ended U.S. commitment in Iraq. ...more

January 30, 2008

Facing an unstable economy and an unfinished war, President Bush used his final State of the Union address Monday night to call for quick passage of his tax rebate package, patience in Iraq and $300 million in scholarship money for low-income children in struggling schools. ...more

January 29, 2008

President Bush said Saturday that the United States is on track to bring home at least 20,000 troops from Iraq by this summer, but he stressed he is willing to halt the drawdown "in order to make sure we succeed." ...more

January 13, 2008

Birds are expected to flock to Rodman Reservoir in northeast Florida as officials lower the water level to help improve the ecosystem's health. ...more

December 29, 2007