10 brigades to Iraq...Clinton's crossword puzzle...

From American Progress:

Think Fast

The Pentagon's announcement yesterday that 35,000 soldiers in 10 Army combat brigades will begin deploying to Iraq in August as replacements makes it "possible to sustain the increase of U.S. troops there until at least the end of this year."

"Partial data on attacks gathered from five U.S. brigades operating in Baghdad" show that total attacks since the escalation began in February "were either steady or increasing. In some cases, certain kinds of attacks dipped as the U.S. troop increase began, only to begin rising again in recent weeks. Overall, 'the number of attacks has stayed relatively constant' in Baghdad, said one U.S. officer."

"The government's methods for deciding compensation for emotionally disturbed veterans have little basis in science, are applied unevenly and may even create disincentives for veterans to get better, an influential scientific advisory group said yesterday."

"Led by California, 31 states representing more than 70% of the U.S. population announced Tuesday that they would measure and jointly track greenhouse gas emissions by major industries." The new Climate Registry is seen as a "crucial precursor" to regulating global warming pollution.

"Christians are fleeing in droves from the southern Baghdad district of Dora after Sunni insurgents told them they would be killed unless they converted to Islam or left," marking "the first apparent attempt to empty an entire Baghdad neighborhood of Christians, the Christians say."

"Sen. Kit Bond's staff, worried about a potential scandal over Missouri's fee offices, suggested two years ago that the Bush administration should consider replacing then-U.S. Attorney Todd Graves." Graves eventually resigned in March 2006, roughly one year after Bond's office communicated its concerns, and was replaced by Bradley Schlozman.

"Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) on Tuesday said he won't veto a bill that would block state officials from following his order" requiring mandatory vaccinations against HPV, a virus that causes cervical cancer.

Six Muslim men "were charged Tuesday with plotting to attack Fort Dix" in New Jersey "with automatic weapons and possibly even rocket-propelled grenades." The men were not connected to an international terrorist group and their plot "was alternately ambitious and clumsy."

And finally: "What's a four-letter word for 'words in some kvetching?' According to former President Clinton, it's 'veys.'" Clinton supplied the clues to a crossword puzzle on the website of the New York Times magazine this week, as part of a special on baby boomers. "Boomer's update of a song from 1951's 'Show Boat?' That would be 'Ol Man Liver.'"

Wrap...