function specifyAnnouncements(xhr) {
  var items = xhr.httpObj.responseXML.getElementsByTagName("item");
  var dl = document.getElementById("announceList");
  var dlInner = "";
  for ( var i = items.length - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
    var headline = items[i].getElementsByTagName("headline")[0];
    var dt = "<dt>" + headline.firstChild.nodeValue + "</dt>";
    var story = items[i].getElementsByTagName("story")[0];
    var dd = "<dd>" + story.firstChild.nodeValue + "</dd>";
    dlInner = dlInner + dt + dd;
  }
  dl.innerHTML = dlInner;
}

var announceRequest = new entAjax.HttpRequest("readFile.php", specifyAnnouncements);
announceRequest.setParam("fileName", "announcements.txt");
announceRequest.get(null);