The Central Oregon Multi Agency Traffic Team (MAT) will be out in force Wednesday patrolling school zones in the Bend area, police announced. According to Bend Police Sgt. Kurt Koester, officers with Bend and Redmond Police, Deschutes County Sheriff’s deputies, and Oregon State Police troopers will be looking for various traffic violations including speeding, disobeying traffic control devices and other safety violations to encourage safe driving habits near schools. The MAT team's high-visibility saturated enforcement will ... [full story]

A 21-year old Prineville man was arrested Tuesday evening during a snowstorm on Santiam Pass after he allegedly abandoned a stolen car and disappeared on foot up a snow bank, police reported Friday.   Cody Jay Ipoch - CCJ photo According to an Oregon State Police (OSP) news release, a trooper and Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) personnel came upon a 1997 Pontiac Grnd Am that was stuck in a snow bank on Highway 20 in the ... [full story]

NEW YORK - A U.S. pioneer in nuclear safety, Dr. Herbert J. Kouts, has died in an East Patchogue, N.Y., hospital at the age of 88, his family announced.Daughter Catherine Sigmon told the New York Times her father died Jan. 7 of congestive heart failure and complications from a fall. Among his accomplishments after serving in World War II, he established the Reactor Shielding Group at the Brookhaven National Laboratory, in Upton, N.Y., in 1945, the ... [full story]

CHICAGO - Staff members at the suburban Chicago Brookfield Zoo were trying to determine Monday what illness killed a young Atlantic bottlenose dolphin.Micco, a 6-year-old male, had been receiving antibiotics since last month when his eating habits changed but he went into distress Sunday, the Chicago Tribune reported. Trainers and handlers dove into the water and administered CPR and injected heart stimulants but Micco didn't respond, the report said.Zoo officials said initial postmortem reports indicate a ... [full story]

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - U.S. President George Bush Monday praised Dubai and its leadership and said he wants residents to understand they have the respect of the United States.Before heading for Saudi Arabia, Bush attended a roundtable discussion with young Arab leaders. "I'm most impressed by what I've seen here," Bush said, adding, "I also want you to understand something about America: that we respect you, we respect your religion and we want to work ... [full story]

MOSCOW - The Russian Foreign Ministry called a British decision to re-open two British Council offices in Russia a "provocation" amid a widening diplomatic row.The British Council opened two branches in St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg Monday despite a ban by the Russian government, the BBC said Monday. Moscow ordered the offices closed in January as part of the broader diplomatic clash over the poisoning of former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko in London in November 2006.The Russian ... [full story]

LONDON - The former butler for Britain's Princess Diana told a London inquest Monday her plans to remarry didn't include the boyfriend with whom she died in a car crash.Paul Burrell told the inquest Dodi Fayed's courtship was an "exciting time" for the princess in 1997, it was his understanding Diana was deeply in love with Dr. Hasnat Khan, a heart surgeon at the Brompton Hospital, The Daily Mail reported. The princess, Fayed and their chauffeur ... [full story]

VIENNA - The United Nations' nuclear watchdog reached an agreement with Iran to settle remaining issues concerning Iran's nuclear program. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohammed ElBaradei, reached an agreement Sunday in Tehran but the United States said the issue falls short of addressing its concerns about uranium enrichment, Radio Free Europe said Monday.The agreement allows IAEA oversight on Iranian studies concerning the conversion of uranium dioxide into uranium tetrafluoride, which can be ... [full story]

BERGEN, Norway - Officials in Norway detained a 55-year-old man who allegedly molested hundreds of young boys in the last 30 years.The man, nicknamed "Pocket Man" for his method of molestation, was ordered into custody for four weeks Monday while police investigate the allegations, Aftenpost said Monday. Police arrested the man Friday following a search of his home, which uncovered DNA matching evidence from the alleged assaults.His defense attorney, Tor Erling Staff, downplayed the charges."This is ... [full story]

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Saudi King Abdullah signed a series of bilateral agreements launching the president's three-country Middle East tour.Sarkozy signed a series of accords on political cooperation, education, and oil and gas deals. The pair opened talks on future negotiations regarding a civilian nuclear reactor for energy production, Alalam satellite television reported Monday. Saudi Arabia looks to expand rail service between Mecca and Medina and construct a subway in Riyadh ... [full story]