TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - John McCain was declared the winner of the Florida Republican presidential primary late Tuesday.With three-fourths of the vote counted, McCain, a senator from Arizona, led Mitt Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, by several percentage points and claimed victory."Thank you Florida Republicans for bringing a former Florida resident across the finish line first ... in an all-Republican primary," McCain said in Florida. McCain, who received aviator training in Pensacola, has drawn some support ... [full story]

DALLAS, Ore. - A Dallas, Ore., woman and her boyfriend have posted signs displaying the name and alleged crimes of a man accused of drunkenly driving into their house.Brooke Stuller and her boyfriend posted signs outside their home after neighbor Loren Kowing allegedly crashed into their daughter's room, which was unoccupied at the time, while driving under the influence of alcohol, KPTV-TV, Portland, Ore., reported Tuesday."Loren Kowing was drunk!! Hit my kids room," a large ... [full story]

All involved persons escaped injury in a multi-vehicle crash Monday morning that closed both directions of Interstate 84 about 15 miles west of Arlington for about five hours. A dump truck driver, allegedly driving too fast for the snowy and icy road conditions, apparently set off the chain of the events and was cited by police. Photo Courtesy: Oregon State Police According to an Oregon State Police (OSP) news release, Sean H. Bunkley, a ... [full story]

Three Baker City residents were arrested Monday when police executed raided their home and seized drugs, a firearm, and cash1/2 ounce of crystal methamphetamine, a handgun, about $2,500 cash and a small amount of marijuana, Oregon State Police (OSP) reported. Photo Courtesy: Oregon State PoliceDetectives and troopers served a search warrant at 1735 Cherry Street in Baker City on January 28. According to a news release, OSP was assisted by Baker City Police, a police ... [full story]

NEW YORK -- New York police said they believe suicide was involved in the death of a part owner of a New York drugstore implicated in a steroid investigation.John Rossi died Monday night of gunshot wounds to the chest and head but left a note that police said ruled out any criminal activity.Rossi, 56, was an owner of Lowen's Pharmacy, a Brooklyn store that was raided twice in recent months by agents who seized millions ... [full story]

LOS ANGELES -- A poll Tuesday said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., enjoyed double-digit leads in California heading into Super Tuesday voting.California is a major prize in the Feb. 5 presidential primaries with a lot of delegates at stake and a chance for all the candidates to benefit now that the California is no longer a winner-take-all state.The Los Angeles Times/CNN/Politico Poll gave McCain 39 percent of the likely Republican vote ... [full story]

CORVALLIS, Ore. - U.S. geologists have reported evidence of probable low-angle thrust earthquakes on the Juan de Fuca-North America plate boundary.Anne Trehu and colleagues at Oregon State University said two 2004 clusters of earthquakes occurred in the central part of the Cascadia forearc -- a northwestern Washington-southwestern British Columbia region.The researchers' analysis suggests both events, which had magnitudes of 4.9 and 4.8 on the Richter scale, resulted from low-angle thrust motion between the North America ... [full story]

CHICAGO -- A strong winter storm plowed across the center of the United States Tuesday while the Northeast braced for freezing rain.The National Weather Service warned of potentially life-threatening conditions for people in Iowa thinking about venturing out into a full-blown blizzard covering much of the state.Black ice coated roads in lower Michigan and Accuweather.com warned that areas of the northern Great Plains could expect blistery wind gusts above 60 miles per hour while temperatures ... [full story]

WASHINGTON -- A recent survey of prison populations in the United States suggested almost half of all inmates in state prisons have relatives in the prison system.Analysts said familial influence could be a key factor in determining future criminal behavior as 48 percent of state prisoners report the incarceration of immediate family members, USA Today reported Tuesday.One psychologist involved the analysis of the issue, Mark Eddy, said "the numbers are amazing" and the government officials ... [full story]

MIAMI -- Voting is under way Tuesday in Florida's presidential primary with election officials predicting a high turnout, The Miami Herald reported.Polls suggested Democrats would favor Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., while the race for the Republican nod appeared to favor Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., but only by a slim margin. During the last contested primary for both parties in 2000, only about 19 percent, or 1.34 million, of Florida voters showed up. However, this time ... [full story]