Deputies believe that failing attempts to save their home following the receipt of a mortgage foreclosure notice may have led to the suicide of an elderly Prineville couple, discovered dead yesterday afternoon from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning. Crook County Sheriff’s deputies responded to 4800 NE Mill Creek Road about 1 p.m. in response to a welfare check request made by neighbors when the couple failed to answer the door and several of their dogs hadn’t been ... [full story]

SALEM, Ore.  - Governor Kulongoski and British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell on Wednesday signed a “Memorandum of Understanding” to establish partnership between the two governments to work together for climate and ocean protections. As part of the memorandum, Oregon and British Columbia agree that joint action is needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and that many of these actions can have significant economic and environmental benefits for British Columbia and Oregon. “We have both a moral and ... [full story]

PORTLAND, Ore. — Speaker Jeff Merkley strongly criticized Senator Gordon Smith’s vote today to confirm President Bush’s nomination of Judge Leslie Southwick to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.  Southwick has a very troubling history on the Mississippi Court of Appeals, routinely deciding against plaintiffs in cases involving racial discrimination, injured workers, and consumers. “It isn’t surprising that Gordon Smith gave the thumbs-up to another one of Bush’s judicial nominees,” Merkley said.  “Southwick has built ... [full story]

JERUSALEM -- Israel plans to cut power to the Gaza Strip for two hours a day in response to rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza, officials said Wednesday.Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai told Israeli Army Radio the supply of gasoline to Gaza also will be "reduced slightly" to remind residents there are consequences for the rocket fire, IsraelNN.com reported.On Tuesday, 22 rockets and 12 mortar shells were fired into Israel's western Negev region from the ... [full story]

SAN DIEGO -- A huge Santa Ana condition was fading Wednesday, allowing conditions along the Southern California fire lines to swing in the favor of firefighters.“Conditions have improved significantly,” said Rick Hutchinson, the deputy incident commander for the Witch fire near San Diego. “The east winds abated quite a bit overnight.”At the same time, however, the change in wind direction created a guessing game, as the winds blew flames back into areas that were previously, ... [full story]

WASHINGTON -- A California congressman apologized Tuesday for saying that U.S. soldiers were going to Iraq "to get their heads blown off for the president's amusement."U.S. Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., directed his apology at U.S. President George Bush and his family, the U.S. troops and his colleagues in Congress, the Los Angeles Times reported. His remarks came immediately after a resolution to censure him failed by a 196-173 vote. Five Democrats joined all Republicans in ... [full story]

SAINT CHARLES, Mo. -- A Missouri man has been charged with killing his wife three years ago with an overdose of painkillers.Kelly Wadlow's family found her dead body in bed next to her sleeping husband in 2004. The criminal charges against Gregory Wadlow follow years of pushing by the family, who filed an unlawful death suit against him, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.A grand jury in St. Charles County charged Wadlow with first- and second-degree ... [full story]

BEDLINGTON, England -- An English homeowner told a court that a window salesman assaulted him after the man learned he and his wife had obtained a quote from another company.George Dixon said that Carl Birkenshaw came to his house in Cramlington, Northumberland, for an estimate on a conservatory he and his wife are planning, The Daily Mail reported. Birkenshaw, a salesman for Paramount Windows and Conservatories, became unpleasant when the Dixons told him that he ... [full story]

DOVER, Del. -- A 17-year-old freshman at Delaware State University died Tuesday, a month after she was shot, allegedly by another student.Shalita Middleton, a biology major from Washington, had been in Christiana Hospital in Delaware since she was wounded, NBC10 in Philadelphia reported.Loyer Braden, 18, a DSU freshman charged with shooting Middleton, who was hit twice in the abdomen, and Nathaniel Pugh, could now face a murder charge. Pugh, whose injuries were less serious, has ... [full story]

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Bishop Desmond Tutu has set a condition for speaking at a Minnesota college -- the reinstatement of a woman who lost her position as head of an institute.Cris Toffolo remains on the faculty of the University of St. Thomas. But she was removed as director of the Justice and Peace Studies Program after she criticized the university for failing to invite Tutu, The St. Paul Pioneer-Press reported.A spokesman says that the ... [full story]