MEDFORD - Two Oregon men admitted in federal court Tuesday they burned the letters KKK and the shape of a cross in a family's front lawn. Gary Moss and Devan Klausegger of Medford pleaded to conspiring to interfere with their victims' civil rights. Moss and Klausegger were indicted last July 16 Court documents revealed that last May 26, Moss poured a flammable liquid on victims' lawn and Klausegger handed him a small explosive device that ... [full story]

DENVER - Two years after Colorado voters banned same-sex marriage, the state Senate has given preliminary approval to a bill extending some benefits to gay partners. The bill passed Monday after heated debate, the Rocky Mountain News reported. The measure, which would allow the gay partners of state employees to get health benefits, is expected to have a final vote this week. Some opponents argued the Senate should not go against the will of the ... [full story]

BATON ROUGE, La. - Republicans are ready to work with President Barack Obama but warned they would remain true to their core tenets, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said Tuesday. Delivering the GOP response to Obama's speech before a joint session of Congress, Jindal called the recently signed, $787 billion economic stimulus package "irresponsible" and contended it is "no way to strengthen our economy, create jobs, or build a prosperous future for our children." Lawmakers on ... [full story]

STOCKTON, Calif. - A California woman has been charged with helping end the life of her brother, a blues musician felled by a series of strokes. June Hartley, 43, of Lodi was charged Friday with assisted suicide, The Sacramento Bee reported. She faces up to six years in prison if convicted. Hartley and her mother Daisie cared for her brother James after he became disabled in 2006. Investigators charge that when James Hartley died in ... [full story]

BANGKOK - Thousands of supporters of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra came out for a second day of protest Wednesday in Bangkok. Red-shirted members of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship said they would continue to demonstrate peacefully, the Bangkok Post reported. But they said they would try to surround the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, demanding the resignation of Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya. On Tuesday, about 5,000 police officers stood guard outside Government ... [full story]

MOSCOW - A former Russian oil tycoon serving an eight-year sentence for fraud has been transferred to Moscow to be tried on new charges, a court official said Tuesday. Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky and his former business partner, Platon A. Lebedev, are charged with money laundering and misappropriation of oil, both on a large scale, The New York Times (NYSE:NYT) reported. Khodorkovsky's Web site said both are in the Matrosskaya Tikina Prison in Moscow. Khodorkovsky owned ... [full story]

LONDON - The late Queen Mother, who outlived her husband, King George VI, by 50 years, was back with him Tuesday on the Mall in London in a newly unveiled memorial. Queen Elizabeth II presided at the unveiling ceremony honoring her mother, The Guardian reported. She was joined by other members of the royal family and by Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The memorial includes a larger-than-life bronze statue of a middle-age queen wearing the robes ... [full story]

BEND, Ore. – A 24-year old Glide resident snowboarding at Mt. Bachelor was found cold, tired and wet but in otherwise good condition almost six hours after he was reported missing by friends, the sheriff’s office reported. According to a news release prepared by Deschutes County Sheriff’s Cpl. Neil Mackey, ski patrol personnel searched the Mt. Bachelor property unsuccessfully after Caulder Loni’s friends reported him missing about 1 p.m. on Tuesday. They eventually found and ... [full story]

PITTSBURGH - The 11-year-old Pennsylvania boy charged with shooting his father's pregnant fiancee as she slept reportedly had threatened her previously. Relatives of Kenzie Marie Houk said her boyfriend's son, Jordan Brown, once threatened to "pop Kenzie in the head," the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported Tuesday. Houk's brother-in-law, Jason Kraner, said no one believed the boy, who reportedly was jealous of Houk and her soon-to-be born child, was capable of carrying out his threat. "Everyone loved ... [full story]

BATON ROUGE, La. - The following are remarks made Tuesday by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal in Baton Rouge to President Barack Obama's speech before Congress. Good evening, and happy Mardi Gras. I'm Bobby Jindal, governor of Louisiana. Tonight, we've witnessed a great moment in the history of our republic. In the very chamber where Congress once voted to abolish slavery, our first African-American president stepped forward to address the state of our union. With his ... [full story]