Cigarette retailers in Oregon received a final notice last week from the Office of State Fire Marshal (OSFM) to comply with Oregon's fire-safer cigarette law or risk civil penalties beginning March 1st.Oregon's fire-safer cigarette law, effective January 1, 2008, requires retailers to sell only fire-safer cigarettes. Since then, retailers in violation of the law have received warnings from the OSFM and given the choice of disposing of the illegal cigarettes or have them confiscated. On ... [full story]

Parents who provide consistent discipline and are supportive are helping reduce the likelihood their children will have substance abuse or other behavioral problems when they reach the teenage years. That's the message delivered to parents and their 10- to 14-year-olds in 27 counties and the Siletz and Umatilla tribes during the Strengthening Families program sponsored by the Oregon Department of Human Services Addictions and Mental Health Division. The $1.56 million two-year program was funded by ... [full story]

NEWBURG-DUNDEE, Ore. -- A 60-year old Oregon man was arrested Friday and charged with 30 crimes related to the alleged sexual abuse of a child, police announced today.   Floyd Alan Finsand - YCCF photo  Floyd Alan Finsand of Dundee was taken into custody and lodged in the Yamhill County Corrections Facility in McMinnville after an investigation that began when a 14-year-old girl reported the suspect allegedly abused her several times, usually at Finsand’s home. The abuse ... [full story]

SALEM, Ore. - Larry Norman, widely regarded as the "father of Christian rock music," has died of heart failure at age 60 at his home in Salem, Ore., his family said.The Texas-born, California-raised singer, songwriter and producer began recording for Capitol Records with his band People! in 1966 and for the next two years performed concerts supporting The Doors, The Who, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix, said a statement released on behalf of Norman's brother, ... [full story]

DALLAS -- A Dallas-based college test-prep company countersued the College Board claiming it is trying to put the Texas company out of business.Karen Dillard, who owns and operates the Karen Dillard College Prep company, sued the College Board, based in New York, claiming the board stole trade secrets and slandered her to put her out of business, the Dallas Morning News said Tuesday.The College Board, which produces and oversees the SAT college entrance exam, sued ... [full story]

WASHINGTON -- New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a key superdelegate in the U.S. presidential contest, said he would decide this week whether endorse a Democratic candidate.Richardson, himself an early candidate for the Democratic nomination for president, remained on the fence for endorsing a particular candidate. But, in an interview with The Albuquerque Journal, Richardson said, "I'm going to decide whether to endorse certainly this week."Stateline.org reported Monday that, with it increasingly unlikely either Sen. Barack ... [full story]

TORONTO -- A crackdown in Toronto on prostitutes advertising online has resulted in the seizure of $227,000 in assets and a deportation order, police said.One of the most popular places for pimps and their workers to advertise is on the craigslist.org site, Detective-Sgt. Howie Page told the Toronto Sun."Our officers are going through the Internet and newspapers on a daily basis searching for illegal activity," he said.The operation resulted in the conviction on Feb. 14 ... [full story]

OTTAWA -- Canada's new fiscal budget is "prudent" and reflects wariness of a weakened U.S. economy, the finance minister told reporters in Ottawa."It's a budget that's prudent," Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said. "We have to stay within our means. "We are doing some spending but in a controlled way, given the economic circumstances" in the United States, the Canwest News Service reported.In recent days, Flaherty and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper have said the ... [full story]

PARIS -- Racism is a limiting factor in many European countries' politics as Americans may vote for their first black presidential candidate, The Washington Times said."It's true, we need to work harder and be more determined to erase the prejudices people have of us," Zohra Bitan, the daughter of Algerian immigrants, told the Times. Bitan, 44, is seeking to be the first minority mayor of the Parisian suburb of Thiais.Minorities, blacks and Muslims hold key ... [full story]

PHILADELPHIA -- A survey released this week shows the historic Protestant majority in the United States as fragmented and rivaled by Roman Catholicism.The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life found 51 percent of Americans said they belong to a Protestant denomination compared to 24 percent who said they were Catholic. However, 31 percent of adults surveyed said they were raised Catholic while the majority of immigrants belong to the Catholic Church."Although there are about ... [full story]