ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The U.S. Coast Guard continued its search Tuesday for a Japanese balloonist who vanished south of Alaska while attempting to cross the Pacific Ocean.Michio Kanda sent his last transmission Thursday, reporting that he was at 16,000 feet in rainy weather. Coast Guard air searches have found no trace of Kanda or his balloon, the Starlight, the Anchorage Daily News reported.On Monday, two C-130s from the Coast Guard and the Alaska Air National ... [full story]

TRENTON, N.J. - Exit polls showed U.S. Sen. John McCain winning an easy victory in New Jersey's winner-take-all Republican presidential primary.New Jersey Network called the state for McCain within minutes of the polls closing. He defeated former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee apparently running a distant third.The victory gives McCain 52 delegates.For most of last year, former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani had such a formidable lead in New Jersey ... [full story]

WASHINGTON - Both major parties were facing the prospect that there could be few or no knockout blows in Super Tuesday primary and caucus voting.Democratic races in particular were hard to call. While it may have been clear early on whether Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., or Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., won the popular vote in a particular state, it may take some time before the delegate distributions are clear.All Democratic contests allocate delegates proportionately, which ... [full story]

ATLANTA - U.S. Democrat Barack Obama, as expected, was the apparent winner in Georgia's Super Tuesday presidential primary, considerably outdistancing Hillary Clinton.The Atlanta Journal-Constitution said immediately after the polls closed that there was no clear winner yet on the Republican side, where John McCain, Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee were neck and neck.Exit polls showed up to one-third of Republicans making up their minds within the last three days.Two polls released during the weekend produced ... [full story]

PRINEVILLE — Because of heavy snow conditions and narrowing roadways, Forest Service officials continue to monitor conditions that may eventually require sno-park closures on the Ochoco National Forest.“We’ve been able to keep Walton Sno-park open up to this point, but as funding for snow removal is depleted and roads continue to narrow, a future closure may be likely”, said Recreation Staff Officer Cathy Lund.To avoid congestion, they ask, please do not park on Forest Road ... [full story]

CALGARY, Alberta - A veterinarian called for safer standards for the transport of large animals after the accidental death of a hippopotamus in Calgary, Alberta, a report said.Hazina, a 6-year-old river hippo, died in of a heart attack in Calgary just two days after her departure from the Denver Zoo, the Calgary Herald reported Tuesday.Reports said the hippo may have suffered circulatory problems as a result of laying on one side of her body for ... [full story]

CAIRO - Human Rights Watch condemned the Egyptian government for jailing a group of alleged homosexual men after one revealed he was HIV positive.The rights group sharply criticized Egyptian authorities for the convictions of four men on charges of "habitual practice of debauchery" and the arrests of four others awaiting trial. "These shocking arrests and trials embody both ignorance and injustice," said Scott Long, director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights Program at ... [full story]

WASHINGTON - The United States has leveled additional sanctions against Myanmar's leaders for their "unacceptable" actions that thwart democracy, the White House said.President George W. Bush ordered the additional economic sanctions against family members of regime leaders in the country formally known as Burma, four companies and three individuals pursuant to an executive order he signed in October, the White House press office said in a statement. Thirty individuals and seven entities previously were designated for ... [full story]

JERUSALEM - Ten Qassam rockets fired from Gaza hit the Israeli town of Sderot shortly after six Palestinian police officers were killed Tuesday in an Israeli airstrike.The raid by the Israeli Air Force struck a police post in Khan Younis, Ynetnews reported.The military wing of Hamas took credit for the rocket attack, which occurred about two hours later. One rocket hit a house, injuring a woman, Ynetnews said.Earlier in the day, two factories were damaged ... [full story]

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee won West Virginia's first Republican Presidential Convention in the first results from Super Tuesday balloting.Huckabee took 51 percent of the votes cast in the second round of balloting, the Huntington Herald-Dispatch reported, giving him all of West Virginia's 18 delegates to the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis in September. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was second with 47 percent of the vote, and Sen. John McCain of ... [full story]