A 74-year old Brookings man died after his SUV left Highway 38 near Scottsburg, went down a 180-foot embankment and landed partially submerged in the Umpqua River, authorities reported. A fisherman called 911 and the US Coast Guard about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday after he discovered the 2004 Ford Explorer about six feet from the riverbank, Oregon State Police (OSP) said.    Piper's SUV was found upside down, partially submerged in the Umpqua River off Highway 38 ... [full story]

A 30-year old Bend man was seriously injured when his SUV “jerked” into an oncoming lane of traffic on Highway 22 in Mill City yesterday, colliding head-on with a pickup in a crash that led to the death of the other driver and injury to a passenger, police reported. A witness told Oregon State Police (OSP) that an eastbound 1995 Isuzu Rodeo driven by John Eric Young of Bend “jerked” into the oncoming lanes of ... [full story]

RAMADI - A top Marine commander in Iraq says a new line of armored vehicles have protected Marines in more than 300 attacks. Marine Brig. Gen. John Allen, deputy commander of coalition forces in Anbar province, said no Marines died in any of the attacks and the average number of Marines injured in the attacks is less than one, USA Today reported Thursday. Allen said attacks on other vehicles averaged more than two casualties each. ... [full story]

GAZA - A negotiator says Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has been assured that a BBC journalist abducted by Islamic extremists is still alive. Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said sources told the president that Alan Johnston, who was captured last month in Gaza, was not killed by the Kataeb al-Jihad al-Tawheed -- which translates as "the Brigades of Holy War and Unity" -- as some reports suggested, The Times of London reported Thursday. "All sources in ... [full story]

BIRMINGHAM, England - A debt-ridden British gambler on trial in England for the 2006 slaying of two massage parlor employees has suddenly pleaded guilty. Garry Harding, 22, admitted in Birmingham Crown Court that he killed the two women at Rachael's Health Studio in the Frankwell area of Shrewsbury, Shropshire, last July 1 with a hammer. Police said his computer showed he had researched methods of murder and robbery on the Internet. He said that he ... [full story]

JERUSALEM - Members of a right-wing Israeli organization are demanding the release of Yigal Amir -- the man who assassinated former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. The Committee for Democracy has planned a series of ads to appear in newspapers and on billboards comparing the plight of Amir to the planned release of Palestinian prisoners aimed to securing the release of Israeli Defense Forces soldier Gilad Schalit, the Jerusalem Post reported Thursday. The Post said the ... [full story]

KABUL - Afghan and coalition forces foiled a Taliban attempt to set up ambush posts in southern Afghanistan after a battle that left 24 insurgents dead, CNN reported. The intense seven-hour long battle took place at nightfall Wednesday in the northeast corner of Helmand province's Sangin district, the U.S.-led coalition command told CNN. The report said two coalition soldiers, who suffered minor injuries, were evacuated to a nearby medical facility. The command told CNN the ... [full story]

JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has warned U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates about miscalculations that could lead to an unwanted Israel-Syria war. In a meeting with Gates in Jerusalem, Olmert said he had no plans to attack Syria. But, he said the smuggling of arms from Syria to Hezbollah must be stopped. They referred to efforts being made by moderate Arab countries to tackle radical Islam, which they called "the most immediate and ... [full story]

BAGHDAD - The apparent executions of 20 Iraqi security officers an insurgent group claims it kidnapped last week was posted on the Internet Thursday. The video shows the men crouching on their knees lined up in a field as a masked gunman shoots each of them in the back of the head. A photographer follows the gunman, and two other masked men holding guns can also be seen in the footage, CNN reported. Audio of ... [full story]

BAGHDAD - A suicide bomber struck central Baghdad on Thursday, killing 12 people, injuring 28 others and setting off explosions in a truck loaded with gas cylinders. The blast was close to a police checkpoint in the Jadriyah district, and two of the dead were police officers, the Alalam news network reported. Mortar shelling also killed three people in southern Baghdad, Alumaria reported. Southeast of Baghdad in Nasiriyah, officials reported finding a mass grave close ... [full story]