A woman’s body was found in Englewood Park in Salem, Oregon this morning shortly before 7 a.m., police reported. The body was found at the north end of the park by a person walking through the park, a northeast neighborhood area located on 19th Street NE near Nebraska Street NT. The woman is described as a white female with dark hair, believed to be in her late 30s.  Detectives have tentatively identified the woman, whose ... [full story]

A Redmond, Washington man was seriously injured Sunday afternoon when his motorcycle struck a passenger car that had pulled out in front of him on Highway 97 at the junction with Highway 138, police reported.According to an Oregon State Police (OSP) news release, about 2:30 p.m. on August 12 a 1999 Honda motorcycle driven by Redmond resident Glenn Andrew Hayman, 53, was southbound on Highway 97 approaching the intersection with Highway 138 when a 2000 ... [full story]

HONOLULU -- A wildfire near Honolulu that started in pineapple fields along the northern shore of Oahu has burned more than 1,500 acres of land, firefighters said Monday. About 50 people were evacuated from their homes Sunday afternoon as 20 fire companies responded to the fire on the Dole Pineapple fields, KITV-TV, Honolulu, reported. Honolulu Fire Department Capt. Terry Seelig told reporters the battle was made more difficult by gusting winds. "There's a lot of ... [full story]

WASHINGTON -- A memo written by a Justice Department attorney indicates the cooperation of former U.S. Rep. Bob Ney's chief of staff was instrumental in convicting him. Ney, R-Ohio, is currently serving a 30-month sentence in federal prison for performing official acts for lobbyist Jack Abramoff's clients in exchange for luxury vacations, tickets to sporting events, campaign contributions and other favors. Documents filed in court recently show Ney chief of staff Will Heaton secretly recorded ... [full story]

BARROW, Alaska -- A dispute has erupted between Barrow, Alaska, residents and members of the Inupiat Eskimos over a summer harvest of Beluga whales. Belugas haven’t been seen in the northernmost part of Alaska since the mid-1990s but this year a large number of whales, mainly large males, were spotted swimming close to shore, The Arctic Sounder newspaper reported Monday. The Inupiats took to the beaches and harvested as many as 70 whales, sparking a ... [full story]

SARASOTA, Fla. -- Police in Sarasota, Fla., say a man suffered internal injuries after he jumped from a bridge in an apparent attempt at a daredevil stunt. Joseph Scott Porter, 42, dropped 65 feet from the John Ringling Causeway bridge to the water while a teenager made a video recording of the attempt, the Sarasota Herald Tribune reported Monday. Sarasota Police spokesman Jay Frank said Porter was taken to Sarasota Memorial Hospital and the 15-year-old ... [full story]

WASHINGTON -- Candidates trailing the front runners in the Democratic presidential primary race have begun emphasizing their experience in the area of U.S. foreign policy. The shift in focus follows a foreign policy spat that erupted between Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama after Obama made remarks during a debate that Clinton called "naive," The Washington Times reported Monday. The tiff has given second-tier hopefuls like Sens. Joseph Biden of Delaware and Christopher Dodd of ... [full story]

WASHINGTON -- Half of the bomb squads around Washington are letting special anti-terror computer kits sit idle because they can't afford the monthly wireless bills. About 400 of the "Cobra" systems were distributed by the FBI across the country in 2003 using a $25 million grant. The custom-designed kit is a wireless laptop computer filled with information on chemical and biological agents that also allowed the user to communicate directly with FBI experts, the Washington ... [full story]

AMES, Iowa -- Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has moved from backbencher GOP candidate into the spotlight thanks to his second-place finish in the Iowa Straw Poll. A Southern Baptist minister known for his sense of humor, Huckabee drew 18 percent of the vote to come in second to former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts in the GOP contest, The New York Times reported Monday. “I can’t buy you -- I don’t have the money. ... [full story]

NEW ORLEANS -- Less than half of New Orleans’ schools will open next month despite a gain in Hispanic families, says a report on recovery from the area’s 2005 hurricane. New Orleans has regained 66 percent of its pre-Hurricane Katrina population, due to an influx of Hispanics and former residents moving back, said the New Orleans Index. Schools and hospitals have been slow to recover while “crime remains unacceptably high in the city," the report ... [full story]