WASHINGTON - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday he hasn't discussed with the top military commander in Iraq any plans for a "pause" in troop reductions.During a news conference with French Defense Minister Herve Morin, Gates said he and Army Gen. David H. Petraeus haven't discussed a plan temporarily freeze temporarily the drawdown beginning this summer once the 15 brigades that were part of the surge in 2007 have been redeployed without being replaced.Petraeus ... [full story]

SALEM, Ore. – The Oregon Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) Commission will meet Feb. 7 and 8 at ODFW Headquarters located at 3406 Cherry Ave NE in Salem, and will set Columbia River spring chinook management objectives, among other business. Thursday’s meeting begins at 9 a.m. while Friday’s meeting begins at 8 a.m. and proceeds chronologically through an agenda available online. Thursday’s meeting is a strategic visioning session for Commissioners to look ahead and discuss what ... [full story]

LEXINGTON, Ky. - A paralyzed man in Lexington, Ky., was hospitalized after he noticed his pit bull partially bit off his toes while he was sleeping, officials said.Terry Smith, who has been paralyzed below the waist for years, woke up Tuesday morning to discover his puppy had "chewed off four tips of his toes," the Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader reported Wednesday.He was taken St. Joseph Hospital, and the approximately 5- or 6-month old dog, China, was ... [full story]

LOS ANGELES -Troubled pop singer Britney Spears reportedly has been transported by ambulance from her Studio City, Calif., home to UCLA Medical Center. "Spears was escorted by police and is on her way to get help," a Los Angeles Police Department source told People.com. "She was driving around her neighborhood like a mad woman," a Spears family insider told the magazine. "Britney has been prescribed medication, which she refuses to take. This is just another ... [full story]

As the community deals with the effects of the winter storm event Thursday, the Bend Public Works Department wants to remind residents to take precautions and prepare for the inclement weather. City crews and contractors are out plowing and sanding our streets to keep them clear and safe. In order to prevent safety hazards the City is reminding all residents to: - Check on elderly or disabled neighbors.  Avoid shoveling if you have a medical ... [full story]

WASHINGTON - Computer modeling suggests the decline in the snowpack in the Western United States is caused by global warming, scientists said Thursday.The scientists compared 50 years of data to what would be predicted by various models, the Washington Post reported. They found that a model based on human-induced warming matched the data the best."We've known for decades that the hydrology of the West is changing, but for much of that time people said it ... [full story]

BEND, Ore. - Deschutes County employees received high marks in a recent community survey completed by 400 County residents. The survey asked citizen their thoughts about the quality of life in Deschutes County, County services, customer service, public safety, communication and other subjects. Deschutes County employees were rated favorably; with four in five residents who had been in contact with the County saying their overall impression was “excellent” or “good.” Residents rated the courtesy of ... [full story]

BEIJING - A huge state-owned Chinese pharmaceutical company has been accused of involvement in a nationwide scandal involving tainted drugs.Shanghai Hualian, which exports to the United States and dozens of other nations, was reported linked with contaminated leukemia drugs that authorities say paralyzed or otherwise harmed 200 Chinese cancer patients last summer.The company is the sole supplier to the United States of the abortion pill, mifepristone, known as RU-486, The New York Times said. However, ... [full story]

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - A top al-Qaida operative, believed to be in the same level as Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, has been killed, CNN reported Thursday.The report, quoting a "knowledgeable" Western official and a military source, said Abu Laith al-Libi, who was of Libyan descent and involved in operation, planning and training along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, was killed in Pakistan.Islamist Web sites, which have also reported his death, said Libi died in Afghanistan.The Western ... [full story]

SALEM, Ore.— Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife’s (ODFW) Access and Habitat Program is offering nine big game tags for auction at the banquet and convention events of select hunter/wildlife conservation organizations in 2008. Proceeds from these annual auctions benefit the A&H program, which funds wildlife habitat improvement projects and increased public hunting access to private lands. Last year’s auctions raised $258,500. A&H program auction hunts for 2008 include four statewide deer hunts, four statewide ... [full story]