ARLINGTON, Ore. - Residents of Arlington, Ore., voted to recall the town's first female mayor after a racy photo of her turned up on the Internet.Mayor Carmen Kontur-Gronquist, was ousted as leader of the town of 481 after a 142-139 vote Monday, The (Portland) Oregonian reported Wednesday. Mayor Carmen Kontur-Gronquist, was ousted as leader of the town of 481 after a 142-139 vote Monday. Recall supporters reportedly criticized Kontur-Gronquist's dealings with water and sewer complications, City ... [full story]

Multnomah County Sheriff’s detectives are asking the public’s help to identify the badly decomposed body of a woman found last December in the Willamette River near OMSI in the Portland area.   The badly decomposed body of an unidentified woman was found in the Willamette River near OMSI in the Portland, Oregon area in December 2007 - MCSO photo. An OMSI employee discovered the body about 9 a.m. on December 6, 2007, snagged near the visiting USS Blueback ... [full story]

MILWAUKIE, Ore. -- A 40-year old Oregon man was arrested Saturday after he allegedly heaved a large chunk of firewood through the window of a truck passing through his neighborhood, injuring the passenger and driver, whom he claims were speeding.   William Walter Wiley (left); the chunk of firewood thrown shattered the drivers' window and allegedly caused minor injury to both truck occupants (right) - CCSO photos Clackamas County Sheriff’s Detective Jim Strovink said William Walter Wiley was reportedly ... [full story]

NEW YORK -- A former girlfriend of boxer Oscar de la Hoya said he bullied her into admitting that she doctored photos of him in drag.Milana Dravnel, 22, claimed de la Hoya's lawyer bribed her into signing the false contract during a 1 1/2-hour meeting that took place Sept. 23, 2007, in a deli, the New York Post reported Wednesday.The agreement reportedly barred Dravnel, who is pressing a $25 million defamation suit against de la ... [full story]

BAGHDAD -- At least 25 Iraqis were killed or injured in separate incidents in Kirkuk and Mosel, security officials reported Wednesday.A suicide bomber detonated explosives while riding a bus Tuesday in Mosel, killing 15 people and injuring six others, the Kuwaiti news agency KUNA reported Wednesday.In Kirkuk, masked gunmen opened fire on a checkpoint, killing two and injuring two others.Security forces in Baghdad told KUNA 12 Iraqis were kidnapped at a fake checkpoint set up ... [full story]

BEIJING -- China began work on an advanced nuclear power plant with help from U.S. company Westinghouse Electric Company, a state nuclear engineer said.The Chinese government selected Westinghouse Electric Company in 2007 to help develop a new generation of nuclear power plant that is considered one of the safest generators yet developed.Zhao Hung, a Chinese nuclear engineer, said the AP1000 reactor design hasn't been used at any nuclear facility previously, China Daily said Wednesday.Builders will ... [full story]

JUNEAU, Alaska -- Nearly 100 members of a fishing boat crew safely abandoned ship after their vessel caught fire off Alaska's Aleutian Islands, a report said Wednesday.The U.S. Coast Guard in Juneau said more than a dozen fishermen stayed aboard the Pacific Glacier to battle the blaze as rescue aircraft and the cutter Alex Haley sped to the scene.The 253-foot Pacific Glacier is a fish processing ship based in Seattle. It was working about 136 ... [full story]

ANKARA, Turkey -- Opposition parties in the Turkish government circulated a petition Wednesday to block the removal of a ban on women's headscarves at universities.The 50-page petition from the opposition Republican People's Party, or CHP, and Democratic Left Party asked the Constitutional Court to reverse amendments made to the Turkish Constitution that lifted the headscarf ban at universities, The New Anatolian said.The constitutional change approved by parliament and signed into law by President Abdullah Gul ... [full story]

WASHINGTON -- A crackdown on drug and human smuggling rings at the U.S. border with Mexico has sparked an increase in violence against border patrol agents.U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials say the number of assaults is up this fiscal year after more than doubling between 2004 and 2007, USA Today reported Wednesday."We've had occasions of people shooting at agents, trying to run agents down with vehicles, throwing large rocks or pieces of brick or ... [full story]

CLEVELAND -- U.S. Democratic presidential hopefuls stayed on the campaign trail, as Hillary Clinton tried to reclaim the front-runner tag Barack Obama snatched from her.With less than a week to go before four primaries, including critical ones in delegate-rich Ohio and Texas, the senator from New York needs to shore up a faltering campaign that saw Obama chip away then overtake her as the favorite to become the party's 2008 nomination, the Los Angeles Times ... [full story]