WASHINGTON - The Iranian government has officially assured the United States it does not know the whereabouts of a former federal agent who went missing in the country. Iran informed the United States through Swiss diplomatic channels Wednesday that has no information regarding the location of Robert Levinson, a private investigator and former agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation who lost communication with the United States in March while in Iran, the Financial Times ... [full story]

Q: Wow, what a cold spell we have had the past couple of weeks. I have a lot of perennials in my yard and the worse looking ones are nearest the house. I thought they would get the most protection, but I must be wrong. What can I do for them now and what can I do to keep them from having problems next time?  A: The problem for many early blooming plants and buds ... [full story]

BRISBANE - Three Australian sailors have been reported missing after their catamaran was found drifting in the Coral Sea with no sign of its crew. The three sailors, ages 56, 63 and 69, had been heading around Australia from Airlie Beach to Perth when they mysteriously vanished from their vessel, the Kazz II, Sail World reported Friday. The boat's headsail was shredded but the mainsail was still set, the report said. Rescuers said the boat ... [full story]

BEJING, China - Talk of democratic reforms no longer appears muted in China with articles on such reforms appearing frequently in state-run media and publications. The International Herald Tribune notes the country's academic experts and retiring leaders have written numerous commentaries on reform of the communist political system, including a call for adopting something similar to Switzerland's worker-friendly, democratic governing style. The Tribune report, quoting two Communist party officials, said clearance has been given for ... [full story]

TIJUANA, Mexico - A busy public hospital that serves the city's poorest residents was the scene of a shootout Wednesday that claimed the lives of two law-enforcement officers and left hundreds of frightened patients and staff members locked inside for several hours as police searched for suspects. As soldiers and police swarmed the area in the city's Rio Zone, the 120-bed General Hospital was partly evacuated shortly after noon, with some patients temporarily moved to ... [full story]

The Virginia Tech students, faculty, and staff are giving the Nation an education on how to COPE with tragedy.  They have taken us to school on how to handle grief. Television and newspapers are providing exemplary examples of caring, courage in facing pain, and a unity of community. Soon after the shootings, I was asked to provide guidelines to help students, parents and people everywhere deal with their grief. I suggested we use the COPE ... [full story]

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Virginia Tech shooter Cho Seung-hui purchased a gun from a store despite a history of mental illness and bought his second firearm online. ABC News reported Cho was found during a court-ordered mental health evaluation in December 2005 to be "mentally ill and in need of hospitalization" and "an imminent danger to self and others," but that information did not appear in court records when he bought his Glock 19 handgun from ... [full story]

Two more men have been arrested in connection with Tuesday’s fatal hit-and-run collision, accused of arson and other crimes for helping burn an automobile that police believe struck and killed a 41-year old Bend woman was she rode her bicycle on Third Street near Powers Road.   Eric Allen Brown (left), and Robert Jennings Battles (right) - DCJ photos Robert Jennings Battles, 19, of Bend, was arrested Wednesday about 9:45 p.m., Bend Police Captain Jim Porter said.  20-year ... [full story]

WASHINGTON - Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Thursday that he personally ordered a review of fired U.S. Attorney Carol Lam's prosecution record and told staffers "to do something about it" if complaints about her proved legitimate. Gonzales, under fire for the abrupt dismissal of eight U.S. attorneys - which some Democrats claim was politically motivated - said he called for the Lam review after learning of "numerous complaints" about the former federal prosecutor. In testimony ... [full story]

BARTON, Md. - Hopes of finding two trapped coal miners in a western Maryland town were fading Friday, three days after a main wall collapsed on them. Amy Louviere, a spokeswoman for the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, said rescue workers digging in Barton, Md., had struck metal, likely the back end of a backhoe one of the men was in when the 125-foot-high wall collapsed, the Baltimore Sun reported. Workers also uncovered the ... [full story]