OKLAHOMA CITY - The Oklahoma state Senate failed to overturn Gov. Brad Henry's veto of a bill that would have blocked state-operated hospitals from performing abortions. Senate Bill 714, which would also have kept public funds from hospitals performing abortions, failed by a 31-17 vote -- one vote short of the required amount to overturn a veto, The Oklahoman reported Thursday. State Sen. Charlie Laster, D-Shawnee, voted for the initial bill but switched sides to ... [full story]

SPENCER, Mass. - Officials in Spencer, Mass., are warning residents not to use tap water after at least 93 people were hospitalized as a result of contamination. Residents were told after a malfunction at the water treatment plant not to drink, cook or bathe with tap water until it has been declared safe, the Boston Globe reported Thursday. Ed Coletta, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection, said the noxious chemicals, which could ... [full story]

28-year old Christopher Mark Mills of Salem, Oregon, entered a guilty plea before U.S. District Court Judge Ancer L. Haggerty to advertising child pornography.  Mills admitted he advertised and offered to make his child pornography images available to others under terms wherein an exchange would be made on a “one for one” basis.  Mills stated that he was often away from his computer while others accessed his file server and traded child pornography in accordance ... [full story]

NAPLES, N.Y. - Wayne Schenk, a cancer patient who recently won $1 million in the New York State Lottery, has died. He was 51. Schenk, who died Monday, won the payout a few weeks after being told he had less than a year to live in December 2006, ABC News reported Thursday. He had hoped to use the winnings to find expensive treatments for his lung cancer, but he was unable to convince the New ... [full story]

WASHINGTON, DC – This week the Senate Republican High Tech Task Force led by Chairman Gordon H. Smith (R-OR) unveiled its agenda for the 110th Congress aimed at advancing America’s technology industry and growing the economy by eliminating barriers to trade and innovation. “High tech companies are facing fierce competition from abroad,” Smith said.  “Congress needs to clear the path for high tech industries to grow and expand.  The High Tech Task Force will focus ... [full story]

YANGON, Myanmar - Myanmar and North Korea Thursday re-established diplomatic ties, ending their estrangement that goes back to 1983. The two countries, among the most repressive and isolated in the world, had snapped their ties in 1983 following a bomb explosion during a visit to Myanmar, then known as Burma, by South Korea's President Chun Doo-hwan, reported the International Herald Tribune. The bombing missed the South Korea president but 20 others were killed including high-ranking ... [full story]

U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR), John Kerry (D-MA), Gordon Smith (R-OR) and Mark Pryor (D-AR) have successfully added a provision to U.S. competitiveness legislation to authorize the use of National Science Foundation grant funds to acquire nanotechnology equipment and software designed for teaching students about nanotechnology in the classroom. “I have seen the nanotechnology equipment that folks will be able to use these funds to purchase, and it will help attract talented young people to ... [full story]

CHICAGO - U.S. prosecutors charged 22 people in Chicago with allegedly selling fake identity papers to thousands of illegal aliens. An indictment unsealed Wednesday said the Chicago branch of a Mexican crime family had sold thousands of fake identification papers annually since 2003, netting $2 million to $3 million per year, USA Today reported. As many as 20 illegal immigrants at a time were sold phony driver's licenses, green cards and Social Security numbers in ... [full story]

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - The International Commission of Jurists Thursday called the suspension of Pakistan's chief justice "virtually unprecedented in the legal annals of the world." The criticism concerns Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's March 9 suspension of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, who was accused of abusing his position, the BBC reported. The judge, whose suspension continues to draw countrywide protests, has denied the charges against him, the report said. The jury panel, whose representative Param ... [full story]

May 8 hearing will help shape master plan BEND, Ore. - The Department of State Lands (DSL) invites public comment on a draft master plan for developing a state-owned, 640-acre parcel bordered by 27th St. and Stevens Rd. in Bend.  A public hearing will take place on Tuesday, May 8, from 6-8 p.m. in The Commons at the High Desert Middle School, 61111 27th St.  "The Stevens Road Master Plan will guide the use and development of this ... [full story]