LOS ANGELES - A U.S. district judge ruled Wednesday that certain aspects of the Los Angeles Police Department's efforts to improve downtown conditions are unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Dean D. Pregerson ruled that police officers had to eliminate unconstitutional searches of probationers and parolees without proper evidence as part of their efforts to rid downtown of crime and homeless people, The Los Angeles Times said. The searches were part of an increased police presence in ... [full story]

MARGARETVILLE, N.Y. - Authorities surrounded a burning house in New York Wednesday where a man was believed to have hidden after killing one state trooper and wounding two others. The suspect, identified as Travis Trim, 23, of North Lawrence, N.Y., was believed to have killed Trooper David Brinkerhoff, 29 and wounded Trooper Richard Mattson Wednesday morning while they were searching a property near Margaretville during the investigation into the Tuesday shooting of Trooper Matthew Gombosi. ... [full story]

WASHINGTON - Court documents released this week revealed that U.S. Rep. Tom Feeney, R-Fla., misreported the cost of a trip to Scotland with lobbyist Jack Abramoff years ago. While the Republican representative had estimated the cost of the 2003 trip to Scotland at $5,000 per person to Congress, the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times said that documents released Tuesday showed Abramoff spent nearly $20,000 on each traveler. The findings were revealed in court as former congressional ... [full story]

A 20-year-old Marine who was raised in Burns and graduated from Redmond High School in 2005 has been killed in Iraq, according to local media reports. After serving in Iraq for less than one month, Lance Cpl. Dale Peterson was killed by an improvised explosive device (IED) on a roadside in Anbar province, Z21 reported.   Lance Cpl. Dale Peterson as he appeared in the Redmond High School year book - photo courtesy of RHS Peterson’s sister, 23-year old ... [full story]

A Kalispell, Montana man has been charged with over a half-dozen offenses but remains hospitalized following a car crash during an attempt to elude Prineville Police Tuesday night.  Officers seized a handgun, binoculars, military-style body armor and a Halloween mask found during a search of his vehicle. 36-year old Steven Eugene Morris was stopped near NW 3rd Street and North Deer Street in Prineville for a traffic violation, said Chief Eric Bush, and was found to ... [full story]

MEXICO CITY - In an emotional day marked by tears, prayers and angry proclamations, Mexico City's city council legalized first trimester abortions Tuesday in a landmark vote that sets a precedent for expanding women's rights across the nation. The council passed the law 46-19, with one abstention, after seven hours of tense debate over the question of who has more rights - a woman or a fetus. MEXABORTION - Cesar Ramirez, 28, carried a tiny ... [full story]

ARLINGTON, Va. - U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., Wednesday formally announced in Arlington, Va., he is a candidate for president of the United States in 2008. McCain, who has informally acknowledged for months that he is running for the Republican presidential nomination, said political differences will be "sharpened and exaggerated" during the campaign. However, he told supporters who gathered for his announcement he hoped to avoid what he called small-minded politics. "We have common purposes ... [full story]

BAGHDAD - Iraq's Baath Party is being split by an internal power struggle, U.S. and Iraqi officials said. One side of the party is being influenced by Izzat Ibrahim, the highest-ranking member of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's inner circle to avoid capture, The Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday. Ibrahim is viewed as a ringleader in the Sunni-led insurgency in Iraq. Forces led by Mohammed Yunis Ahmad, a former general in Saddam's army, are trying ... [full story]

BEIJING - China's top censor Long Xinmin, whose banning of eight books this year caused a hue and cry on the Internet, reportedly has been transferred. The Times of London reported Wednesday the government quietly removed Long from his post as head of the powerful General Administration of Press and Publication but gave no reason. Simultaneously, the government as part of its campaign against corruption and misrule also announced new rules to ensure greater transparency. ... [full story]

JERUSALEM - A member of Israel's Knesset is suspected of passing state information to an agent acting for Lebanon during last summer's 34-day war. Part of the months-long investigation is the source of large, but undisclosed sums of money Azmi Bishara allegedly received, YNetNews reported Wednesday. Security agents questioned Bishara twice, and he told them he was going away for a few days. He left Israel three weeks ago and has been touring Arabic states ... [full story]