Legislation will mean healthier snack options for students SALEM, Ore. - The Oregon Senate recently passed House Bill 2650, legislation that sets standards for what kind of snack food may be sold in schools. Foods with fat and sugar content beyond a certain level will not be allowed in school vending machines or to be sold by school stores. “With child obesity rates becoming a greater and greater health concern, this legislation is just common ... [full story]

ASTANA, Kazakhstan - Kazakhstan politics have been rocked by an international arrest warrant being issued by President Nursultan Nazarbayev's politically ambitious son-in-law. The warrant, sent worldwide Monday, infuriated Nazarbayev's daughter, who is married to Rakhat Aliyev, a Los Angeles Times correspondent reported. Both she and Aliyev have been considered possible successors to Nazarbayev, who was constitutionally required to step down in 2012. Nazarbayev sent his possible rival to act as ambassador to Austria, and on ... [full story]

Bend-La Pine Schools will welcome two new leaders starting July 1. Stephanie Bennett will take over as the new Pilot Butte Middle School principal and Jim Boen will become the vice principal at La Pine Middle School. The announcement comes after a comprehensive, nationwide search and demanding interview process. "It's exciting to find such talented leaders to bring to our schools," said Superintendent Doug Nelson. "We had many qualified applicants, and the experiences both bring ... [full story]

WASHINGTON - If the U.S. government used standard corporate accounting practices, the nation's total liability would be $59.1 trillion, USA Today reported Tuesday. Because the government keeps Social Security and Medicare on separate ledgers, the amount the government actually owes is far higher than claimed, as the two programs account for 85 percent of the total shortfall, the newspaper said. The government claimed a $248 billion 2006 budget deficit but if standard accounting had been ... [full story]

The City of Bend Budget Committee approved the 2007-2009 proposed biennial budget as amended on Thursday.  The Budget Committee is comprised of the Bend City Council and six citizen members. The original proposed budget of $476 million was amended to include reductions in several departments. The motion passed ten to two with one citizen member abstaining. The proposed two-year budget will be presented to City Council on June 20th for adoption.Below are the main departmental ... [full story]

SAN DIEGO - The three front-runners for the Republican presidential nomination are trying desperately to ease the suspicions among the party's hard-core conservatives that each of them arouses for different reasons. Rudy Giuliani promised to appoint "strict constructionists" to the court. John McCain mended fences with the late Rev. Jerry Falwell. Mitt Romney said his past support for the right to have an abortion was wrong. While there are signs that these efforts are having ... [full story]

The drivers of two pickups escaped serious injury when they collided head-on Monday evening about 15 miles north of Bend on Highway 20 near Harrington Loop Road; as did the drivers involved in a separate head-on crash with a flat-bed truck and car at the intersection of Tumalo Road and the Old Bend-Redmond Highway. The first accident occurred about 5:25 p.m. May 28, when Deschutes County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the intersection of Tumalo Road ... [full story]

NEW DELHI - Several people were killed Tuesday in India's Rajasthan state during clashes between police and members of a tribe seeking affirmative action consideration. The Press Trust of India reported at least 11 people had died and about 80 others were injured in three districts of the western desert state and that the army had been called in to clear a major highway blocked by protesting members of the Gujjar community. The highway connects ... [full story]

TRIPOLI, Libya - British Prime Minister Tony Blair embarked on his so-called legacy farewell tour to Africa Tuesday with a visit to Libya to meet leader Moammar Gadhafi. Blair, who steps down as Labor Party leader and prime minister at the end of the month, traveled from London with a number of documentary filmmakers and magazine journalists to document the trip, The Times of London reported. In view of the farewell nature of the African ... [full story]

WASHINGTON - Opponents of immigration reform legislation in the Senate are warning that it could provide an invitation to fraud that would draw an influx of illegal border crossers in search of a lifetime pass to settle in the United States. Backers of the measure, already battling charges from conservatives that it amounts to amnesty, acknowledge the problem but promise to fix it before the immigration package becomes law. The problem is that the legislation, ... [full story]