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Merkley Statement on President Obama`s Address on Afghanistan

Merkley says he looks forward to discussing questions with the Administration and learning the full details of their plan.

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley issued the following statement in response to President Obama’s announcement of more troops for Afghanistan:

“I appreciate that President Obama has taken the time to fully examine this issue and consider the available options. However, I’m not convinced the case has been made to add more than 30,000 new troops..."

Excerpts of the President`s Address to the Nation

Obama says the plan will see the transfer of our forces out of Afghanistan begin in July of 2011.

(WASHINTON D.C.) - “The 30,000 additional troops that I am announcing tonight will deploy in the first part of 2010 – the fastest pace possible – so that they can target the insurgency and secure key population centers. They will increase our ability to train competent Afghan Security Forces, and to partner with them so that more Afghans can get into the fight. And they will help create the conditions for the United States to transfer responsibility to the Afghans.”

Weekly Oregon H1N1 Influenza Update

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has allocated another 100,604 H1N1 vaccine doses to Oregon expected by Friday, Dec. 4, bringing the cumulative total to 765,508, enough to vaccinate 39 percent of the priority group.

(SALEM, Ore.) - The number of H1N1 influenza hospitalizations and deaths appears to be waning, but people are still getting sick and being hospitalized throughout the state. In Oregon during the past week, 59 people have been hospitalized and three have died.

Since Sept. 1, 2009, 1,242 people have been hospitalized in Oregon with influenza-like illness; 52 people have died.

A Dad, His Son, and D`s and F`s

Will he turn it around before he’s 18? I hope so. Is there more I should be doing?

(WASHINGTON D.C.) - What parent hasn’t dreaded report card time, especially when a child is underperforming? How do two kids, born of the same genetic material, turn out so differently when it comes to school performance and their work ethic?

When is it wrong if the “problem” child gets more attention than the one who gets his work done and maintains good grades?

Kristin Boese Launches KB4girls Worldwide Kite-Boarding Clinics

Eight time world kiteboarding champion and sports model Boese reaches out to girls around the world to sharpen their skills and learn some new riding tricks.

(TAMPA/LONDON/PERTH) - World champion kite-boarding pro Kristin Boese is launching her first world-wide KB4girls kite-boarding tour and looking to etch her indelible mark in this rapidly growing exciting water sport.

Kristin has passionately organized and run a total of 16 girls’ clinics around the world in the past 7 years neither for profit or promotion and even with her own funding just out of passion.

Afghanistan Fact Sheet: The Numbers Behind the Troop Increase

Group says total funding for Afghanistan could exceed $325 billion in Fiscal Year 2010.

(WASHINGTON D.C.) - President Barack Obama is making a major policy speech on Afghanistan tonight. According to numerous press reports, this speech will include his intention to significantly increase the number of U.S. forces deployed in the region to conduct combat operations and assist with the training of Afghanistan's national security forces.

The following are quick facts about the U.S. commitment in Afghanistan...

Gas Prices Stuck in Neutral

Retail gas prices continue to hold steady with prices about the same as last week, and within a few cents of where they were a month ago.

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - Retail gas prices continue to hold steady with prices about the same as last week, and within a few cents of where they were a month ago, according to Oregon AAA's Marie Dodds.

She says the national average for regular unleaded dropped a penny to $2.63 and Oregon's statewide average also fell a cent to $2.75.

Suspect in Officer Slayings Killed by Seattle Police

The two-day manhunt has ended, with the gunshots of a lone officer.

(SEATTLE) - Maurice Clemmons, the man suspected of gunning down four police officers in a coffee shop Sunday was shot and killed by Seattle police early Tuesday, a sheriff’s spokesman said.

Four other people were arrested for allegedly helping him elude authorities during a massive two-day manhunt.

Salem Man Reportedly Turns Gun on Himself After Confrontation with Deputy

A police bomb squad is currently on scene at Lancaster and Center where a vehicle connected to the dead man may be rigged with a bomb.

(SALEM, Ore.) - A bizarre story in Salem tonight is still unwinding and the facts are not all in, but we know that police are currently on the scene of a suspected car bomb, connected to a man who fatally turned a gun on himself earlier this evening.

A man under investigation for domestic assault and kidnapping, whose name has not been released, shot himself this evening in Salem, after he was confronted by a deputy. Law enforcement officers now say that a vehicle belonging to the dead man's girlfriend, may have a bomb in it.

Immigrants Boost Portland`s Economy in Proportion to Their Numbers, Study Finds

Immigrants constitute 13 percent of professional specialists such as doctors and lawyers and 13.8 percent of technicians in areas such as health care, engineering and science.

(SILVERTON, Ore.) - As is the case throughout the nation's largest cities, immigrants contribute to Portland's economy roughly in proportion to their share of the population, according to a study released today by the Fiscal Policy Institute.

"The study should be required reading for all Oregonians, as it makes clear just how much of the economic growth of the state's largest metropolitan area is due to immigrants," said Joy Margheim, policy analyst with the Oregon Center for Public Policy, who examined the Fiscal Policy Institute's study.