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Oregon Session Begins: Commencement of the 75th Legislative Assembly

Senate Democrats welcome new members and new staff.

(SALEM, Ore.) - As a gesture of bipartisanship, the Oregon Senate was called to order yesterday at 9:00 AM by Senate Republican Leader Ted Ferrioli. After the adoption of chamber rules, the Senate unanimously reelected Senator Peter Courtney as Senate President and Senator Rick Metsger as Senate President Pro Tempore.

Oregon City Woman Dies in Crash on Highway 211

The near head-on collision happened west of Molalla.

(MOLALLA) - Police say a 75-year old Oregon City woman died and her 8-year old great-grandson received non-life threatening injuries Tuesday afternoon when their car collided with a commercial truck at the intersection of Highway 211 and Canby-Marquam Highway west of Molalla.

Jeanette Lane is the driver who died in the crash. Highway 211 remained closed until approximately 6:00 PM, for vehicle removal and completion of the on-scene crash investigation.

OSP says the preliminary investigation indicates that today around 12:45 PM, a 2003 Buick Park Avenue driven by the victim was southbound on the Canby-Marquam Highway when it failed to come to a complete stop for a stop sign at the Highway 211 intersection.

Pre-Columbian Artifacts From Panama Recovered and Returned by Portland FBI

The 1972 Panama Constitution and a 1982 Panamanian law make it illegal for any person to own antiquities from that country.

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - Today the FBI returned to the government of Panama more than 100 ancient artifacts uncovered during an investigation conducted by the FBI’s Portland Division.

Islas Malvinas Day in Argentina

Holy week would be a crowded and noisy salute to the last of summer’s heat, but we were able to endure until Easter, the return of rain and peace at last.

(FALKLAND ISLANDS, Argentina) - Islas Malvinas Day came and went. A thief in the night, it hid itself at the beginning of la semana santa (holy week) and managed to stay unnoticed in the shadows of the grander holidays that would follow.

There were no conspicuous displays of Argentine flags, parades, fireworks or other conventional displays of patriotic fervor.

In el Bolson, the only inkling we had that there was a holiday afoot was that the banks were closed; but in a town with only two banks that stay open only three hours per day, most closures go by unnoticed. The 24-hour teller machines did a nonetheless brisk business.

Lower Gas Prices Expected This Week

After a couple weeks of increases, AAA expects gas prices will start to come down again over the next several days.

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - After increasing for nearly two weeks, gas prices are stabilizing and are expected to decline over the next few days, according to Oregon AAA.

"Seasonal demand for gasoline is at its lowest point of the year, and the drop in demand for gas caused by the struggling economy does not warrant a sustained rally in gas prices." AAA Oregon Public Affairs Director Marie Dodds says.

"The national average for regular unleaded jumps up 10 cents in the past week to $1.79, while Oregon's average increases ten-and-a-half cents to $1.91. AAA believes some gas station owners may have raised prices too quickly last week, and we urge drivers to shop around before filling up."

UN Official Tells Ban on Eve of Mideast Mission in Gaza: Please Secure Ceasefire

The shortage has kept 94,000 special hardship cases, “the poorest of the poor,” from receiving any UN cash aid since November 18th.

(NEW YORK) - A senior United Nations official in Gaza warned today that “tragically the horror continues,” with 19 children reported killed and 52 injured in just the last 24 hours of Israeli-Hamas fighting, even as Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon briefed the Security Council on his upcoming trip to the region to speed up diplomatic efforts for a ceasefire.

“For the Secretary-General our message will be as it has been consistently: Please, we have to get an end to the fighting, nowhere in Gaza is safe, the situation here is horrific for everybody,” the Gaza Director of Operations of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), John Ging, told a news conference in New York.

Iraq Veterans Poisoned: War Contractors Knew But Concealed

A story making headlines today in the Oregonian was originally reported here almost two months ago.

(MOLALLA, Ore.) - The Oregonian Newspaper headlined Oregon Troops exposed to toxic chemicals by Julie Sullivan January 9th 2009.

She wrote that KBR, a Haliburton company, disregarded and downplayed the extreme danger especially of lung cancer.

Iraq and Afghanistan (VIDEO)

Comparing the differences between America's two war zones as casualties in Afghanistan spike.

(SALEM, Ore.) - Afghanistan and Iraq are disctincly different places, yet they have plenty in common in the minds of American families. Every emotion in the universe can be attached to the wars in these faraway places.

The deaths of five U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan and one in Iraq in recent days, remind us that the cost of our military mission is steep.

If allied forces can find eventual success in Afghanistan, then there would be a measurable accomplishment for the sacrifice of the last several years.

Gaza: UN Official Reports `Horrific` Hospital Scenes of Casualties

35,000 Gazans have now fled their homes for shelter in 38 UNRWA locations, and many more have found refuge with relatives in other parts of the Gaza Strip.

(GAZA) - Appalled that fighting was still continuing in Gaza despite the Security Council’s ceasefire resolution, senior UN officials said they were horrified at the human costs amid reports that over 40 per cent of the nearly 900 Palestinians killed and almost half of the 3,860 wounded, were women and children.

Behind those statistics that we read out every day is really profound human suffering and grave tragedy for all involved and not just for those who are killed and injured but for their families as well, one official said.

“(It) is the place of course where you see the most horrific human consequences of this conflict...” he said, as Israel's offensive entered its 17th day with the stated aim of ending Hamas rocket attacks.

Oregon Joins Nation in Recognition of AMBER ALERT Awareness Day

National AMBER Alert Awareness Day sees 12th birthday on January 13th 2009‏.

(PORTLAND, Ore,) - Twelve years since the abduction and murder of Amber Hagerman in Arlington, Texas, January 13th 2009 commemorates the third national AMBER Alert Awareness Day.

Following Amber's abduction, the Dallas/Fort Worth Association of Radio Managers teamed up with local law-enforcement in 1997 to implement the first local AMBER Plan. Since that time, the program has grown into a seamless network of 120 AMBER Plans across the country, and has even reached into Canada and parts of England.

Nationwide, there are 29 regional, 38 local, and statewide plans in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.