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Victim Tentatively Identified in Fatal Crash Near Scottsburg‏

OSP troopers from the Coos Bay and Roseburg Area Command offices are continuing the investigation with the assistance of an OSP crash reconstructionist.

(SCOTTSBURG, Ore.) - Oregon State Police troopers are continuing the investigation into Saturday afternoon's four vehicle fatal traffic crash that left one person dead and six others injured on Highway 38 east of Scottsburg in Douglas County.

They say the victim is tentatively identified as 20-year old Heidi Rosanna Johnson of North Bend. Ms Johnson was traveling from North Bend to Springfield where she was a student at Lane Community College. Her dog also died in the crash that happened January 3rd, 2009 at 2:49 PM.

Sherwood Director of Public Safety Appointed to F.B.I.‏

The position is responsible for liaison with the Department of Homeland Security, the Attorney General's Director of Intergovernmental and Public Affairs, and other agencies.

(SHERWOOD, Ore.) - The City of Sherwood announces today the resignation of Sherwood Director of Public Safety, Ronald C. Ruecker, effective January 15th, 2009.

Mr. Ruecker is relocating to Washington, D.C., to be appointed to the position of Assistant Director of the Office of Law Enforcement Coordination (OLEC) within the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The OLEC was established by FBI Director Mueller in 2002 to enhance coordination and communication between the FBI and its federal, state, local, county, tribal, and campus law enforcement partners.

Latest on Media Exclusion from Gaza Strip

The international media is held up at Gaza’s gates.

(GAZA) - As a result of the closure of the border crossings by the Israeli authorities, international media personnel continue to be excluded from the Gaza Strip, where the military operations are taking place.

Many western media reporters are covering events from the border, from where they can see the effects of the air strikes and the fighting from a distance.

The Foreign Press Association, which groups foreign journalists based in Israel, appealed to the Israeli supreme court on December 31st for 12 journalists to be allowed into the Gaza Strip when the borders crossings were opened to let humanitarian aid in. The supreme court ruled in favour of the FPA request but the border has continued to be closed for the media.

Israel: Allow Media and Rights Monitors Access to Gaza

There has been a total ban on foreign journalists since the offensive began.

(GAZA) - Israel should immediately allow journalists and human rights monitors access to Gaza, Human Rights Watch said today. Their presence can discourage abuse by warring parties and help save lives.

Human Rights Watch urged the Israeli government to abide by an Israeli high court ruling on December 31st, 2008 and allow foreign media into Gaza.

The presence of journalists and human rights monitors in conflict areas provides an essential check on human rights abuses and laws-of-war violations, Human Rights Watch said.

U.S. Calls for Ceasefire in Gaza

Rice's decision to attend the U.N. meeting came before Israeli tank shells killed at least 40 Palestinians on Tuesday at a U.N. school in Gaza where civilians had taken shelter.

(WASHINGTON D.C.) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced today that the United States wants Israel to enact "an immediate ceasefire" in Gaza. Yahoo News reports that U.S. officials were quick to stress that they would not budge from their stance that it must be durable, sustainable and indefinite.

Until now, the United States had avoided making any such statement. Rice had a meeting with Obama this morning, and then released the statement that the U.S. expects an "immediate ceasefire".

The language was well received by several European and Arab allies of the United States, who gathered for a U.N. Security Council meeting on how to bring an end to Israel's 11-day-old offensive in Gaza.

America`s Hidden Role in Hamas`s Rise to Power

No one in the mainstream media or government is willing to acknowledge America's sordid role interfering in Palestinian politics.

(SAN FRANCISCO) - The United States bears much of the blame for the ongoing bloodshed in the Gaza Strip and nearby parts of Israel.

Indeed, were it not for misguided Israeli and American policies, Hamas would not be in control of the territory in the first place.

Hamas, an acronym for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya (Islamic Resistance Movement), was founded in 1987 by Sheik Ahmed Yassin, who had been freed from prison when Israel conquered the Gaza Strip 20 years earlier.

Gaza Conflict Sends Gas Prices Higher to Start 2009

The Oregon average for regular unleaded increases six-and-a-half cents in the past week to $1.81 while the national average gains seven cents to $1.69.

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - Continued fighting between Israeli and Palestinian forces in the Gaza Strip over the past week, and optimism for a resumption in economic growth in 2009 have propped up the price of oil and sent pump prices higher to start the new year, says AAA Oregon Public Affairs Director Marie Dodds.

"The Oregon average for regular unleaded increases six-and-a-half cents this week to $1.81, while the national average gains seven cents to $1.69. Despite the increases, drivers are still paying the lowest prices in nearly five years with the Oregon and national averages at their lowest point since February 2004."

She says just a year ago our national and Oregon averages were at $3.11, and crude oil first passed $100 a barrel.

Deputies Respond to Bomb Threat in Jefferson‏

Anyone with information can contact the Marion County Sheriff's Office at (503) 540-8007.

(JEFFERSON, Ore.) - The Marion County Sheriff's Office responded to a report of a bomb threat Monday in Jefferson.

Lt. Sheila Lorance with the Marion County Sheriff's Office says the incident took place at the Sterling Bank on Main Street in Jefferson.

The call regarding a bomb threat came in just after 5:00 PM. After the December loss of two police officers in Oregon over a bomb in a bank have placed law enforcement officers on high alert.

Will Israel Spark a Third World War at Gaza?

Israel's military strength is a direct reflection of the billions of dollars that the Unites States has funneled into their coffers, courtesy of the U.S. taxpayer.

(SALEM, Ore.) - World peace is a fragile, sought after commodity; fleeting and hard to hold. The world's leaders traditionally place too little value in this pursuit. The United States has marked the new century by running roughshod over the world, nearly abandoning one conflict that needed to be fought, and starting another war in Iraq that will not be over for years, even after U.S. forces leave.

Then, it was a small band of criminals who opposed us. That number has gone through the roof though due to the U.S. occupation of Iraq. Sadly, the United States has launched tens of thousands of terrorist careers through its series of mistakes.

Now it is Israel's turn for military blunders. In spite of the rocket attacks, there is no excuse for what is taking place on Gaza today. Israel is slowly destroying the people who live here, in retribution for rockets fired by the elected, militant group Hamas.

Dozens Killed in Strikes on UN Schools in Gaza

In a separate attack last night, three Palestinians, who had sought refuge in a small co-educational UN school in Gaza City, died when a missile hit the building’s toilet facilities.

(GAZA ) - More than 30 people have been killed in two separate Israeli strikes on clearly-marked United Nations schools where civilians were seeking refuge from the ongoing violence in Gaza, an official with the world body said today, calling for an independent inquiry into the incidents.

John Ging, Director of Operations in Gaza of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), said that 30 people died and 55 others were injured when three artillery shells landed at the perimeter of a UN school in the Jabaliya refugee camp.

UNRWA’s education programme has been suspended since the start of Israeli air attacks on Gaza, which the Jewish State says it launched in response to rocket attacks by Hamas militants, on December 27th.