Invasive species bills stuck in Congress
WASHINGTON — Tiny foreign mussels assault drinking water sources in California and Nevada. A deadly fish virus spreads swiftly through the Great Lakes and beyond. Japanese shore crabs make a home for themselves in Long Island Sound, more than 6,000 miles away.

Marines ordered to stay month longer in Afghanistan
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has ordered roughly 1,250 Marines serving as trainers for the Afghan security forces to stay on the warfront almost a month longer to continue a mission that military leaders say is a top priority, according to a senior military official.

Oregon House Democrats take aim at corporate tax
SALEM — Oregon House Democrats say they will push next year for more investments in schools, children’s health and transportation. But they aren’t advocating specific tax or fee increases to pay for those things at this point.

Former lawyer gets jail on obscenity charge
PORTLAND (AP) — A former Oregon lawyer has been sentenced to more than five years in prison for transferring obscene material to a minor.

Coquille hires new chief of police
COQUILLE — The city of Coquille has offered its top policing job to an Arizona man.

Land bureau offers new programs
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is sponsoring free activities this summer at the New River Area of Critical Environmental Concern south of Bandon.

Prison for paramedic who fondled patients
PORTLAND (AP) — A Multnomah County judge sentenced a former paramedic to five years in prison for inappropriately touching female patients during ambulance trips.

Coast Guard saves pair stuck on sandbar
TILLAMOOK (AP) — The U.S. Coast Guard rescued a couple who got trapped on a sandbar near Tillamook.

One of three Oregon schools misses federal targets
PORTLAND — New data suggests that just 61 percent of Oregon schools are meeting federal academic goals, down nearly 14 percentage points in a single year.

Texas, Lousiana feel Edouard's effects in coastal areas
GALVESTON, Texas (AP) — The winds were beginning to pick up and the surfs were rising in Galveston early today as Tropical Storm Edouard closed in on the Texas Gulf Coast.

Bush to discuss trade with in South Korea
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — President Bush kicks off his Asian trip with a visit to a new friend while seeking solutions to sticky issues, old and new.

Suspect’s obession could be clue in case
WASHINGTON (AP) — One of the biggest mysteries surrounding the anthrax scare of 2001 — why the anthrax-laced letters were dropped off at a mailbox in New Jersey — may be connected to a sorority chapter at Princeton University.

Security tightens in China following attack
KASHGAR, China (AP) — Police tightened security in China’s western Xinjiang region today, and Olympic organizers sought to reassure residents and visitors after a deadly attack on police heightened jitters just days ahead of the games’ opening ceremony.

Obama, McCain campaigns engage in hard-hitting politics, but show differences in style, tone
WASHINGTON (AP) — For all the talk about John McCain’s hard-hitting politics, Barack Obama is hardly innocent.

 Coos Bay labels building 'dangerous'
COOS BAY — Gary Mountain once had grand designs for the property where the Lockhart Building stands. He planned to tear down the century-old structure and build a four-story, 46,000-square-foot building in its place.

Ashland rental market on the rise
ASHLAND (AP) — Though real estate agents always seem to say it’s a good time to buy, many people are deciding it’s the perfect moment to rent.

Federal Reserve expected to leave interest rates alone as powerful forces buffet the economy
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve, caught between mounting job losses and rising inflation, is likely to sit tight and hope that the interest rate cuts it has already provided will be enough to heal a sick economy.

Large grant aids the expansion of CASA program
The Ford Family Foundation has given the Court Appointed Special Advocate program of Coos County a $50,000 grant to expand services to abused and neglected children.  

 Ophir man gets bill for wildfire
An Ophir man will get the bill for firefighting costs related to a July 11 grass fire on the south bank of the Rogue River near Gold Beach.

Fred Meyer announces grants
The Fred Meyer Fund recently sent grants to three nonprofit South Coast organizations working with children and teenagers.

Attendance rises at Curry County Fair
Curry County Fair organizers saw a jump in attendance and revenues this year, and they credit some of the increase to repeat visitors.

Rural fire departments struggle to recruit volunteer firefighters
BIG SPRINGS, Neb. — Simple numbers were working against the fire and rescue department in this town of 400 along Interstate 80. Unbeknownst to six people in a Suburban that had just wrecked on the busy interstate, the math didn’t favor them either.

Law enforcement levy scaled back
The Coos County District Attorney and Sheriff have scaled back the law enforcement tax levy they would like to put before voters in November.

Allegany boat ramp closes
ALLEGANY — The Rooke Higgins County Park Boat Ramp needs a new owner. While the land’s owner and Coos County work out the details, the facility popular with salmon fishermen is closed.

 Plane crashes into house on North Coast, killing 5
GEARHART — A single-engine plane crashed into a fogbound coastal home where a family was vacationing Monday, killing the two people in the plane and three children on the ground, authorities said.