Coquille grad among missing firefighters
Edrik Gomez, a 2006 Coquille High School graduate, is one of seven firefighters who went missing in a helicopter crash Tuesday night near Junction City, Calif.

 Coquille graduate among missing firefighters
A graduate of Coquille High School, former altar boy and son of a local family is among seven missing firefighters from a helicopter crash Tuesday in a remote Northern California forest.

New LNG appeal is based on tsunamis
A Eugene school teacher has thrown another wrinkle into the ongoing legal battles surrounding the liquefied natural gas terminal proposed in Coos County.

Alyssa Birrer takes judges' breath away
COOS BAY — Hearts pounded.

Democrats open headquarters in North Bend
The Coos County Democrats will host a grand opening of their election season headquarters in Pony Village Mall on Friday, Aug. 15. Doors will be open from 5 until 7 p.m.

Agencies need food
The need for food by agencies that help the needy in our communities continues all year long.

 CB artist nearly sweeps awards at Maritime show
COOS BAY — For Coos Bay artist Bill Selden, museum recognition was a little slow coming. But when it came, it came in abundance.

 Here's a new slant for an old shipwreck
Talk about a tilt. The off-balance landscape of the New Carissa is even steeper, as Titan Salvage pulled the wood chip ship’s stern several more feet out of the sand this week off Coos Bay's North Spit.

 Bandon teenager still hospitalized after head injury
BANDON — A 13-year-old Bandon girl remains in critical condition at Portland’s Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, after receiving a severe blow to her head when she fell from a hay truck July 31.

Sept. tax vote planned
Voters in the Millicoma River Park and Recreation District will weigh in on a $125,000 local option tax to maintain the area’s community building on Sept. 26.

Group threatens Olympic transportation
URUMQI, China (AP) — Police shut down the bustling bazaar in the capital of China’s restive Muslim region of Xinjiang today amid threats from an Islamic group that attackers might target buses, trains and planes during the Olympics.

Texas bus crash kills 12 north of Dallas
SHERMAN, Texas (AP) — A charter bus ran off a highway overpass north of Dallas early today and crashed onto its side on a roadway below, killing at least 13 and sending at least 24 people to hospitals.

Oil falls to near $119 as dollar strengthens
SINGAPORE (AP) — Oil prices dropped to near $119 a barrel today in Asia as a strengthening dollar and worries about economic growth offset supply concerns over Turkish pipeline sabotage that was claimed by Kurdish rebels.

Aides push for limited military ops in Pakistan
WASHINGTON — Top Bush administration officials are urging the president to direct U.S. troops in Afghanistan to be more aggressive in pursuing militants into Pakistan on foot as part of a proposed radical shift in its regional counterterrorism strategy, The Associated Press has learned.

Detroit mayor may Detroit mayor may face more legal woes
DETROIT (AP) — Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick spent the night in a one-man jail cell with no TV and a phone only for collect calls, the consequence of violating his bond in a criminal case that has dogged him for months.

Fish department to discuss changes to ground fish rules
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife will hold three public meetings on the South Coast this month to talk about possible changes to the West Coast groundfish open-access fisheries rules.

Oregon illegal drug use called higher than average
PORTLAND — The federal agency that helps coordinate drug enforcement in Oregon says illegal drug use in the state is higher than the national average.

Officials: Bill Clinton will speak in Denver
CHICAGO (AP) — Party officials say former President Clinton will deliver a speech on the third night of the Democratic National Convention before an address by the as-yet-to-be-named running mate for Barack Obama.

Oregon firefighting contractor faces grim news again
MERLIN — A helicopter crash that killed nine people and left four injured in Northern California marked the second time tragedy has struck Grayback Forestry, a pioneer and leader in the business of wildland firefighting.

Ex-bin Laden driver receives light sentence
GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba  — The Yemeni man convicted at the first Guantanamo war crimes trial will be eligible for release in less than five months after receiving a light sentence from a jury made up of U.S. military officers.

Ore. scientist knew anthrax suspect
HILLSBORO (AP) — An Oregon scientist said she contacted the FBI about Bruce Ivins shortly after the American Society for Microbiology asked its members in 2002 to think of possible suspects in the deadly anthrax mailings that had occurred the year before.

Seven from Oregon ID’d in California crash
MERLIN — Firefighter families are mourning today after two companies based in this small rural community long involved in battling wildfires read off the names of their dead from a helicopter crash that killed nine in Northern California.