Nine killed in suspected U.S. missile strike
DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan — A suspected U.S. missile strike targeted two areas in a Pakistani tribal region near the Afghanistan border Thursday, killing at least nine people, Pakistani intelligence officials said.

Groups work for fish habitat
Industry, agency and nonprofit groups are cooperating in a large-scale stream enhancement project in the Coquille River Watershed, southeast of Coos Bay.

Timber-payment money will soon benefit Coos County
Coos County is going to get almost $6.2 million soon.

Woman: 1994 Reedsport fire wasn’t a hate crime
REEDSPORT (AP) — An Oregon woman has acknowledged what investigators and a federal jury knew all along: A 1994 Reedsport arson was not an anti-Semitic hate crime.

U.S. may remove N. Korea from terror list
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Bush administration is nearing a decision to remove North Korea from a terrorism blacklist and may do so as early as Friday in a bid to salvage faltering nuclear disarmament talks, The Associated Press has learned.

Fire Prevention week events continue in Englewood
The Coos Bay Fire Department wraps up National Fire Prevention Week with a safety campaign in the Englewood area Saturday.

Obama campaign holds a swing party
Florence’s Barack Obama campaign headquarters is hosting a swing party from 4 to 7 p.m. on Sunday. The office is located at 494 Highway 101 and is open daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Meetings
Monday, Oct. 13

GM could announce production cuts
DETROIT (AP) — A person with knowledge of General Motors Corp.’s plans said the company is likely to announce more production cuts and possible plant closures as early as next week.

Bush: anxiety feeds the market’s instability
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush said today that the government’s financial rescue plan was aggressive enough and big enough to work, but would take time to fully kick in.

Balloon gondola crash kills one at New Mexico fiesta
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A balloon basket caught on fire, separated from the rest of the balloon and crashed during the city’s annual hot-air balloon fiesta today, killing one person, a balloon fiesta official said.

Drug role for military in Afghanistan OK’d
BUDAPEST, Hungary — NATO defense ministers today authorized their troops in Afghanistan to attack drug barons blamed for pumping up to $100 million a year into the coffers of resurgent Taliban fighters.

Venezuela tax agency closes McDonald’s
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The Venezuelan government has ordered all McDonald’s restaurants in the country closed for 48 hours for what it calls irregularities in the fast-food chain’s financial books.

Dalai Lama’s surgery ends successfully
NEW DELHI (AP) — The Dalai Lama’s spokesman says surgery on the Tibetan spiritual leader to remove a gallstone has ended successfully.

Hurricane Norbert is near Mexico’s coast
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Forecasters say Hurricane Norbert has regained strength and become a Category 2 storm as it takes aim at Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula.

Finland’s ex-president wins peace prize
OSLO, Norway (AP) — Finland’s ex-president Martti Ahtisaari received the Nobel Peace Prize today for his efforts to build a lasting peace from Africa and Asia to Europe and the Middle East.

System will give market a time out
NEW YORK (AP)— As harrowing as the U.S. stock market’s plunges have been in recent days, they still haven’t been enough to trigger the “circuit breaker” mechanisms that result in an automatic timeout in trading.

Complaints force county to move sex offender
NORTH BEND — A registered sex offender convicted of sodomy, robbery and rape is essentially being driven out of a North Bend neighborhood after nearby residents learned of his presence.

 Mounted posse to lead funeral procession
The Coos County Sheriff’s Mounted Posse will lead a funeral processional Saturday in honor of former North Bend High School football coach Howard Johnson.

Stock market swagger turns to shudders
SAN FRANCISCO — Just a year ago, investors were swaggering as the stock market surged to an all-time high. Now, almost everyone on Wall Street and Main Street seems to be shuddering amid a frightening reversal of fortune that has erased $8.3 trillion in shareholder wealth in the past 366 days.

Dow drop spreads overseas
NEW YORK (AP) — A stampede of selling that began in the waning minutes of trading on Wall Street spread to Asia today, deepening a financial crisis that has defied all efforts to stop it.

County to boost veterans staff
COQUILLE — Coos County Veterans Services has been a one person operation since 2000.

One on its way out; other local furniture stores survive
It’s not often the little guy comes out on top when it comes to business.