County commissioners to discuss legal issues
The Coos County commissioners have scheduled an executive session meeting Friday afternoon to discuss tort claim issues.

Report: North Korea's Kim suffers a health setback
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — New South Korean intelligence indicates that ailing North Korean leader Kim Jong Il suffered a serious setback in his recovery from a stroke and has been hospitalized, a newspaper reported today.

 Weather may slow work on skate park construction
COOS BAY — Coos Bay skaters can’t wait to try out the more challenging features of the city’s new skate park. But the workers shaping the bowls and obstacles in Mingus Park have faced a string of challenges of their own. 

Syrian riot police form ring around U.S. embassy
DAMASCUS, Syria — Tens of thousands of Syrians turned out today for a massive government-orchestrated protest against a deadly U.S. raid near the Iraqi border.

Pakistan earthquake death toll rises to 215
WAM, Pakistan (AP) — Soldiers handed out blankets, tents, jackets and sleeping bags to earthquake survivors in the frigid mountains of southwestern Pakistan today, as a provincial official reported that the death toll had risen to 215.

Japan announces 30T yen stimulus package
TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s Prime Minister Taro Aso has announced a 30 trillion yen ($300 billion) stimulus package and credits to bolster the country’s economy.

Nine dead in Congo as soldiers pillage, rape
GOMA, Congo (AP) — Congolese soldiers pillaged, raped and also killed at least nine people in overnight violence that terrorized residents of this eastern provincial capital besieged by rebels, according to U.N. radio.

Baghdad market blast kills 1
BAGHDAD (AP) — A car bomb exploded today near a market in north Baghdad, killing one person and wounding five, police said.

 Sudan president tries to revise image on Darfur
KHARTOUM, Sudan — Facing genocide charges from an international tribunal, Sudan’s president has taken several steps recently to shore up his image. But some say the gestures are “too little, too late.”

Taliban militants storm Afghan ministry, kill 5
KABUL, Afghanistan — Taliban militants stormed a government building in the center of the Afghan capital today and one of them blew himself up inside, killing five people, officials and witnesses said.

 Terror blasts tear across northeast India; 61 dead
GAUHATI, India — A series of coordinated blasts tore through northeast India today, killing at least 61 people and sending police scrambling to find any unexploded bombs in a province troubled by years of separatist violence and ethnic tensions.

State puts 11 Ore. schools on safety ‘watch list’
PORTLAND (AP) — The state’s education department has placed 11 Oregon middle schools and high schools on a safety “watch list,” citing concerns based on their expulsion rates.

 Smith hits Main Street at end of a heated race
TILLAMOOK — Not 30 minutes after walking into the Tillamook Cheese Visitor Center and already Sen. Gordon Smith had picked up a copy of the recently released Tillamook Cheese Cookbook, accepted a block of Tillamook’s best and taken a picture with the Tillamook County Dairy Princess-Ambassador.

New storms gain strength off South Coast
COOS BAY — Get ready to put the Indian summer behind us and get ready for a drenching. It’s going to rain — then rain some more.

 Losing Craig: Mom recalls son, tragedy
COOS BAY — For seconds at a time, when her tears dried, it seemed like Craig would rush through the door any minute. A smile on the first-grader’s face after another long day at Blossom Gulch Elementary.

 Funeral planned on Wednesday for lost boy, uncle
In the final hours of his life, several people struggled to resuscitate 6-year-old Craig Leone after a sneaker waved dragged the child and his uncle, Roy Tyler, out to sea Saturday at Simpson Beach.

Detroit volunteers set to douse annual arson
DETROIT (AP) — The city that used to burn on the night before Halloween as mischief-makers torched abandoned buildings has largely doused its Devil’s Night by mobilizing tens of thousands of citizens and law-enforcement personnel each year to patrol city neighborhoods.

Fatalities from vehicle-deer crashes double
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fatalities from vehicle crashes with deer and other animals have more than doubled over the last 15 years, according to a new study by an auto insurance-funded highway safety group that cites urban sprawl overlapping into deer habitat.

 Third quarter report shows Exxon’s biggest U.S. profit yet
HOUSTON  — Exxon Mobil Corp., the world’s largest publicly traded oil company, reported income today that shattered its own record for the biggest profit from operations by a U.S. corporation, earning $14.83 billion in the third quarter.

 Numbers suggest recession already started
WASHINGTON — The government reported today the economy shrank in the summer, the strongest signal yet that a recession may have already begun, a day after the Federal Reserve slashed a key interest rate to battle an economic downturn.

Nothwest could learn from 2004 Indonesian tsunami
PORTLAND — The tsunami that killed 230,000 people in 2004 was the biggest in the Indian Ocean in some 600 years, and it has lessons for the Pacific Northwest, geologists said Wednesday.

Lawsuit challenges Bush logging increase effort
GRANTS PASS — Conservation groups are trying to stop the Bush administration from rushing to judgment with a last-ditch plan to boost logging in Oregon old growth forests before their time in office runs out.

Teacher faces 43 counts of official misconduct
IRRIGON (AP) — An Irrigon teacher and former educator of the year was indicted on theft and 43 counts of official misconduct Monday after having allegedly stolen $1,000 in textbooks and then selling them on eBay.

Phil Knight donates $100 million to OHSU
PORTLAND (AP) — Nike founder Phil Knight and his wife, Penny, will donate $100 million to Oregon Health & Science University’s Cancer Center — the largest gift in OHSU’s history.

Arrest made in Oregon horse shooting
BEND (AP) — The authorities arrested a man accused of shooting a horse and abandoning him in the Deschutes National Forest.

 McCain, GOP closes advertising gap on Obama
WASHINGTON  — After weeks of being out-advertised by Barack Obama, John McCain and the Republican Party are nearly matching the Democrat ad for ad in key battleground markets.

Cuba hopes to see embargo ended with new U.S. president
UNITED NATIONS — Cuba’s foreign minister says his government expects the next U.S. president to respond to overwhelming international demand and lift the 47-year-old U.S. trade embargo against Cuba.

 Candidates take aim at middle class voters
MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — Retired steelworker Claude Cunningham strides into the John McCain campaign office on Main Street and asks for yard signs.

Hamlett runs against Dudley for Powers mayor post
Powers voters will choose among candidates for mayor. Here is information provided by candidate Edward Hamlett. Mayoral candidate Laural Dudley, who is campaigning as a write-in, was feature Tuesday. Her information and city council candidate information is online at http://www.theworldlink.com.

Atkin, Gowan, Nelson face off in Lakeside race
Lakeside voters have have until Tuesday to turn in ballots, and in doing so will get to choose the individual they think will be a good mayor. Here is information provided by candidates.