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SALEM, Ore. – Two Oregon couples came forward Tuesday to claim the second-biggest jackpot in U.S. lottery history: $340 million. Lottery officials confirmed that Steve West, his wife, Carolyn, and his in-laws, Bob and Frances Chaney, held the winning ticket in Oct. 19 Powerball drawing. The two couples had gone …

KABUL, Afghanistan – Homicide bombers rammed cars filled with explosives into NATO peacekeepers in two attacks in the Afghan capital Monday, killing a German soldier and an Afghan child and wounding at least a dozen other people — the first major assault on foreign troops in Kabul in more than …

OLYMPIA, Wash. – The Washington state Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a woman who raised a child from birth to age 6 while in a relationship with the girl’s biological mother can seek parental rights as a “de facto parent (search),” essentially creating a new class of parent in …

WASHINGTON – President Bush (search) said Friday that he is disappointed he won’t get a new Supreme Court justice by Christmas as he wanted. Senate confirmation hearings for Bush’s Supreme Court nominee, Samuel Alito (search), are set to begin Jan. 9, with the intention of a final confirmation vote on …

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran said the satellite would be purely scientific. But a month after its launch — and only weeks after the president said Israel should be wiped off the map — the head of Tehran’s space program now says the Sina-1 is capable of spying on the Jewish …

PANAMA CITY, Panama – President Bush voiced his support on Monday for expanding the Panama Canal to allow bigger ships and more cargo to pass through the shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Bush said Panama must acknowledge that the 50-mile waterway “is to be used by everybody, that …

NEW YORK – Wall Street extended its November rally with modest gains Monday despite pressure from rising oil prices and a major restructuring plan at General Motors Corp (GM). A raft of acquisition news carried some stocks higher, but volume was light and was expected to remain so ahead of …

SEATTLE – This fall, David Allen started his new job as chairman of the University of Washington’s Women’s Studies Department. Allen’s position marks a nationwide first: A man heading an academic field born out of the women’s liberation movement. “I think it says that there’s a broad range of people …

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Hops used to brew beer may have some health benefits but researchers warn against expecting any significant effect by drinking a few cold ones. Scientists at Oregon State University’s Linus Pauling Institute have found a class of compounds called flavonids neutralize “free radicals” — rogue oxygen molecules …

PHILADELPHIA – Kentucky Derby (search) winning jockey Stewart Elliott (search) has been arrested and detained by federal immigration officials because of a guilty plea to felony assault four years ago. Elliott, a Canadian citizen who won the Derby and Preakness aboard Smarty Jones (search) last year, was taken into custody …