News Digest:
Monday, February 4, 2008 10:59 AM PST
Oregon — Body of Ore. soldier returning home this week
RIDDLE (AP) — Joshua Young’s MySpace page showed a muscular man with a military haircut looking into a mirror. Next to the photo, the U.S. Army soldier had written: ‘‘Young coming home in February.’’
The 21-year-old and four other soldiers died last week during an ambush in Mosul, Iraq.
Young will arrive home in southwest Oregon this week to be buried at Roseburg National Cemetery after a military funeral.
Calif. companies
accused of fouling Columbia
PORTLAND (AP) — Two California companies are expected to plead guilty to Clean Water Act violations because chicken remains were illegally dumped into the Columbia River, lawyers familiar with the case said.
Documents filed in U.S. District Court last week accuse Modesto Tallow Co. and California Shellfish Co. of violating permit regulations.
THE WEST
Educators: Tribal language classes would boost achievement
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The State Board of Education wants to offer classes in American Indian languages to Utah students.
The board is asking the Legislature for $275,000 to fund the classes, which it says have been shown to reduce the achievement gap between white and American Indian students.
Ballmer: Yahoo deal would make Microsoft ‘strong No. 2’ to Google
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Microsoft Corp.’s proposed $42 billion purchase of Yahoo Inc. would establish the world’s largest software maker as a ‘‘strong No. 2 competitor’’ against online search leader Google Inc., Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said today.
Speaking to a group of analysts in New York, Ballmer said the acquisition of Yahoo would raise competition, rather than eliminate it, in the Web search and advertising market.
‘‘Google’s clearly got a dominant position. They’ve got about 75 percent of paid search worldwide,’’ Ballmer said. ‘‘We think this enhances competition. Anything else would be less good from that perspective.’’
