Northwest News

Oregon health officials say test results are confirming that two people, on opposite sides of the state have come down with the West Nile virus. Officials aren't releasing the names of the patients, only that both are older than 50. One is a man in Coos County, the other a woman in Malheur County. Both are recovering.

Most public school students in the Northwest head back to class next week. And that has public health officials on alert. They're afraid that classrooms could be fertile ground for the spread of whooping cough, an infectious disease that's already being called an epidemic in some states.

University of Oregon researchers say they have found a way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from coal-burning plants by more than 90 percent. Their formula uses refrigeration to capture and control the dangerous chemicals pumped out of smoke stacks.

Prosecutors in Georgia say a group of current and former U.S. soldiers plotted to blow up a dam in Washington and poison the state’s apple crop. The allegations were revealed Monday as one of the group’s members pled guilty to manslaughter in a Georgia courtroom.

With the Labor Day holiday weekend approaching, the average price of a gallon of unleaded gas has once again topped $4 in Oregon and Washington. AAA says that puts the cost of gas in the Northwest at more than 25 cents a gallon above the national average.