Today's hits from the big national dailies:

New York Times
Al Qaeda Says has Abducted Two US Soldiers
A group linked to Iraq's al Qaeda said on Monday it had abducted two American soldiers south of Baghdad... The missing soldiers have been identified as Private Thomas Lowell Tucker, 25, from Madras, Oregon and Private Kristian Menchaca, 23, from Houston, Texas.

Episcopal Church Names 1st Woman Leader
The U.S. Episcopal Church chose Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori on Sunday as its first woman leader, a move unprecedented in the Anglican church and one likely to produce more turmoil in a faith divided over the ordination of an openly gay bishop... Schori, who holds degrees in biology and oceanography and taught religious studies at Oregon State University before her 1994 ordination.

Washington Post
Illegal Hiring Is Rarely Penalized
In 1999, the United States initiated fines against 417 companies. In 2004, it issued fine notices to three.

Los Angeles Times

Wind power generates a new cash crop in state
The Big Horn wind power project is expected to generate more than $1.1 million in property taxes for Klickitat County. It's part of the dramatic expansion of wind power in rural Washington, as higher prices for natural-gas-generated power make this renewable alternative - boosted by federal tax credits - a hot commodity.

No easy solutions to die-off at Hood Canal
Eelgrass beds - nurseries for crab and salmon - have declined more here than in the rest of Puget Sound.

Houston Chronicle

...and from Northwest regional papers.

The Oregonian
Episcopal Church picks woman as leader
Profile - Critics point to the new presiding bishop's short tenure as a church leader, but admirers say she's not afraid of a challenge

Odds of helping gamblers will rise
Addiction - The Oregon Lottery plans to put the help line phone number on every video gambling terminal

County to monitor workers' Internet use
Clackamas - The $21,095 system will block some sites and track and time visits to others

Salem Statesman Journal
Casino transforms tribe members into political players
The Spirit Mountain casino's success has allowed the Grand Ronde tribe to inject big money into Oregon elections

Hispanics push to register voters
Forums to educate Oregonians about elections start July 1

Crowd honors pioneer's memory
Historian says Jason Lee had influence beyond measure

Patient to seek his release
He was sent to state hospital in 1998 after shooting four
A man committed to the Oregon State Hospital in 1998 after he shot four people, killing one, will ask a state panel today to grant him a conditional release to live in a community home.
Portland Business Journal

Bend Bulletin
U.S. troops search for missing Madras soldier
A 25-year-old Madras man is believed to be one of two American soldiers missing and reportedly held captive in Iraq after a clash with insurgents in Yusufiyah, south of Baghdad, on Friday evening.

You are here
Bend visitors bureau gets animated with new campaign

Eugene Register Guard
Annexation or invasion?
Santa Clara and River Road residents balk at the city's press to control their unincorporated areas

Eugene Weekly

LaGrande Observer
ESD superintendent leaves after one year
Union-Baker Education Service District Superintendent Jack Adams is westward bound.

Lake County Examiner (weekly)

East Oregonian (subscription only)

Hermiston Herald
Man has close call with lightning
Nearly 24 hours after lightning struck a cottonwood tree outside the Hermiston home of Pat Childs and her son Dave Monday evening, the smell of burnt wires and ozone still clung to the air in their living room.

Tri City Herald

Sisters Nugget

the Source (Bend's alternative weekly)
State Slashes Homeschool Programs
Last year in Central Oregon, roughly 1,300-1,400 children--about 10% of all children--were educated at home. In recent years the number of homeschooled children has grown dramatically... yet, the Oregon Department of Education seems all but certain to reverse this trend, forcing the closure of successful programs, and leaving local parents and educators asking why.

Central Oregonian (Prineville)

Madras Pioneer

Baker City Herald
Skeeter hunter fights the bite
Jim Lunders has discovered nine species or mosquitoes locally. He places 50 dead mosquitoes into a tiny plastic vial

Wallowa County Chieftain

Blue Mountain Eagle

Argus Observer (Ontario)

Corvallis Gazette Times
Biofuels are not for long-term, researchers says
As biofuels gain momentum as viable alternatives to petroleum-based fuels in the Northwest, Oregon researchers are sounding a word of caution. Biodiesel and ethanol are good short-term solutions to curbing the nation's oil addiction, they say, but they are not sustainable over the long haul.

Albany Democrat-Herald
Driving change
Calling it one of the most dangerous parts of the state highway system, the Oregon Department of Transportation has announced a plan to reconfigure a one-mile stretch of Highway 34 just east of the Willamette River.

Lebanon Express updated late morning

The Columbian (Vancouver) updated late morning
Private illness, public pain
Brian Osborn, 36, suffers from paranoid schizophrenia and has been shuttled between Western State Hospital and the Clark County Jail. A Superior Court judge found him competent to stand trial at a May 25 hearing.

The Dalles Chronicle
The Dalles Chronicle
Spc. David Lewis of Wasco returns to Iraq
This year Father's Day lasted a week for U.S. army specialist David Lewis, 27.
He returns Saturday to Iraq for his next mission. With him he will take the memories of his week of leave at home in Wasco, and the time he's spent with his 4-year-old daughter Emilee.

Hood River News

The Daily Astorian (most stories subscription only)

Tillamook Headlight Herald

theworldlink (South Coast)
Recall moves forward in Lakeside
Four of seven Lakeside city councilors will face a recall election in August.

Klamath Falls Herald & News
GOOOOOAL: Whirled Cup scores kinetic victory
Eleven contestants - ranging from a giant soccer ball to a draggin' wagon - turned out for the Kinetic Sculpture Race Saturday

Ashland Daily Tidings
Next president ready for SOU challenge
Cullinan says backlash over her appointment is not surprising; Potter vows to help ease the way

Roseburg News Review
Drowning victim identified as Winston woman
Police identified the victim who drowned Saturday at Ben Irving Reservoir as a 21-year-old Winston woman.

Medford Mail Tribune
Proposal on rocky ground
Applegate residents fear a proposed rock quarry allowed under a Measure 37 claim could endanger motorists on North Applegate Road and threaten a growing wine business there.

Quick links to nearly every daily in the state
http://www.usnpl.com/ornews.html
http://www.cascadelink.org/ritnet/news.html