Sen. Barack Obama last week warned fellow Democrats they must take religion seriously, delivering a highly personal speech that noted his own religious awakening and how his father died an atheist and his mother a skeptic about organized worship.

The Illinois lawmaker recounted before an audience of church and lay leaders at National City Christian Church how it was not until after he graduated from college and became a community organizer in Chicago that he confronted his "spiritual dilemma."

In honor of the anniversary of its independence from Britain, the United States observes a number of traditions, both joyous and solemn. Along with the fireworks, the cookouts and the music, a more somber recollection takes place -- the ongoing changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington, Va.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon has delivered petitions on behalf of 1,774 Oregonians to the Oregon Public Utility Commission urging that body to vigorously investigate the cooperation of Oregon telephone companies with the National Security Agency's warrantless surveillance and data-mining of innocent Americans.
Last month, the ACLU filed a formal complaint with the Oregon PUC against Verizon, Sprint and Qwest, alleging that the companies turned over private calling records of telephone customers in violation of state law. The ACLU also asked Attorney General Hardy Myers to investigate whether the companies violated Oregon consumer protection laws by allowing the National Security Agency to spy on their customers.

Rachael Manwarren tries on the T-shirt she will wear to the memorial services for her sister, Marissa Manwarren, on Friday. Marissa's face peers out from the black background, surrounded by her favorite Bible verse, Psalms 55:22:
"Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall."
Marissa Manwarren, 17, was shot in the head at Beverly Beach State Park in Lincoln County sometime last week. Police recovered her body on Wednesday, June 14.
Her boyfriend, Cevelino Capuia, 19, and another friend, Shawn Ryan Womack, 22, have been charged with aggravated murder and robbery in with the deaths of two men. However, police have not charged anyone in Manwarren's death.
Police believe she was killed after Capuia was arrested in Beaverton following a convenience store robbery on Sunday, June 11, and before Womack was taken into custody in Corvallis on Tuesday, June 13.
Police also arrested Jasmine Cooke Lesniak, Womack's girlfriend, and charged her with hindering prosecution and unlawful use of a motor vehicle.

Former Portland police chief Derrick Foxworth will begin a new job as commander of the Southeast Precinct on July 1.
Foxworth has been on paid administrative leave for three months while under investigation for sexual harassment complaints.

Winged Wonders, the Oregon Zoo's popular walk-through butterfly exhibit, continues through Labor Day, with more than 450 Central and South American butterflies on display.

SEATTLE — The Metropolitan King County Council this week voted to make King County the largest local jurisdiction in the nation to conduct all elections by mail, once the infrastructure and management are in place to accomplish it.
The council also appropriated $1,635,446 to initiate the transition.

Seattle — It took more than 30 years and an accidental drug overdose to return high school dropout Alfred White to the classroom after decades of working on the street as a pimp and drug dealer.

ATLANTA—Coca-Cola Co. took its observance of Black History international with a celebration in Nassau, Bahamas.
Recently, more than 60 Coca-Cola consumer sweepstakes winners and guests from across the country participated in a one-of-a kind historical adventure during the company's Journey to Bahamas.

As the neighborhoods of inner North and Northeast Portland have changed over the years, the area's favorite annual festival has evolved right along with them. The Good in the Neighborhood Multicultural Music and Food Festival returns this weekend for the 14th time, complete with the lineup of music, food and activities that locals have come to expect.
"We're going to have a lot of the same entertainers and vendors that have been with us since Day 1," said festival Chair Cheryl Roberts. "But what I've noticed this year is the new energy from the new community members and new entertainers who want to come on board this year."