May 16, 2009 CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Michael Phelps is not unbeatable. Not when he’s going against Aaron Peirsol.

  May 16, 2009 in Idaho Chuck and Shirley Young learned three years ago that their great-grandchildren had been placed in foster care in Cranbrook, B.C. The kids had been left with a family friend while …

May 16, 2009 in News Sometimes, the opening number is enough to assure an audience that all will be well for the rest of the show. That was the case with “Comedy Tonight,” the classic …

May 16, 2009 in Idaho BOISE – When Idaho Gov. Butch Otter was a legislator back in the ’70s, he was precisely the sort of outspoken, no-new-taxes, shrink-government conservative as those in the House who …

May 16, 2009 in News, City Fun’s over, kiddies. Life is hard. The economy sucks. It’s time you brats grew up and started suffering like your stressed-out mothers and fathers. Yep, it’s adios to Spokane’s long, … 1

  May 16, 2009 in City Mama Duck, who for the second year has laid her eggs in a concrete awning on the Sherwood Building in downtown Spokane, is leading her own little parade through downtown. … 2

May 16, 2009 in Sports Rachel Alexandra became the first filly to win the Preakness since 1924, holding off a late charge by Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird to capture the middle jewel of …

May 16, 2009 in City on Page A1 The U.S. Army is investigating soldiers who bought degrees from an illegal diploma mill that was based in Spokane and resulted in prison time for its operators. It’s also warning …

May 16, 2009 in Nation/World on Page A1 NEW YORK – A Gallup Poll released Friday found that 51 percent of Americans now call themselves pro-life rather than pro-choice on the issue of abortion, the first time a …

May 16, 2009 in Nation/World on Page A1 WASHINGTON – The new swine flu virus is spreading rapidly around the United States and more than half of the states are reporting unusually high levels of flu-like illness at …

May 16, 2009 in Nation/World on Page A3 Pope Benedict XVI ended his pilgrimage to the Holy Land on Friday with his strongest call yet for the creation of a Palestinian state and telling the faithful at the …

May 16, 2009 in Nation/World on Page A3 WASHINGTON – CIA Director Leon Panetta on Friday rejected House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s charge that the agency misled her about its use of coercive interrogation methods, escalating a controversy that …

May 16, 2009 in Nation/World on Page A4 Spacewalking astronauts had to put a refurbished pair of gyroscopes into the Hubble Space Telescope after a brand new set refused to go in Friday, but scientists were satisfied nonetheless …

May 16, 2009 in Business on Page A8 AmericanWest Bancorporation officials said Friday they are taking steps to comply with a pending “cease and desist” order from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Washington Department of Financial …

May 16, 2009 in Business on Page A8 Potlatch Corp. will scale back its timber harvest by 18 percent this year as a result of poor markets. Most of the cutbacks will take place on the company’s Idaho …

May 16, 2009 in Business on Page A8 General Motors Corp. on Friday notified 1,100 of its dealers that it would not renew their franchise contracts, effectively eliminating nearly 20 percent of its distribution network. The news, delivered …

May 16, 2009 in Business on Page A8 Fiat’s alliance with Chrysler could pave the way for Ford Motor Co. to offer its stylish little Ka city car in the United States. Ford has not announced any plan …