December 18, 2011 in Sports Whitworth University seemed in no hurry Sunday afternoon to start its next long home-court winning streak. But with just 7 seconds left in a nonconference men’s basketball matchup against visiting … 1

December 18, 2011 in Nation/World Kim Jong Il, North Korea’s mercurial and enigmatic leader, has died. He was 69. Kim’s death was announced Monday by state television from the North Korean capital, Pyongyang. 14

December 18, 2011 in Sports CHICAGO — Red Bryant ran away from the Bears after his third-quarter interception. The same could be said for the rest of the Seahawks, who scored 31 consecutive points in … 1

December 18, 2011 in City, News Spokane police arrested a serial thief breaking into cars outside a Spokane Chiefs hockey game Saturday night. 2

December 18, 2011 in News, Region A former Portland, Ore., police officer says stress from an on-duty shooting prompted him to start committing sex crimes. 18

December 18, 2011 in City on Page A1 The good news: The Christmas Fund is more than halfway to meeting its goal to raise $525,000 for the Christmas Bureau, a 10-day, volunteer-fueled event that distributes toys, children’s books …

December 18, 2011 in Nation/World on Page A1 MINOT, N.D. – In the middle of winter, when the temperature slips toward zero and bone-numbing winds blow in off the prairie, living in a Federal Emergency Management Agency trailer … 17

December 18, 2011 in Nation/World on Page A2 NEW YORK – The killing of Osama bin Laden during a raid by Navy SEALs on his hideout in Pakistan was the top news story of 2011, followed by Japan’s … 2

December 18, 2011 in Nation/World on Page A3 WASHINGTON – The Senate passed a temporary extension of President Barack Obama’s payroll tax cut Saturday, sending the House a package that would preserve the $1,000 average tax break for …

December 18, 2011 in Nation/World on Page A3 ILIGAN, Philippines – Tropical Storm Washi blew away today after devastating a wide swath of the southern Philippines with flash floods that killed at least 521 people as they slept …

December 18, 2011 in Nation/World on Page A6 NEW YORK – Dozens of Occupy Wall Street protesters were arrested Saturday after they scaled a chain-link fence or crawled under it to get to an Episcopal church-owned lot they …

December 18, 2011 in City on Page A9 WASHINGTON – Congress may try to ease a nationwide shortage of rural family doctors by “growing” more of them in places like Spokane through legislation introduced this week. Members of …

December 18, 2011 in City on Page B1 From our archives, 100 years ago Intrigue surrounded a blaze that destroyed the house of George Oska, Spokane’s bridge repair foreman.

December 18, 2011 in City on Page B1 1. The United States marked an end to the military mission in Iraq last week after almost nine years. At the height of the “surge,” how many U.S. troops were …

  December 18, 2011 in City on Page B1 One thing has been missing in our ongoing coverage of the conviction of police officer Karl Thompson Jr. That’s right, a parody song. 27

December 18, 2011 in City on Page B1 The last three weeks have been among the deadliest in Spokane this year. But the three people killed in what investigators ruled were homicides are an exception to a trend … 19