December 24, 2011 in Sports National pundits have suggested the West Coast Conference could be a three-bid league. Gonzaga, BYU and Saint Mary’s are a combined 30-7. Many have argued the WCC is better than …

December 24, 2011 in News Two wanted by the FBI for stealing from a corpse they found were arrested Friday at a Spokane Valley motel after a multi-state manhunt. 6

December 24, 2011 in City Two men were killed this morning in the crash of a speeding pickup truck west of Cheney. 5

December 24, 2011 in Nation/World WASHINGTON (AP) — Presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich’s campaign attacked Virginia’s GOP primary election system on Saturday for keeping him off the state’s March 6 Super Tuesday ballot, a significant setback … 21

December 24, 2011 in Nation/World on Page A1 WASHINGTON – The new mortgage fee to fund the temporary extension of the payroll tax cut could damp the still-sluggish real estate market and complicate efforts to overhaul the nation’s … 28

December 24, 2011 in Nation/World on Page A1 WASHINGTON – The Obama administration’s civil rights office is stepping up its fight with Southern states over voting rights, announcing it will block a new South Carolina law that requires … 20

December 24, 2011 in Nation/World on Page A1 • Price tag: $33 billion. • Paid for by: Increasing home loan guarantee fees charged to mortgage lenders by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the FHA. 4

December 24, 2011 in City on Page A1 On the eve of Christmas, the Christmas Fund is close to its goal. The fund, which pays for gifts for thousands of low-income residents, now stands at $481,568.60.

December 24, 2011 in Nation/World on Page A2 PEABODY, Mass. – A woman returning home from Las Vegas says an airport security officer confiscated her frosted cupcake because he thought the icing on it could be a security … 2

December 24, 2011 in Nation/World on Page A3 WASHINGTON – A solicitation from the 1990s that carried Texas Rep. Ron Paul’s name predicted a “coming race war,” suggested the government was engaged in a “cover-up” over AIDS, and …

December 24, 2011 in Nation/World on Page A3 Philadelphia – A rare violin worth $172,000 that was mistakenly left onboard a Boston-to-Philadelphia bus has been found and returned to the music student who left it there. Megabus USA …

December 24, 2011 in Nation/World on Page A3 LOS ANGELES – That loud toy under the Christmas tree might do more than drive parents crazy. Researchers at the University of California, Irvine, have found that some children’s toys, …

December 24, 2011 in Nation/World on Page A4 WASHINGTON – In an effort to mend badly frayed relations with Pakistan, the CIA has suspended drone missile strikes on gatherings of low-ranking militants believed to be involved in cross-border …

December 24, 2011 in Nation/World on Page A4 RAWALPINDI, Pakistan – The Pakistani army on Friday rejected key findings from a U.S. investigation into American airstrikes last month that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers and said the report was …

December 24, 2011 in Nation/World on Page A4 LONDON – Queen Elizabeth II’s husband has undergone treatment for a blocked coronary artery, British royal officials said Friday. Buckingham Palace said Prince Philip, 90, was taken from Sandringham, the …

December 24, 2011 in City on Page A5 From our archives, 100 years ago Hundreds of shoppers thronged downtown Spokane on the busiest day of the year. A Spokesman-Review reporter attempted to capture it in strained prose:

December 24, 2011 in City on Page A5 The 14-year-old who was shot while trying to burglarize a marijuana grow room in Medical Lake was struck in the back, according to a search warrant. The boy, who was … 9