One of the nation's newest citizens also is among its oldest. Nadezhda Ivanova Deynega, who turns 100 in January, loves everything about America. here. (Dan Pelle/Spokesman-Review)

Daily Briefing: How SR's Jim Camden got his skewp about Kathy McMorris's tough eastern Washinton race here.

1. Washington residents can blame the oil refineries serving the Intermountain West for paying some of the highest gas prices in the nation -- sort of here.

2. Attempting to shore up support in what she describes as a surprisingly close race, freshman Rep. Cathy McMorris held a phone-in "town hall meeting" Tuesday morning and enlisted a Senate ally Larry Craig to defend her actions on veterans' issues here.

3. Sisters Marnie and Annelise Driflot from Eagle, Idaho, will cheer on opposite sidelines when Boise State meets Idaho Saturday here. Meanwhile, UI is looking to beat BSU for the first time since 1998 here.

4. University of Washington President Mark Emmert received an annual pay raise of more than $100,000 Thursday here. Shawn Vestal/Campus Commons discusses here.

5. Seattle boosters hope its new brand and slogan "metronatural" will help visitors equate it with something other than gloomy, overcast days here.

6. IMHO-NW: Rich Landers/Spokesman-Review (Teacher meets moose match), Sarrah Benoit/UIdaho Argonaut (Obsession with boozing, partying), Billings Gazette (Memorializing a Montana war hero), Frank McGovern/UI Argonaut (War withdrawal better than indulgence), and Jamie Kelly/Missoulian (Come fly with a geek).

Online Poll: 18.1% of 613 respondents to a Seattle PI poll say they're now using Internet Explorer 7. Another 44.5% say they aren't and they don't plan to upgrade soon.

*Wild deer chases runner from Bend, Ore., during race (with video) here. Free subscription required.

*New power plants and conservation have led to a surplus of electricity in the Pacific Northwest this year here.

*A man who was dressed in a gorilla suit when he grabbed a 5-year-old boy at a Lakewood store two months ago has surrendered to police here.

Orbusmax Special: 26-year-old man accused of sex act with family dog faces Washington prosecution here

---

---