AP Coach of the Year
In just his second season leading the Oregon Ducks, Chip Kelly is taking the Ducks to the national championship game on Jan. 10 against No. 1 Auburn — and for that he was voted AP Coach of the Year on Tuesday. Kelly beat out his BCS title game counterpart Gene Chizik of Auburn.
‘Net Neutrality’ Adopted
A divided Federal Communications Commission Tuesday approved new rules to prohibit broadband companies from interfering with Internet traffic flowing to their customers. Known as “net neutrality,” the new rules were opposed by Republicans, while public interest groups decried the regulations as too weak.
Wyden Surgery Successful
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., underwent surgery for cancer of the prostate Monday at John Hopkins Medical Center in Baltimore, Md. Wyden’s doctors said they caught the cancer very early and that the Senator was expected to make a full recovery.
Rally against Violence
Several hundred people showed up for a rally against violence on Sunday at Pioneer Courthouse Square, downtown. The leaders of various faiths and the Muslim community sought to dispel misrepresentations of Islam at the location of a foiled bomb plot the day after Thanksgiving.
Total Lunar Eclipse
Skywatchers got an early holiday present this year: A total eclipse of the moon. Hanging high in the sky, the moon slowly turned from bright silver into a red disk late Monday across North America. A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth casts its shadow on the full moon, blocking the sun’s rays.
DREAM Act Blocked
Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley voted for the DREAM Act Saturday, but that wasn’t enough to save it from a Republican filibuster. There were 55 yes votes, but 60 were needed to pass the bill that would have allowed young people brought to the U.S. to gain a path to citizenship by completing college or enlisting in the military.
Teen Birth Rate Falls
The U.S. teen birth rate in 2009 fell to its lowest point in almost 70 years of record-keeping — a decline that stunned experts who believe it’s partly due to the recession. The teen birth rate was 6 percent less than the previous year and the lowest since health officials started tracking the rate in 1940.
