Cruise ship rescue — The Coast Guard has plucked a man experiencing heart problems from a cruise ship off the north Oregon coast and flown him to waiting medics at Astoria. Petty Officer Nathan Littlejohn says a Coast Guard helicopter crew used a rescue stretcher to hoist the man Monday night from the cruise ship Zaandam. The man’s condition was not known.

Study: Past wildfire speeds snowmelt — A new study shows charred forests left behind by wildfires make the mountain snowpack that Western rivers depend on melt faster. Lead author Kelly Gleason, a doctoral candidate at Oregon State University, says they found more snow fell in burned forests than in green ones. But the snow melted off twice as fast in burned forests, and was gone 23 days earlier. The reason was the black bits sloughing off the charred trees onto the snow intensified the heat from the sun. Eighty percent of forest fires are in the snow zone. Co-author Anne Nolin, an associate professor of climatology and hydrology at OSU, says logic suggests more wildfires associated with global warming will contribute to earlier snowmelt already seen with rising temperatures. The study appeared in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

Stalking incident — Sheriff’s deputies in Clatsop County removed 17 weapons from the home of a man accused of violating a stalking order. David Killion, 53, has been charged with criminal trespass, disorderly conduct, harassment and a stalking order violation. Clatsop County Sheriff Tom Bergin says Killion went to the property of a former girlfriend and began yelling at her. He drove his pickup through her yard before going home. Killion had been arrested Sept. 11 for stepping into the woman’s home and removing a gun from his holster before retreating. The sheriff says a woman who lives with Killion requested his weapons be removed for safe keeping.

Pendleton murder case — The attorney for a Marine deserter accused of killing a maid in a downtown Pendleton motel says his client will rely on an insanity defense. Lukah Chang appeared before a judge Tuesday via video from the county jail where he has been since his Aug. 28 arrest. Attorney L. Kent Fisher entered not guilty pleas on Chang’s behalf and said he would use a defense that the 23-year-old suffers from a mental disease or defect. Chang is charged with murder in the death of 19-year-old Amyjane Brandhagen. The young woman was stabbed in a room she was cleaning last year. Chang also faces an attempted murder charge in connection with last month’s beating of a woman on a jogging path. District Attorney Dan Primus told the court his office provided the defense with 433 pages of discovery and 12 CDs and DVDs containing police interviews with Chang.

Land Board allots extra $12 million to schools — The State Land Board has allotted an extra $12 million from the Oregon Common School Fund to help districts statewide. When Oregon became a state in 1859, Congress set aside 6 percent of the new state’s land to support public schools. Much of that land has since been sold, with the proceeds going to the Common School Fund. The fund now gets much of its revenue from investments instead of timber yields. To help balance this year’s budget, the state Legislature asked the land board to withdraw more money than usual from the fund to help schools. The extra money approved Tuesday brings this year’s total distribution to schools to $65 million.

Vet hopes to return filched photo — A 92-year-old Coast Guard veteran who says he felt bad about the photo of a pretty red-haired girl that he filched and kept with him through his World War II service now has a chance to return it. Jim Williams arrived Monday in Portland on a vacation trip from Springfield, Ill. He brought a copy of the photo and his story. He says he met the girl in the photo — Ruby Ruff — in 1943 at a Portland dance hall. When he was invited to her home for tea, he left with the photo — and felt bad about it ever since. Late Monday, 92-year-old Ruby Hazen of Silver Lake, Wash., got a call from her niece in Portland, who had seen the story. Ruby Hazen is pleased that Williams carried her photo for moral support. She says he “must be a nice guy” to come so far to try to return it. Williams says he’s glad to hear she’s doing well. They may not meet in person, but he knows where to send the photo — she lives on Memory Lane.

New Multnomah County chair — Marissa Madrigal has taken the oath of office to become Multnomah County chair. Madrigal takes over for Jeff Cogen, who resigned this month after weeks of turbulence over his affair with an employee. Madrigal was Cogen’s chief of staff and designated successor. She will keep the job until next year’s election and has said she will not seek a full term. At Tuesday’s ceremony, Madrigal delivered remarks in English and Spanish. She said she is driven to help every family thrive.

Portland schools ask for mediation — Portland Public Schools and the teachers’ union remain far apart on a contract after 150 days of negotiations. The school district said Monday it would ask for a state mediator if there is no progress in three days of talks next week. The Portland Association of Teachers wants an 11 percent pay increase over two years. The district has offered 2 percent.

— From wire reports