Jonathan J. Cooper

SALEM, Ore. -- Two little girls, not yet old enough for kindergarten, were shot to death. Their infant sister was found asphyxiated.

All were discovered in a burning house with their 26-year-old mother, also a victim of a gunshot wound.

SEATTLE -- A Pacific Northwest storm that brought snow, ice and powerful winds left a mess of fallen trees and power lines Friday as tens of thousands of residents already without power faced the prospect of a cold, dark weekend and flooding became a top region-wide concern.

While temperatures warmed and the icy, snowy conditions abated in western Washington and Oregon, slick roads and fast-melting snow brought challenges for road workers, city officials and rescue crews. The region also faces more rain as swelling rivers lead to the worst flooding some Oregon counties have seen in more than a decade.

SALEM, Ore. -- Oregon's state mental hospital has gained attention as the filming site for a movie about psychiatric abuses -- "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" -- and as a place where real abuses have occurred.

State officials are hoping to begin a new chapter for the Oregon State Hospital when they unveil part of a new hosital Thursday that will replace most of the decrepit building made famous in the movie. Patients will begin moving in early next year.

PHOENIX -- An Arizona police officer and a Latino group filed the first legal challenges of Arizona's sweeping new law cracking down on illegal immigration Thursday.