Charleston Gazette

Only 1 in 10 Have New Drug Discount Cards

philk@wvgazette.com Only about 38,000 senior West Virginians - or barely one of every 10 eligible - have obtained Medicare prescription drug discount cards, a drug industry lobbyist told the state Pharmaceutical Cost Management Council Thursday.

Specter Gets Gop Support: ; Pa. Senator Will Be Chairman of Senate Judiciary Committee

WASHINGTON - Sen. Arlen Specter on Thursday won the support of the Senate Judiciary Committee's Republicans to be their chairman next year, surviving complaints from abortion opponents who lobbied to skip over him in favor of a conservative. "I have assured the president that I would give his nominees quick committee hearings and early committee votes," Specter said at a news conference where outgoing chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said the panel's Republicans were unanimous in backing the Pen...

Jay, Rahall Seek Protection for Miners: ; Bill Would Prevent Coal Companies From Terminating Health Care for Retirees

paulwilson@wvgazette.com U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller and U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall introduced legislation on Thursday that they say would prevent coal companies from illegally terminating health care for retirees.

Mcdowell's Head Start May Lose Federal Funding: ; Action Could Cut More Than 100 Jobs

cbroadwater@wvgazette.com One of the oldest Head Start programs in the nation could lose all of its federal funding and potentially put more than 100 people out of work in McDowell County.

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Iraq update U.S. troops sweeping through Fallujah on Thursday find what appears to be a command center used by followers of Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and a U.S. general expresses confidence the battle for the city has "broken the back of the insurgency."'

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Essay winner A West Virginia resident has won first place in an international essay contest sponsored by The Economist magazine and Shell International. Claudia O'Keefe of Renick, Greenbrier County, took the $20,000 first prize, beating out 2,500 other entrants from 96 countries.

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'Eers basketball With the addition of Mike Gansey, St. Bonaventure's loss is WVU's good fortune. The Mountaineers tip off their 2004-05 season at home Saturday against St. Peter's.

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Gas prices Some consumers might not think increasing diesel prices affect them. Most cars are fueled by regular gasoline, which became cheaper than diesel in recent months. But companies that are paying more to ship items have to pass along the costs, which means higher prices for consumers.

Coming

Clinton Library Opens with Rock 'N' Roll Celebration

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Bill Clinton, America's first baby boomer president, opened his library Thursday with a rock 'n' roll gala that hailed the $165 million glass-and-steel museum as "a gift to the future by a man who always believed in the future." Despite a steady, bone-chilling rain, nearly 30,000 people joined a celebration that included tributes from President Bush, his father and former President Carter. Rock stars Bono and The Edge of the band U2 performed a three-song set before Clinto...

Putnam Residents Meet to Stop Drugs

cshumaker@wvgazette.com WINFIELD - When Kent and Susan Smith decided it was time to fight back against the youth drug problems in Putnam County, they thought about the future of their adopted 3-year-old daughter.

Assault Reported at Stonewall Jackson

cbroadwater@wvgazette.com Police and education officials confirmed Thursday that a Stonewall Jackson Middle School student was allegedly sexually assaulted Wednesday at school by another student.

Nephew of Arafat to Get Medical Files

Mad Cow Rattles Beef Prices

The Associated Press WASHINGTON - The government is checking a possible new case of mad cow disease, officials said Thursday, rattling the nation's cattle industry, food processors and beef-oriented restaurant chains.

Military Deaths in Iraq

As of Thursday at least 1,216 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. At least 945 died as a result of hostile action, the Defense Department said. The figures include three military civilians. The British military has reported 73 deaths; Italy, 19; Poland, 13; Spain, 11; Ukraine, nine; Bulgaria, seven; Slovakia, three; Estonia, Thailand and the Netherlands, two each; and Denmark, El Salvador, Hungary an...

Fallujah Insurgency Is 'Broken,' General Says: ; U.S. Troops Find Suspected Al-Zarqawi Headquarters; 51 Soldiers Dead, 425 Injured

BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. troops sweeping through Fallujah on Thursday found what appeared to be a command center used by followers of Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and a U.S. general expressed confidence the battle for the city has "broken the back of the insurgency." A separate raid near the suspected command center uncovered a bomb-making workshop where an SUV registered in Texas was being converted into a car bomb and a classroom that held flight plans and instructions on shooting ...

One Woman Hurt in City Accident

Prosecutor Wants Depositions Quashed

susanwilliams@wvgazette.com Police and a prosecutor in a yet-to-be-tried murder case want a federal judge to block their depositions in a federal civil rights trial, fearing their testimony would hurt a criminal trial.

Bankruptcy Judge Upholds Us Airways Pay Cuts

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - A bankruptcy judge on Thursday left intact temporary 21 percent pay cuts on some US Airways workers that he imposed last month to help the airline conserve cash and avoid liquidation. Lawyers for the International Association of Machinists and Association of Flight Attendants had asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Stephen Mitchell to reconsider his ruling, saying the airline had requested steeper pay cuts than were necessary to ensure the airline's survival while in bankruptcy.

W.Va.-Grown Food Tasting Set

A public tasting of West Virginia grown food products will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. today in Charleston's Capitol Market. The event, sponsored by Perdue Grocery, will take place next to the Purple Onion store, located inside the market building.