Charleston Gazette

Miers Withdraws Nomination, Partisan Politics Blamed

WASHINGTON - In a striking defeat for President Bush, White House counsel Harriet Miers on Thursday abandoned her bid to become a Supreme Court justice after three weeks of brutal criticism from fellow conservatives. The Senate's top Republican predicted a replacement candidate within days. Miers said she ended her quest for confirmation because the Senate was demanding documents and information detailing her private advice to the president. "I am concerned that the confirmation process prese...

2big Phone Blocs Ok'd.: ; at&T and Sbc, Verizon and Mci to Merge

WASHINGTON - The nation's two biggest local phone companies received approval Thursday from antitrust regulators to buy the two largest long-distance carriers in multibillion-dollar mergers that would change the landscape of the telecommunications industry. The Justice Department cleared the mergers of SBC Communications Inc. with AT&T and of Verizon Communications Inc. with MCI Inc. without any significant conditions, such as the asset sales that critics said were needed to ensure adequate c...

Some Doctors Irked by Absence of Flu Vaccine

Some doctors and health clinics in West Virginia are still waiting for promised supplies of the flu vaccine, and they're becoming increasingly frustrated as they see vaccine supplies going to big-box retailers and not them. Past years have seen flu vaccine shortages because of manufacturing problems. But this year, ample supplies have been produced to cover high-risk populations.

W.Va. Council of Churches Issues Resolution to Pull Troops Out

The West Virginia Council of Churches released a resolution Thursday urging Congress "to withdraw all U.S. military troops and bases from Iraq." The Rev. Dennis Sparks, director of the state Council of Churches, said the resolution was released after the announcement that more than 2,000 U.S. troops have been killed, and more than 15,000 wounded, in the Iraq war.

Iraq War Dead: ; at 2,004

As of Thursday, at least 2,004 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 1,559 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers. The figures include five military civilians. The AP count is eight higher than the Defense Department's tally, last updated at 10 a.m. Thursday.

15 Dead After Shiites, Sunnis Clash.: ; Two U.S. Soldiers Killed When Roadside Bomb Hits Convoy in Baghdad

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Sunni Arab militants killed 14 Shiite militiamen and a policeman Thursday in a clash southeast of Baghdad - another sign of rising tensions among Iraq's rival ethnic and religious communities. The U.S. military reported three more American soldiers died in combat. The Shiite-Sunni fighting occurred after police and militiamen loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr raided a house in Nahrawan, 15 miles southeast of the capital, to free a militiaman taken hostage by Sunni...

Loan Would Help Fund Voting System

The Kanawha County Commission has applied for a five-year, interest-free loan offered by the Secretary of State's office to help fund the county's new voting system. In a special meeting Thursday, county commissioners signed a loan application to help fund the upgrade in the voting systems, which must be in place Jan. 1.

Turnout Poor at Silver-Haired Annual Session

A telephonic version of the annual Silver-Haired Legislature has turned out to be a bust, based on Thursday's participation, the event organizer said. Of 134 participants, just 19 called in for committee meetings for the opening day of the two-day session, according to Chuck Conroy, special programs director for the state Bureau of Senior Services.

Bush Tries to Jump-Start 'Clear Skies'

Faced with legal challenges to its efforts to rewrite federal air pollution regulations, the Bush administration is trying to revive its "Clear Skies" legislation to rework the Clean Air Act. To kick off the effort, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday released what it called "the most detailed, comprehensive analysis" of air pollution regulations ever conducted by EPA.

Perspective

White House Waits Another Day in Leak Probe

WASHINGTON - Working against the clock, Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald weighed criminal charges against top presidential aides at the end of a two-year investigation that put the White House in a state of high suspense Thursday night. Fitzgerald raced against today's expiration of the grand jury that has been investigating the exposure of covert CIA officer Valerie Plame's identity. Speculation flew across Washington about who would be indicted, or whether Fitzgerald would even bring c...

Two Arrested in Police Trail Tombstones Theft

In another apparent case of trying to steal from the police, two South Charleston men were arrested Wednesday after they allegedly tried to steal a trio of prop tombstones from a Fraternal Order of Police lodge's Halloween trail in broad daylight. Several South Charleston policemen were gathered near the F.O.P. Lodge No. 85's Haunted Trail of Terror ticket stand at Little Creek Park when lodge president Lt. D.B. Cunningham noticed a few fake grave markers in a passing vehicle, Patrolman Jerem...

Plan to Cut Medicaid Debated by House Panel

WASHINGTON - A proposal to curb Medicaid spending by about $11 billion by the end of the decade withstood a challenge in a key House committee Thursday as lawmakers worked on a plan to slow the automatic growth of the program, which provides health care to the poor and disabled. Democrats, saying Republicans were trying to cut the deficit on the backs of poor, lost a vote to block the plan. Energy and Commerce Committee Republicans countered that they were making only modest trims - about 1 p...

Gun Lock Giveaways This Weekend

Long accustomed to the expression "lock and load," West Virginians now have a chance to learn how to "unload and lock." Representatives of Project ChildSafe, a national program funded through the U.S. Department of Justice, will give away free cable- style gun locks to passersby in South Charleston and Charleston this weekend.

Higher Ed Group Seeks Budget Hike.: ; Commission Wants $82.2 Million More

The Higher Education Policy Commission is asking the Legislature for $82.2 million more next year than in its current budget, including money for salaries, scholarships and campus projects. The commission on Tuesday also approved salary increases for the presidents of Bluefield State College and Shepherd University. Bluefield President Albert Walker's salary will go from $140,000 a year to $146,662. Shepherd President David Dunlop's salary will go from $149,196 to $156,954.

State Briefs

WVU reports another record enrollment MORGANTOWN - Enrollment at West Virginia University has set a fifth consecutive record with 26,051 students this fall, President David C. Hardesty Jr. said Wednesday.

Saturday

Saturday

Faith & Community

Manchin Breaks with Governors On Medicaid Panel

Gov. Joe Manchin bucked not only congressional Democrats but also the National Governors Association, when he joined the Bush administration's Medicaid Commission, according to an independent newspaper covering Congress. "The Bush administration has shattered the National Governors Association's unified front in the ongoing debate about the future of Medicaid by successfully courting two governors to participate on a controversial panel," The Hill reported Thursday.