Charleston Gazette

Business Briefs

AEPs 2nd-quarter profit drops by 21 percent COLUMBUS, Ohio

Birth Control Cost Skyrockets: ; Clinics May Not Be Able to Provide Free Pills

mkelly@wvgazette.com Clinics in West Virginia and across the country providing free birth control to low-income men and women face a possible drought of contraceptive pills and patches after the top supplier drastically raised prices earlier this month.

Missing Agency Papers Found: ; Prosecution has Surprise in Graham Trial

tomsearls@wvgazette.com BLUEFIELD - Closing arguments are set for today in the trial of Wyoming County senior center director Bob Graham, which opened Monday with a surprise and produced another one Thursday.

Suspects Moved to Adult Status: ; 3 Teens Charged in Shooting Death at Parking Garage

aclevenger@wvgazette.com Three juveniles charged in the shooting death of a Charleston man this month in a downtown parking garage were transferred to adult status on Thursday, meaning they can now be tried as adults.

Vaccine Tested to Help Smokers Quit

MADISON, Wis. - Doctors are testing a radical new way to help smokers quit: a shot that "immunizes" them against the nicotine rush that fuels their addiction. That pleasurable buzz has seduced Mario Musachia into burning through nearly half a million cigarettes in half a century.

12-Day Heat Wave Burdens California Coroner's Offices

FRESNO, Calif. - Corpses piled up at the morgue Thursday, and aid workers went door-to-door, checking in on elderly people in hopes of keeping the death toll from California's 12-day heat wave from rising. California coroner's offices said the number of deaths possibly connected to the heat wave climbed to 98.

Byrd Warns of Escalation in Iraq

pjnyden@wvgazette.com Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., warned the Senate about the growing civil war in Iraq Thursday and said he fears the escalating war in Lebanon may divert attention away from Iraq and allow President Bush to escalate the Iraq war.

National Briefs

Common chemical cited as cancer cause WASHINGTON - Growing scientific evidence suggests the most widespread industrial contaminant in drinking water - a solvent used in adhesives, paint and spot removers - can cause cancer in people.

U.S. Military Deaths in Iraq

As of Thursday, at least 2,569 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes seven military civilians. At least 2,036 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers. The AP count is two less than the Defense Department's tally, last updated Thursday at 10 a.m.

Baghdad to Get 5,000 More Gis: ; Aim Is to Stop Violence in Capital

WASHINGTON - Military commanders in Iraq are developing a plan to move as many as 5,000 U.S. troops with armored vehicles and tanks into the country's capital in an effort to quell escalating violence, defense officials said Thursday. As part of the plan, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Thursday extended the tours of about 3,500 members of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team. It was scheduled to be leaving now, but instead, most of its 3,900 troops will serve for up to four more mon...

31 Die in Affluent Shiite Neighborhood

BAGHDAD - Rockets and mortars rained down Thursday on an upscale, mostly Shiite area of Baghdad, collapsing an apartment house, shattering shops and killing at least 31 people - part of the rising sectarian violence President Bush has vowed to stop. A car bomb also exploded during the attack in the commercial- residential district of Karradah, an area that is home to several prominent Shiite politicians.

Bush Sip Apparent On Video

daveg@wvgazette.com President Bush does appear to take a sip of lemonade during his photo-op stop Wednesday with U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R- W.Va., at a Charleston girl's lemonade stand.

State Briefs

Former Man hospital cleanup underway MAN - The last vials of blood, used syringes and other medical waste found at the old Man Hospital should be discarded within a week.

Raleigh Man Plans Walk to D.C. To Highlight Need for New School

BECKLEY - Mr. Wiley is walking to Washington. Ed Wiley of Rock Creek decided to make the 366-mile hike from Charleston to the nation's capital because he's frustrated by the lack of response to residents' concerns about Marsh Fork Elementary School.

Ohio County Lands Theme Park

WHEELING - Wild rides and water parks are coming to the Wheeling area, along with about 1,000 new jobs. The first phase of the 100-acre Wild Escape Theme Park could open as early as next July, but that timetable is fairly optimistic given the amount of work that has to be done, Ohio County officials said.

Raleigh, Kanawha Fires Investigated

The state Fire Marshal's Office is investigating suspicious fires in Raleigh and Kanawha counties. In the Cabell Heights area of Raleigh County, a man and a woman escaped a suspicious fire about 4:15 a.m. Wednesday at 243 Wade Road, according to a sheriff's department news release.

Mine Panel Takes Up Sago Report Findings

BRIDGEPORT - Most of the safety steps recommended in a special report on the Sago Mine disaster already have been addressed by state and federal action, members of the state Mine Safety Technology Task Force concluded Thursday. During a systematic review of a dozen key recommendations in the report, which came out July 19, task force members agreed more work is needed to protect underground coal mines from lightning strikes.

Obituaries: ; Obit

Ethel Francis Blount Ethel Francis Blount, 85, of Tad passed away Thursday, July 27, 2006, at Hubbard Hospice House.

Philadelphia Mayor Asks Youths to 'Lay Down' Guns

PHILADELPHIA - The mayor on Thursday promised more police and social services to help stem a surge in the city's homicide rate, while pleading with young people to "lay down your weapons." Philadelphia's homicide rate is 7 percent higher than last year, with 226 people slain.

Man Found Guilty On Kidnapping Charge

A Sissonville man was found guilty of kidnapping in Kanawha County Circuit Court on Wednesday for holding his girlfriend hostage with a .30-30 rifle in their mobile home. Assistant Prosecutor Michele Drummond told the jury that Joshua Lee Slater, 23, threatened to kill Angela Walls during an argument over money. Slater also hit her in the head and threw a hammer at her, striking her in the leg, Drummond said.