Charleston Daily Mail

Kanawha Judge Orders Retrial of National Guard Member

DAILY MAIL STAFF Kanawha Circuit Judge Duke Bloom today invalidated the murder conviction of a West Virginia National Guardsman accused of killing a Charleston cross dresser during a purse snatching.

Probes Are Talk of Town, Political Corruption, Vote-Buying Are Hot Topics of Conversation in Coalfields County

DAILY MAIL POLITICAL EDITOR LOGAN - Political corruption is not the stuff of whispers and nods here in the capital of the coalfields.

Agencies Brace for Boomers, Governor, Panel Study Potential Strain On State Services As Generation Reaches Old Age

DAILY MAIL CAPITOL REPORTER West Virginia, a state where 313,000 middle-aged people already depend on the federal government for pension funding, is bracing for the year 2025, when more than one third of the state's population will be over the age of 60.

An Innocent Man Doesnt Give Up, Dana December Smith Contends a Recent Confession and a Retrial Could Prove His Innocence and Bring: ; Justice He Says He Deserves

DAILY MAIL STAFF MOUNT OLIVE - Convicted murderer Dana December Smith leaned across a plastic table in the Mount Olive Correctional Complex and said, "I didn't do this."

Utility Blames Lower Earnings On Costs Relatated to Storms

COLUMBUS, Ohio - American Electric Power said today that second- quarter earnings were down 43 percent because of higher costs and expenses related to storm damage. The nation's largest power generator said it made $100 million, or 25 cents per share, for the quarter that ended June 30, compared with earnings of $175 million, or 44 cents per share, a year ago. Revenue fell 3 percent to $3.4 billion from $3.5 billion a year ago.

Commission Delays Decision On Lawsuit Over Business Park, Attorney Advises Officials to Hold Off Filing for Now

DAILY MAIL STAFF The Kanawha County commissioners will wait awhile longer before deciding whether to file a lawsuit to prevent the West Virginia Economic Development Authority from turning over $3.2 million in state grant money to Putnam County.

Schwab Closing Its Charleston Office, Company Advising Customers to Use Web Site, Phone Service

DAILY MAIL BUSINESS EDITOR Charles Schwab & Co. Inc.'s Charleston office is one of 53 scheduled to close nationwide, the company said.

Fallujah Attacks Kill 13 People, Kidnapped Truck Driver Given Just Hours to Live Unless Company He Works for Leaves Iraq

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Fighting between U.S. forces and Iraqi insurgents in the turbulent city of Fallujah killed 13 people, officials said, while one of seven kidnapped truck drivers was given just hours to live unless the company they work for pulls out of the country. The hostage deadline loomed as U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell made an unannounced trip to Baghdad for meetings with top officials. Powell is on a weeklong tour of central Europe and the Middle East.

U.S., Israeli Embassies Attacked, Suicide Bombers Hit Embassies in Uzbekistan, Prosecutor's Office; at Least Two Uzbeks Reported Dead

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan - Suicide bombers hit the U.S. and Israeli embassies today, killing at least two Uzbeks, news reports and police said. A third blast hit the general prosecutor's office and caused "deaths," a Russian news agency reported. A spokeswoman at the prosecutor's office confirmed the blast.

Ridge May Resign After Election, Homeland Security Chief May Join Private Sector to Earn Money for College Expenses

WASHINGTON - Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge is considering stepping down after the November election, telling colleagues he is worn out from the massive reorganization of government and needs to earn money in the private sector to put his teenage children through college, officials said. Ridge will not make a final decision until he talks to President Bush later this year and is focused on thwarting the terror attacks that officials fear al-Qaida will attempt before November, Assistant...

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Nation &World

Panda statue missing from busy street corner WASHINGTON - PandaMania seems to have infected someone just a little too much.

W.Va. Lawmakers Support Hiring Additional Air Traffic Controllers,: ; Yeager Already Short Three Mandated Workers

DAILY MAIL STAFF Members of West Virginia's congressional delegation support an effort to increase the hiring of air traffic controllers to counter the projected retirement of almost half of the nation's 15,000 controllers by 2013.

Campaign Submits Petitions to Get Nader Placed On Ballots

Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader's campaign announced it has been submitted enough signatures to the secretary of state's office to be placed on West Virginia's November ballot. The campaign said Thursday that it had collected 23,000 signatures, exceeding its goal of 18,000 before Aug. 1. Nader needed 12,962 signatures from registered voters, or 2 percent of the votes cast for president in the 2000 election, to be placed on the ballot.

Group Argues Dep, Coal Company Can't Perfect Permit After the Fact, Company Says Environmental Plan in Place; State Says No More Analysis Was Needed

DAILY MAIL STAFF The state approved an 850-acre surface mine permit before adequately addressing the selenium pollution the mining operation might cause, so the state Surface Mine Board should throw out the permit, an environmental group says in legal briefs filed this week.

Prominent Democratic Official Is a West Virginian

DAILY MAIL STAFF Joe Manchin got to make a nationally televised three-minute speech at the Democratic National Convention, and he was the one who announced the support of West Virginia's Democrats would go to John Kerry for president.

Ex-Marshall Student Fuels Enthusiasm with State Delegation

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the last in a series of Democratic National Convention reports from Professor Robert Rupp of West Virginia Wesleyan College. BOSTON - The final breakfast for the West Virginia delegation featured a talk by Jeanne Shaheen, co-chairwoman of John Kerry's campaign. The former governor of New Hampshire has a strong West Virginia connection. Her mother lived for 35 years in Huntington, and Jeanne went to Marshall University. She acknowledged that her state was carried by Geor...