Charleston Daily Mail

Area Country Clubs Discussing Merger, Berry Hills, Edgewood Form Committee to Discuss Possible Options

DAILY MAIL STAFF Berry Hills and Edgewood country clubs are discussing a possible merger and have formed an exploratory committee to determine what a joint operation would entail and how the potential merger might benefit members.

Table Games Will Help W.Va.,Arneault Says, More Young People Would Visit Racetracks, Resort Chief Says; Bill in Works to Let Counties Decide

DAILY MAIL STAFF The choice lawmakers face on legalizing table games at West Virginia's four racetracks is the same as attracting a new factory that would invest $400 million and create 2,000 jobs, a leading track operator says.

School's International On Saturday, Japanese Students Gather at Scott Teays to Keep Up Their Math, Language Studies

FOR THE DAILY MAIL SCOTTDEPOT - The hallways of Scott Teays Elementary School are quiet. After all, classes are in session.

Cost of Physical Education in Schools a Concern for Officials, Educators Say More Facilities, Staff Needed to Execute Plan to Increase Student Activity

DAILY MAIL STAFF Gov. Joe Manchin wants more physical education in schools, but Kanawha County educators contend beefing up the standards would require more teachers and adequate facilities.

Dnr Revises Plan for License Fee Hikes, Original Proposal Combined Hunting, Fishing Permits Into One Sportsman's License

Outdoor enthusiasts would be able to continue buying hunting- only or fishing-only licenses under a new proposal by the state Division of Natural Resources that increases license fees for both state residents and nonresidents. The revised plan, took recent public comments into account, said Curtis Taylor, chief of the agency's Wildlife Resources Section.

Golden Gate Officials Vote to Develop Suicide Barrier for Bridge

SAN FRANCISCO - Golden Gate Bridge officials moved closer to building a barrier to prevent people from jumping off the famous suspension bridge, where about 1,300 people have killed themselves since the landmark opened in 1937. Officials voted Thursday to develop a plan and explore funding for the suicide barrier after hearing emotional testimony from friends and family of people who jumped off the iconic bridge connecting San Francisco and Marin County.

Pope Resting, Breathing On His Own, Pontiff Advised Not to Speak for a Few Days; Doctors See No Sign of Lung Infection

VATICAN CITY - Pope John Paul II is again breathing on his own but his doctors have advised him not to speak for a few days, the Vatican said today, a day after he was rushed to a hospital and underwent surgery to ease another breathing crisis. Papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said the frail 84-year-old John Paul spent a restful night at Rome's Gemelli Polyclinic, where doctors said there was no sign the pope had a lung infection such as pneumonia.

Top Bosnian Serb General Surrenders to Tribunal

BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro - A senior Bosnian Serb general indicted for his alleged role in a massacre of thousands of Muslims during the Bosnian war surrendered to the United Nations war crimes tribunal. Retired Gen. Milan Gvero was a close aide to wartime Bosnian Serb commander Gen. Ratko Mladic, a top war crimes fugitive. Gvero is charged with the expulsion and murder of Muslims on the eve of and during the 1995 Bosnian Serb onslaught on Srebrenica, where more than 7,000 Muslim men and bo...

Canada Won't Be Part of Missile Defense Shield, Prime Minister Says Nation Will Continue to Defend Its Sovereignty

TORONTO - Prime Minister Paul Martin said that Canada would not join the contentious U.S. missile defense program, a decision that will further strain brittle relations between the neighbors but please Canadians who fear it could lead to an international arms race. The Bush administration has tried to make a public show of understanding that Martin heads up a minority government that could fall over such a contentious debate. But after the announcement Thursday, U.S. Ambassador Paul Cellucci ...

U.S. Soldiers Killed, Wounded in Blast, Eight Personnel Hurt in Explosion; Rebel Leader Tied to Al-Qaida Captured

TARMIYAH, Iraq - A roadside bomb blast killed three U.S. soldiers and wounded eight others north of Iraq's capital today, the military said. Lt. Col. Clifford Kent, a spokesman for the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Division, said a U.S. patrol was hit by an improvised explosive device, or IED. That is the term the military uses for roadside bombs.

Half-Naked Man Arrested After Brush with 'Cops'

THE FRESNO BEE MADERA, Calif. - Two employees of the network TV show "COPS" didn't have their cameras ready, sheriff's deputies reported, when a half-naked man jumped into the back of their pickup and began talking to the moon.

Weather

Almanac Yesterday's high 35

Weather

Tonight Partly cloudy. Lows in the upper 20s. Southwest winds around 5 mph.

Weather

Regional forecasts Akron 32 22 PCldy

Weather

National forecasts Anchorage 32 25 Cldy

Nation &World

Nine Afghan soldiers die in three Taliban attacks KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Taliban insurgents launched three separate attacks in southeastern Afghanistan, killing nine Afghan troops and wounding an American soldier while sustaining heavy casualties themselves, officials said today.

Pendleton Superintendent Dies of Apparent Heart Attack

FRANKLIN - A memorial service will be held 11 a.m. Saturday at Pendleton County Middle-High School for Superintendent Ralph Kenneth Price Jr., who died of an apparent heart attack earlier this week in Charleston. Price, 58, was leaving the Capitol after meeting with senators and education officials late Tuesday when he lost consciousness and his car swerved into a parked vehicle.

Leaders Ok June 25 Vote On Pension Bonds,: ; Legislators Felt More Time Was Needed to Give; Required Public Notification

The Legislature approved a special election for Gov. Joe Manchin's $5.5 billion pension bond proposal, after pushing back the date to June 25. The Senate and House on Thursday each passed the governor's bill allowing for a special Saturday vote to authorize the sale of the bonds.

Man Indicted On Charges Linked to Eco-Terror Groups

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A man was indicted on federal arson charges involving firebombings linked to an eco-terror group that targeted residential and commercial construction sites. Ryan D. Lewis faces five counts of arson and three counts of attempted arson for his alleged involvement in incidents this winter in three communities east of Sacramento.

Statebriefs

DEP investigating substance found in Mingo RAWL - The Department of Environmental Protection is investigating a white substance found in a rusted truck trailer along a dirt road in Mingo County.