Charleston Daily Mail

Police Question Detroit Residents: ; Crack Cocaine Connection Explored in Slaying of Teens

DAILY MAIL STAFF HUNTINGTON - Huntington police today continued to investigate connections between the quadruple homicide that occurred here early Sunday and drug dealers from Detroit.

Trade Mission to Japan: ; Manchin Hopes Japan Trip Will Build Business Relations; Governor Wants to Express Appreciation to Companies for Their Confidence in State

DAILY MAIL BUSINESS EDITOR Gov. Joe Manchin said he's going to Japan this week to thank the Japanese executives who have invested in West Virginia and to build relationships with business prospects, not with the expectation of actually signing deals.

Looking Back: ; Area Youth Honor the Memory of Veterans Buried in Spring Hill Cemetery

DAILY MAIL STAFF Small groups of children and teenagers, flags in hand, scattered across the tombstone-dotted hillside of the 150 acre-Spring Hill Cemetery in Charleston, spending close to two hours adorning each veteran's grave marker with a small American flag.

Washington Street Gets Attention: ; City Smooths Ruts and Fills Potholes; State Will Resurface West Side Section Next Month

DAILY MAIL STAFF Tired of waiting for the state to fill in the gaping potholes and smooth the ruts of Washington Street West, the city of Charleston has taken matters into its own hands.

Ceremony to Honor Local Soldier Killed in World War Ii

A ceremony at Charleston's Spring Hill Cemetery will honor Lt. Col. John Shanklin III, who was killed in action in Germany during World War II. Each year on Memorial Day weekend, the cemetery honors a soldier killed in a war this century.

Putnam News: Commission: ; Panel Seeks to Save 2004 Budget Digest Funds; Request to Honor Grant Submitted to Governor; Adoption of Pit Bulls From County Shelter Considered

FOR THE DAILY MAIL Salvaging last year's budget digest grant money and deciding whether the county should permit adoption of pit bulls were issues the Putnam County commissioners considered during their weekly meeting.

Voyager 1 Now at Edge of Solar System

After a storied, 28-year odyssey, NASA's venerable Voyager 1 spacecraft appears to have reached the edge of the solar system, a turbulent zone of near-nothingness where the solar wind begins to give way to interstellar space in a cosmic cataclysm known as "termination shock," scientists said. "This is an historic step in Voyager's race," said California Institute of Technology physicist Edward Stone, the mission's chief scientist since Voyager 1 and its twin, Voyager 2, were launched in the s...

Elderly May Be Wary of Applying for Drug Discount: ; Advocates Say People Will Be Scared Off; by Application That Asks for Financial Information

WASHINGTON - Millions of low-income Medicare recipients will soon be receiving federal paperwork intended to help determine whether they're entitled to extra help with their prescription drug costs next year. Advocates for the elderly said they expect many of the 15 million recipients to be wary of the letter and application they'll get from the government, even though many of them could quality for essentially free medicine.

U.S. Relations with Syria Deteriorate Over Iraq

WASHINGTON - U.S. relations with Syria are on a downward slide, reduced to "diplomatic contact" in which the Bush administration demands tightened borders to keep guerrillas from spilling into Iraq. Diplomatic relations have not been officially severed, but the U.S. ambassador, Margaret Scobey, has not been at her post in Damascus since she was recalled for consultations after the assassination of Rafiq Hariri, a former Lebanese prime minister, in Beirut in mid-February.

Second Major U.S. Raid Staged in Western Iraq: ; 1,000 American Personnel Encircle City West of Baghdad

HADITHA, Iraq - About 1,000 U.S. Marines, sailors and soldiers encircled this Euphrates River city in the troubled Anbar province before dawn today, launching the second major anti-insurgent operation in this vast western region in less than a month. The offensives are aimed at uprooting insurgents who have killed more than 620 people since a new Iraqi government was announced on April 28. Many of those insurgents are thought to be foreign fighters who have slipped across the border from Syria.

Elderly Woman Arrested After Allegedly Calling 911 20 Times

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - An 86-year-old woman was jailed after police said she called 911 dispatchers 20 times in a little more than a half-hour - all to complain that a pizza parlor wouldn't deliver. Dorothy Densmore was charged with misusing the 911 system, a jail spokeswoman said.

Almanac

Yesterday's high 58 Record high 93, 1933

Tonight

Mostly cloudy. Lows around 50. North winds 5 to 10 mph. Thursday

Regional Weather

Akron 71 47 PCldy Atlanta 76 55 PCldy

National Weather

Anchorage 58 42 Cldy Baltimore 72 50 PCldy

Nation & World

Europe leaning toward tough stance on Iran

Board Member Critical of Plan: ; Luoni Votes Against Proposal to Consolidate West Side Schools

DAILY MAIL STAFF The sole member of the Kanawha County school board who lives on the West Side is upset about the board's vote to consolidate schools in that part of the city.

New State Gop Treasurer Picked After Lewis Resigns: ; Ohio County Gop Official Named to Position

Scott Reed, head of the Ohio County Republican Executive Committee, has been selected to replace Hiram Lewis IV as treasurer of the state GOP. State GOP Chairman Rob Capehart said Tuesday the change will help a rebuilding party "hit the ground running."

Pentagon Analyst Now Faces Additional Charges

A Pentagon analyst previously accused of leaking top-secret information to a pro-Israel group was charged with illegally bringing classified government documents to his West Virginia residence. Lawrence Anthony Franklin, 58, was not authorized to take such documents into the state, according to the federal charge issued along with an arrest warrant by U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Johnston of West Virginia's northern district.

Students Mourn Girls Killed in Crash: ; Families of Seniors Walked Across Stage to Accept Their Diplomas

McMECHEN - School has been out for hours, and yet they hover - boys and girls drawn to the makeshift shrine like bees to a flower, trying to hold onto its sweetness a little longer. They are young and heartbroken, the students of Bishop Donahue High School, uncertain how to channel the grief for two lost friends. They know the lives of JoBeth Gross and Danielle Block ended too soon, when a sightseeing plane crashed into the sand on Coney Island, N.Y.