Charleston Daily Mail

Well-Known Local Newsman Makes His Way Back Home to W.Va.: ; Bob Brunner Returns to Serve As News Director for Woay in Oak Hill

DAILY MAIL STAFF Bob Brunner is back.

Youngsters Soaking Up Spanish: ; Costa Rica Native Teaches Language Immersion Class at Area Preschool

DAILY MAIL STAFF Maria Kershner took what some would call a language barrier and turned it into a gift she could share with others.

Youngsters Soaking Up Spanish

Error Sets Suspected Killer Free3 Times: ; Fbi Fingerprint System in Clarksburg Failed to Identify Suspect

ATLANTA - A man suspected of being a serial killer was arrested and freed three times in the last several years because the FBI's computerized fingerprint system in Clarksburg failed to correctly identify him. During that period, authorities believe, the man raped and killed four women. Jeremy Bryan Jones, 32, gave an alias - John Paul Chapman - when he was arrested on trespassing charges outside Atlanta in January 2004. The FBI received his fingerprints from local authorities and ran them th...

Traffic Light Proposed for Lucado Intersection: ; Agency Also Eyeing Widening U.S. 119, Adding Interchange

DAILY MAIL STAFF Relief may finally be on the way for motorists who dodge their way through one of the most dangerous intersections in the Charleston area.

Cell Bills, Judges' Pay On Way Up: ; Gov. Joe Manchin Signs Pair of Controverial Bills, Rejects Pleas From Kanawha County Officials

DAILY MAIL STAFF Gov. Joe Manchin rejected pleas from Kanawha County officials and rank-and-file state employee groups in approving a 103 percent cell phone tax and a $26,000 pay raise for judges.

Charleston to Launch Spring Cleaning Monday

The city of Charleston will launch its annual collection of spring cleaning refuse on Monday. Residents can place furniture, appliances and other non- traditional garbage items on the curb for crews to collect.

New Sat Test Raising Student Stress Levels: ; Exam Now Includes 25-Minute Essay, More Advanced Algebra

DAILY MAIL STAFF George Washington High School junior Davey Nelson was happy to see someone giving away free energy drinks the morning he was scheduled to take the Scholastic Aptitude Test.

Team Tries to Break Speed Record: ; British Driver to Try to Top 300 Mph in Nevada in Electric-Powered Car

SALT LAKE CITY - A British team will try to break the speed record for electric-powered cars weighing more than 2,200 pounds, using a vehicle that has 52 batteries and no mechanical gears. Nevada agreed to shut down a state highway today for the torpedo- shaped car's attempt to top 300 mph.

Pakistanis Interrogating Al-Qaida Leader

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistan has shared with the United States initial results of its interrogation of reputed al-Qaida No. 3 Abu Farraj al-Libbi, who stayed silent for hours after his capture this week before confessing his identity, an intelligence official said today. Al-Libbi was nabbed Monday after a firefight with security forces near a town in northwestern Pakistan. President Bush hailed the arrest as a victory that removes a key enemy, and jubilant Pakistani officials said the captu...

Forty Rebels Killed in Battle in Afghanistan, Military Says

KABUL, Afghanistan - The death toll from a fierce battle against militants by U.S. and Afghan forces in southeastern Afghanistan doubled to 40 today after troops found more bodies at the scene of the clash, one of the deadliest since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. The dead were a "mix of Taliban and anti-coalition militants," and officials were still trying to determine whether foreigners were among them, U.S. spokesman Col. James Yonts told The Associated Press.

Marine Cleared in Shooting of Iraqi Inside Fallujah Mosque

SAN DIEGO - A Marine corporal captured on video shooting an apparently injured and unarmed Iraqi during the battle for Fallujah did not violate the rules of engagement and will not face a court- martial, the Marine Corps announced. The corporal was not identified in the two-page statement issued by Camp Pendleton, the headquarters of the expeditionary force north of San Diego.

Insurgents Again Target Iraqi Forces: ; at Least 20 Killed in Three Separate Attacks

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Insurgents killed at least 20 people in three separate attacks targeting Iraqi security forces in Baghdad today, including one by a man who set off hidden explosives while waiting in line outside an army recruitment center, police said. A similar attack Wednesday by a suicide bomber standing in a line outside a police recruitment center in the northern Kurdish city of Irbil killed 60 and wounded 150.

Apostrophe Supporters Mourn the Naming of Minn. Walkway

MINNEAPOLIS - Apostrophe boosters were in mourning at the University of Minnesota after it was decided to name a fancy new walkway the Scholars Walk, not the Scholar's Walk. "I'm terribly disappointed," said Larry Laukka, who leads the group developing the $4.5 million walkway. "I'll have to lick my wounds. But I'll get over it."

Almanac

Yesterday's high 62 Record high 94, 1928

Tonight

Mostly cloudy. Chance of rain 20 percent. Mid-40s low. Friday

Regional Weather

Akron 66 41 PCldy Atlanta 65 51 PCldy

National Weather

Anchorage 55 38 Rain Baltimore 58 45 Cldy

Nation & World

Two grenades explode outside British Consulate

Woman Sentenced in Death of Adopted Son: ; Woman to Spend 12 Years in Prison; for Killing 6-Year-Old

ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill. - A woman was sentenced to 12 years in prison for killing her 6-year-old son soon after she and her husband adopted him from Russia. Irma Pavlis was convicted last month of involuntary manslaughter but was acquitted of the more serious charge of first-degree murder in Alex's death. She had faced a maximum sentence of 14 years.