Charleston Daily Mail

Appalachian Sees New High in Power Use: ; Another Record Expected Today As Temperatures Climb Into the Upper 90s

Appalachian Power set a summer record for electricity use on Tuesday and might set another record today, spokeswoman Jeri Matheney said. Electricity demand peaked Tuesday at 6,455 megawatts, Matheney said. The previous summer peak of 6,401 megawatts was set last August.

Dick Henderson Memorial Bridge: ; Officials to Ask for Fast Action On Bridge; State Plans to Replace Crossing in 2013

State highway officials don't plan to begin work on a replacement for the 73-year-old bridge connecting St. Albans and Nitro until 2013, which mayors of both cities say is unacceptable. Nitro Mayor Rusty Casto and St. Albans Mayor Dick Callaway say they have safety concerns about the aging two-lane bridge.

Adventurous Governor Crawls Into Torpedo Tube: ; Manchin Spends a Few Days Aboard Submarine

DAILY MAIL CAPITOL REPORTER The only times Gov. Joe Manchin had ever stepped foot onto a submarine were at those old touristy sites featuring retired watercraft.

Kanawha County Tables Referendum: ; Will Track Jobs Lure Folks Home?; Table Game Backers Say Growth Will Let State Natives Return, Others Skeptical

If voters approve table games Saturday, Tri-State Racetrack & Gaming Center executives believe they'll have no trouble filling the 1,000 jobs the games will create. Tri-State Racetrack has advertised that if Kanawha County voters approve table games, 1,000 jobs will be created, with many paying "an average of $35,000 annually - after tips," and including benefits.

Ex-Senator, Husband Plead Guilty to Mail, Tax Fraud Charges

A former West Virginia state senator pleaded guilty to federal mail and tax fraud charges. Lisa Smith admitted Tuesday she failed to pay the IRS more than $86,000 withheld for taxes from her employees' wages when it was due in 2002.

Police Say Man Beat His Wife to Death

A Jackson County man has been charged with first-degree murder in the beating death of his wife. Steven Lee Mahood, 38, is being held without bond at South Central Regional Jail.

Regional Weather

Hi Lo Otlk Akron 88 68 PCldy

Weather Almanac

Yesterday's high 95 Record high 105, 1918

Forecasts

Tonight Partly cloudy and humid with lows in the lower 70s.

National Weather

Hi Lo Otlk Anchorage 69 51 Clr

Purple Heart Award Marks 225 Years

NEW WINDSOR, N.Y. - Gen. George Washington created a heart- shaped award made from purple fabric as his battle-weary troops camped here 225 years ago. Since then, Purple Hearts have been awarded to roughly 1.5 million U.S. service men and women wounded or killed in combat in such far-off locations as the beaches of Normandy, the jungles of Vietnam, and now, increasingly, in Iraq and Afghanistan.

North, South Korean Leaders Set Summit

SEOUL, South Korea - The leaders of North and South Korea, capitalizing on progress in shutting down the North's nuclear program, plan to meet later this month for the second-ever summit between the longtime foes, officials said today. North Korean leader Kim Jong Il will host South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun from Aug. 28-30 in Pyongyang, North Korea's capital, South Korean presidential security adviser Baek Jong-chun told reporters.

Mine Rescue Effort Set Back a Week

HUNTINGTON CANYON, Utah - Dangerous conditions that forced rescuers to halt attempts to reach six trapped miners will prevent crews from reaching the men for at least a week, a mining executive said. Seismic activity "wiped out" all progress rescuers had made in clearing rubble that has trapped the miners since Monday, said mining company executive Robert E. Murray, chairman of Murray Energy Corp., owner of the Crandall Canyon mine.

Nation & World

Passenger hides monkey, smuggles it onto plane

Woman Plows Into Logan Chiropractor's Office

Woman Plows Into Logan Chiropractor's Office

DAILY MAIL STAFF A woman plowed her Pontiac Sunfire into Dr. Cliff Hill's chiropractic office in Logan on a day when seven patients fortuitously cancelled or changed their appointments.

Md. Man Charged with Kidnapping Woman, Child

MARRIOTTSVILLE, Md. - A West Virginia woman and her 6-year-old daughter are safe after a kidnapping ordeal that ended with the arrest of the woman's former boyfriend in College Park, Maryland State Police said. A frantic woman made a 911 call Saturday night as she drove west on Interstate 70 in Howard County, saying someone was trying to kill her, police said. When troopers arrived, they found an empty Nissan Sentra overturned in the median.

Nitro Treasurer Regains Job On 3-2 Vote by City Council

Nitro officially has a treasurer again. Council members voted 3-2 to reinstate Tifney Terry to the position. She had been removed from the job following a circuit judge's ruling that Terry had violated the law by not posting a bond within 60 days of her appointment last year as city treasurer.

Police and Courts

Man charged with sexually assaulting girl

Woman Sues City Doctor Over Burns

A lawsuit alleges that a Charleston doctor burned a woman's face, throat and lungs during surgery. According to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Kanawha Circuit Court, Alice Jameson went to Dr. James M. Henderson to have a mole surgically removed from her nose on Jan. 17, 2006. As part of the procedure, she was given oxygen through her nasal cavity, the suit contends.