Charleston Daily Mail

Underwood Remembered: ; Admirers Say He Made West Virginia a Better Place

Gov. Cecil Underwood is remembered by loved ones for the gamut of qualities that caused him to become one of West Virginia's iconic political figures. At his memorial service Monday, friends and family members described him as a tall, shy, handsome jokester who was always determined to better West Virginia and its residents.

Water Rate Hike Is Opposed

Both the state Public Service Commission staff and the commission's Consumer Advocate Division have come out in opposition to West Virginia-American Water's request for a 12.37 percent rate increase. In fact, both are recommending a rate decrease.

Charleston Daily Mail Neediest Cases Appeal: ; Helping West Virginia Families Since 1961; Clothing, Basic Furniture Would Make Big Difference in Woman's Life

Case No. 4 It's not easy to be proud and independent when you need help from others to get through each day.

Mom Pleads Not Guilty in Atv Crash

A Sissonville mother pleaded not guilty to charges of child neglect relating to injuries her toddler suffered after being thrown from an all terrain vehicle. Tara Thaxton, 22, of Allen's Fork was indicted by a grand jury in September on charges of child neglect resulting in substantial injury or death and gross child neglect resulting in injury.

St. Albans to Replace Pipes, Upgrade Water System

St. Albans City Council voted to replace 333,000 feet of water lines in the city limits that are more than 80 years old and in desperate need of repair. Council agreed Monday night to sell $2.735 million in bonds to improve the St. Albans water treatment plant, water lines and sewage system.

Adviser Allegedly Raffled Night with Prostitute

COLUMBUS, Ohio - An Ohio State University academic adviser and a real estate agent held a $10-a-ticket raffle that offered an evening with a prostitute who is also a child sex-abuse caseworker, police said. Christopher S. Johnson, 33, an academic adviser at OSU's School of Nursing, organized the raffle through a Craigslist.com chat board, police said. Real estate agent Rusty Blades, 42, held the invitation-only party at his house in October for the participants.

Manchin to Meet: ; Obama; Governor Will Attend Conference of State Leaders to Discuss Financial Woes

Gov. Joe Manchin and other governors were scheduled to meet with President-elect Barack Obama today in Philadelphia. Expected to top the agenda: The economy. The National Governors Association meeting was expected to focus on how the federal government can help the states get through the recession.

Weather Almanac

Yesterday's high 42 Record high 74, 2006

Regional Weather

Hi Lo Otlk Akron 40 25 PCldy

National Weather

Hi Lo Otlk Anchorage 22 11 Cldy

Teen Shows Up Bruised, Chained at Calif. Gym

SAN FRANCISCO - Police are questioning a couple after a bruised and half-naked 17-year-old boy showed up at a gym with a chain locked to his ankle, claiming he had just fled his captors, authorities said. Matt Robinson, a spokesman for Tracy police, said authorities believe the teen was held against his will in Tracy - a city about 60 miles east of San Francisco - after he ran away from a Sacramento foster home in 2007.

Pirates Attempt to Hijack U.S. Ship: ; All Passengers, Crew On Cruise Liner Are Safe

NAIROBI, Kenya - Pirates near Somalia chased and shot at a U.S. cruise liner with more than 1,000 people on board but failed to hijack the vessel, a maritime official said today. The liner, carrying 656 international passengers and 399 crew members, was sailing in the Gulf of Aden on Sunday when it encountered six pirates in two speedboats, said Noel Choong who heads the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center in Malaysia.

It's Official: We're in a Recession: ; Stocks Plummet On News That Economy Is in a Downward Spiral

WASHINGTON - Put it in the history books: The country was officially diagnosed with a job-killing recession, and woeful new evidence showed it's getting worse. Wall Street convulsed at the news, tanking 680 points, and Washington pledged even more help to try to ease the pain. With the economic pain likely to stretch well into 2009, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Monday he stands ready to lower interest rates yet again and to explore other rescue or revival measures.

Nation & World

Saddam's cousin sentenced to death

Teen Killed As Van Hits Calif. Students

SOUTH GATE, Calif. - A 14-year-old boy is dead after a van jumped a curb and crashed into several students at a bus stop in Southern California. South Gate Police Lt. Russ Galbreath says the driver struck several students after classes let out at a nearby middle school.

Man Said He Shot Tiger After It Ambushed Him: ; Christmas Comes to the Capitol

The owner of an escaped tiger in Pocahontas County said the animal ambushed him in snow-filled woods so he had to shoot it dead. David Cassell and a state conservation officer had been looking for the female tiger since Sunday, when Cassell noticed it squeezed through a hole in a chain-link cage on his exotic animal farm, said Hoy Murphy, spokesman for the state Division of Natural Resources.

Court Weighs Power Plant Costs Vs. Protecting Fish

WASHINGTON - Environmentalists and electricity producers squared off today at the Supreme Court over the use of billions of gallons of water to cool power plants and whether enough is being done to protect fish and aquatic organisms. At the heart of the fight is whether a federal law protecting fish, their eggs and larvae from water intake systems allows the government to exempt 554 older power plants from installing the same safeguards as new plants because of the cost.

Delta Details Planned Capacity Cuts

ATLANTA - Delta Air Lines says it will reduce consolidated system capacity by 6 percent to 8 percent in 2009, compared to the current year. The Atlanta-based carrier's president, Ed Bastian, is speaking to investors Tuesday during a conference in New York.

Pilgrim's Pride Files for Bankruptcy Protection

Pilgrim's Pride Corp., the nation's largest chicken producer and a major employer in Hardy County, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The Pittsburg, Texas-based company was hurt like other meat producers by volatile feed prices and slumping demand but also hobbled by an unmanageable debt load.

Business Briefs

Allegheny buys land for new office