Charleston Daily Mail

Charleston Daily Mail Neediest Cases Appeal: ; Single Mom Needs Working Stove to Cook Meals for 5 Children

Case No. 9 She's a 27-year-old single mother of five small children.

Private Funding Eyed for Schools

As school systems around the state struggle with aging facilities and a lack of finances, at least one county is seriously considering teaming up with private developers to build new schools. It would be an unprecedented move for cash-strapped Preston County, which has been unable to pass bonds to replace several old schools.

W.Va. Exports Most Crime Guns

West Virginia led the nation per capita last year for supplying the most guns recovered in out-of-state crimes, according to a study by a bipartisan group of 343 U.S. mayors. The report ranks West Virginia No. 1 for exporting crime guns at a rate of 41 per 100,000 inhabitants, nearly four times the national average.

Coal-to-Gas Project: ; $3 Billion; Plant Is Proposed

ROANOKE - Gov. Joe Manchin and Adam Victor, president of TransGas Development Systems of New York City, today announced the company's plan to build a $3 billion coal-to-gas liquids plant in Mingo County. Victor said the plant would consume 8,500 tons of coal a day to produce 18,000 barrels of gasoline. He said it would create 3,000 construction jobs and 200 permanent jobs.

Woman Returns Pow Bracelet to Pilot's Widow: ; a Promise Kept

In 1971, high school student Sue Graham bought a bracelet engraved with the name of a POW in Vietnam and promised to give it to him upon his release. This week, she made good on her vow.

Two Hurt in Attacks On Ships in Philippines

MANILA, Philippines - Suspected extortionists armed with automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades attacked two cargo ships docked at a southern Philippine port, wounding two crew members, the military and coast guard said today. Gunmen on two small boats opened fire on the MV Aaron Keith and the MV Ramona at the port of Kalamansig township in Sultan Kudarat province late Monday night, the coast guard said in a statement. The statement said the gunmen were known to be involved in extorti...

Deal Near On $15 Billion Auto Bailout

WASHINGTON - A federal "car czar" would oversee a government-run restructuring of U.S. auto companies in return for a $15 billion bailout of the beleaguered industry under an emerging deal between the White House and Congress. Negotiators worked through the night Monday narrowing differences on a bill to rush short-term loans to the struggling carmakers through a plan that requires that the industry reinvent itself to survive - and pay back the government if it doesn't. The package could come...

Manchins Send Christmas Greetings: ; Card Is the Last in Series of Four That Shows Different Views of the Governor's Mansion

The focus of this year's Christmas card from Gov. Joe Manchin and First Lady Gayle Manchin is hope. The front of the card shows a sketch of the Governor's Mansion from the southeast corner. In the lower center there's a depiction of the "Garden of Hope" planted in front of the mansion last year by the American Cancer Society in honor of the state's cancer survivors.

Police Say Calif. Teen Was Shackled to Fireplace, Starved

STOCKTON, Calif. - Three people appeared in court on charges of kidnapping and torturing a 16-year-old boy who an investigator said had been kept chained in a fireplace, choked with a belt and denied food for days at a time during more than a year in captivity. The emaciated boy fled a home in Tracy last week with a chain around his ankle and sought help at a local gym.

Auction Sells Right to Name Bat Species

INDIANAPOLIS - Searching for a truly original holiday gift, one that could bestow a bit of immortality on a loved one or a friend? If so, Purdue University has the goods: The school is auctioning the naming rights to seven newly discovered bats and two turtles. Winning bidders will be able to link a relative, friend or themselves to an animal's scientific name for the ages.

Indian Woman, 70, Says She's a New Mother

NEW DELHI - An Indian woman who claims to be about 70 years old has given birth to her first child, her doctor said. Rajo Devi delivered a baby girl by Caesarean section last month, said Dr. Anurag Bishnoi of the National Fertility Center in northern Haryana state.

Prescription Pistol Plan Backfires As Fda Pulls Registration

WASHINGTON - It could have been the world's first prescription pistol. The single-bullet Palm Pistol set the Internet abuzz with speculation that Medicare might even pay for the elderly and disabled to have a weapon. But Monday the Food and Drug Administration said the Palm Pistol doesn't have a shot of being listed as a medical device, and revoked the registration issued to its inventor only last week.

Forecasts

Almanac Yesterday's high 46

Regional Weather

Hi Lo Otlk Akron 36 35 Cldy

National Weather

Hi Lo Otlk Anchorage 26 22 Snow

Nation & World

Hong Kong again facing bird flu

Newspapers Are Still Being Recycled

Newspaper customers are urged to keep bringing their old papers to Charleston Newspapers' downtown recycling bin, despite the bottom dropping out of the recycling market. The Charleston Daily Mail and Gazette sell old newspaper and office paper to the same supplier that provides the newsprint to print both newspapers. Craig Selby, president and general manager of Charleston Newspapers, said the supplier can use all the recyclable paper it can get, even with the recent drop in recycling prices.

Police Thwart Attempted Theft in Kanawha City, Arrest 4

Police arrested four Kanawha County residents after breaking up a scheme to steal from a truck driver at a Kanawha City truck stop. Charleston detectives were conducting surveillance around the Go- Mart Truck Stop on MacCorkle Avenue on Friday after receiving multiple complaints about prostitutes robbing truck drivers at the truck stop.

W.Va. Hospitals Propose Changes to Regulations

Hospitals believe West Virginia should keep rules meant to control health care spending, but they also want some wiggle room to help them compete with doctors, the head of their lobbying arm told lawmakers. For months, lawmakers have been studying certificate of need regulations.

Gat Caperton Appointed to United Bank Board

Gat Caperton, the son of former West Virginia Gov. Gaston Caperton, has been named to the board of directors of United Bank Inc., the West Virginia banking subsidiary of United Bankshares Inc. The election of Caperton, of Berkeley Springs, was made by the board and announced by Richard M. "Rick"Adams Jr., president of United Bank, Inc.