Charleston Daily Mail

$709 Million Coal Deal in Works: ; Move Will Make Peabody Spinoff 7th Largest in U.S.

Patriot Coal Corp., the company spun off last year by Peabody, announced it is buying Magnum Coal Co. of Charleston in a $709 million deal that creates the second-largest coal producer in Central Appalachia. Patriot is headquartered in St. Louis but has a regional office in Laidley Tower, 500 Lee St. E. Magnum's headquarters is on the ninth floor of Laidley Tower.

Interview Attempt Becomes Physical: ; Blankenship Says He Was Hit by Camera, Grabbed Reporters Shirt; Abc Says He Threatened Gunfire

Don Blankenship and an ABC-TV news reporter got into a tussle during an interview attempt in the parking lot of the Massey Energy chief's Kentucky office, but the two sides have different versions of the incident. Blankenship said he grabbed the reporter's shirt Tuesday but only after the reporter aggressively shoved a camera in his face and hit him in the chest with it.

Woman Drives Off Happy After Home Show: ; Contest Winner Claims Her Prize at White Dodge/Kia

Last week, Charleston resident Diane Hunt was stuck with an aging, gas-guzzling SUV that had chronic transmission problems. Now she's the proud owner of a new 2008 Kia Rio LX sedan worth $14,375, and it didn't cost her a penny.

Dog Saves Woman in House Fire: ; Firefighters Say West Side Home a Total Loss

Kimberly Witzke was awakened from a deep sleep in her West Side home this morning by a desperate pawing at her mid-section. It was her dog, Baby, who sensed something was wrong.

Nursing Student Dies in Accident

WHEELING - A WVU School of Nursing senior honors student slated to graduate in May has died of injuries received in a car wreck March 25 here on National Road. Heather Miller, 21, of Triadelphia, died Tuesday at the Ohio Valley Medical Center.

Manchin Signs Bills On Hunting Classes, Harsher Dui Penalties

West Virginia students will soon be able to learn firearms safety along with reading, writing and arithmetic. Principals at West Virginia's public schools have the option of whether to offer the elective, 10-hour course to students in grades six through 12.

State Ranks No. 4 for Pork Barrel Spending: ; About $108 Spent Per Resident in West Virginia

West Virginia ranks fourth in the amount of pork barrel spending per capita, according to a new report by a nonpartisan Washington, D.C. group. The state's congressional delegation raked in $325.8 million, or $180 per West Virginia resident, for fiscal year 2008, as reported in Citizens Against Government Waste's "2008 Pig Book."

Mich. Fifth-Grader Discovers Longstanding Smithsonian Mistake

ALLEGAN, Mich. - Is fifth-grader Kenton Stufflebeam smarter than the Smithsonian? On a winter break trip with his family to the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History, the 11-year-old southwestern Michigan boy noticed that a notation, in bold lettering, mistakenly identified the Precambrian as an era.

Experts Doubt Kids Would Act Out Plot: ; Juvenile Charges Being Filed Against Three of the Third-Graders Accused of; Planning Teacher Attack

WAYCROSS, Ga. - Allegations that third-graders hatched an elaborate plot to knock out, handcuff and stab their teacher were met with shock by neighbors and with doubt by psychiatry experts who said it is unlikely that children that young seriously intended to hurt anyone. Police say the plot at Center Elementary School began because the children, ages 8 to 10, were apparently angry after the teacher disciplined one of the students for standing on a chair.

Clinton, Obama Eye California for Funds: ; Democratic Candidates Now Attacking Mccain's Views On Iraq, Housing

WASHINGTON - In back-to-back stops, Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton are returning to a popular financial wellhead, raising money in California to help finance a heavy stretch of spending in April. Both Obama and Clinton are expected to report less money raised in March than they did in their banner fundraising performances in February. With their race for the Democratic nomination showing no signs of ending, tapping donors for more cash has new urgency.

Regional Weather

Hi Lo Otlk Akron 58 43 Rain

National Weather

Hi Lo Otlk Anchorage 40 33 Cldy

Nation & World

Jobless claims highest since 2005

Explosion Destroys Wis. Church: ; Gas Leak Also Levels 2 Homes; 7 People Injured

OCONOMOWOC, Wis. - Wayne Goetsch stood on a street corner behind a line of yellow police tape and shook his head. Half a block away, standing precariously amid a pile of rubble and wreckage, stood a red brick bell tower - all that remained of the First Baptist Church that served his family for three generations.

Kanawha City Group Meeting Tonight

The Kanawha City Community Association has scheduled a meeting to discuss changes coming to the area. The meeting is set for 7 p.m. today in the cafeteria at Horace Mann Middle School. Charleston Mayor Danny Jones and Police Chief Brent Webster will be on hand. Murad's will provide refreshments.

Marshall to Screen New Documentary On Hechler

HUNTINGTON - "Ken Hechler: In Pursuit of Justice," a two-hour documentary focusing on the life, career and legacy of the former West Virginia congressman and secretary of state will have its first public showing here on Saturday. Barbara Winters, dean of Marshall University Libraries, said the documentary will be shown at 7 p.m. in the Memorial Student Center's Don Morris Room. It is free and open to the public.

Schools Not Sure How to Spend Extra $667,000

Kanawha County school officials are trying to determine how to spend an additional $667,000 the state has allotted them thanks to changes in the school aid formula. Officials don't know whether they can spend the money as they see fit or whether they are required to spend it on additional nurses and counselors, they said at a Wednesday night board meeting.

State Orders Destruction of Cattle in Rabies Case

Agriculture Commissioner Gus R. Douglass has ordered the destruction of all cattle remaining at a Hampshire County farm where several animals tested positive for rabies. Douglass said he decided to have the 84 heifers killed after several began showing symptoms of rabies and more tests came back positive for the disease.

Composted Mulch Now Available

Charleston is selling cheap composted mulch Thursdays and Fridays until the supply runs out. You can fill the back of your pickup truck for $20 a load - or the workers at the hilltop compost facility in North Charleston will fill plastic trash bags with the stuff - 10 for $10.

Make-a-Wish Office Now in Atlas Building

The Charleston regional office of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Southern West Virginia has a new home, but phone and fax numbers have remained the same. The office is now at 1031 Quarrier St., Suite 401, Charleston, 25301. The telephone number is 342-9474, and the fax number is 345- 6568.