Wire
Celebrities
SLIDELL, La. (AP) — The idea of dozens of hairstylists swinging hammers and driving nails may be outrageous to some, but to Vidal Sassoon, it makes perfect sense. “When you are a hairstylist, all you think about is making a person look and feel better,” the longtime celebrity hairdresser said. “It is a very special and giving craft.” The group swarmed a construction site Monday in Slidell, where Habitat for Humanity was building homes for ...
full story
Environmental group helping with emissions plan
TOPEKA (AP) — An organization helping the state develop a plan to reduce carbon emissions is being criticized for what opponents say are its ties to “alarmist” environmentalist groups. Conservatives and business groups said they’re afraid the Center for Climate Strategies may try to enforce an extreme agenda through its work with the Kansas Energy and Environmental Policy advisory group. People who have worked with the center in Arkansas a...
full story
K-State still in running as biodefense center site
TOPEKA (AP) — Kansas State University remains in the running as the site for the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility after the release of a federal report. The Manhattan campus is among five locations being considered for a $451 million lab that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security wants to build to replace an aging lab on Plum Island, N.Y. A decision is expected later this year, and the new lab could be operating by 2013. The Depa...
full story
Ask Amy
Dear AmyTEEN FEARS PERFORMANCE AT TALENT SHOW COULD PROVE EMBARRASSING DEAR AMY: I am 13 years old. My friends, “Margaret” and “Nancy”, and I are planning to perform in a talent show. I’m going to play the piano, and my two friends will sing. Nancy and I have never performed in a talent show before. However, Margaret was in last year’s talent show and she was a bit embarrassed when the girl she was singing with (one of her friends) sang poo...
full story
World Briefs
Zimbabwe’s Mugabe keeps campaigning, refuses to bow to pressure from Africa and the West HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Saying the world can “shout as loud as they like,” President Robert Mugabe refused to give into pressure from Africa and the West and vowed to go ahead with this week’s runoff election, even though his opponent quit the race. South Africa’s ruling party issued a toughly worded statement Tuesday calling on Mugabe’s government to...
full story
Kansas seeking more federal money for roads
KDOT to present legislators with new 10-year transportation plan next year TOPEKA (AP) — State transportation officials are worried they won’t have enough money to pay for planned highway projects because of decreased federal funds, unless Congress comes up with an additional $120 million to bridge the expected shortfall. “It has a serious impact on whether we have to cut some projects that have been scheduled or delay them,” Kansas Depart...
full story
Gas at $4 brings promises, pandering
Tom Raum Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Like two rival filling-station owners across the highway in long-bygone price wars, Democratic Sen. Barack Obama and Republican Sen. John McCain keep putting up flashy signs and offering new incentives in hopes of attracting customers battered by $4 gas prices. McCain is offering a summer break from the 18.4-cent federal gasoline tax, and holding out the promise of more offshore drilling ...
full story
University of Kansas seeks ban of unlicensed shirts
LAWRENCE (AP) — The University of Kansas’ athletic department is taking a Lawrence clothing store to federal court this week, seeking an order banning the store from selling unlicensed Jayhawk-related merchandise. While Kansas has gained newfound popularity this year with its success in football and a national championship in men’s basketball, department officials say their lawsuit isn’t about timing but protecting their right to manage, li...
full story
Tornado-hit Greensburg and Chapman bond
GREENSBURG (AP) — Two Kansas towns devastated by tornadoes a year apart have formed a bond in the wake of the disasters. The southwest Kansas town of Greensburg was mostly destroyed when an EF5 tornado — the highest level measured — hit on May 4, 2007. Chapman in north-central Kansas was struck by a lower-scale EF3 tornado earlier this month. Greensburg Mayor Bob Dixson said the destruction caused by the June 11 twister in Chapman might no...
full story
Celebrities
WACO, Texas (AP) — Ted Nugent is moving, but he doesn’t need to hunt very hard for a new pad. He’s moving back to an old one — and has some stuff to unload first. The transplanted Detroit rocker held an estate sale in Texas over the weekend, peddling big game trophies to make relocation to a nearby ranch a bit easier. “Hey, he’s still in Texas. He’s not going anywhere except on tour,” said James “Big Jim” Brown, who ran the sale and descri...
full story
Army manual centers on stability
John Milburn Associated Press Writer TOPEKA (AP) — A new Army field manual in production at Fort Leavenworth will stress a “whole-of-government” approach to combat. Officials say it is the first stability doctrine to meet the needs of forces already involved in operations. In a Military Review article written by Lt. Gen. William Caldwell IV, commanding general of Fort Leavenworth, and Lt. Col. Steven Leonard, of the fort’s Combined Arms D...
full story
State briefs
Spring crops thriving amid abundant rains WICHITA (AP) — The abundant rains that stalled the Kansas winter wheat harvest are helping spring-planted crops like corn and soybeans this season. Kansas Agricultural Statistics Service reports Monday that rain across the state varied widely this past week, with all counties receiving some moisture and a number of them getting more than one inch of rainfall. It report updates crop conditions: — ...
full story
Kansas needs poll workers
Sedgwick County may recruit high school, college students to fill open positions WICHITA (AP) — Several Kansas counties could have a shortage of poll workers for the coming elections. Bill Gale, Sedgwick County election commissioner, said polls are fully staffed for August primaries, but about 330 more workers will be needed for the November general election. “The bad thing about that is, when we’re short, that means more work for those t...
full story
Ask Amy
Dear AmyFRIENDLY RIVALRY AT GO-KART TRACK COULD BE GOOD FOR YOUNG TEENS DEAR AMY: I am a 13-year-old girl in a tough spot. One of my hobbies is racing go-karts, and I practice every Wednesday evening. Each week another girl, “Anabel,” is at the track too. Anabel and I used to be very close friends, but she has become very condescending toward me. I receive little support from her. Anabel is very open about how “good” she is and often give...
full story
Celebrities
LONDON (AP) — Temperamental model Naomi Campbell was sentenced to 200 hours of community service Friday after pleading guilty to assaulting two police officers after an “air rage” incident at Heathrow Airport. She was also ordered to pay 200 pounds ($400) to each of the police officers she attacked and 150 pounds ($300) to Miles Sutherland, the captain of the British Airways plane she disrupted, in addition to a 2,300 pound ($4,600) fine. ...
full story
Wedding-gown preservation: Protecting your investment
Samantha Critchell AP Fashion Writer You wouldn’t throw $1,056 out the window — not even if you’re a deliriously happy newlywed, right? That was the average gown price in the 2006 American Wedding Study, the most recent survey available by Brides magazine. After the wedding, many of those gowns don’t get cleaned, thus greatly diminishing their chances of ever being worn again. “Brides don’t skimp on their gowns but they don’t understand ...
full story
Heloise
FOR RELEASE SATURDAY, JUNE 21, 2008 Answers to Common Pet Questions Dear Readers: Here are some commonly asked pet questionsPET QUESTIONS. Give them a read and see if you know the answers. * Is your cat getting into your plants? You can do several things: Put the plants up and away from those prying paws. Put pine cones or rocks over the soil -- their paws won’t like that. Spray the leaves with a commercial anti-chew product....
full story
Last-place Blue Jays fire Gibbons and coaches, too
PITTSBURGH (AP) — John Gibbons was fired Friday by the last-place Toronto Blue Jays and replaced by Cito Gaston, who led the team to World Series titles in 1992 and 1993. The Blue Jays began the day 35-39, having lost five straight and 13 of their last 17 games to fall 10 1/2 games behind the first-place Boston Red Sox in the AL East. He is the third major league manager to be fired this week, following Willie Randolph of the New York Mets...
full story
Other Editors
The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Ky., on the constitutional rights of Guant√°namo detainees: It would be difficult to exaggerate the importance of Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling that prisoners at Guant√°namo Bay have a constitutional right to go before a federal judge and challenge their detention. The decision, by a narrow 5-4 margin, upholds the principle of habeas corpus, a pillar of American justice. By denying its application to the...
full story
Oddities
Toilet paper wedding dress wins national contest NEW YORK (AP) — Tourists gaped at six stunning wedding dresses displayed at Ripley’s Believe It or Not! in New York’s Times Square. The fashionable white frocks were fashioned entirely of toilet paper. Six dresses were displayed at the Times Square “odditorium” Thursday and three winning designers squared off for the top prize of $1,000. The judges from Ripley’s Believe it or Not!, Charmin...
full story