al.com: NewsFlash

• Tropical Storm Fay floods hundreds of Fla. homes 8/20/2008, 7:27 p.m. CDT
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — Emergency crews launched airboats into submerged streets Wednesday to rescue central Florida residents trapped by rising floodwaters from a stalled Tropical Storm Fay, which soaked the state for a third consecutive day.

• Official: Procedures bypassed when Schmitz hired 8/20/2008, 7:10 p.m. CDT
DECATUR, Ala. (AP) — The former president of Central Alabama Community College testified Wednesday that normal procedures were bypassed when state Rep. Sue Schmitz was hired to do public relations for a program to help troubled teenagers.

• Tennessee lottery numbers 8/20/2008, 6:49 p.m. CDT
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Here are the winning numbers selected Wednesday in the Tennessee state lottery:

• Tropical Storm Fay floods hundreds of Fla. homes 8/20/2008, 6:20 p.m. CDT
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — Emergency crews launched airboats into submerged streets Wednesday to rescue central Florida residents trapped by rising floodwaters from a stalled Tropical Storm Fay, which soaked the state for a third consecutive day.

• Alabama's infant mortality rate continues to climb 8/20/2008, 6:11 p.m. CDT
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama's infant mortality rate has risen again and health officials are anxious to get to the bottom of the problem.

• USGA-US Amateur Championship Results 8/20/2008, 5:56 p.m. CDT
(AP) — Robbie Fillmore, Provo, Utah (134) def. Ross Beal, Uniontown, Ohio (145), 3 and 2.

• Ala. gov talks trade with South Korean ambassador 8/20/2008, 5:54 p.m. CDT
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The majority of Korean consumers have embraced the arrival of U.S. beef after the country lifted a ban on the imports earlier this year following mad cow disease concerns, South Korean Ambassador Lee Tae-sik said Wednesday, despite protests that suggest otherwise.

• Judges support Tenn. school's Confederate flag ban 8/20/2008, 5:42 p.m. CDT
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A federal appeals court panel ruled Wednesday in favor of a Tennessee school system that banned the Confederate battle flag because of concerns the symbol could inflame racial tensions at a high school.

• TVA gives second look at finishing Ala reactors 8/20/2008, 5:36 p.m. CDT
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Valley Authority is giving a second look at finishing two nuclear reactors in Alabama that the agency virtually abandoned 20 years ago.

• Alabama to charge obese state employees more 8/20/2008, 5:20 p.m. CDT
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama state employees who are obese or have three other health problems will eventually have to pay extra for health insurance if they don't try to control them.

• Alabama insurance chief heading to Swiss Re 8/20/2008, 3:55 p.m. CDT
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — Alabama Insurance Commissioner Walter Bell on Sept. 2 will become chairman of Swiss Re America Holding Corp., the world's largest re-insurance company.

• Hartsock wants no part of Crumpler comparisons 8/20/2008, 3:54 p.m. CDT
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — For anyone tempted to compare the starting tight ends for Tennessee and Atlanta on Friday night, Ben Hartsock would like to make one point clear.

• Wash. County commissioner held on ethics charge 8/20/2008, 3:46 p.m. CDT
McINTOSH, Ala. (AP) — A county commissioner in rural southwest Alabama was arrested Wednesday and charged with threatening a grand jury witness, using his office for personal gain and related offenses.

• TVA approves largest rate increase in 34 years 8/20/2008, 3:35 p.m. CDT
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Valley Authority on Wednesday approved its largest electric rate increase in more than 30 years, citing skyrocketing fuel costs and a three-year drought that has sharply reduced its ability to generate cheap hydroelectric power.

• Official: Procedures bypassed when Schmitz hired 8/20/2008, 3:34 p.m. CDT
DECATUR, Ala. (AP) — The former president of Central Alabama Community College testified Wednesday that normal procedures were bypassed when state Rep. Sue Schmitz was hired to do public relations for a program to help troubled teenagers.

• CORRECTION: Rising Tuition story 8/20/2008, 2:11 p.m. CDT
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — In an Aug. 17 story about rising tuition at universities in Alabama, The Associated Press reported erroneously on the tuition at the University of Montevallo. The tuition and mandatory fees are $6,650 for two semesters of 15 credit hours each, not one semester.

• ACLU appeals federal decision in Ga. prayer case 8/20/2008, 12:36 p.m. CDT
ATLANTA (AP) — Civil liberties attorneys Wednesday urged a federal appeals panel to block a suburban Atlanta county from allowing clergy to open meetings with Christian prayers, although the judges seemed reluctant to overturn a lower court's ruling upholding the practice.

• Ardmore student accused of killing plot to be tried as adult 8/20/2008, 11:37 a.m. CDT
ARDMORE, Ala. (AP) — A teenager accused of planning to kill as many as 10 students and teachers at Ardmore High School on the first day of class will be tried as an adult.

• Companies bid millions to tap Western Gulf 8/20/2008, 11:35 a.m. CDT
WASHINGTON (AP) — Energy companies have placed $487.3 million in winning bids for the right to drill in the western Gulf of Mexico, knowing that they may get a chance later to also explore in other areas that have been off limits for decades.

• Ruling lets stand school's Confederate flag ban 8/20/2008, 11:26 a.m. CDT
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A federal appeals court panel has ruled in favor of a Tennessee high school that banned students from wearing clothing with the Confederate battle flag after several racial incidents.

• City enacts tough curfew law for youth 8/20/2008, 11:24 a.m. CDT
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — The Birmingham City Council, on an 8-1 vote, has approved a stiff curfew for youngsters.

• Western Supermarket in Birmingham hits 60-year milestone 8/20/2008, 11:13 a.m. CDT
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Ken Hubbard earned some of his tuition to the University of Alabama in 1960 by working as a bagger at Western Supermarket's Five Points West store.

• Study finds minorities more likely to be paddled 8/20/2008, 10:25 a.m. CDT
WASHINGTON (AP) — Paddlings, swats, licks. A quarter of a million schoolchildren got them last year, and a study says blacks, American Indians and kids with disabilities got a disproportionate share of the punishment.

• Bonds set for 2 men facing Miss. kidnapping, other charges 8/20/2008, 10:06 a.m. CDT
MERIDIAN, Miss. (AP) — Bonds have been set for two men accused of of multiple charges, including tying up an 80-year-old Lauderdale County resident during a robbery and then attempting to outrun lawmen.

• Former SEC chair to help with Ala. stock probe 8/20/2008, 9:51 a.m. CDT
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A former chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is assisting the Alabama Securities Commission with an investigation of short sellers and false rumors involving Montgomery-based Colonial BancGroup.

• 4 agencies search for clues in deadly house fire 8/20/2008, 9:36 a.m. CDT
RUSSELLVILLE, Ala. (AP) — Four agencies are combining resources in an effort to determine what caused a weekend house fire that killed a 6-year-old boy in Russellville.

• Tropical Storm Fay hugs Florida's Atlantic coast 8/20/2008, 8:26 a.m. CDT
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Tropical Storm Fay meandered north along the Florida Atlantic coast today but did not immediately head out over the ocean, lessening the chances it will gain strength and become a hurricane.

• City enacts tough curfew law for youth 8/20/2008, 8:21 a.m. CDT
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — The Birmingham City Council, on an 8-1 vote, has approved a stiff curfew for youngsters.

ALABAMA NEWS