Augusta Chronicle, The

Today in History

1877 The second president of the Mormon Church, Brigham Young, died in Salt Lake City.

Lake Level Continues to Decline

Water levels at Thurmond Lake continued to slip Monday, rendering some docks and boat ramps unusable and triggering reductions in water releases from the dam into the Savannah River. "It's getting lower and lower, and people are starting to pull their boats out," said Barb Shelley, a facilitator for Friends of the Savannah River Basin, a citizens group.

In the Spotlight

NBC apologizes for timing of Emmy skit LOS ANGELES - The latest edition of the Emmy Awards proved that timing really is everything.

Cheaper Gas Sends Many Across River

Lilly Owens doesn't mind waiting in line for gasoline - if the price is right. The Grovetown resident was filling up her white Ford Explorer on Monday outside Greg's Gas Plus in North Augusta. Lines had formed outside the station as the price for a gallon of regular fell to $2.48.

Bush Vows Support for Rebuilding

BILOXI, Miss. - President Bush said Monday the huge job of rebuilding from Hurricane Katrina was just beginning a year after the massive storm but expressed hope that the $110 billion of help sent from Washington would be enough. Trying to erase the black mark left on his presidency by the administration's sluggish response to Katrina, Mr. Bush returned to the first scene he saw a year ago of the storm's devastation.

The Nation

White House stresses Iran sanction plans WASHINGTON - The Bush administration on Monday reaffirmed its intent to pursue U.N. sanctions against Iran if it defies an approaching deadline to halt its uranium enrichment.

Runway Change Could Be Culprit

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Investigators in the Comair jet crash that killed 49 people are looking into whether changes made to a taxiway during a repaving project a week ago confused the pilot and caused him to turn onto the wrong runway. Federal aviation officials said Monday they were also looking at such things as runway lights, markings and signs for clues to what could have misled the pilots, as well as anything else that changed the configuration or appearance of the airport.

The World

40 dead after hours of fighting in Iraq DIWANIYAH, Iraq - Shiite militiamen battled Iraqi forces for 12 hours Monday, leaving at least 40 people dead and underlining the government's struggle to rein in an anti-U.S. cleric. The U.S. announced nine soldiers killed during the weekend in separate fighting.

Annan Criticizes Israel, Hezbollah

BEIRUT, Lebanon - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan faulted both Israel and Hezbollah on Monday for not living up to key sections of the cease-fire resolution, while two more countries took steps to provide troops for an expanded peacekeeping force to secure the truce. Sitting beside Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, Mr. Annan demanded Hezbollah return two captured Israeli soldiers, whose July 12 abduction touched off the 34-day war, and said Israel must lift its air and sea blockade of L...

Jonbenet Ramsey Slaying Case Against Karr Dropped

BOULDER, Colo. - Prosecutors abruptly dropped their case against John Mark Karr in the slaying of JonBenet Ramsey, saying DNA tests failed to put him at the crime scene despite his repeated insistence he killed the 6-year-old beauty queen. In court papers, prosecutors suggested he had a twisted fascination with the little girl and confessed to a crime he didn't commit.

Ugandan Rebels Plan to Lay Down Weapons

KAMPALA, Uganda - The leaders of a shadowy rebel movement that has terrorized Ugandans for nearly two decades went on local radio with a special announcement: As of today, their war is over - the Lord's Resistance Army will stop fighting. The rebels, notorious for cutting off the tongues and lips of innocent civilians, enslaving tens of thousands of children and driving nearly 2 million people from their homes, have agreed to end one of the most brutal, but least known conflicts in the world.

Tragedy Helped Strengthen Survivors, Survey Indicates

BOSTON - In a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, a new survey reveals that the traumatized survivors of Hurricane Katrina forged a surprisingly powerful inner strength that steeled them against suicidal despair. The study is the most elaborate post-storm survey yet. It shows that although the survivors suffered twice as much mental illness as the pre-storm population, they contemplated suicide far less often than mentally ill people surveyed before Katrina.

Floridians Prepare for Worst

MIAMI - Florida residents rushed to fill their prescriptions and stood in long lines for gasoline, food and other supplies Monday as officials warned people not to wait for Tropical Storm Ernesto to become a hurricane again before taking precautions. Forecasters said Ernesto could grow back into a hurricane in the warm waters off Cuba and come ashore in South Florida as early as tonight, exactly one year after Hurricane Katrina pummeled the Gulf Coast.

Prostate Cancer Is Tricky to Treat

WASHINGTON - It took eight agonizing months for Charles Linzey to decide how to treat his early stage prostate cancer. His wife, in contrast, had her early stage breast cancer surgically removed only a month after diagnosis. It's not that the Baltimore businessman was less decisive. Instead, Mr. Linzey ran into a distressing reality: Unlike with breast cancer and many other malignancies, doctors simply couldn't tell him which therapy was a better bet for the leading male cancer.

Florida Braces for Wind, Rain

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Though no longer expected to arrive as a hurricane, Tropical Storm Ernesto still could batter South Florida with up to 10 inches of rain, flooding and wind gusts to 70 mph, starting today and into Thursday, forecasters warned. A tropical storm warning and hurricane watch have been extended north along Florida's Gulf coast. The warning and watch now extend on the state's west coast to Bonita Beach down through the Florida Keys and to Vero Beach on Florida's Atlantic ...

Augusta Journalist Was Scheduled On Flight 5191

A few extra hours added to a weekend trip likely saved the life of an Augusta journalist who otherwise would have boarded a commuter plane that crashed Sunday in Lexington, Ky. Jenna Susko, a reporter for television station WJBF (Channel 6), was a ticketed passenger for Comair Flight 5191, which departed Lexington's Blue Grass Airport for Atlanta and crashed just after 6 a.m. Sunday, said Mark Rosen, the Augusta station's news director.