By Rob Nunley Make no mistake, the past few weeks have been a scary time to be a parent in Warren County.Stories of mystery stalkers, suspicious photographers and attempted abductions are not to be taken lightly at any time, and especially not these days, when amber alerts and hunts for missing children from around the…

By ROB NUNLEY / Sports Editor for the Southern Standard Warren County soccer player Jorge Vasquez momentarily loses his footing while going after the ball as he is defended by Riverdale’s Shaun Willis during Tuesday night’s game. (Rob Nunley photo) The stage is set for a pivotal District 7-AAA soccer matchup this Saturday night.Unfortunately, the…

LONDON (AP) — The most convincing research so far suggests that being fat in your 40s might raise your risk of developing dementia later in life. In a study that followed more than 10,000 Californians for almost 30 years, researchers found that the fatter people were, the greater their risk for Alzheimer’s disease or other…

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — It’s been three years since muscular dystrophy put 15-year-old Darius Weems in a wheelchair. Living in an apartment on the outskirts of town, where his wheelchair would fit only in his bedroom and the living room, Darius had nothing to look forward to. He’d never left Georgia. Never seen the ocean.…

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Fewer Americans have had to breathe unhealthy levels of smog or microscopic soot in recent years, but air pollution remained a threat in counties where more than half the nation lives, the American Lung Association said in an annual report Thursday. Using data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the group…

PIKEVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Folks in this eastern Kentucky town are demanding an apology from the A&E network after an episode of “City Confidential” that they say was unflattering and unfair. “Obviously, being labeled the town from hell can not be interpreted in any way as positive,” City Manager Donovan Blackburn wrote in a letter…

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress narrowly passed a $2.6 trillion budget Thursday that would cut back spending on the Medicaid health care program for the first time since 1997 in a step toward trimming federal deficits. The Senate voted 52-47 to approve the blueprint of tax and spending priorities just hours after the House passed it…

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush, trying to set off a depth charge under Social Security negotiations, on Thursday proposed asking future middle and higher-income retirees to accept smaller benefit checks than they’re currently slated to receive. In a prime-time news conference, Bush said a system in which benefits for low-income workers “grow faster than for…

Thomas Adams, 11, of Tulsa, Okla. poses Tuesday with the petition page of his web site, “saveourlooneytoons.com” which he launched to protest a new show Warner Brothers plans to introduce this fall. (AP Photo) TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Eleven-year-old Thomas Adams thought Warner Bros. had gone daffy when he saw the company’s plans for a…