WASHINGTON Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. — State Medicaid programs routinely pay much more for prescription drugs than do many businesses, hospitals and the Veterans Affairs Department, federal investigators said Wednesday. Lawmakers as well as the Bush administration cited the study in…

COLUMBUS, Ohio Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. — Connie Ayres lost her 16-year-old daughter in a car crash in 1996. The next year she learned that a county morgue was using the autopsy photos in a slide show to help fight drunken…

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. — It’s not often that an industry brags when sales are down. But the American Beverage Association sounds almost proud when it declares in a report being released Thursday that the amount of non-diet soft drinks sold…

LOS ANGELES Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. — Long after the terrorist attacks on America, TV and film producers only tiptoed around certain hot-button issues, avoiding anything close to realism. Now, four-plus years after 9/11, Showtime is breaking through full-bore with “Sleeper…

WASHINGTON Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. — Motorcycles and skiers, baseball players and lovers, a 40-stamp series featuring America’s biggest, tallest and deepest, from sea cliffs to bison to waterfalls and lakes. They’re all commemoratives planned for next year by the U.S.…

WASHINGTON Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. — Commercial fisheries in the U.S. kill a pound of fish for every four pounds intentionally caught, jeopardizing efforts to restore some struggling stocks, scientists said Wednesday. A tally of the nation’s yearly unintentional “bycatch” —…

By James Clark / Columnist Don’t you just love construction? I’ve always said there should be no such thing as “unexpected construction delays.” That term should cease to exist.Delays should always be expected any time you’re dealing with construction/renovation work where any of the following items might be used: 1) a hammer; 2) a ladder;…

Our Viewpoint Members of McMinnville’s Board of Mayor and Alderman are on track with the idea to require city residents to license their dogs.Requiring a small license fee will help with the cost of animal control, but the best part of the idea is having a dual fee structure for the license fee. People who…

Our Viewpoint The Standard was recently critical of school board members and county commissioners for their bickering surrounding the new Centertown School.Now that the controversy appears to be settled, the Standard is glad to see cooler heads prevailed. There was no reason to pick a fight when both sides wanted the same goal – to…

Birth Announcements Baby GirlLakelynn LeeAnn Whittaker was born Oct. 13 at River Park Hospital weighing 7 pounds, 9 ounces. She is the daughter of Samantha Whittaker and Curtis Jordan. Her big sister is Alexis Whittaker. Grandparents include Lesley Elrod, Danny Elrod and JoAnn and Randy Jordan. Great-grandmothers are Julia Whittaker and Betty Jordan. Baby GirlMelissa…