McMinnville resident and Warren County native Pamela Gail Baker Cook, 36, died June 29 at River Park Hospital after a four-month illness. An employee of Federal Mogul in Smithville and a member of the Church of Christ, she was the daughter of Charles A. and Pearline Baker of McMinnville and is also survived by her…

WASHINGTON (AP) The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that President Bush overstepped his authority in ordering military war crimes trials for Guantanamo Bay detainees. The ruling, a strong rebuke to the administration and its aggressive anti-terror policies, was written by Justice John Paul Stevens, who said the proposed trials were illegal under U.S. law and international…

WASHINGTON (AP) Social Security numbers and other personal data on 26.5 million veterans and military troops were not copied from a Veterans Affairs computer missing for eight weeks, the FBI said Thursday. The recovery of the laptop and external drive was a ?positive note in this very sad saga,? VA Secretary Jim Nicholson said. ?This…

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) Arkansas cannot ban homosexuals from becoming foster parents because there is no link between their sexual orientation and a child?s well-being, the state?s high court ruled Thursday. The court agreed with a lower court judge that the state?s child welfare board had improperly tried to regulate public morality. The ban also…

SELMER, Tenn. (AP) WINKLER A minister’s wife charged with murdering her husband ?is not a violent person? and should be freed from jail to get back with her three young children and begin a new life while awaiting trial, her lawyer says. ?She?s not a threat to the community at large or to herself,? defense…

NASHVILLE (AP) Students at Tennessee?s colleges and universities will likely see the smallest tuition increase in a decade because of a generous appropriation by the General Assembly, officials say. A business and finance committee of the Tennessee Board of Regents approved a 4.1 percent hike on Thursday and the full board is expected to endorse…

To the Editor: In a recent edition of the Standard, I have seen the following headlines. On the top, one headline said ?Property owners brace for tax hike? and at the bottom another headline says ?Garbage controversy causes stink. Commissioners debate what trash county should accept.? On June 14, I had the privilege of being…

James Clark Congress has determined it?s still legal to burn the American flag. And this news comes just in time for the Fourth of July. Think of the possibilities. After gulping down potato salad and homemade ice cream this Tuesday, it?s OK to mix in a few flags when lighting sparklers for the kids. When…

Cokie & Steven Roberts Hurricane season is here. With predictions of more major storms headed for the battered Gulf Coast, emergency planners tell us they’re prepared — that Katrina and Rita have taught them hard-learned lessons. Right at the top of the list of last year’s mistakes: no one considered the needs of children. There’s…

TO THE EDITOR: Just because one person in a family has been charged with a crime, doesn?t mean the entire family should have to pay. I know the Jacobs family didn’t have anything to do with what their son is accused of doing. Remember, he still hasn?t been convicted! The Mathis family probably didn?t have…