Local sports

ELK VALLEY FALLS

Elk Valley Christian fell 41-39 to Grace Christian out ofHuntington in the semifinals of the West Virginia Christian AthleticAssociation state girls basketball tournament at Appalachian BibleCollege in Beckley. The Eagles were led sophomore Sarah Swor's 17points and Laura Mitchell's 15.

Elk Valley rebounded to win the consolation game 54-33 over WoodCounty to finish the season 16-8 as Mitchell led the way with 23points and Swor added 16.

HERD BASEBALL

After dominating the home-standing North Carolina A&T Aggies in a10-1 opening game win, the Marshall baseball team self-destructedwith three first-inning errors in the second game, which …

U.S. Sets Missile Defense for Europe, Space

The Pentagon has plans to deploy missile interceptors in space and Europe over the next several years, even though it requested little or no funding for these activities in its latest budget proposal in February.

Speaking April 11 to a Washington audience, Missile Defense Agency (MDA) Director lieutenant General Henry Obering said he did not know if space-based missile interceptors would work, but argued they are "worth the experimentation." The general asserted there was "a lot of attractiveness" about space-based interceptors because of the broad coverage they could provide and their potential quick-response capability to an enemy's missile launch.

Obering said MDA did not …

Turkish prosecutors probe apology campaign

Turkey's state-run news agency says prosecutors are investigating whether an online apology by Turkish intellectuals for the World War I massacres of Armenians is unlawful.

The Anatolia news agency says the probe was launched after six people formally complained that the campaign violates a law making it illegal to "humiliate" the Turkish nation.

…

Silence those squeaky floorboards

Instead of walking around those squeaky floorboards, learn toquiet them. The solution can be as simple as driving a nail into theright spot.

Squeaks can be caused by loose boards rubbing against otherboards or against a nail, sagging or warped joists under the floor orwarped floorboards. These, in turn, may be caused by faulty originalconstruction, use of improperly seasoned lumber or just plain oldage.

Here's how to find the cause of the noise and then correct theproblem.

Wood floors are built of three layers: the floorboards, whichyou can see, the subflooring and the supports below, including thejoists and diagonal bridging between the joists. Since …

Ortiz and Ramirez Power BoSox Over Marlins

MIAMI - Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz each homered twice and combined to drive in nine runs, powering the Boston Red Sox to an 11-5 win over the Florida Marlins on Saturday night.

Boston's major league-record run of 17 consecutive errorless games ended with two miscues in the first inning, but the offense easily atoned for those mistakes. The Red Sox - who are 13-1 in their last 14 games - had 13 hits, including nine for extra bases. Former Marlin Mike Lowell tied a career high with three doubles.

Ramirez had a three-run homer - his 2,000th career hit - in an eventful first inning, then added a two-run shot in the fifth. Ortiz had a solo homer in the third, a two-run …

Hitchens enlists the help of world's 'greats' to support argument that God is not Great.

Christopher Hitchens believes it is time to disabuse people of several notions.

Mark Twain did not believe in God, Americans are not uncritically devout and an atheist can be president of the United States.

In fact, the extent of religion's hold on people, the British-born author, journalist and provocateur says, has been vastly exaggerated. Despite polls that suggest differently, people are not as religious as many think, he told The Associated Press in an interview.

"I knew that the zeitgeist of religion was changing _ that the parties of God would piss people off in their various forms: Republican or Shiite," Hitchens said.

…

Misleading doc makes it tough to level with him

Dear ABBY: I have an embarrassing dilemma. I have a baby with a man I am no longer with. Our romance ended before I knew I was pregnant. He is not in our lives anymore -- his decision. I have moved on and am now in a solid, loving relationship.

My problem is my OB/ GYN has always been under the impression that my child's biological father and I are together and that we're married. The father attended some of the obstetrical appointments with me and was even there for the birth.

When my doctor initially referred to him as "my husband," I didn't correct him because I didn't feel I needed to spill the beans about such a personal issue.

But now when I go for my annual …