American War Dead In Iraq now at 3652

Oh- but this is the "lowest monthly death toll this year" so says a American general.

Oh- but July was the SECOND DEADLIEST month this year for Iraqis- according to the AP article containing all this continually-depressing news.

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KANSAS CITY MetroRegion's BREAKING NEWS: Structure Fires In KC-MO - Ray County-MO

Structure fires at the two locations came in at virtually the same moment- 12:13 pm.

*** The KC-MO fire is at the "Hi-Line Motel" in the 15000 block of East U.S. 40 highway. There was a "fire in the walls" of one of the motel's bungalows there.
That fire's been brought under control with no reports of injuries as of this writing...

*** The other is a house fire in a Crystal Lakes subdivision- northeast of Excelsior Springs in the 31200 block of Mark Drive.
This is a working firefight right now in a "2-story single-family" house- with fire crews from Wood Heights- Excelsior and Lawson-MO on the attack.
Apparently there is some injury- as it's said an EMS crew is "looking over the homeowner" for unknown problems.

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CENTRAL STATES WEATHER UPDATE MAP

The image below depicts all watches and/or warnings in effect for the Central U.S.. Note the number of Kansas counties covered in flash flood warnings- from the Topeka Metro northwest to north of Concordia-KS.



I am closely watching possible storm activity developing near Anderson-Linn and Miami Counties-KS. ... keep tuned....

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Wayside Waifs Blood Drive - August 11

There is a blood drive session being held for the American Red Cross at the Wayside Waifs animal shelter on Martha Truman Road (119th Street) about 3/4-mile west of Grandview Road on Saturday- August 11 from 11am to 4pm.

According to the flyer I picked up at the vet's office this morning (annual rabies shot and licensing for Snoball)- the blood drive will take place in Wayside Waif's conference room.

Also- "To make an appoinment please visit http://www.americanredcrossblood.org/ and enter Sponsor Code- WaysideWaifs when prompted."

"All presenting donors will receive an American Red Cross baseball cap and a 50-percent discount on (Wayside Waif's pet) adoption fees for 6 months!"

"All presenting donors must show identification prior to donation."

I've known of and have dealt with this fine organization- Wayside Waifs- since childhood. Please offer them your support and help your fellow Human Being too.

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KANSAS CITY MetroRegion WEATHER ALERT: NWS FLASH FLOOD WARNING- SHAWNEE - OSAGE COUNTIES KANSAS

FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
1024 AM CDT TUE JUL 31 2007

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TOPEKA HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
OSAGE COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL KANSAS...
SHAWNEE COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL KANSAS...

* UNTIL 130 PM CDT

* AT 1021 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A COMPLEX OF THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN FROM THE TOPEKA VICINITY SOUTH TOWARD MELVERN. THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE SLOWLY TO THE NORTH. RADAR INDICATED RAINFALL RATES IN THE 1 TO 2 INCH PER HOUR RANGE. PORTIONS OF OSAGE COUNTY RECEIVED HEAVY RAINS EARLIER THIS MORNING CREATING SATURATED GROUNDS.

* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
POMONA STATE PARK...
PAULINE...
SILVER LAKE...
SCRANTON...
ROSSVILLE...
RICHLAND...
QUENEMO...
POMONA LAKE...
OVERBROOK...
OSAGE CITY...
LYNDON...
CARBONDALE...
BURLINGAME...
AUBURN...
TOPEKA...

THIS INCLUDES THE KANSAS TURNPIKE BETWEEN MILE MARKERS 162 AND 188.

THIS INCLUDES INTERSTATE 35 BETWEEN MILE MARKERS 157 AND 168.

THIS INCLUDES INTERSTATE 70 BETWEEN MILE MARKERS 348 AND 355.

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS IMMINENT OR OCCURRING.
IF YOU ARE IN THE WARNING AREA MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND IMMEDIATELY.
RESIDENTS ALONG STREAMS AND CREEKS SHOULD TAKE IMMEDIATE PRECAUTIONS
TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR LOCAL MEDIA OUTLETS FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION CONCERNING THE SEVERE WEATHER.

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Hays-KS Flooded Overnight

A NWS-reported 4 to 6 inches of rain overnight has reportedly flooded this Western Kansas town along Interstate 70.

Thus far- no details on damage or injuries- which I will check further here. If any readers here have any info- please pass it on via email: doctor_mulcahy@yahoo.com .

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News People Opine On Phoenix TV News Copter Crash

There is a wide range of news media people's feelings and emotions in regard to last Friday's deadly disaster in the skies over Phoenix.

You can view them on a news media forum- Medialine- HERE.

What does the Captain think? To quote Bill Champlin of the band CHICAGO- "The show must go on...."

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Deadline Looms For Hurricane Katrina Victims

You good folk along the Gulf Coast who lost it all to Mother Nature almost 2 years ago have until next Tuesday to apply for government assistance to rebuild.

There is a reported $6.4 billion dollars available- but as is typically the case with ANYTHING the government does- according to the AP article- if everybody eligible for assistance applied- the fund would be "an estimated $5-billion short" of what was needed.

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The Last Day Of July 2007 News Digest

And if you have trouble digesting the news as I sometimes do- give it a break for a few days...


* Chief Justice of America's Supreme Court (post Diana Ross heh) John Roberts had a seizure over the weekend. Doctors can't confirm if it was caused by a bout of conscience...

* FBI and other lawpeople raided the home of Alaska Senator Ted Stevens. Stevens is accused of being involved in so much graft that he SHOULD go into biology....

* Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown will conclude his visit to America today with a speech before the United Nations (joke) in New York. Brown left D.C. assuring President Dubya that Britain will ALWAYS be behind America- no matter what screwball things our leaders get us into. Thanks my British friends- I was hoping YOU of all peoples had more sense than that...

* Officials have said that North Korea has cooperated fully with the deactivation of that country's nuclear reactors. A shipment of lollypops and ice cream bars surely must be enroute there...

* The K.C. Royals lost 3 to 1 to the Minnesota Twins last night (okay- I owe a Twins fan a Pig's Eye then). Why can't our guys get Gil Meche any run support?

* There's going to be- as there is around Topeka and Fort Scott now- more scattered showers and thunderstorms around the MetroRegion (area within a 50-mile radius of Downtown K.C.) today. Some areas within 25 miles of this station have gotten anywhere from 5 to 10 inches of rain in July. Here at the NewsCenter? Barely an inch of rain for the month.

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Canadian Border With America Secure As A Sieve

THE Lady in Vancouver- B.C.- Canada with the most incredible eyes in the History Of Bo tells me I don't need a passport- birth certificate or even a valid driver's license to visit Canada again. And I don't need to clear Customs (save a 45 minute wait there).

I can hop a freight train in Washington State!

The Songbird and her 2 grandkids were coming home from Vancouver's famous Celebration of Lights pyrotechnics show last Wednesday when they got behind two male "grungers" who were talking loud enough for Birdie to hear.

Sweets (another nick for her g) heard one of the guys ask the other where they were- the other told him Vancouver- Canada. The one asking says "Wow- I slept all the way from Blaine (Washington)?"

That's right- walking along further- Birdie heard that the 2 young men probably around 20-years-old had hopped a freight train across the border in Blaine and rode it into Canada- undetected.

Now let's say these are two young men IN Canada looking for adventure here in America- or maybe not adventure but murder.

I think the reader gets the idea here....

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Goldman Family Gets O.J. Simpson's Book Rights

Everybody knows the Story Of O.J.- and the recent book he tried to peddle "(If) I Did It."

The courts have now awarded that book's rights to the family of Ron Goldman who was with Nicole Brown Simpson the night both were killed at Simpson's home in 1994.

I wonder if O.J. is still searching every Florida golf course in search of Nicole & Ron's killers?

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