WASHINGTON — Good news for asthmatics, children and those with breathing disorders. For the first time in nearly 40 years, the Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday issued standards that lower the acceptable levels of sulfur dioxide emissions and increase the intervals the gas is monitored. Under the new rules, sulfur dioxide levels will be cut nearly in half from the current 140 parts per billion averaged over 24 hours to 75 parts per billion measured hourly. The new rules, which go into effect 60 days after publication in the Federal Register, are designed to protect against short-term exposure to sulfur dioxide, produced when power plants or other facilities burn coal.
Arizona: McCain endorsement
The National Rifle Association endorsed John McCain Thursday in Arizona’s Republican Senate primary. The endorsement was a significant boost for McCain, providing high-profile support for his conservative credentials as he tries to shake a primary challenge by former U.S. Rep. J.D. Hayworth. Hayworth has attacked McCain’s record on gun rights, saying the four-term Senator has supported restrictive legislation. Hayworth has an endorsement from Gun Owners of America, a smaller gun-rights group.
New York: OT for nannies
State lawmakers have passed bills to require overtime pay after eight-hour workdays and at least one day off weekly for more than 200,000 housekeepers, nannies and other domestic workers in the state. Advocates said that if Gov. David Paterson signs the measures into law, New York will become the first state establishing those rights for household workers, most of whom are women and emigres and often are vulnerable to abuse.
Vermont: Lesbian custody
An 8-year-old girl at the heart of a long-running child custody fight between former lesbian partners may have fled to Central America with her birth mother, a lawyer for one of the women said. The girl, Isabella Miller-Jenkins, and her birth mother, Lisa Miller, failed to appear for a court-ordered custody swap in January and are believed to have flown to El Salvador last September, said an attorney who represents ex-partner Janet Jenkins. Isabella was born to Miller and Jenkins after the two obtained a civil union in Vermont in 2000.
Ohio: Big Powerball winner
Ohio has a $261.6 million Powerball winner just weeks after the state joined the multistate lottery game. The Ohio Lottery said the only ticket matching all six numbers in Wednesday night’s drawing was sold at a store in Sunbury, about 20 miles north of Columbus. Lottery officials presented the Hub Carry Out with $100,000 Thursday morning for selling the winning ticket. Store owner Ralph Smith said it’s the most exciting day in the history of the 61-year-old business. He hopes the winner is someone who needs the money.
Utah: Sailor gets wallet back
It took 69 years, but a World War II veteran from Sandy, Utah, finally has his wallet back. Eighty-eight-year-old Robert Bell lost it at a Navy vocational school in Chicago in 1941. Among other things it held his Social Security card and photos of the youthful Bell and his future wife. The Salt Lake Tribune reports that an electrician found it in the 60s. He tried unsuccessfully to find the owner. Now the Social Security Administration has tracked Bell down. Bell is looking forward to showing the photos to his son.
Tennessee: Ugliest dog dies
Miss Ellie, a small, bug-eyed Chinese Crested Hairless dog whose pimples and lolling tongue helped her win Animal Planet’s “World’s Ugliest Dog” contest in 2009, has died at age 17 after a career in resort show business in the Smoky Mountains. The Mountain Press reported Thursday that Ellie starred in shows at the Comedy Barn in Pigeon Forge. Over the years, Ellie helped raise more than $100,000 for the Sevier County Humane Society. She will be cremated.
China: Everest climber dies
A British climber died hours after reaching the summit of Mount Everest as he was unable to descend and fellow climbers couldn’t bring him down, his climbing team said Thursday. Peter Kinloch reached the top of the world’s highest mountain on the afternoon of May 25 but died early the next morning, according to SummitClimb, the British-based company he was climbing with. British media reports said Kinloch went blind shortly after starting the descent and could not go on.
From Herald news services
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