Stories from Thursday, November 19, 2009

The haze of gray smoke hanging in her house scared her, but even more frightening to Angela Dreher was not being able to find the source of the smoke. Or her dogs. She called 911, and when firefighters arrived at her home at 300 West 11th, Lot D3, in McCook, she told them, "The smoke just came out of nowhere."...

As the Senate debates the future of health care in this country, now is the time to decide what the standards will be: the best empirical evidence, or emotion? The latest case revolves around a recommendation by an advisory group, the United States Preventive Services Task Force, that women delay routine mammograms until age 50 instead of the well-established advice that women start them at 40...

Cracking in the embankment caused a sinkhole in a dam north of McCook, and water continues to be released from the lake behind it while officials try to decide what to do next. "Our investigations have revealed the presence of cracking in the embankment of Red Willow Dam," said Aaron Thompson, area manager for the U.S. ...