NATO: Troops can target Afghan drug operations

NATO defense ministers Friday authorized their troops in Afghanistan to attack drug barons blamed for pumping up to $100 million a year into the coffers of resurgent Taliban fighters.

"With regard to counter-narcotics ... ISAF can act in concert with the Afghans against facilities and facilitators supporting the insurgency," said NATO spokesman James Appathurai, referring to the NATO force.

The United States had been pushing for NATO's 50,000 troops to take on a counter-narcotics role to hit back at the Taliban, whose increasing attacks have cast doubt on the prospects of a Western military victory in Afghanistan.

However, Germany, Spain …

DMV announces plans to restore services in Wood County

The state Division of Motor Vehicles announced plans to restoreas many services as possible to the Parkersburg area in the comingweeks.

Customers may use the Wood County Sheriff's Department at theCourthouse Annex on Market Street to obtain vehicle renewals. DMVhas stationed employees there to assist the Sheriff's Departmentwith the increased volume of customers. Officials also hope toprovide driver's license renewal services at the courthouse as soonas possible.

DMV officials are working with the Parkersburg branch of WestVirginia University at their Route 47 location to secure an area fordriver's testing and driver's license renewals, as well …

Report: Child Labor Making Olympics Gear

BEIJING - Backpacks, caps and other licensed products for the 2008 Beijing Olympics are being made in Chinese factories that use child labor and force employees to work long hours for less than minimum wage, a report released Sunday said.

The report, compiled by PlayFair 2008 - an alliance of global trade unions and labor groups - identified four factories that it says are abusing Chinese and international labor standards to produce Olympics-licensed products.

The findings are likely to prove embarrassing to organizers of the 2008 Olympics and the International Olympic Committee. The communist government wants to use the Beijing Games to project a positive image of China, …

House can be yours for $1 _ but there's a catch

A two-story farmhouse on sale for a dollar in northern Virginia is drawing attention from prospective buyers as far as Alaska and Great Britain. There is a catch, however. The land is not for sale, and the buyer will have to pay to have the house carted away.

The 1880s farmhouse is more than 2,500 square feet. It needs to be moved to make room for an assisted living facility.

H.H. Hunt, the company that bought the …

Mississippi State upsets No. 22 Florida 10-7

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Mississippi State ran early, ran late and ended up running out of the Swamp with a signature win for second-year coach Dan Mullen.

Vick Ballard ran for 98 yards, Chris Relf added 82 and a touchdown on the ground and the Bulldogs upset No. 22 Florida 10-7 on Saturday night.

Mississippi State (5-2, 2-2 SEC) controlled the clock, dictated the tempo and kept Florida's mostly inept offense on the sideline.

The Gators (4-3, 2-3) lost consecutive home games for the first time since 2003 and dropped three in a row for the first time since the Steve Spurrier era. Yep, coach Urban Meyer has accomplished something that even former coach Ron Zook never …

Kick Start to Life

GENETICS

LATER THIS YEAR, it's quite possible that an entirely new life-form will come into existence. And it will be man-made. Synthetic Genomics was launched last June in Rockville, Md., with $31 million from investors-and is run by J. Craig Venter, the controversial scientist who sped the mapping of the human genome. It has already created the first synthesized chromosome, one long strand of DNA that will be planted into the cell of a simple bacteria, kick-starting it to life.Other companies, like DuPont,are similarly racing to create simple but new life-forms.

Syntheticbiology.org, an online forum hosted by researchers involved in the new technology, states that it is …

Victoria's Secret supermodels Karolina Kurkova and Selita Ebanks rooting for Giants

The Giants have a couple of Angels rooting for them.

Selita Ebanks and Karolina Kurkova _ two Victoria's Secret Angels, as the lingerie retailer's models are known _ said they will be cheering on the New York team at the Super Bowl.

"I think the Giants are the underdogs," Kurkova said Saturday at the retailer's celebrity gift suite Saturday. "You should always go for the underdogs."

Kurkova, originally from Czechoslovakia, acknowledges she doesn't know much about American football and will be relying on some kind folks sitting around her Sunday to explain what's happening on the field.

Meanwhile, Ebanks, a …