Food stamp use up by almost a million

Individual participation in the federal government's food stamp program for the needy jumped by almost a million people during the second quarter of 2008, according to the US Department of Agriculture, which oversees the program. The latest agriculture department statistics indicate that, nationally, participation rose from 28,084,116 in April to 29,053,054 in July, the last month for which the figures are available, a department spokeswoman said this week. (Washington Post)

TRAVERSE CITY - Great Lakes water cannot be diverted to thirsty areas elsewhere in the United States and abroad under an agreement approved yesterday by President Bush. Approval of the Great Lakes Compact was the final step in a nearly decade-long quest to strengthen legal protections for the use of water from the five Great Lakes, their connecting channels, and the St. Lawrence River. The pact bans new diversions of water to places outside the region - eight states and two Canadian provinces with a combined population of roughly 40 million. There are limited exceptions. (AP)

MONTGOMERY - A collision between an 18-wheeler and a state van yesterday left a fiery, mangled heap on a rural highway and killed six applicants for prison jobs and their driver, authorities said. Brian Corbett, prison system spokesman, said all seven aboard the van died. Flames that rose from the twisted wreckage made it difficult for responders to cut into the overturned van to recover the bodies. The process took several hours, and towing company workers said the wreck was among the worst they had seen. (AP)

PHILADELPHIA-- A suburban Philadelphia landlord secretly videotaped 34 female tenants over two decades after hiding cameras in their apartments, authorities said yesterday. Thomas Daley, 45, will face additional charges stemming from the new victims identified and his alleged efforts to remove cameras during the investigation, Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Coley Reynolds said yesterday. Daley has been in prison on $1 million cash bail since his arrest, but was arraigned in court yesterday on the new charges.(AP)