BELTON - By Saturday, Miranda Jones will have made a decision that will leave her in tears. During the Bell County Youth Fair on Tuesday, she showed three lambs and two of them placed third in their respective class. Both sheep are eligible for Saturday

BELTON - The Killeen City Council listened to a plan Tuesday that could help pay for an expansion to the Bell County Expo Center without adding to the tax burden of residents. Expo Center officials hope that a countywide increase in the hotel/motel occupancy tax will help pay for a new 150,000-square-foot building for livestock and equestrian events, plus RV hookups that could accommodate 298 vehicles.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - She was the Robochick. He was Billy-O. According to police, her obsession with him led her to drive 900 miles from Houston to Orlando, bringing with her a trenchcoat and wig, armed with a BB gun and pepper spray, and wearing a diaper to avoid bathroom breaks on the arduous drive.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates held out hope Tuesday that U.S. forces might be able to start leaving Iraq before the end of the year, if daunting conditions including subdued violence and political reconciliation are met. Gates told lawmakers the current buildup of forces by 21,500 troops is

The battle to control greenhouse emissions and global warming is taking place on many fronts worldwide, including Temple. At the Blackland Research Center and the Grasslands Soil and Water Research Laboratory here, scientists have studied for decades how rangeland and agricultural land contributes to the release of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere and how that same land can be managed to control emissions. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, which has been blamed in part on climate change and global warming.

BELTON - Concordia-Austin brought its high-scoring, fast-paced, hully-gully style to Mayborn Campus Center, and the Mary Hardin-Baylor Crusaders beat the Tornados at their own game. UMHB shot 50 percent from the field and had four players finish in double figures, outrunning Concordia 96-77 Tuesday night to stretch its school-record winning streak to 14 games.

The lights blinked off with 3:12 remaining in the first quarter of Tuesday night

LITTLE RIVER-ACADEMY - Hot or cold, Cortney Poncik isn

Albuquerque had never really been on Jacob Bane

The air conditioner repairman talked about people he wanted to harm. Two years ago at a rural East Texas high school, he crossed football coach Gary Joe Kinne off that list by shooting him in the gut. That was when son G.J. Kinne, likely the only quarterback the Texas Longhorns will add today on national signing day, became a sympathetic small-town kid whose dad was almost killed because of football. Leading Canton to its best season eight months later made him a local icon.