Tuesday,  July 17, 2012 • Vol. 13--No. 004 • 24 of 36 •  Other Editions

(Continued from page 23)

• The Argus Leader reports that Sioux Falls on Monday reached 100 degrees for the second time this year, a first since 2002. KELO reports that Mitchell hit 103 degrees; Pierre, 104, and Winner, 106.
• KDLT reports that even northern South Dakota was exceptionally hot, with Aberdeen and Sisseton at 93.
• The National Weather Service says that parts of the state are expected to see some storms in the middle of the week, but the triple-digit temperatures are likely to return by week's end.
•

SD Sen. Thune vice president rumors resurface

• SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- The "John Thune for vice president" rumor mill is at

it again.
• The Hill reported Monday that Thune has "reemerged" as a viable VP candidate for Mitt Romney, quoting the South Dakota Republican as saying he met with Romney's senior advisers in Boston.
• But the meeting was months ago, and Thune told the congressional newspaper that although he met with Beth Myers, who is leading the VP search, it wasn't "about what you think it's about."
• That hasn't stopped the story from trending its way onto numerous news websites -- including one on New York Magazine's site headlined "The Possibly Unbearable Handsomeness of a Romney-Thune Ticket."
• Thune stopped short of saying whether he's being vetted, but he had said he was not interested in being Romney's running mate.
•

DOJ supporting inmates in ceremonial tobacco suit
DIRK LAMMERS,Associated Press

• SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- The U.S. Department of Justice is supporting Native American inmates in their lawsuit challenging South Dakota's ban on tobacco in religious ceremonies.
• Inmates Blaine Brings Plenty and Clayton Creek in their 2009 federal lawsuit against the South Dakota Department of Corrections contend that a prison policy that bans the use of tobacco during religious ceremonies is discriminatory. The state said ceremonial tobacco inside the state penitentiary was becoming increasingly abused, and the policy is not overly restrictive because it allows other botanicals such as red willow bark to be burned.

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