This Hour: Latest West Virginia news, sports, business and entertainment

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FOOTBALL PLAYER STABBED

Man sentenced for stabbing W.Va. football player

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - A West Virginia man will spend up to five years behind bars for stabbing a University of Charleston football player outside a nightclub in January.

Media outlets report 27-year-old Aris Travon Hairston was sentenced to one to five years in Kanawha County Circuit Court on Monday.

Hairston had pleaded guilty to the charges. He told Kanawha Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey that if he was given home confinement instead of jail time he'd never commit another crime. But Bailey pointed to his lengthy criminal record in imposing the sentence.

Hairston stabbed 18-year-old Kevin Clemens of Pittsburgh outside of Impulse nightclub after the two got into an altercation inside on the dance floor. The club was shut down soon after the incident.

Hairston apologized to Clemens and his family in court.

SPEAKER ELECTION

W.Va. House to convene, elect new speaker

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - It's time for West Virginia's House of Delegates to elect a new speaker.

Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin is calling the House into special session Tuesday, after Speaker Rick Thompson resigned the Legislature to join his Cabinet.

The Wayne County Democrat stepped down over the weekend to succeed a retiring Keith Gwinn as secretary of Veterans' Assistance.

Judiciary Chairman Tim Miley is the Democrats' likely nominee. The Harrison County lawyer won the backing of rival candidate and Finance Chair Harry Keith White last week.

House Republicans are expected to support Minority Leader Tim Armstead of Kanawha County.

The Democrats' majority is slim, as they hold 54 of 100 seats. Election gains last year increased the GOP's share of the chamber.

The next speaker would preside until the end of 2014.

HOUSING COSTS

W.Va. legislators to hear about housing challenges

WHEELING, W.Va. (AP) - Lawmakers studying children and poverty are planning to hear from the public this week on housing issues.

Legislators will be convening interim meetings in Wheeling from Wednesday through Friday.

The Senate Select Committee on Children and Poverty is meeting from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday at Catholic Charities West Virginia. It's hosted by Chairman John Unger of Berkeley County and two Northern Panhandle senators, Rocky Fitzsimmons of Ohio County and Jack Yost of Brooke County.

People with housing challenges and the providers who serve them will get the opportunity to educate legislators on the current situation.

Catholic Charities says many people are struggling with skyrocketing rent costs due to the growth of the region's gas drilling industry and the influx of workers. Others are facing foreclosure and homelessness.

REHAB CENTER TRANSFER

Buildings, land transferred to WVSU

INSTITUTE, W.Va. (AP) - West Virginia State University has plenty of room to grow with the transfer of the former West Virginia Rehabilitation Center property in Institute.

The transfer announced Monday entails 20 acres adjacent to the university and 15 buildings with more than 430,000 square feet of office space. The property has been largely unused for more than two years.

WVSU President Brian O. Hemphill says the need to grow the campus is being driven by studies in science, nursing and technology.

The buildings will be evaluated for future use.

TEACHER TEXTS

W.Va. teacher fired amid sexting accusations

BECKLEY, W.Va. (AP) - A Raleigh County middle school teacher has been fired for allegedly sending sexually explicit text messages to a 13-year-old student earlier this year.

An investigation into the alleged texts between the teacher, Lori Lester, and the student is being conducted by the West Virginia State Police.

The Register-Herald reports that the county's Board of Education voted Monday to fire the Trap Hill Middle School teacher.

While Lester did not attend the meeting, her attorney Jay Barringer did. He declined comment on the case.

The student's parents took him out of the school following the texts. He was home-schooled for the remainder of his eighth-grade year.

In several of the alleged texts, a woman appears naked and in lingerie.

CANDIDATE-ETHICS

W.Va. Supreme Court yanks politico's law license

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - West Virginia's Supreme Court says reprehensible conduct has cost a frequent political candidate his law license.

Monday's unanimous ruling sanctions H. John Rogers over his filing of a false mental hygiene petition.

The Wetzel County lawyer had a local cafe owner involuntarily committed in 2009, alleging the man was using drugs and had assaulted him.

But a drug test came back negative, and witnesses indicated Rogers had been the aggressor. Rogers later pleaded no contest to false swearing and to misuse of the mental hygiene system.

The 73-year-old Democrat has run for election multiple times, including for the Supreme Court last year. Rogers borrowed from Richard Nixon in reacting to the ruling Monday, saying they won't have him to kick around anymore.

SHERIFF SHOT

W.Va. sheriff killing suspect denied bail

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) - A West Virginia man accused of gunning down Mingo County Sheriff Eugene Crum has lost a bid for bail ahead of his first-degree murder trial.

Tennis Maynard's attorney argued at a Monday hearing that he's seen no evidence the slaying was premeditated. Maynard has pleaded not guilty.

Lawyer Richard Weston said Maynard had followed a mundane routine that April morning. The 37-year-old went food shopping, and had groceries in his vehicle when he was captured.

Prosecutor Michael Sparks cited how Crum was shot twice in the head at close range as he sat in his cruiser. Sparks said Maynard tried to flee and threatened a deputy before he was shot and wounded.

Circuit Judge Paul Farrell denied bail pending a tentative Oct. 21 trial date on murder and other charges.

SALEM NURSING

Salem nursing associate degree loses state OK

SALEM, W.Va. (AP) - A state board is withdrawing its approval of Salem International University's associate degree in nursing program.

The Board of Examiners for Registered Professional Nurses says Salem didn't correct deficiencies that it had identified in February. The university also didn't stop admissions into programs progressing toward a nursing degree until it complied with state requirements.

WBOY-TV reports that the board notified Salem of its decision in a letter sent last week. The withdrawal of approval is effective Aug. 31.

In the letter, the board says Salem hasn't maintained at least an 80% passing rate by first-time candidates taking the licensure examination. It also says the nursing department lacks decision making authority.

Salem officials didn't immediately respond to a telephone message Monday.

MORRISEY-ABORTION CLINICS

W.Va. AG to review abortion regulation in state

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - Attorney General Patrick Morrisey says he plans to review abortion regulation in the state to determine whether any changes are needed.

Morrisey sent letters on Monday to the Women's Health Center of West Virginia and Kanawha Surgicenter asking them to provide information on how often they are inspected, their understanding of state abortion laws and regulations and related matters.

Morrisey also asks the Charleston clinics to provide information about elective abortion procedures that they perform.

He says in a news release that a recent lawsuit filed against Women's Health Center of West Virginia raises questions about the state's oversight of abortion clinics.

The lawsuit claims a doctor left a fetus' head inside a woman's uterus.

Neither clinic immediately commented Monday.

Nor did the state Department of Health and Human Resources.