KJACK News Briefs from the Lumberjack

Good morning, NAU! My name is Kevin Bertram, and I am The Lumberjack news editor. Here's today's news briefs. Here's what's in today's newspaper.

A lab here on campus has been busy studying strains of anthrax and plague in an attempt to map the family trees of both diseases. Our feature this week details some of the safety and security measures of the hot lab.

A pilot and his plane have been missing since March 11. The plane of Joseph Radford, 47, was last seen over Grand Canyon National Park.

The synthetic drug 'Spice' is now illegal in Arizona thanks to a bill Governor Brewer signed on Feb. 22. The substance, which contains chemicals designed to mimic the THC found in marijuana, was also banned nationally by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on March 1st.

Finally, several Tucson lawyers and lawmakers are bringing up the idea of succession from the rest of the state. The new state would be known as "Baja Arizona." Our reporters talk to local political experts on the potential of Flagstaff doing something similar and creating "Norte Arizona."

Read all about this and more in this week's copy of The Lumberjack. This has been your daily news brief at KJACK, 1680 AM, or streaming online at kjack.org. Stay tuned!