Stories from December 2001

Smallpox could be the biggest bioterrorism threat facing Cape Girardeau, Missouri's top security official said Friday. Tim Daniel, homeland security special adviser to Gov. Bob Holden, said terrorists could wreak havoc around the world with the deadly smallpox virus...

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) -- Israeli helicopter gunships fired nine missiles near the headquarters of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on Monday, witnesses said, in apparent retaliation for weekend suicide bombings by Islamic militants. A large fire could be seen burning at the site, sending a plume of smoke rising over the city. Palestinian security personnel ran away from the area under attack as ambulances raced to the scene, sirens blaring...

DE SOTO, Mo. -- Senior guard Matt Cardin came off the bench to score 22 points as Cape Central defeated De Soto 70-65 Friday to give new coach Derek McCord his first victory. De Soto jumped out to an 18-10 first quarter lead, behind 6-3 leaper Rodney Kelly's 11 points, before the Tigers went to a full-court press...

10 years ago: Dec. 1, 1991 The Rev. Marcus Zill is guest preacher at worship services at Trinity Lutheran Church; Zill is director of development for Missouri District of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod; his theme for first Sunday in Advent is "Here He Comes! Ready or Not!"...

Gantt Son to Jeffery Scott Gantt and Danielle Nichole DuBois of Jackson, Mo., Southeast Missouri Hospital, 3:34 p.m. Monday, Nov. 19, 2001. Name, Kobe Scott. Weight, 7 pounds. First child. Ms. DuBois is the daughter of Pierre and Becky DuBois of Jackson. Gantt is the son of Judy and Randy Cagle of Cape Girardeau...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Floyd E. Fair, 84, of Cairo died Friday, Nov. 30, 2001, at his home. He was born Oct. 3, 1917, at Kennett, Mo., son of Alfus and Lydia Fair. He married Edith Fair, who died Dec. 27, 2000. Fair was a retired pipefitter. He was a member of First Christian Church, Pipefitters Union Local 562 in St. Louis, United Organization of Pipefitters and Construction Workers, Royal and Select Masters, Knights Templar, KIM Shrine Club of Cairo and Ainad Shrine Temple of East St. Louis, Ill...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Delbert N. Parker, 71, of Jackson died Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2001, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born Nov. 26, 1930, at Seventy-Six, Mo., son of Fred and Hazel McLain Parker. He and Joanne Kimbel were married June 23, 1951...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Mary Lucille Carson, 69, of Sikeston died Friday, Nov. 30, 2001, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born May 12, 1932, in Sikeston, daughter of Grover Cleveland and Magdalene Cantrell Heath. She first married John H. Pobst Jan. 9, 1950, in Piggott, Ark. He died May 3, 1998. She and Jackie Lee Carson were married Oct. 26, 1998, in Mesa, Ariz...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Edna L. Wachter, 86, of Perryville died Friday, Nov. 30, 2001, at Perry County Nursing Home. She was born Feb. 2, 1915, at Shawneetown, Mo., daughter of Benjamin K. and Anna Gerler Scholl. She and Eldor Oscar Wachter were married Oct. 25, 1936. He died Nov. 10, 1983...

LeRoy Cecil, 80, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, Nov. 30, 2001, at Fountainbleau Lodge. Cecil was born Aug. 27, 1921, in Owensboro, Ky., son of William Roscoe and Della McCann Cecil. He and Lillian Gray were married June 11, 1960. She died Aug. 28, 1992...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Betty B. McFarland, 71, of Sikeston died Friday, Nov. 30, 2001, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. She was born May 31, 1930, in Goobertown, Ark., daughter of August Martin and Luie Elmertie Shell McFarland. McFarland owned a childcare business and was a member of Ladd's Chapel Church...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Heartsill Daniel, 86, of Sikeston died Friday, Nov. 30, 2001, at his home. He was born Oct. 11, 1915, in Lamar, Ark., son of Jess and Mable Holman Daniel. He and Helen Mae Ziegenhorn were married Nov. 2, 1939, at Dexter, Mo. Daniel was a retired self-employed farmer and carpenter. He attended Community of Christ Church...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Harley S. McKee, 68, of Cairo died Thursday, Nov. 29, 2001, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Dec. 19, 1932, in Olive Branch, Ill., son of Clarence and Mary E. Bedwell McKee Sr. He and Virginia Mayberry were married Jan. 28, 1987...

Bill Graham, 56, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, Nov. 29, 2001, at St. Francis Medical Center. He was born Oct. 2, 1945, in Mine LaMotte, Mo., son of Walter H. and Inez A. Mullins Graham. Graham was a graduate of Fredericktown High School in Fredericktown, Mo. He moved to the Cape Girardeau area in 1971 and operated an auto body restoration business...

Hatred is ugly SO THE Bible states that homosexuality is a sin. Doesn't it also have something to say against greed and gluttony? Does this mean all fat people are sinners who will be eternally damned if they don't slim down? I think it does. We need to strip fat people of their civil rights until they all go on diets and save their souls. Hatred is ugly, isn't it?...

To the editor: As an Internet reader of the Southeast Missourian I want to say that Art Matthews is wrong on his views of homosexuality. Being homosexual is not a sin against man. It is a sin against God. When homosexuals practice their belief, they take from our heavenly Creator the opportunity to create a person with a free will. A person with a free will has the choice to give his unconditional love to God. Homosexuality takes away from God. That is why it's wrong...

To the editor: The Missouri Mentoring Partnership works with at-risk youths under the age of 22 to develop the skills needed to become self-sufficient adults. In our Worksite Program, youths complete job-readiness training and are placed in employment with one of our 158 corporate partners who provide workplace mentors. ...

IRVING, Texas -- The last time Gary Barnett was in Texas Stadium was in July, when he and two players stopped by on their way to the airport following Big 12 media day. The visit was Barnett's way of getting them to visualize their dream of returning to the stadium for the league championship game. It was a stunning move considering the Buffs were coming off a 3-8 season. It seemed even wilder when the Buffs lost their opener...

To the editor: Am I the only one to be struck by the ludicrous nature of the debate on allowing airline pilots to carry guns in cockpits? Let's see: It is insane and too dangerous to arm the pilots so they can defend their planes and passengers because in the event of a hijack attempt an innocent passenger may be injured. ...

One win for Miami, two for Florida -- that's the formula for a national championship game in the Rose Bowl featuring two fierce rivals. Sounds great, but games still have to be played, conference titles must be decided and the Bowl Championship Series computer has to calculate the final numbers...

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State has a chance to win a game to be bowl eligible -- again. The Spartans (5-5) were a win away from qualifying for postseason play after they beat Michigan, but they have lost three straight since then. "Every week it's been in our hands and we haven't come through," running back T.J. Duckett said. "We have no choice but to win now. If we don't, the season is over."...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- It's no longer a case of shoot first and ask questions later for Clarence Gilbert. A gunner without a conscience his first three seasons at No. 3 Missouri, Gilbert suddenly is just as happy dishing the ball off as he is launching 3-pointers...

Western Illinois coach Jim Kerwin can sympathize with what Gary Garner, Kerwin's counterpart at Southeast Missouri State University, is going through. Last year, fielding a young and inexperienced squad, Kerwin's Leathernecks lost their first 16 games on the way to a 5-23 record. While things aren't nearly so bad for Garner's squad at this point, the young and inexperienced Indians are 0-3 for the first time since the program's inaugural Division I season in 1991-92...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Southeast Missouri State's women's basketball team improved to 4-1 Friday night with a 70-57 victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the Unilever Lady Tiger Tournament semifinals. The Othakians improved to 4-1 and led in nearly every statistically category. Southeast shot 46 percent compared to TAMUCC's 34 percent...

BETHLEHEM, West Bank -- A white stone monument rises from Manger Square, dedicated to a 17-year-old Palestinian killed on the spot by Israeli weapons fire. Mile-long Nativity Street is lined with a gutted five-story hotel, piles of rubble from shops knocked down by bulldozers and buildings with bullet-pocked facades. They're all reminders of Israel's 10-day occupation of the biblical town in October...

Walk around the campus at Cape Girardeau Central High School at noon and you're likely to see James Green hanging out with the students, eating lunch or talking about sports. He can talk about last night's basketball game because he was there. He knows who's starting or sitting the bench with an injury. He's seen the Tigers win some and lose some. Like any loyal fan, he's devoted to the team...

Roman Catholic and conservative Protestant leaders condemned the first reported cloning of a human embryo, while other Christian and Reform Jewish leaders supported using the procedure to cure diseases. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, of the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, said Massachusetts scientists who announced Sunday that they had cloned a six-cell embryo were playing God and reducing humans to spare parts...

The Sikeston Charter Commission is to be congratulated on months of hard work writing Sikeston's potential future. The commission members met faithfully and agonized over every detail. They invited, and even pleaded, for public input. The members of the commission have scripted every detail of the city's potential government, including a change to a city council elected partially by ward. It is now up to voters to pass or reject their work on April 2...

Cape Girardeau Saturday, Dec. 1 Firefighters responded to the following calls Thursday:At 8:49 p.m., a motor vehicle accident at Mount Auburn and Highway 74. At 10:44 p.m, an emergency medical service at 224 Independence. Firefighters responded to the following calls Friday:At 12:22 a.m., an emergency medical service at 3115 Bloomfield...

Nobody is arguing that both last winter's weather and the accompanying natural-gas bills were brutal. Cape Girardeau County was iced over and at near-record low temperatures for weeks in December. Meanwhile, low inventories of gas in a volatile market left local customers paying two and three times what they would have in a normal winter...

Cape Girardeau Saturday, Dec. 1 DWIVann Ray St. Clair, 2048 Anthony, was issued a summons Thursday for driving while intoxicated. James Holloway Blasingame Jr., 20, of Florissant, Mo., was arrested Thursday for driving while intoxicated. ArrestsMichael Anthony Fischer, 21, of 47 S. Park was arrested Thursday for failure to appear...

Life for Mrs. F. is getting lonelier as her relatives die. A sister recently died, and her son was killed in a car accident several years ago. The holidays can be difficult times for her now that there are few relatives here. Mrs. F. survives on a minimum food-stamp subsidy and Medicaid and Medicare coverage. She is diabetic and needs medications...

A set of Cape Girardeau parents won't be able to provide gifts for their daughter and son because they've been out of work with health problems. The father is disabled and cannot work, and the mother is recovering from foot surgery. The family is relying on donations to Toybox, a joint program of the Cape Girardeau Jaycees and the Southeast Missourian that provides holiday gifts to children of needy families...

A Scott City police officer was served two restraining orders Thursday and accused of stalking and harassing a fellow employee and her husband. The ex parte orders, issued by Associate Circuit Judge David C. Mann, prohibit Lt. Roy Butler from contacting the woman, a dispatcher at the police department, or her husband in any way...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- The idea for the photo exhibit GIFTS: In Celebration of Women, which opens here Sunday, goes back to 1993 when Susan Tesseneer-Street assembled an exhibit featuring some of her favorite portraits of men. "There are certain photographs that really touch my heartstrings," Street explained...

The St. Denis Home and School Association will host a winter craft sale today from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and again from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday in the school gym in Benton, Mo. Crafts, specialty food items, candles and woodworking items will be offered. Door prizes will be awarded. Chili, chicken noodle soup and ham and beans will be served...

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. economy, battered by the terrorist attacks, turned in its worst performance in a decade during the third quarter, shrinking at a rate of 1.1 percent. Many economists expect an even steeper drop in the current quarter but are hopeful for a turnaround next year...

ST. LOUIS -- When the St. Louis Rams drafted two defensive tackles in the first round in April, the situation looked iffy for Brian Young. Now, it's Young who's still standing. Young, a fifth-round pick last year, split time with Damione Lewis, the 12th overall pick this year, most of the year before Lewis was lost with a broken foot two weeks ago. But Young has been the starter all year, and that again will be the case Sunday at Atlanta...

WASHINGTON -- Federal agents recommended 76 percent fewer criminal cases for prosecution in the weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks, a computer analysis of Justice Department records shows, in a sign of one cost of the war on terrorism. The sudden shift of thousands of federal agents to the terrorism investigation came at the expense of traditional crimefighting against drugs, bank robberies, illegal immigration and white collar crime, the analysis conducted for The Associated Press showed...

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Baseball's plan to eliminate two teams by next season was dealt a severe blow Friday when Minnesota courts put off until Dec. 27 an appeal of the injunction that forces the Twins to play in 2002. First, the Minnesota Supreme Court refused to grant the request by baseball and the Twins for a speedy review, sending the case to the Court of Appeals...

NEW YORK -- Jeff Gordon and the still-vibrant memory of Dale Earnhardt Sr. dominated Friday night's NASCAR Awards. While Gordon was honored for his fourth Winston Cup championship and raked in a record payoff of $10,879,757, the sport gathered for a black tie gala that also was a tribute to Earnhardt, its biggest star who died in a crash in the Daytona 500...

TIMBERLINE LODGE, Ore. -- Bill Johnson remarkably returned to the slopes Friday, skiing down Mount Hood just eight months after a frightening crash left the 1984 Olympic downhill champion in a coma with a brain injury. "It felt great. I turned a lot," Johnson said after a warmup run...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- In a $1.2 million mistake over the Thanksgiving break, the state double-issued about 7,500 child-support checks that it is now scrambling to get back. The state, in a letter sent Friday and obtained by The Associated Press, is asking parents to voluntarily pay back the money or allow the government to deduct the overpayment from future checks...

ST. LOUIS -- In the left seat for the last time, Capt. Bill Compton will spend today bringing home the airline with which he spent his entire career. He was a fresh-faced rookie barely old enough to drink when he joined Trans World Airlines as a flight engineer in 1968. Today, TWA's last president completes a 33-year career with Flight 220 from Kansas City, Mo., to St. Louis: the conclusion for both Compton and Trans World Airlines...

ST. LOUIS -- When it comes to bearing burdens, Don and Terry Rogers quietly -- and without intent or pretense -- make most sufferers look like lottery winners and most hardships like a walk in the park. Don, 59, is a soft-spoken surveyor for the city of St. Louis and a Boy Scout leader. Terry, 52, is an animated social worker for an adoption agency. She was born blind. They had four children, all boys...

ST. LOUIS -- A former eastern Missouri postmaster was sentenced Friday to six months in a halfway house and ordered to repay $88,000 to the U.S. Postal Service and a postmasters group she defrauded. U.S. District Judge Jean Hamilton also ordered Tina Emery, 47, of St. Charles, to spend five years on probation...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Gov. Bob Holden is planning to appoint a Bootheel banker and river port overseer as the next member of the state Highways and Transportation Commission, The Associated Press has learned. Duane Michie, 62, of Hayti said he is excited to serve on the commission, where he could emphasis the importance of barge traffic on the Mississippi and Missouri rivers...

FORDLAND, Mo. -- A 1,560-foot television tower collapsed in southwest Missouri Friday, cutting power to dozens of homes and taking three broadcast stations off the air. There were no injuries, and the cause of the collapse was under investigation. Between 50 and 75 homes served by Webster Electric lost power, but the homes were expected to be online before noon Friday, utility spokesman Phillip Ragsdale said...

ST. LOUIS -- An eastern Missouri fireworks plant where three workers were severely burned in a June explosion should pay $242,000 in fines, federal workplace safety investigators said Friday, citing two earlier accidents that killed two other workers at the site...

ROLLA, Mo. -- University of Missouri campuses in Kansas City and St. Louis may soon offer in-state tuition to their neighbors across the state lines. The university system's board of curators is considering whether to offer the lower rates for some Kansans and Illinoisans...

BRANSON, Mo. -- For decades, Branson's quaint old lakefront resorts and restaurants have closed for the winter. This time, though, some of them won't reopen. The city plans a convention center to replace the Salvation Army Thrift Shop, high-rise condominiums where retirees now park their campers, and a boardwalk instead of a blacktop trail frequented by foraging geese. The whole project will cost an estimated $150 million...

KOENIGSWINTER, Germany -- Talks on Afghanistan's political future deadlocked Friday after the northern alliance leader in Kabul insisted an interim administration be elected and objected to plans for international peacekeepers. The impasse came amid a rift between the alliance's leadership in Afghanistan and its delegation at the U.N.-sponsored conference here outside Bonn...

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Anti-Taliban tribesmen said they seized tanks and heavy weapons Friday from Taliban militiamen who gave up without a fight near the airport outside Kandahar. An American general said the battle will go on until the Taliban stronghold is a "free city."...

MILAN, Italy -- The men spoke in code of a mysterious "drug" they wanted to try on people. One referred repeatedly to the substance as "tomato cans" and said he wanted to see what effect it would have on someone breathing it in. The conversation between suspected members of Osama bin Laden's terrorist network was cryptic, but authorities in Italy think they know what the men were talking about: obtaining cyanide, a poison used to make deadly chemical weapons...

MADRAS, India -- Illegal homemade liquor laced with methanol killed at least 27 people in southern India and hospitalized 120 others, police said Friday. It was the third mass liquor poisoning in the area since September. At least 89 people have died despite a government ban on shops selling such liquor...

JERUSALEM -- The U.S. special Mideast envoy said Friday his peace mission will not be spoiled by increasing violence and threats by militants, and he will stay "as long as it takes" to secure a truce. The mediator, retired Marine Corps Gen. Anthony Zinni, made the pledge a day after an Islamic militant blew himself up on a bus in Israel, killing himself and three passengers...

The director of admissions and financial aid at Jefferson College in Hillsboro, Mo., has been hired as admissions director at Southeast Missouri State University. Deborah Below will begin duties at Southeast on Jan. 7 at an annual salary of $68,000. School officials announced the hiring on Friday...

MEXICO CITY -- As he sought the presidency in Mexico, Vicente Fox was an impatient crusader who made "Today! Today! Today!" a campaign slogan. A year after overturning seven decades of political history, Fox is pleading for patience as he struggles with a sluggish economy and a hostile Congress...

For at least one man, this Christmas season brings a sense of deja vu, with many boys and girls requesting the same kinds of toys they asked for in the 1940s and 1950s. This year, fire-engine red paint is definitely in short supply. "The elves haven't painted this many fire trucks in decades," said Santa Claus, interviewed Friday at Westfield Shoppingtown West Park...

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Traces of anthrax were found on a letter in Connecticut for the first time Friday, prompting the governor to suggest the 94-year-old woman who died mysteriously of the disease last week might have gotten it from her mail after all...

PHILADELPHIA -- When infantryman Donald Morehouse awoke at a military field hospital in 1953, surgeons told him a bullet had missed his heart by an inch. On Tuesday, the 70-year-old Korean War veteran underwent bypass surgery and received a different diagnosis: the slug hadn't missed at all. It passed directly through his heart...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Not only is Butler County at a crossroads of state and federal highways, it is, according to a recently-finished study, at a crossroads of opportunity. That's the name of the retail study which surveyed the retail, manufacturing, health care, recreation and education statistics of Butler County and the eight-county trade area. The eight counties include Butler, Reynolds, Wayne, Stoddard, Carter, Ripley, and Dunklin in Missouri and Clay County, Ark...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Robert Tools, the first person to receive a fully self-contained artificial heart, died Friday of internal bleeding and organ failure after living with the device whirring in his chest for 151 days. He was 59. The death was announced by Drs. Laman Gray Jr. and Robert Dowling, who implanted the softball-sized device at Jewish Hospital on July 2...

LOSANGELES -- Paul McCartney called him "my baby brother." A fan thought him "quiet and nice and powerful." Musicians and music lovers on Friday mourned the death of George Harrison, the "quiet Beatle" who fit in famously, if not always happily, alongside his more colorful bandmates...

DECATUR, Ga. -- A former sheriff was arrested Friday in the assassination last December of his successor, who was gunned down in his driveway before he could make good on a campaign promise to clean up corruption. Sidney Dorsey and two other men were arrested before dawn and charged with murder in the slaying of Sheriff-elect Derwin Brown, who was ambushed and shot 11 times, days before he was to be sworn in...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA will try again Tuesday to launch space shuttle Endeavour on a flight to the international space station after two cosmonauts aboard the orbiting outpost go out on a spacewalk to clear away a piece of junk. The long, cordlike piece of debris is preventing an unmanned Russian supply ship from latching securely to the space station, a problem that is keeping Endeavour waiting on the launch pad...

Mr. and Mrs. Rodney Eddleman of Cape Girardeau celebrated their 50th anniversary with a dinner Nov. 16, 2001, at Celebrations. Hosts were their children, Bill and Hope Eddleman, and Sue Glueck, all of Cape Girardeau. Eddleman and Glenda Rose Deevers were married Nov. 16, 1951, at Centenary United Methodist Church by the Rev. R.C. Holliday. Their attendants were Elaine Smith Brame and Marvin Hoffman...

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- Mr. and Mrs. Phillip Johnson of Valrico, Fla., formerly of Bloomfield, announce the engagement of their daughter, Emily Christine Johnson, to Steven David Albritton. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Leland Albritton of Sun City, Fla...

Larry and Brenda Schloss of Cape Girardeau announce the engagement of their daughter, Erin Elisabeth Schloss, to Randy Lee Koehler. He is the son of Roger and Margie Koehler of Jackson, Mo. Schloss is a 1993 graduate of Notre Dame High School. She received a degree in mass communication from Southeast Missouri State University in December 2000. She is a victims advocate for the Network Against Sexual Violence...

Joy Hill of Cape Girardeau and David Holshouser of Perryville, Mo., announce the engagement of their daughter, Sarah L. Holshouser, to Bret N. Hughes. He is the son of Barry N. Hughes of Glen Allen, Mo., and the late Bonnie Sue McCarter of Marble Hill, Mo...

Bob and Lee Watson of Cape Girardeau announce the engagement of their daughter, Megan Jo Watson, to Zachariah Moore Arnold. He is the son of Dr. Mike and Vona Jane Arnold of Springfield, Mo. Watson is a 1998 graduate of Central High School. She expects to receive a bachelor of arts degree in public relations and Spanish from Drury University at Springfield in December...

FRUITLAND, Mo. -- Pamela Jean Birk and Robert Aaron Haupt were married July 7, 2001, at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Jackson, Mo. The Rev. David P. Johnson performed the double ring ceremony. Organist was Orville Perr Jr. of Jackson. The bride is the daughter of Ted and Nancy Ernst of Fruitland. The groom is the son of Johnnie and Kathie Haupt of Fruitland...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Faith Lutheran Church in St. Louis was the setting April 28, 2001, for the wedding of Christina Renee Sides and F. Keith Johnson. The Rev. John Brunette performed the double ring ceremony. Keyboardist was John Schuesner and soloist was Betsy Bircher-Kloeckner, both of St. Louis...

Traci Lynn Pedtke and John David Mayfield were married June 16, 2001, at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in DuBois, Ill. Msgr. Melvin Vandeloo performed the ceremony. Pianist was Donna Piotrowski of Tamaroa, Ill., cousin of the bride; trumpeter was Robert Giles of Cape Girardeau; and vocalist was Dr. Jeanine Wagner of Carbondale, Ill...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Jennifer Lynnae Peters and Joshua Lynn Turner were married Sept. 22, 2001, at St. John's Catholic Church in Leopold, Mo. The Rev. Bill Huggins performed the double ring ceremony. Organist was Mary Jansen; soloist was Jill Landewee; and vocalists were Bob and Jean Clubb, Melissa Thele and Jennifer Brotherton, all of Leopold...

BURFORDVILLE, Mo. -- Amy Marie Aufdenberg and Michael Andrew Cracraft exchanged vows July 21, 2001, at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Jackson, Mo. The Rev. David Johnson performed the ceremony. Organist was Lois Fehrmann and trumpeter was Scott Vangilder, both of Jackson. Soloist was Connie Aufdenberg of Burfordville, sister of the bride...

Lee Catherine Chesnick and Gary Mitchell Burchell were married Sept. 3, 2001, in Cancun, Mexico. Parents of the bride are Lee and Judy Chesnick of Old Appleton, Mo. The groom is the son of Gary and Dianna Burchell of Clarkton, Mo. A reception was held Sept. 29 at the American Legion Hall in Jackson...

Susan Kay Giles and Nicholas Todd Hemmer were united in marriage Oct. 20, 2001, at First Christian Church. The Rev. Philip Curran performed the double ring ceremony. Organist and pianist was Beverly Reece of Cape Girardeau. Additional music was presented by a string quartet comprised of Beverly Reece, Eric Miller, Kyle Miller and Dr. Gary Miller, all of Cape Girardeau. Soloist was Lara Robey of Cape Girardeau. Scripture was read by Virginia Lakemeyer of Chesterfield, Mo., aunt of the bride...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Anne Yavonne Branscum and Brandon Corey Borgfield exchanged vows June 30, 2001, at a private ceremony in Jackson. The Rev. Glenn Hamilton performed the double ring ceremony. Parents of the bride are Walter Branscum of Kelso, Mo., and Shelba Branscum of Jackson. The groom is the son of Terry and Betty Borgfield of Jackson...

10 years ago: Dec. 2, 1991 Many Cape Girardeau residents irate over recent changes in city's solid waste service should be pleased they won't have to endure $5 fee for collection of discarded Christmas Trees after holiday; City Council nixes plan to charge for pickup; instead, council votes to provide service free, provided residents call in tree-collection requests...

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Robert Lee Suggs, of Lexington died Friday, Nov. 30, 2001. Arrangements are incomplete at Massie Funeral Home in Cairo, Ill.

CAIRO, Ill. -- David White, 83, of Springfield, Ill., formerly of Cairo, died Friday, Nov. 30, 2001 at the Memorial Medical Center in Springfield. Arrangements are incomplete at Massie Funeral Home in Cairo.

COBDEN, Ill. -- Jack L. Moore, 66, died at his home Friday, Nov. 30, 2001. He was born Nov. 22, 1935, in Cobden, the son of Glenn and Wanda Winn Moore. He was a retired machinist. He is survived by two sons, Donald Moore of Aurora, Ill., and Ronald Moore of California; his father of Jonesboro, Ill.; two brothers, Wayne Moore of Cobden and Frank Moore of Anna, Ill; and a sister, Barbara Norton of Alto Pass, Ill...

NEW MADRID, Mo. -- Viola K. Arnold, 80, died Friday, Nov. 30, 2001, at the Beverly Nursing Center in New Madrid. She was born Sept. 2, 1921, in St. Louis, the daughter of August A. and Lucy Brown Zartt. She married Curtis Arnold on Oct. 22, 1955. He preceded her in death on Jan. 23, 1992...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Lora Everett Cox, 91, passed away Saturday, Dec. 1, 2001 at Southeast Missouri Hospital. Friends may call Monday, Dec. 3, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson, followed by the funeral service at 1 p.m. at the funeral home...

ORAN, Mo. -- Cornelius "Colonel" Dannenmueller, age 82, of Scott City, formerly of Oran, died Saturday, Dec. 1, 2001, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born at Oran on Nov. 10, 1919, to the late Albert and Rosalia Welter Dannenmueller. Colonel served in the U. S. Army during World War II...

Christmas spirit TO THE people who have been calling Speak Out about the little things that bothered them during the Christmas parade: Please don't complain about such a beautiful event. We should be happy we have so much Christmas spirit in this town...

This most recent cold snap packed a walloping wind with it. I was walking in my backyard and felt a chill every time the wind whipped. The feeling was a bit refreshing when I considered the mild temperatures of the past month. It did not take long for that fresh feeling to wear off and be replaced with discomfort. I knew that I had several months of these cold winds to deal with. That is when I started to consider how wind hits my house and how I can stop it with trees and shrubs...

To the editor: Congress has passed a resolution to establish Tuesday, Dec. 4, as a National Day of Reconciliation before God. "This event isn't about Sept 11, although that has a major part to play," according to House majority whip Tom DeLay of Texas. "This is about a nation that has pushed God out of its institutions and out of its homes and out of its communities, coming back to God and showing God that we are a nation that honors and reveres him."...

Department of Conservation JEFFERSON CITY-- Missouri hunters enjoyed nearly perfect weather for the second year in a row and posted a record harvest of 205,867 deer during the November firearms deer hunt. Daytime high temperatures ran 10 to 20 degrees above normal during the 11-day November segment of firearms deer season. Lack of rain also encouraged hunters to stay in the field during the segment, which is open to hunting with modern firearms and muzzle-loading rifles...

LUBBOCK, Texas -- Texas Tech forward Pawel Storozynski's eligibility to play will be reinstated in two weeks. The NCAA Reinstatement Committee has ruled the Lodz, Poland, native will be eligible to play when the Red Raiders visit the Houston Cougars Dec. 14. That is the next game scheduled after Tech hosted Texas Christian on Saturday...

Several area high school athletes received all-state accolades for the 2001 girls fall softball season. Picking up first-team honors were Amanda Nuyt of Perryville (Class 3A) and Caitlin Hoeh of St. Vincent (Class 2A). Selected to the second team were Notre Dame's Lindsay Reinagel (Class 2A), Kelly's Natalie Lewer (Class 2A) and Delta's Rebecca Cook (Class 1A). Poplar Bluff's Jessica Wilson, a senior outfielder, was chosen for the Class 4A second team...

FARMINGTON, Mo. -- Jackson High's boys basketball team (2-1) trounced North County 54-28 to claim fifth place in the Farmington Tournament Saturday night. Leading by a slim 20-18 first-half margin, the Indians defense held North County to 10 second-half points...

Southeast Missourian The frustration continued for Southeast Missouri State University's Indians Saturday night. A 71-58 loss to Western Illinois in front of 3,926 fans at the Show Me Center dropped Southeast to 0-4 for the first time since the 1950-51 season, when the Indians started out 0-9...

If you long for the laid-back joys of country living, but depend on the convenience of town, this property at 167 Hogan Lane in Cape Girardeau County could be for you. Located in the Jackson School District off Route W and County Road 603, it is only a few miles from the convenience of both Cape Girardeau and Jackson, Mo...

CANBERRA, Australia -- One of the world's biggest dance music companies wants to turn jets from collapsed Australian carrier Ansett into airborne night clubs. The British-based Ministry of Sound told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio on Tuesday it had put a proposal to Ansett's administrator to buy four jets...

SAN FRANCISCO -- A man has pleaded guilty to wire fraud after swindling people who had lost their pets. William Arnold Muniz, 40, scoured out-of-state newspaper advertisements, then contacted people who placed ads looking for their cats and dogs. He told them he found their animals and needed money to return them, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office...

LONDON -- King Henry VIII's writing desk, the wedding suit of King James II and a giant bed that got a mention in Shakespeare -- it's British history at a glance. The Victoria and Albert Museum's British Galleries have been refurbished and reorganized at a cost of $45 million to house a significant new collection of British culture, art and design from the 16th-century reign of King Henry VIII to the time of Queen Victoria...

Last winter, Attorney General Jay Nixon commenced what has long had the look of a vendetta against two respected Cole County circuit judges. Their names are Thomas Brown and Byron Kinder. Like Nixon and State Treasurer Nancy Farmer, who also figures in the matter, both Brown and Kinder are Democrats, so the dispute can't be laid to partisan differences...

The leadership at the Missouri Department of Natural Resources says it is committed to change. DNR director Steve Mahfood says he is implementing a restructuring of the huge department that will make it more responsive to all citizens. If true, this is certainly good news. DNR, home to something like 2,000 employees, has become a runaway agency, a government unto itself...

Cape Girardeau Sunday, Dec. 2 DWIJeffrey W. Parkhill, 24, of 130 S. Missouri St. was arrested early Saturday for driving while intoxicated. ArrestsDaniel K. Upchurch, 22, of 315 S. Pacific St. and Charles B. Coker, 25, of 839 Morgan Oak were arrested Friday for inhalation of solvents...

A 31-year-old female is being held in the Cape Girardeau County jail on $5,000 bond after assaulting a Cape Girardeau police officer Friday. Daniel Marie Patterson of Cape Girardeau was arrested for assaulting an officer and property damage. The incident happened at 7:15 p.m. Friday when officers responded to a theft call at Wal-Mart on William Street...

Mr. G still lives in his own home but has some problems getting around. He cannot see well, which limits his activities. Mr. G, 88, has a dog to keep him company in his small house. The two would like a few gifts for Christmas since they survive on limited income and help from Medicaid and Medicare...

The wish lists for Christmas toys seem to grow as the holiday approaches. Yet many area children won't be receiving an abundance of gifts this season because their families cannot afford them. Toybox is a joint program of the Cape Girardeau Jaycees and the Southeast Missourian that provides holiday toys and gifts to needy children up to age 12. ...

Cape Girardeau Sunday, Dec. 2 On Friday, firefighters responded to the following calls:At 4:50 p.m., emergency medical service at 1427 Ozark St. At 7:34 p.m., alarm sounding at 823 Clark. At 8:51 p.m., emergency medical service at 2115 William. On Saturday, firefighters responded to the following calls:At 12:56 a.m., alarm at 2551 Bloomfield...

MOSCOW -- Russian President Vladimir Putin criticized the Navy on Saturday over the sinking of the nuclear submarine Kursk, indicating poor planning could in part be to blame for the disaster and casting doubt on the theory that it sank in a collision...

BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- The manhunt for fugitive real estate heir Robert Durst came to a sudden end when the murder suspect was arrested at a Pennsylvania store for allegedly stealing a sandwich and Band-Aid for a cut under his nose, police said. District Justice Barbara Schlegel said Durst volunteered his name to police when he was taken into custody Friday and gave a New York address. A computer records check revealed he was wanted as a fugitive, she said...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- With most things, you get what you pay for. Missouri Department of Transportation officials are adamant that state residents want the transportation improvements they would get for $1 billion a year in additional revenue. Packages with a smaller price tag, they say, would only raise expectations that couldn't possibly be met...

KENNETT, Mo. -- Like the dark chasms that hide Muslim terrorists from the rest of the world, Missourians will soon enough find themselves enveloped in a sea of darkness, confusion and fright as the Day of Judgment approaches in January when the governor of Missouri unveils the state's new budget...

WASHINGTON -- In select cases, the Bush administration is considering making concessions on both the death penalty and the use of military tribunals to gain custody of suspected terrorists held in Europe, a senior U.S. official said. It is the first indication that the United States might be willing to negotiate with other countries on how suspected terrorists will be tried...

WASHINGTON -- Danger to U.S. troops in Afghanistan is increasing as the Taliban militia and al-Qaida disintegrate, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld warns. "Let there be no doubt, there will be further casualties in this campaign, in Afghanistan and elsewhere," Rumsfeld said Friday, the 55th day of the U.S. aerial assault that has punished but not finished off the Taliban...

WASHINGTON -- Workers wearing protective suits and air tanks pumped poisonous gas into a Senate building contaminated with anthrax in a cleanup Saturday intended to make it possible to reopen shuttered offices. "We've taken great pains to have a plan that we think is effective," said Lt. Dan Nichols, a Capitol Police spokesman...

WASHINGTON -- President Bush appealed Saturday for Congress to pass his stimulus package and help Americans hurting from an economic downtown that has grown worse since the terrorist attacks. In his weekly radio address, Bush sparred with congressional Democrats over whether his proposal would truly help the growing number of people put out of work because of the attacks and the onset of a recession...

WASHINGTON -- Poor people soon could face a new choice at the supermarket: vitamins or food. Food stamp recipients could use their benefits to buy vitamin and mineral supplements under Senate legislation overhauling agriculture and nutrition programs...

CRAZY HORSE, S.D. -- A peace prayer pipe that belonged to a survivor of both the 1876 Battle of the Little Big Horn and the 1890 Wounded Knee massacre has been presented to the Indian Museum of North America at Crazy Horse Memorial. Dewey Beard was a boy when warriors under Crazy Horse defeated Custer's 7th Cavalry at Little Big Horn...

FRIDLEY, Minn. -- Born on a reservation, Sonja Tanner was shocked to learn that Europeans sometimes knew more about American Indian history than she did. Tourists from places as far away as Germany and Japan would drop historical tidbits on the local Dakota or Ojibwe tribes while trying to book visits to tribal lands through Tanner's travel agency...

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Travis Stephens ran for a career-high 226 yards and No. 5 Tennessee stopped No. 2 Florida on a 2-point conversion with 1:10 left Saturday to further scramble the national championship Rose Bowl picture. The Vols (10-1, 7-1 SEC) advanced to next week's SEC title game against either LSU or Auburn, with a chance to play Miami for the championship in Pasadena, Calif., on Jan. 3...

WASHINGTON -- Michael Jordan is heading home to Chicago to have his ailing knee examined. Playing his fourth game in five nights, Jordan faded badly in the second half of the Washington Wizards' game against the Orlando Magic on Saturday night and was taken out of the game with 3:50 remaining...

ST. LOUIS -- Scott Mellanby scored with 1:17 left and Scott Young added two goals as the St. Louis Blues beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3 on Saturday night. St. Louis has won four consecutive games, including a 3-1 victory Thursday night in Columbus. The Blues also have won their last five home games...

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Kent Williams scored 22 points Saturday to lead Southern Illinois to 72-60 upset victory over Indiana. Indiana (4-2) jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the game, but Southern Illinois (6-1) pulled ahead 8-6 on a jumper by Rolan Roberts and led the rest of the way...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Arthur Johnson had 16 points and 10 rebounds as No. 3 Missouri overcame a sluggish first half to beat Grambling State 100-76 Saturday. Missouri (7-0) shot 34 percent in the first half and led only 36-29. The Tigers, playing their second straight game against Southwestern Athletic Conference competition, shot 55 percent the rest of the way as Johnson scored 13 points en route to his second straight double-double...

STATESBORO, Ga. -- Adrian Peterson ran for 153 yards and two touchdowns, leading Georgia Southern to a 60-35 victory over Florida A&M on Saturday in the first round of the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs. The Eagles (11-1) are bidding for their third straight championship and the seventh in school history...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- After the terror attacks, with the sports world suspending play for who-knew-how-long, Kent Heitholt issued this stern challenge: Don't let unspeakable violence paralyze America. The games should resume, the Columbia Daily Tribune sports editor wrote, "to thumb your nose at the bully by going about life."...

ATLANTA -- Remember the Atlanta Falcons? Oh, yeah, that's the team that spent one proud season as the Dirty Birds, flapping their arms all the way to the Super Bowl. Just as quickly, they faded back to obscurity, a super fluke that won only nine games the last two seasons...

SALT LAKE CITY -- Jay Rice figured he could get $1,800 a night in rent on his Deer Valley condominium during the Winter Olympics. With 2 1/2 months until the games, he still hasn't signed a tenant. So Rice, a 46-year-old hedge-fund manager, is hedging his bets. He's advertising a "half-price" condo in newspaper classified ads...

We can send men and women into space, but we can't get reliable Christmas tree lights. Every year, we faithfully drag out our colored lights and check each strand before we hang them on the fluffed branches of our artificial tree. This year was no exception. Every strand glowed brightly. So I began the task of wrapping the strands around the tree from top to bottom. When I was finished, I plugged in the lights and surprisingly they worked...

BONNE TERRE, Mo. -- A plan is under way to move 50 inmates into the Bonne Terre prison facility as part of a boot camp program this spring, according to a Department of Corrections spokesman. Bonne Terre is home to a $168 million prison which has not previously held inmates...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A water pipe break has caused between $100,000 and $200,000 worth of damage to the main branch of the Kansas City Public Library. The pipe broke late Friday or early Saturday in a staff office area on the third floor of the building, damaging carpeting and a second-floor area filled with adult fiction and foreign language books. Some of the books had recently been purchased, said Jami Schaefer, community affairs supervisor for the library...

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Business is bustling -- and squirming and stretching -- at Southern Illinois' most sophisticated nursery for newborn babies, where ribbons are stuck to tiny girls' heads and their ankle ID bands are about as big as their daddies' wedding rings...

COBDEN, Ill. -- The first time Roberta Elliott struck hammer to steel, she was hooked. "It's one of those things, you either love it or you hate it. For me, it's very exhilarating," Elliott said. "When you work the steel, when you're hammering a lot, it's like a runner's high. The endorphins get built up. That's a really good feeling."...

WHEELING, Ill. -- A 39-year-old Wheeling woman stopped for whiskey, beer and cigarettes just after hitting and killing a 72-year-old pedestrian with her car, prosecutors claim. Sheila Holub is charged with reckless homicide in the hit-and-run death of Donald Santowski Wednesday, Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Scott Biestek said...

JACKSONVILLE, Ill. -- A graduate student at the University of Illinois at Springfield is recording information about a darker era of Morgan County history. Jacksonville native Vance Scott Martin, an intern at the Illinois State Archives in Springfield, has been working for about three months transcribing original, handwritten Morgan County poor farm records from 1848 to 1932...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A brother and sister from whose homes police seized enough PCP to make millions of doses of the hallucinogenic drug were ordered held without bond on conspiracy charges, federal prosecutors said. Tyron D. Washington, 29, and his sister, Durron S. Washington, 31, were each charged Friday with one count of conspiracy to distribute at least 1,000 grams of phencyclidine, commonly known as PCP, U.S. Attorney Todd Graves said...

ST. LOUIS -- An Egyptian aircraft mechanic detained on immigration charges for more than two months will be released from jail next week and allowed to fly home, his lawyer said Friday. Osama El Far, 30, was an airplane mechanic at Lambert Airport in St. Louis before he was detained Sept. 24 for overstaying his student visa. El Far is being held in the Mississippi County Jail in Charleston for the federal Immigration and Naturalization Service...

HARRISONVILLE, Mo. -- A Warsaw man has admitted sexually abusing hundreds of young girls whose assaults he videotaped. Elza Terry, 55, pleaded guilty Friday to all 16 charges against him. He is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 24. Terry faces up to six life terms in prison for raping and sodomizing two girls who were 6 and 8 at the time. The girls lived near Terry in Belton when he resided there in 1999...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Imagine a world in which you carry your entire DNA profile on a plastic card in your wallet, which your doctor could swipe through a machine to make a nearly instantaneous diagnosis. Or a world where such diseases as Alzheimer's, cancer or depression have been cured or controlled with new "designer" drugs...

PEKIN, Ill. -- Seventy-three-year-old Bill Thurmond offers proof that you're never too old or too young to learn how to juggle. "Anyone can learn how -- or at least try," the Minier resident told a crowd of about 45 would-be jugglers of all ages at a recent Pekin Public Library family activity night...

CARTHAGE, Mo. -- Marti Mosemiller has awakened to the Precious Moments message. It's not the kind of conversion that will have her lining shelves in her Greenwood, Ind., home with the kitschy, porcelain bisque figurines that carry a religious message...

CARTHAGE, Mo. -- The Precious Moments Chapel Center has been transformed for the holidays. When the sky grows dark, the park begins to glow with more than a million twinkling lights. A one-act show, "Christmas Remembered," also has been added as part of the weekend entertainment at the center's Wedding Island. ...

The Associated Press It's special to bring out treasured holiday decorations each year, but it's also fun to have family members cooperate on some new ones to add to the mix. Besides lending a holiday look to a home, it adds to the festive spirit of those living there. Pine cone parade...

NEW YORK -- All year round, but particularly as the end-of-year holidays draw near, the prospect of entertaining inspires cooks and hosts with the urge to make a special effort. There's no shortage of writers who have anticipated that interest in putting on a good show and want to help it along...

By Samantha Critchell ~ The Associated Press NEW YORK -- Putting up holiday decorations is fun. Taking them down is not. Maybe that's why there are so many wreaths still hanging on the door when the Easter bunny comes knocking...

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Tribal warriors claimed to be making a major assault on Taliban forces defending Kandahar's airport Saturday night as thousands more fighters from another anti-Taliban faction headed toward the city from the north. In Germany, negotiations for a post-Taliban government saw progress when the northern alliance reversed itself and submitted nominees to serve on an interim administration alongside three other factions. ...

KOENIGSWINTER, Germany -- Talks on Afghan-istan's political future moved into a decisive phase Saturday after the northern alliance said it was prepared to transfer power to a U.N.-backed interim council and allow an international security force, clearing the way for an agreement...

TRES ESQUINAS MILITARY BASE, Colombia -- Protruding above the jungle like a giant white golf ball on a tee, Washington's latest investment in the war on drugs scans the horizon for small planes ferrying cocaine over the Amazon. The $13 million radar station was just inaugurated by President Andres Pastrana and the U.S. ...

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- When a critically ill AIDS patient comes to Philippe Castera, the voodoo priest consults with the spirits and often tells the patient to lie in a coffin for 24 hours. The treatment isn't intended to attack the virus but the evil spirit believed to be causing the illness. Seeing the patient, Castera enters a trance, during which he says one of the spirits possesses him...

CAPE TOWN, South Africa -- Nelson Mandela, the former president of a country now beset by a deadly AIDS epidemic, commemorated World AIDS Day Saturday by urging South Africa's youth to fight the disease and accept those who suffer from it. "There is no difference whatsoever between somebody who is HIV-positive and myself," Mandela said. "We should approach people who are HIV-positive. We must give them love and support and not marginalize them."...

JERUSALEM -- Two suicide bombers blew themselves up in a crowded pedestrian mall in downtown Jerusalem late Saturday, causing dozens of casualties, city police said. Paramedics said at least one person was killed, and witnesses said they saw several bodies lying on the ground...

NEW YORK -- Reba is in a jam. Not Reba McEntire, the Reba who reigns as queen of Nashville, toast of Broadway and instant sitcom star. No, it's Reba Hart -- the Dallas soccer mom of McEntire's new WB comedy -- who's the Reba with a mess of problems...

NEW YORK -- Bernie Mac will never be confused with Dr. Spock. Benjamin Spock, legendary baby doctor and best-selling author, urged parents to seek an understanding of their child's psychological needs. Bernie Mac, gruff-love advocate and hero of a new sitcom bearing his name, calls for beating some sense into their hard little heads...

NEW YORK -- It's a touching tale of hope and goodwill, of believing in something overwhelmingly good. It takes place in New York 54 years ago, but it's as meaningful today as it was then. Now "Miracle on 34th Street" has been reproduced in a handsome facsimile of the original 1947 book by Harcourt Inc. The small, hardcover edition, measuring 7 3/4 inches by 5 inches, has been faithfully copied down to the original typeface -- positioning and spacing of all the words re-created line for line...

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The last time David Jones visited the 100-acre zoo in Afghanistan's capital, he admired bears and mountain goats native to the land as herds of red deer grazed peacefully. "It was then quite a nice zoo for that part in the world," said Jones, director of the North Carolina Zoo...

MIAMI -- One day after the 2001 hurricane season ended, the weakened tropical depression Olga remained far out in the Atlantic on Saturday. Olga was expected to weaken further to a low pressure area over the next few days, said hurricane specialist Miles Lawrence...

KENT, Wash. -- In 1984, the Green River slayings were the focus of a task force made up of dozens of investigators trying to find the person responsible for the deaths of 49 women in the Northwest, the nation's worst unsolved serial killings. Detectives followed thousands of leads, interviewed victims' friends, witnesses and possible suspects in the killings around Seattle and Portland, Ore...

Jonathan Budil knew he was beaten. Laying his black king in the middle of the board, he let out a sigh, looked across the table at his opponent and quietly said, "Thank you" as he shook his hand. Budil, 34, was playing chess Saturday with opponent Jim Musumeci, 51, in the second round of the U.S. Chess Federation tournament at the Zimmer Radio Group/Bank of America building in Cape Girardeau...

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Scientists with the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation and the University of Oklahoma plan to decipher the genetic blueprint of a legume plant, a discovery they say could ultimately lead to improved varieties of crops. The non-profit philanthropic foundation has already spent $5 million doing preliminary work for the project, and has decided to dedicate an additional $5 million, said Michael A. Cawley, the foundation's president...

Associated Press photos/Andres Leighton Lorena Anaya, 4, from Spain, petted a dolphin at Manati Park in the tourist town of Bavaro, 115 miles east from Santo Domingo. While programs that offer the chance to swim with dolphins are enjoying a boom in popularity, the debate is growing about whether captivity and close interaction with people harms the dolphins.By Duncan Mansfield ~ Associated Press Writer...

Collecting scenes of a famous manger in Bethlehem came naturally to Jane Stuart. She has been a obstetrical nurse for 35 years and has three children of her own. The connection between mother and child has always been powerful in her life. "I loved the Christmas story and more the mother and the child," she says. "I've always been drawn to it."...

The meetings aren't long, but they're meaningful. The monthly gathering of the Cape Girardeau Planning and Zoning Commission -- which is made up of architects, contractors, landlords, laborers, developers and ordinary residents -- generally last no longer than an hour...

BAVARO, Dominican Republic -- The two dolphins glide around the tourists, who hesitantly reach out to stroke the glossy backs. A photographer snaps a picture. One of animals seems to grin. "You can feel the connection with them, they seem to know us," Lim Streckland of St. Louis said as he emerged from the pool...

DALLAS -- As congressional negotiators work on a plan to improve security at the nation's airports, people who follow the airline business are concerned about the industry's ability to win back fliers who are staying home out of fear. Air travel, which dropped sharply after the Sept. 11 terrorist hijackings and attacks, is slowly recovering as some travelers have gotten over their initial anxiety about flying...

JACKSON, Mo. -- In a city with sparkling neighborhoods and a median family income exceeding $34,000, most Jackson residents don't have to worry about affording a Christmas gift for their children or having enough to eat during the holidays. But last year, hundreds of Jackson children received toys through the annual Toys for Children campaign and more than 250 food baskets were distributed through the Jackson Elks Christmas Program...

NEW YORK -- She slips into the firehouse every night around 7, a tiny woman with a sunny smile and a gentle sense of purpose that makes even the most exhausted firefighters pause. They call her the flower lady. They know she lives nearby, that she works during the day, that maybe once she appeared on Broadway...

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Notre Dame College, a small Catholic liberal arts school in operation for 51 years, is closing at the end of the academic year because of declining enrollment and a limited endowment, college officials said Thursday. Trustees met Wednesday night with the college president, the Rev. Anthony De Conciliis, and voted to close the school on May 31...

LOS ANGELES -- For years, "Lou Grant" television star Ed Asner has worked hard to stay in the business. And it keeps getting harder. "With my gray and balding head, I don't work so much," the 72-year-old actor said. "If I didn't fight vigorously to produce or stick my nose into areas I have never worked in before, I would probably have to go. But I ain't going."...

In former creative writing workshops I have stressed the value and craft of making your reader, See, Hear and Feel. Feel, as in some emotion -- joy, sorrow, laughter, compassion, etc. The easiest of these guidelines is, at least for me, See. With an abundance of legitimate adjectives, as well as some made up, one can make the Peace Rose or a red apple still hanging on a tree branch, come pictorially alive in the reader's mind's eye. ...

ST. LOUIS -- Census figures showing sharp declines in racial disparity in Missouri's largest cities during the 1990s may be tied to blacks migrating to suburbs after benefitting from the nation's robust economy during much of that decade, observers theorize...

AP Economics WriterWASHINGTON (AP) -- Spending on construction projects, which had posted five consecutive monthly declines, advanced by 1.9 percent in October, the biggest monthly gain since January, the Commerce Department reported Monday...

Associated Press WriterWASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court agreed Monday to decide whether older people may use a civil rights lawsuit to claim that company layoffs targeted them more heavily than younger workers. The court said it will hear an appeal from fired Florida utility workers who claim that company layoffs fell disproportionately on older workers...

AP Diplomatic WriterWASHINGTON (AP) -- As Israeli airstrikes rained on the Gaza Strip, the White House pressed Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on Monday to crack down -- in actions, not just words -- on the terrorists in Israel's sights...

Associated Press WriterWASHINGTON (AP) -- FBI Director Robert Mueller is poised to announce a reorganization to strengthen the bureau's ability to fight terrorism. Mueller is expected to dismantle the FBI's investigative services division, which does analysis and threat assessments, and redeploy the section's analysts to the FBI's counterterrorism, criminal, national security and other divisions...

AP Aerospace WriterCAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- Two spacewalking cosmonauts successfully removed a rubber seal Monday that had jammed a docking mechanism at the international space station and forced a shuttle launch delay. The obstruction had disrupted NASA's plans last week to send space shuttle Endeavour on a space station delivery mission. Liftoff is now scheduled for Tuesday evening, five days late...

Associated Press WriterBALTIMORE (AP) -- The Adam's Mark hotel chain will pay $2 million to settle claims it discriminated against black guests during a 1999 Florida college reunion, NAACP president Kweisi Mfume said Monday. The settlement ends an ongoing boycott by the civil rights organization against the company and legal action by the company against those who canceled contracts as part of the boycott...

AP Business WriterNEW YORK (AP) -- A mix of economic data Monday left stock investors puzzling over how long the economy will take to recover and prompted many market players to cash in recent profits. The selling was minor compared with how strongly stocks have rallied for two months as Wall Street has grown more confident of an economic turnaround in 2002. ...

AP Diplomatic WriterWASHINGTON (AP) -- As Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon declared war on terror Monday, the White House pressed Yasser Arafat to crack down on Palestinians whose suicide bombings killed at least 26 people over the weekend...

Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Bush administration wants Americans to remain on a high state of alert at least through the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, government officials said Monday. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge would make the announcement at the White House. The alert was based on threats received by law enforcement, the officials said...

and MARK LAVIE Associated Press Writers GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) -- Prime Minister Ariel Sharon declared war on terror Monday, and Israeli airstrikes destroyed two of the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's helicopters in Gaza and hit West Bank security installations...

For Missouri's 2000 tax season, AARP volunteers helped more than 53,000 people with their tax returns. Each year, the demand for assistance goes up and volunteers must be added. AARP is seeking more volunteers to serve as tax-aide counselors during the 2001 tax-filing season...

Local Taco John's restaurants will contribute 100 food baskets to the Salvation Army during this holiday season. In addition, each restaurant will encourage customers to donate their change from any order to Salvation Army kettles places on the counters of each restaurant. ...

Girls basketball DONIPHAN 59, PERRYVILLE 58 PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Doniphan outscored Perryville 17-12 in the final quarter as it overcame a fourth-quarter deficit to edge the Lady Pirates. Doniphan, last year's Class 3A state runner-up, improved to 2-0 on the season. The loss was the first for Perryville (2-1)...

Boys Swimming Parkway South 142, Cape Central 46 Parkway South, state champions the past three years, handed Cape Central its second dual-meet loss. It was the inexperienced Tigers second straight meet against a top-ranked state swimming program. Lafayette, seventh in state in 2000, was Cape Central's first opponent...

In John Grisham's book "A Painted House," 7-year-old Luke Chandler picks cotton all day in sweltering heat on the farm his family leases outside the town of Black Oak, Ark. Luke marks the passage of days by how many games his beloved St. Louis Cardinals are out first place and dreams of playing baseball for them one day. His mother's dream is to live in a painted house, a yearning that stands for all the dreams a poor family of 1950s cotton farmers might have...

The nation and the state may be mired in a recession, but the economic downturn hasn't stopped commercial growth in Cape Girardeau. The city's building permit records show businesses undertook fewer but larger construction and renovation projects this year...

Cape Girardeans were treated to a rare combination of crayons and chamber music Sunday. The Arts Council of Southeast Missouri sponsored the concert at Old St. Vincent's Church as part of the annual Children's Arts Festival. Musicians from the Southeast Chamber Players performed in the sun-kissed sanctuary. Children and seniors in their Sunday best mingled with denim-clad teen-agers and tousled university students...

10 years ago: Dec. 3, 1991 Jackson - Although filing period doesn't open for another month, one Jackson alderman says he will file for re-election to third term; Ward E. Alderman Glenn Oldham made that announcement after Monday's meeting of Jackson Board of Aldermen...

EAST PRAIRIE, Mo. -- Rita Myers, 41, of Morehouse, Mo., formerly of East Prairie, died Saturday, Dec. 1, 2001, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. Born Jan. 31, 1960, in Cairo, Ill., she was the daughter of Joe B. and Kathleen Couch Myers. Survivors include a son, Randall Johnson, of Morehouse; two daughters, Chastity Houseman of Steele, Mo., Rockelle Harris of Troy, Mo.; a brother, Gary Myers of Morehouse; six sisters, Vicki Sanders and Shirley Chance of East Prairie, Betty Chapman and Marie Myers of Centralia, Ill., Penny Houston of Troy, and Joetta Blumenberg of Wright City, Mo.. ...

SIKESTON, Mo., -- Alice A. George, 77, of Sikeston, formerly of Bertrand, Mo., died Saturday, Dec. 1, 2001, at the Clearview Nursing Center. Born Sept. 8, 1924, in Hot Springs, Ark., to Clark Braden and Corya Broyles Spiller. She lived on Route 1 in Bertrand most of her life and was a member of the New Bethel Baptist Church...

KARNAK, Mo. -- Leta Meyer, 66, of Karnak, died Saturday, Dec. 1, 2001, at Western Baptist Hospital in Paducah, Ky. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Wilson Funeral Home in Karnak.

ADVANCE, Mo. -- Brenda Kaye Pickett, 56, of Advance died Sunday, Dec. 2, 2001, at her home. Born March 26, 1945, in Sturdivant, Mo., she was the daughter of Paul and Mary Moore Hamlin. On Aug. 30, 1963, in Zalma, Mo., she was married to Don Pickett. He died Sept. 30, 1980...

Freeda Crain, 91, of Cape Girardeau, formerly of Dexter, Mo., died Saturday, Dec. 1, 2001, at the Lutheran Home. Born Aug. 26, 1910, in Diehlstadt, Mo., she was the daughter of Perly and Laura Ann Hogg Collier. On July 2, 1938, she was married to Rufus "Doc" Crain in New Madrid, Mo. He died Oct. 11, 1992...

Usable team name HAVE ANY other SEMO students been to the bookstore lately? There is nothing at all for sale containing the name of our athletic teams. Everything just says "Southeast." Apparently the university isn't proud to have the name "Indians," and I understand that. ...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Clyde E. "Gravy" Cassoutt, 89, of Perryville died Saturday, Dec. 1, 2001, at the Perry County Nursing Home. Born July 21, 1912, in Rockwood, Ill., he was the son of Lucien and Margaret Booker Cassoutt. On March 29, 1939, he was married to Rose Ann Seifert. She died Dec. 29, 1953...

Sikeston tourney opens play today SIKESTON, Mo. -- The 30th annual Sikeston Invitational boys basketball tournament will tip off today, with two-time Class 3A state champion New Madrid County Central looking to defend its title. New Madrid is seeded first, followed by Charleston, Poplar Bluff, Sikeston, Blytheville (Ark.), Doniphan, Kennett and Cape Girardeau Central...

7:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 3 City Hall Action Items Power and Light Committee Consider a motion approving the mayor's appointment of Rodney Bollinger, Alderman Larry Hall, Alderman Larry Cunningham and Wayne Maupin to serve on the Zoning Amendments Committee...

P Notre Dame falls to Poplar Bluff in tough Farmington event. FARMINGTON, Mo. -- The Farmington Invitational girls basketball tournament lived up to its billing. In an eight-team field featuring several of the state's premier teams, top-seeded Poplar Bluff captured the championship by slipping past second-seeded Notre Dame 53-50 Saturday night...

Since 1993, Dr. C. John Ritter and his wife, Marcia Southard-Ritter, have given up their comfortable lives in Cape Girardeau to carry out medical missions in which they have helped the sick in Third World countries. Ritter, 64, says they carried out the work because it needed to be done, and it has given a different meaning to his life...

Cape Girardeau County for years has enjoyed financial stability that most other counties in Missouri can only envy, and its financial condition looks better with the passing of every year. A combination of revenue sources has helped Cape Girardeau County gain that stability. ...

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Never mind that Sean Walton already owns 150 movies on videotape. The movie enthusiast is quickly building a new collection -- this time, on DVD. It's been only a month since the Redwood City man invested $170 in a DVD player, and he already owns 25 DVD movies. "I love the extra stuff they throw in that you don't get on video," Walton said, clutching three DVDs on his way out of a movie rental store...

NEW YORK -- Early retirement, the way Howard Worzel and Nancy Lovely pictured it, would be sweet -- severance checks would ease the move to Arizona and health insurance would ease their worries, particularly given Lovely's treatment for breast cancer, once they got there...

Dietiker receives state CPA license Frank Dietiker Jr. of Cape Girardeau has received his state license as a certified public accountant. He is a Cape Girardeau native and graduated from Southeast Missouri State University in 1998 with an accounting degree. He has been an associate of the CPA firm of Stanley, Dirnberger, Hopper and Associates, LLC, since October 1999...

MONTEZUMA, Kan. igh above the Kansas prairie, a huge crane slowly lifts a tubular section of the last windmill going up at the Gray County wind farm, then gingerly lowers the 70-foot-long piece on the tower as workers inside the base bolt it down. It's relatively still on this usually windy stretch of land 30 miles west of Dodge City, a perfect day for assembling the tower sections...

Cape Girardeau County Sheriff Monday, Dec. 3 DWIDenny C. Cook, 41, Dexter, Mo., was arrested Nov. 24 for driving while intoxicated. Stephen M. Kilhafner, 24, Marble Hill, Mo., was arrested Nov. 24 for driving while intoxicated. Cory L. Nugent, 22, Cape Girardeau, was arrested Thursday for driving while intoxicated...

Cape Girardeau, Monday, Dec. 3 Firefighters responded to the following calls Saturday:At 3:42, a mutual aid response at Highway 25 and County Road 216. At 4:07 p.m., a citizen assist at 512 S. Hanover. At 8: 13 p.m., an emergency medical service at 211 West Park Mall...

Exerpt from Chapter One of "A Painted House" by John Grisham, published by Doubleday & Company, Inc. The hill people and the Mexicans arrived on the same day. It was a Wednesday, early in September 1952. The Cardinals were five games behind the Dodgers with three weeks to go, and the season looked hopeless. ...

Mrs. H. lives with her husband, who helps with her care. Their two daughters also come to check on the couple but both live out of town and aren't close by. Mrs. H. has gone without her medications so that the couple could pay all their expenses. She suffers from congestive heart failure and has a history of strokes...

Toys and games based on popular cartoon characters, television shows and movies are wildly popular with children. This year is no exception. Toybox, a joint program of the Cape Girardeau Jaycees and the Southeast Missourian, needs toys with Powerpuff girls, Scooby Doo, Monsters, Inc., Harry Potter, Power Rangers and Barney characters to distribute to children...

Stephen E. Strom, who is in charge of building the Red House replica in Cape Girardeau to commemorate the Lewis and Clark expedition, will speak today at the monthly meeting of the Historical Association of Greater Cape Girardeau. Meriwether Lewis dined at Cape Girardeau founder Don Louis Lorimier's Red House on his way up the Mississippi River enroute to the Pacific Ocean. Strom will talk about the Red House and the Lewis and Clark expedition...

Private graduates National Guard training Pvt. Curtis Ackman has graduated from basic military training at Fort Sill in Lawton, Okla. He is assigned to the National Guard 1140th Engineers Brigade headquartered in Perryville, Mo., and Jackson, Mo. Ackman is a senior at Jackson High School. He is the son of David and Janet Ackman of Jackson...

Christmas events at Cape public library At 3:30 p.m. Dec. 5, children ages 3-7 are invited to celebrate and learn about reindeer at the Cape Girardeau Public Library's Reindeer Animal Roundup. There will be stories, crafts and games. All ages are invited to the library at 3:30 p.m. Dec. 11 to learn about old and new holiday traditions through games, stories and discussions. Refreshments will be served...

WASHINGTON -- American military forces in Afghanistan, now numbering up to 2,000 troops, may resort to extraordinary measures to crush the Taliban militia and root out al-Qaida terrorists from fortified cave and tunnel hide-outs, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Sunday...

WASHINGTON -- Somewhere between America's spies and commandos is a small group of men and women like Johnny "Mike" Spann, the CIA paramilitary officer killed by rioting prisoners in Afghanistan. Part intelligence operative, part combat trooper, these officers were among the first Americans to cross the border into Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 -- even before military commandos began reconnaissance missions...

WASHINGTON -- Attorney General John Ashcroft said Sunday the addition of several hundred National Guard members and military helicopters at U.S.-Canadian crossings will improve border security and speed the flow of trade. Tighter security since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks meant the U.S. government had to transfer Immigration and Naturalization Service agents from other duties to man checkpoints along the 4,000-mile border...

WASHINGTON -- People stood shoulder-to-shoulder outside the White House in anxious vigil. Washington hostesses dashed off notes canceling teas. The zoo made contingency plans to kill its poisonous snakes. A note scrawled on cardboard outside the Soldiers, Sailors and Marines Club told the story: "All servicemen are due in camp at reveille tomorrow. Signed, Secretary of War."...

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- When Bob Davie was hired by Notre Dame in 1996, he got some advice from former Irish coach Ara Parseghian. "He said, 'There's a lot of things to worry about. Worry about one thing -- and that's winning,"' Davie said. He didn't win often enough and Notre Dame fired him Sunday, a day after the storied football program completed its second losing season in three years...

Some college football fans prefer the season to end in an orderly fashion. Others enjoy complete chaos. Three breathtaking two-point games involving the nation's top teams, though, has fans pondering the same question: How will the national title chase play out after the final big game of the regular season next Saturday?...

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The St. Louis Blues weren't about to let a three-goal rally go to waste. Al MacInnis scored on a slap shot with 2:01 left in regulation to lift the Blues to a 4-4 tie with the Minnesota Wild on Sunday night. MacInnis' goal came just 42 seconds after Andrew Brunette gave Minnesota the lead...

ATLANTA -- The St. Louis Rams showed just how dominating they can be when they don't turn the ball over. Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk and Co. thoroughly overwhelmed the Atlanta Falcons, cruising to a 35-6 victory Sunday. Warner threw four touchdown passes and had his seventh 300-yard game of the season. Three of his scoring passes went to Faulk, who got his 100th career TD...

CHICAGO -- Leon Johnson scored on a 1-yard run with 5:34 left, and the Chicago Bears won another tight game Sunday, beating winless Detroit 13-10 and surviving when the Lions' Jason Hanson missed a 40-yard field goal with 21 seconds to go. It was the third miss of the day for the normally reliable Hanson, who had made 13 of 16 field goals entering the game. Again, the Lions (0-11) couldn't find a way to win a close one -- their last eight losses have been by a total of 35 points...

ST. LOUIS -- Missouri vs. St. Louis appears to be every bit the mismatch of the Tigers' last two games, which they won by an average of 31 points. The Billikens are hoping the rivalry factor in the series, tied at a game apiece since the teams resumed playing two years ago after a nearly two-decade break, will help in tonight's game against the nation's third-ranked team. ...

SUN CITY, South Africa -- Sergio Garcia made a 20-foot chip shot from the fringe on the first playoff hole Sunday to beat Ernie Els and win the Nedbank Golf Challenge. Garcia forced the playoff by shooting a 9-under-par 63 after starting the day six stroke behind Els, the third-round leader...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Streaks of brilliant light that were spotted from Texas to Nebraska on Saturday night apparently were caused by space debris breaking up, authorities said. A dispatcher at the Kansas Turnpike Authority in Wichita said callers reported the lights from the Oklahoma border to near Kansas City. In Hastings, Neb., meteorologist Larry Wirth of the National Weather Service reported calls from Kearney and Clay Center...

MARYVILLE, Mo. -- Health officials at Northwest Missouri State University report a surge of student interest in the meningitis vaccine after a classmate died of a rare bacterial infection on Thanksgiving Day. "It scared a lot of people," said freshman Lauren Pickett, who made an appointment to get the vaccine when she returned to campus after Thanksgiving break. "I wasn't really that worried about it before."...

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Relentless U.S. airstrikes pummeled the defenders of Kandahar Sunday with anti-Taliban forces within 20 miles of the last militia stronghold. A U.S. Marine officer said his troops might join the assault. In the east, a provincial military official said U.S. warplanes bombed an anti-Taliban headquarters Sunday, killing at least eight people. The claim came a day after the official reported similar bombings killed scores of civilians nearby...

JERUSALEM -- The wave of attacks against Israelis confronts Yasser Arafat with a wrenching choice: Act swiftly and decisively against the violent extremists who have flourished during 14 months of fighting, or risk facing the full wrath of Israel. Reining in the Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups would require the arrest of hundreds of militants and could lead to fighting between Arafat loyalists and the militants and their growing numbers of supporters -- as well as elements of Arafat's own increasingly radicalized Fatah movement.. ...

SOUTHERN AFGHANISTAN -- U.S. Marines have been joined by a handful of British, German and Australian officers ahead of a possible push on Kandahar, the Taliban's last stronghold in Afghanistan. So far there are only five non-American officers at the U.S. base in southern Afghanistan. But their presence, and the fact that more were expected, may mark a shift in the importance of the anti-terror coalition the United States began building following the September attacks...

BRUSSELS, Belgium -- Secretary of State Colin Powell and other NATO foreign ministers will take a new look this week at the way the alliance does business with Russia. Since Sept. 11, the allies believe they have detected a new, more cooperative Russia under President Vladimir Putin, a potential partner rather than the confrontational adversary of old...

JERUSALEM -- After a series of suicide bombings against Israel that killed 25 people and wounded nearly 200, Yasser Arafat ordered dozens of Islamic militants arrested and promised harsh action. But Israel was deeply skeptical, with hard-liners calling for the removal of the Palestinian leader...

SENDAI, Japan -- There was a brief buzz about it last summer when the latest version from Hollywood hit the theaters. Then came the terrorist attacks on the United States, and it was once again on Japanese minds. For Americans, Sept. 11, 2001, has joined Dec. 7, 1941 as a date after which their world would never be the same. But in Japan, as the 60th anniversary of Pearl Harbor nears, there is silence...

NEW YORK -- Beleaguered energy company Enron Corp. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for itself and 14 subsidiaries, the company said Sunday. Enron also filed a lawsuit against would-be suitor Dynegy Inc. for wrongful termination of its $8.4 billion proposed merger. Both actions were filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York...

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Gabriela Pingarron and her three daughters live, like many Hispanic families, in Oakland's bustling flatlands. They share a house with two other families and shop for tortillas on a busy commercial street, where Pingarron also wires money to her mother in Mexico...

HOUSTON -- With the negative and often ferocious campaigning behind him, newly re-elected Mayor Lee Brown on Sunday asked the city to coalesce during his final two years in office. "This is a city I love. I want to make sure I do everything I can to see it progress," Brown said. "I believe when we work together as one city, we have a very bright future."...

Envoy: Russia opposes U.S. attacks on Iraq CAIRO, Egypt -- Russia would oppose a U.S. military strike against Iraq and thinks diplomacy is the only way to solve the arms inspections impasse between Washington and Baghdad, a Russian envoy visiting the Middle East said Sunday...

HONOLULU -- The basic layout of the Navy's base at Pearl Harbor -- the drydocks, the ship repair shop and Ford Island -- hasn't changed much in the 60 years since the Japanese surprise attack that thrust America into the Pacific battles of World War II...

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii -- Nancy Lynne Wagner died three days after she and her twin sister, Mary, were born in 1937. Her body was cremated and her ashes stayed with her father, Chief Yeoman Albert T.D. Wagner, through tours of duty in China and then aboard the USS Utah at Pearl Harbor as he waited for a Navy chaplain to perform a burial at sea...

HONOLULU -- Just eight minutes passed from when the duty officer woke Clark J. Simmons from his bunk on the USS Utah until the ship sank from Japanese torpedoes on Dec. 7, 1941. In that time, the 20-year-old mess attendant scrambled to the deck, jumped into Pearl Harbor and swam to safety on Ford Island...

Parker Bowles, Prince Charles raise profile LONDON -- Camilla Parker Bowles, the longtime companion of Prince Charles, attended church Sunday with the heir to the British throne as they continued to raise their public profile. The couple were among a group of guests at Queen Elizabeth II's Sandringham estate in eastern England. They walked from Sandringham House to St. Mary Magdalen Church for morning service...

NEW YORK -- For reasons of national security and national pride, government officials in countries like China, France and Germany are increasingly adopting the free, open-source computer operating system known as Linux. In some cases, the software being replaced is produced by the Microsoft Corp., which, users say, is more prone to viruses and hackers...

$$$Start By Sam McVay JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Regarding your Nov. 27 editorial, "Deserving vets still at war -- with red tape," it is clear that I have not done my job in providing adequate information for you, and I would like to do so now...

Associated Press WriterJEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- State probation and parole officers have embraced union representation while workers in the divisions of employment security and workforce development have not. Voting under expanded union powers backed by the governor, workers of the Division of Probation and Parole voted 531-199 in favor of being represented by the Service Employees International Union Local 2000, the state Board of Mediation said Tuesday...

and Mark Lavie ~ The Associated Press GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- Prime Minister Ariel Sharon declared war on terror Monday, and Israeli airstrikes destroyed two of the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's helicopters in Gaza and hit West Bank security installations...

Associated Press WriterWASHINGTON (AP) -- Targeting the pocketbooks of terrorists, the Bush administration froze the assets early Tuesday of an American foundation and two overseas groups accused of financing the militant Palestinian organization Hamas...

Associated Press WriterATLANTA (AP) -- The Olympic torch returned to the United States Tuesday for the first time since the 1996 Summer Games, beginning a 46-state tour to the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. The torch arrived before dawn at Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport from Athens, Greece, on a Delta Air Lines jumbo jet painted specifically for the occasion. Olympic gold medalists Nikki Stone and Bonnie Blair delivered the torch...

Associated Press WriterBUCHAREST, Romania (AP) -- International pressure is building on Yasser Arafat to deal more forcefully to control Palestinian terrorist groups after a rash of suicide bombings in Israel, Secretary of State Colin Powell asserted Tuesday...

Associated Press WriterRAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) -- Israel unleashed airstrikes Tuesday in retaliation for Palestinian suicide bombings, and three missiles hit 50 yards from Yasser Arafat's office as the Palestinian leader worked inside. Arafat was not injured, and Israel said he was not the target of the strike...

Associated Press WriterORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Microphone in hand, President Bush took the stage of a town hall meeting Tuesday and expressed sympathy with workers and business owners struggling in a sagging economy. "There's nothing that hurts me more than to know, as we head for the holiday season, that some of our citizens and some of their families hurt because they've been laid off as a result of" the Sept. 11 suicide hijackings over Washington, New York and Pennsylvania...

AP Business WriterNEW YORK (AP) -- Strength in the technology sector sent stocks soaring Tuesday in a rally that gave investors hope the market's post-Sept. 11 advance still has momentum. The Dow Jones industrials scored a triple-digit advance as buying gained intensity late in the session. But analysts were skeptical that the market was beginning another extended run upward and noted that there are still few signs that business and the economy are stabilizing...

Traffic congestion appears to be a business and community concern in Jackson. More than 75 percent of the people surveyed by the Jackson Chamber of Commerce during a special "Community Survey," expressed concern over the city's traffic problems. The survey included 400 members of the chamber and more than 500 randomly selected citizens...

7:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 3 City Hall Action Items Power and Light Committee Approved the mayor's appointment of Rodney Bollinger, Alderman Larry Hall, Alderman Larry Cunningham and Wayne Maupin to serve on the Zoning Amendments Committee. Amended the contractual agreement with Southwest Power Administration relative to the transmission of electric capacity...

JEFFERSON CITY -- Missourians having trouble balancing their checkbooks should consider the plight of state budget officials: Revenue for fiscal year 2001 ended $98 million below the revised projections developed in December 2000. All revenue increases collected in the current calendar year will be needed to alleviate the shortfall in fiscal 2002 and ensure mandatory funding required in the budget year starting July 1...

JACKSON, Mo. -- The owners of property where people are charged with disturbing the peace can now be prosecuted under city ordinance. The Jackson Board of Aldermen amended the city's disorderly house ordinance Monday night to provide for the offense of maintaining a disorderly house...

Cape Girardeau police are investigating an assault and robbery that occurred Sunday, leaving one man slashed with a knife and missing his wallet. Two Perryville, Mo., men were injured when they stopped their car to talk to a couple of men on the 400 block of Bellevue...

Three men appeared before U.S. District Judge Rodney W. Sippel Monday on methamphetamine charges: Dunklin County resident David W. Sullivan, 52, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on one felony count of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and one felony count of a felon in possession of a firearm. Sullivan also forfeited $1,460 that was seized by officers following his Nov. 28, 2000, arrest...

The director of the local drug task force asked college students for help Monday in tracking the path of club drugs and rave parties. Since students and younger teen-agers are the prime market for club drugs, "you may have a better handle on it than I do," said Kevin Glaser of the Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force. "If it's a problem, we need to address it."...

Charter Communications isn't forcing its 14,500 cable subscribers in Cape Girardeau and Jackson, Mo., to pay the extra $5.95 a month for a digital box -- only those who get premium pay channels and want to keep getting them. That plus the fact subscribers must fork over an additional $5.95 a month for each additional box they want and a $3.95 January rate hike for those who get expanded basic cable have some customers griping...

Monday, Dec. 3, at 7 p.m. City Hall, 401 Independence Study session at 5 p.m. Public hearings CONSENT ORDINANCES N HELD A PUBLIC HEARING REGARDING A PETITION FOR VOLUNTARY ANNEXATION FROM THE WILLIAM O. SEABAUGH VOLUNTARY TRUST OF FEB. ...

Many elderly residents in Cape Girardeau County don't require lavish gifts for the holiday but want something to show they've been remembered. Some won't be seeing relatives because of illnesses or limited incomes that prevent travel. Christmas for the Elderly provides small gifts and necessary household items for the community's elderly residents. ...

Buying holiday gifts for five boys can be a challenge when the children range in ages from 3 to 9. One single mother doesn't have the money to provide a big Christmas for her children, so she's asking Toybox for help. Toybox is a joint program of the Cape Girardeau Jaycees and the Southeast Missourian that provides gifts to needy children up to age 12...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- All aboard! But don't expect just any ol' train. This one is a study in motion, carrying a cargo of creativity. Artrain USA is the nation's only art museum on a train, with five rail cars housing a fine arts exhibition, interactive area, artist studio, gift shop and staff administrative space...

Daily American Republic WAPPAPELLO, Mo. -- Authorities think a burglary at Crums Trading Post and the armed robbery of its owner over the weekend are connected. Butler County sheriff's Lt. Jerry Armes said. The owner, Jean Crum, was awakened by a knock at her front door at about 11 p.m. on Friday...

Standard Democrat BENTON, Mo. -- A Sikeston, Mo., man has pleaded guilty to drug charges and was sentenced to serve two 10-year sentences in prison. Eric D. Moore, 20, pleaded guilty to selling crack cocaine twice to an undercover SEMO Drug Task Force agent...

10 years ago: Dec. 4, 1991 Jackson - County Presiding Commissioner Gene Huckstep called 1992 budget request for juvenile office "mindboggling" yesterday, and said it would be absurd to even discuss the kind of increase requested. Betty Chong has been named special services director for Cape Girardeau Public Schools; Chong has been serving as interim director since retirement of Calvin Chapman in June; prior to that, she was assistant director...

Perryville High SchoolFirst Quarter A Honor Roll 9TH GRADE -- Jodie Amschler, Natalie Bachmann, Brittany Baker, Brittany Clements, Jessica Cooper, Kyle Cottner, Amanda Coyne, Melissa Crannick, Whitney DaVault, Dustin Deckerd, Jillynne DuVall, Cory Esselman, Bridget Etzold, Andrew Fair, Gavin Flentge, Nicholas Fritsche, Shana Gemoules, Nicholas Gremaud, Andrew Hayden, Hannah Hoehne, Kristen Jannin, Heather Kearnes, Amanda Koenig, Lindsey Koetting, Kelly Kuehn, Megan Kutz, Stacey Landholt, Stephanie Landholt, Matthew Lohmann, Kyle Lorenz, Saori Matsuo, Kelcee McAlonan-Bunn, Trey Palisch, Christina Pannier, Samantha Pearce, Chad Petzoldt, Ashley Pingel, Clinton Rice, Ashley Riney, Shawn Roth, Matthew Schamburg, Michael Schamburg, Bethany Schindler, Christina Schremp, Lindsey Wengert, Vivian Wheeler, Beth Winschel, Terry Wood.. ...

Taylor Daughter to Scott Alan and Kathy Jo Taylor of Morley, Mo., Southeast Missouri Hospital, 5:19 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 18, 2001. Name, Katherine Elizabeth. Weight, 7 pounds 10 1/2 ounces. Mrs. Taylor is the former Kathy Sauceda, daughter of Alex Sauceda of Oran, Mo. She is employed at Visiting Nurse Association of Southeast Missouri. Taylor is the son of Linda Taylor of Morley. He is employed at Good Humor-Breyers...

WOLF LAKE, Ill. -- Doris Williams, 74, of Wolf Lake died Monday, Dec. 3, 2001, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Hileman and Parr Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

John Floyd Webb Sr., 47, of Pensacola, Fla., formerly of Cape Gir-ardeau, died unexpectedly Monday, Dec. 3, 2001, at a hospital in Orlando, Fla. Arrangements are incomplete. Announcement courtesy of Ford and Sons Funeral Home.

KARNAK, Ill. -- Leta Meyer, 66, of Karnak died Saturday, Dec. 1, 2001, at Western Baptist Hospital in Paducah, Ky. She was the daughter of Roy and Zona Davis Martin. She and Jesse D. Meyer were married June 2, 1956. Meyer had worked at Southgate Health Care Center in Metropolis, Ill. She was a member of Karnak Baptist Church, and also attended Anderson Congregational Church in Boaz, Ill...

MOUND CITY, Ill. -- Jessie Mae Butler, 80, of Mound City died Sunday, Dec. 2, 2001, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Massie Funeral Home in Cairo, Ill., is in charge of arrangements.

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Harry Barnes, 67, of Sikeston died Sunday, Dec. 2, 2001, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. He was born Aug. 17, 1934, in Henderson, Ky., son of Howard and Azillee Barnes. He and Betty Dozier were married May 15, 1969. Barnes was a wrapper operator with Bunny Bread. He was currently serving on the Miner City Council...

ADVANCE, Mo. -- Clifford T. Gowen, 92, of Advance died Sunday, Dec. 2, 2001, at Advance Nursing Center. He was born Jan. 28, 1909, at Eminence, Mo., son of James and Minnie Foster Gowen. He and Mary Burke were married Nov. 30, 1945, in Piggott, Ark...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Flora A. Etzold, 91, of Perryville died Saturday, Dec. 1, 2001, at Perry County Nursing Home. She was born March 11, 1910, in Perry County, Mo., daughter of Henry and Martha Cornehlsen Wichern. She first married John Norrington. She later married Alfred Etzold, who died May 3, 1978...

WOLF LAKE, Ill. -- Willey Eugene Smith, 75, of Murphysboro, Ill., died Sunday, Dec. 2, 2001, at his home. He was born Dec. 8, 1925, at Wolf Lake, son of Walter and Annie Coryell Smith. He and Edna Anderson were married in 1979 in Jacksonville, Fla. She died Feb. 18, 1992...

ANNA, Ill. -- Emma C. Baggott, 83, of Anna died Sunday, Dec. 2, 2001, at Union County Nursing Home. She was born March 12, 1918, in Union County, daughter of Arthur E. and Fannie Day Gibbs. She and Clyde C. Baggott were married Sept. 12, 1936, in Murphysboro, Ill. He died July 30, 1987...

Ora Sarah James, 79, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, Dec. 2, 2001, at St. Francis Medical Center. She was born March 9, 1922, in Imboden, Ark., daughter of John and Sarah Farris Selsor. He and Hollis V. James were married in 1941 in Piggott, Ark. He died in 1990...

DEXTER, Mo. -- Clifford Benjamin Boyce, 84, of Dexter died Sunday, Dec. 2, 2001, at Beverly Health and Rehab Center. He was born Jan. 4, 1917, at Bloomfield, Mo., son of Albert and Ada Mae Palmer Boyce. Boyce was a retired machinist. He lived in St. Louis and California before returning to Bloomfield, and later moved to Dexter. He was a member of Veterans of Foreign Wars...

MCCLURE, Ill. -- Charles W. "Bud" Anglin, 69, of McClure died Saturday, Dec. 1, 2001, at Westside Care Center in West Frankfort, Ill. He was born March 21, 1932, at Thebes, Ill., son of Chance and Dixie H. McCord Anglin. Anglin was a driver with Tanksley Trucking in Cape Girardeau. He was a member of the VFW Post in McClure...

Jennifer Susan Davis, 26, of Longmont, Colo., died Sunday, Dec. 2, 2001, in an automobile accident in Longmont. She was born March 23, 1975, in Cape Girar-deau, daughter of Robert Keith Schultz Jr. and Kathy Drury. Jennifer was a 1993 graduate of Central High School. She was a banquet manager for a restaurant in Colorado...

Ella Mae Branum Wilkins, formerly of Hornersville, Mo., died Sunday evening, Dec. 2, 2001, in Cape Girardeau, Mo. She was 97 years old. Mrs. Ella Mae Wilkins was born in Hornersville, Mo., on Jan. 22, 1904, to the late Ruth Underwood Branum and William H. ...

Yell for the ladies I WISH that the people who go to the SEMO women's basketball games would support them. I mean yell and cheer instead of just sitting there looking dead. When people go to the men's games, they yell and cheer. At the women's games, if the team is fighting to get back on top, pep them up. Don't just sit there. Let's get out there and start yelling for the ladies...

To the editor: Major League Baseball owners and players need to wake up and agree on a salary cap or there'll be nobody left to play but the Yankees. St. Louis, with a $70 million to $80 million payroll, is in the middle of the pack. Get the former owner away from the commissioner's office and put Bob Costas in and make a salary cap where every team is equal. Let the game take care of itself where everybody has a shot at the title...

To the editor: Alan Journet's harping continues ad nauseam. I am convinced his ranting has little to do with the environment and a lot to do with politics. The environment is only a vehicle to further his political views. I also suspect he is much more an anti-capitalist and socialist who is a poor loser than an environmentalist...

To the editor: For those who profess a belief in God: Do you believe that it takes God nine months to make a human? ROBERT T. LUCAS Cape Girardeau

Duke received all the first-place votes in the AP college basketball poll Monday, the first time the Blue Devils have been a unanimous No. 1 since the 1991-92 season. Victories over Iowa and Clemson last week kept Duke (6-0) unbeaten and the defending national champion got all 70 first-place votes and 1,750 points from the national media panel...

Nebraska is perhaps on the verge of its greatest comeback ever thanks to the Bowl Championship Series standings. The Cornhuskers, all but out of the national title chase after a 62-36 loss to Colorado on Nov. 23, would play No. 1 Miami in the BCS championship game if LSU beats Tennessee on Saturday...

EUGENE, Ore. -- The Heisman hype didn't just follow Oregon's Joey Harrington this season, it towered above him. In June, Ducks boosters shelled out $250,000 to put a 10-story-tall poster of the 6-foot-4 senior on the side of a building in New York. So much for subtlety...

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. -- Austin Peay's Brooke Armistead is the Ohio Valley Conference's player of the week. Armistead, a 5-foot-9 junior guard, scored a career-high 39 points in Austin Peay's 78-69 loss to Middle Tennessee. In the Lady Governors' 89-65 loss to Florida State, she shot 43.8 percent from the field...

Entering this season, Southeast Missouri State University had compiled a sparkling 62-28 record over the past three years. Only 42 of the nation's 311 NCAA Division I basketball teams won more games than the Indians during that time. But right now, the above accomplishment is of little comfort to Southeast coach Gary Garner, whose 0-4 squad is off to the program's worst start since the 1950-51 team began the season with nine consecutive losses...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- After getting a late start on practice because the school's football team reached the Class 3A state championship game, New Madrid County Central coach Joby Holland figures his Eagles are still not even close to rounding into form...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- The first three games of the Chaffee Invitational girls basketball tournament went according to form Monday night as Kelly, Delta and Sikeston all picked up victories. Top-seeded Kelly pounded No. 8 East Prairie 79-14; No. 2 Delta eased past No. 7 Portageville 55-42; and No. 4 Sikeston won a low-scoring duel over No. 5 Chaffee 42-32...

Missouri's new law on domestic abuse, which makes even a single slap punishable by a seven-year prison term, is generating controversy around the state. The law allows prosecutors to treat all domestic violence cases as felonies. On one side are some prosecutors and activists against domestic abuse and advocates for abuse victims. On the other side are many defense lawyers and even some prosecutors who warn that the new law is an invitation to prosecutorial abuse...

One state court -- the Hawaii Supreme Court -- has struck down as unconstitutional what has come to be known as Megan's Law. These are the laws passed in all 50 states that permit authorities to notify the public about the location of convicted sex offenders after they are released from prison or placed on probation...

The Associated Press ST. LOUIS -- Wesley Stokes ignored Missouri's big scorers, both of whom were calling for the ball, and beat the buzzer himself. Stokes, who had the game-tying shot hit over him seconds earlier, made a tough 18-footer as the No. 2 Tigers survived an upset bid by St. Louis, 69-67 Monday night...

Cape Girardeau Tuesday, Dec. 4 ArrestsBillie June Ivy, 43, of 256 S. Benton, was arrested Sunday for contempt of court. Jason Chadwick Junkerman, 23, Myrtle Beach, S.C., was arrested Sunday for contempt of court. Dorothy Jean Jones, 48, 817 S. Ellis, was arrested Monday for contempt of court, failure to pay a fine over animal neglect...

Cape Girardeau Tuesday, Dec. 4 Firefighters responded to the following calls Sunday:At 6:50 p.m., an alarm sounding at 606 S. Silver Springs. At 8:39 p.m., an emergency medical service at University Plaza. At 10:34 p.m., an extrication at 11582 Highway 72...

WASHINGTON -- Lured by no-interest auto deals, Americans pushed up consumer spending by the largest amount ever in October. A closely watched manufacturing gauge rebounded a bit, too, and construction spending halted a five-month slide in encouraging economic news...

WASHINGTON -- Yasser Arafat has come back from exile and from U.S. rebuke as a terrorist to gain American recognition and a Nobel Peace Prize. His failure to stop suicide bombers from killing Israelis, however, is causing the Bush administration to question his credentials as ultimate leader of the Palestinians...

WASHINGTON -- President Bush's homeland security chief asked Americans to return to a high state of alert Monday, citing threats of more terrorist attacks, possibly around "important religious observations" this month. Federal officials said the alert should continue at least through the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in mid-December. ...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The PGA Tour is about to get some peach fuzz. Ty Tryon, the 17-year-old golfer with a man-sized game, became the youngest player in history to earn a PGA Tour card Monday when he closed with a bogey-free 66 to easily finish in the top 35 at qualifying school...

Jordan to miss game with knee injury WASHINGTON -- More than eight years and two retirements later, Michael Jordan is finally going to miss another NBA game because of an injury. Jordan had fluid drained from his right knee Monday and will miss the Washington Wizards' game at San Antonio tonight, the start of a four-game road trip...

ST. LOUIS -- The stops keep coming from the St. Louis Rams' defense, no matter who's in there. The Rams entered Sunday's game against the Atlanta Falcons minus five front-line defenders, including both safeties and their best pass rusher. But they wouldn't let the Falcons in the end zone in a 35-6 victory that kept St. Louis (9-2) tied for the NFC's best record heading into next week's showdown against the San Francisco 49ers (9-2)...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Gov. Bob Holden on Monday nominated Duane Michie, a Bootheel banker and river port overseer, as the newest member of the state Highways and Transportation Commission. Michie, 62, of Hayti, Mo., replaces commissioner Edward Douglas of Chillicothe, Mo., whose term expired Saturday. Both are Republicans, a requirement to maintain the political balance on the commission...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Members of the Missouri Farm Bureau have endorsed a policy change that could boost the chances for a transportation tax increase. Delegates to the 93,000-member organization's annual convention voted without objection Monday to support the change. A final, largely routine vote was expected today during the gathering at the Lake of the Ozarks...

ST. LOUIS -- Two new St. Louis schools, hailed as national models by supporters of alternatives to public education, will likely shut down after this year unless they are approved as charter schools, organizers said. The opening of the tuition-free St. Louis Academies this year was unprecedented, because it was done in a matter of weeks, entirely with private money...

PARK HILLS, Mo. -- People who collect beer steins tend to be serious about their hobby. But Jim Wainwright, of the eastern Missouri town of Terre du Lac, was still surprised at his first collectors' show in Des Moines, Iowa. More than 2,000 people waited in line to get his autograph on their steins...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- State lawmakers on Monday began submitting bills for the 2002 legislative session on topics ranging from collective bargaining to equal rights for women. While many of the bills filed will never find their way to the chamber floors for debate, those that do often look significantly different...

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- A Bosnian Serb commander during the siege of Sarajevo went on trial for war crimes Monday, accused of ordering his snipers and artillerymen to fire on civilians as they bought bread, tended vegetable gardens or attended victims' funerals...

KOENIGSWINTER, Germany -- Four Afghan factions agreed early Tuesday on a framework for a post-Taliban administration, just hours after the United States pressured the northern alliance to drop obstacles threatening to derail talks on Afghanistan's political future...

NEW DELHI, India -- George Harrison's intimate relationship with Indian mysticism, music and Hinduism sent his wife and son on a pilgrimage to the holy Ganges River, where authorities said the former Beatles' ashes would be scattered before dawn today...

KABUL, Afghanistan -- With a sweet smile and gentle voice, the teacher dictated a writing exercise for her primary school pupils: "Saber's brother went off to jihad." The girls and boys nodded gravely and wrote. In her single mud-walled classroom, no longer clandestine now that the Taliban have gone, Nafisa Nadery shapes young Afghans. She wants them to be well-rounded and curious, but she also wants them to defend the faith...

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Tribal fighters battled the Taliban at Kandahar airport Monday, and U.S. warplanes pounded the city and suspected terrorist hideouts in the towering peaks along the Pakistan border in the east. B-52s unloaded bombs on positions thought to be a sanctuary to Osama bin Laden in the Jalalabad region. ...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A pharmacist told the FBI he diluted chemotherapy drugs because he owed nearly $1 million for taxes and a pledge to his church, according to court papers. The handwritten confession was among documents filed by a federal prosecutor Monday in response to a defense motion to suppress some of Robert R. Courtney's statements to authorities...

NEW YORK -- "IT" is a scooter. Capping months of speculation about his mysterious innovation, an inventor unveiled the device Monday -- a gyroscope-stabilized, battery-powered scooter that he hopes will revolutionize short-distance travel. Dean Kamen and his backers are banking on the Segway Human Transporter to displace cars, leading to a realigned cityscape that's more people-friendly...

Spacewalk repairs clear way for shuttle launch CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Two spacewalking cosmonauts removed an old rubber seal stuck to the international space station, clearing the way for space shuttle Endeavour to lift off today on a flight to the orbiting outpost...

$$$Start hkronmueller My dad put Christmas lights on the house for the first time in more than 20 years. Atop the ladder, looking down at my mother and me he kept murmuring, "You're trying to kill me, aren't you?" My mom thought of the idea for the lights first, but I quickly jumped on the bandwagon. ...

WRESTLING Fox Tournament ARNOLD, Mo. -- Jackson had three individual champions and placed third Saturday in its pool of the 10-team tournament. Belton won the pool Jackson was in with 220 points. Then came Fox (192), Jackson (157), Belleville East, Ill. (81) and Hazelwood East (36)...

Like high school seniors looking anticipating the world outside, eighth-grade students at Trinity Lutheran School know they're on the edge of opportunities. Many of the students in Melanie Martens' class are already thinking about where they'll attend their freshman year of high school -- and if they'll meet the requirements set for admission...

By Tom Edwards Sydney felt it. This year would be different. As he drove up to the Christmas tree stand outside Murphy's grocery store, the tree peddlers spotted him from a mile away with binoculars. They were like vultures wearing sock caps. They may as well have been wearing ski masks. ...

By Jason Stone Truly, reality is a difficult undertaking. The process of life does often turn out to be quite the box of chocolates. However, the subject of this writing deals not with the monotony of everyday life, but the reality of entertainment. What form of entertainment might I speak of? I speak of none other than the realest of television shows. I speak of reality TV...

Ever Eat Here? We Did... By Misty Smith Even though I'm too young to enjoy the wine, I was still drawn to the romantic little restaurant on Main Street, downtown. I had no idea what the menu or the prices were going to be. My friend and I decided to go after work one night to see if it was as good as we had heard...

by Jason Parker Mix 104.7's afternoon personality They say it takes less muscle power to smile than it does to frown, but in the daily routine that is life, it seems to take less effort to be negative than it does to be positive. Open up your senses and just look for it. ...

By Jason Stone Live music in Cape? Yes kids, it truly does exist. This month the proof of this little known fact comes to us live from Willy Jak's Beach Club. It comes to us in the form of the local legend Papa Aborigine, alongside Cape rookies, Color Will...

An Editorial by Tom Edwards "Thank You", "Thanks", "Thanks a Million", "Thank You Much"-are words heard by fewer and fewer people. You can lump them in with "I'm Sorry", "Excuse Me", "Pardon Me", "How Are You Doing?", "Hello", "Good Day", "Goodnight", "My Fault", "I Appreciate It" and "Keep the Change". ...

Sheryl Crow will perform a benefit concert on Friday, Dec. 14 at Southeast Missouri State University. This year's unplugged concert will be an intimate event held in Academic Auditorium. Crow is an ardent supporter of education. All proceeds from her concert will be divided equally to support endowed scholarships for students enrolled in the School of Visual and Performing Arts at Southeast Missouri State University and at the Kennett Area Higher Education Center...

THE ONE Reviewed byJustin Colburn and Keayn Dunya In a parallel universe man has harnessed the power to move between universes. To regulate this type of travel, the Multi-Verse Agency was formed. Jet Li (Black Mask) stars as Yulaw, a rogue Multi-Verse Agent who is traveling through parallel dimensions in order to kill all of his Parallel Universe Versions (PUV's). ...

St. Louis Area Blueberry Hill's Duck Room Thursday, 12/6...................Chris Duarte Group Tuesday, 12/11...................Over the Rhine Wednesday, 12/12..............Chuck Berry Saturday, 12/22..........Brave Combo Cicero's...

A rare collection of antique toys dating from the 1850s to 1900s is on display at Cape River Heritage Museum. The collection includes several wind-up toys and a World War I toy biplane. The exhibit shows just how much toys have changed. The traditional tin, wood and cast iron treasures of yesteryear have now been replaced primarily with plastic...

Top Ten Modern Rock Tracks Finally some new names make the list... 1. How You Remind Me, Nickelback 2. Alive, P.O.D. 3. I Wish You Were Here, Incubus 4. In the End, Linkin Park 5. My Sacrifice, Creed 6. Fade, Staind 7. Chop Suey, System Of a Down...

SAGITTARIUS (Nov.22-Dec.21) You have to bust out of what you think is normal and get a new perspective to understand what is going on around you. Try to understand others opinions. Many people trying to solve the same problem make for a creative atmosphere. Be bold and take some chances. If you are a Sagittarius who loves to challenge life, this is going to be a day that you will remember for a long, long time...

By Jaysen Buterin "I'm on my way, just set me free, Home Sweet Home..." - Motley Crue You know it's going to be a rock-em sock-em good time whenever you find a column that starts off with a quote from those marauding minstrels of the rock and roll revolution, "The Crue," and even though yours truly does possess his own Tommy Lee-aspirations, let us for a moment try and rise above the lyrical sagacity and prolific brilliance that came forth from the Stygian depths of the creators of such songs as "Girls, Girls, Girls" and the ever-ebullient Bible camp anthem "Shout at the Devil" and get right down to business resolving that quagmire that is running amok in all of your minds, and if it's not, well it bloody well should be, and that is - just how many times can I see Harry Potter before I try and apply to Hogwarts and swipe my roommates broom to bone up on my Quidditch skills; and just when exactly can I buy my advance tickets for the Lord of the Rings movie which will be the coolest movie EVER made...at least until Spider Man comes out!. ...

By Jason Stone Kid Rock - "Cocky" Rating: 1 1/2 The self proclaimed American Bad Ass is still up to no good. Detroit rap/rocker Kid Rock recently released his third mainstream album, "Cocky." The album features the music of the Twisted Brown Trucker Band, along with guest appearances from Sheryl Crow, and Snoop Dogg. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- State probation and parole officers have embraced union representation while workers in the divisions of employment security and workforce development have not. Voting under expanded union powers backed by the governor, workers of the Division of Probation and Parole voted 531-199 in favor of being represented by the Service Employees International Union Local 2000, the state Board of Mediation said Tuesday...

Associated Press WriterWASHINGTON (AP) -- Two American soldiers were killed and 20 wounded in Afghanistan on Wednesday when a B-52 bomber missed its target. The friendly fire incident marked the worst U.S. casualties of the war to date. An unknown number of opposition fighters also died in the incident north of the last Taliban stronghold of Kandahar, said Pentagon spokesman Lt. ...

Associated Press WriterKOENIGSWINTER, Germany (AP) -- Amid applause and embraces, Afghan leaders signed a pact Wednesday to create a temporary administration for their war-ravaged nation. It will be headed by a moderate Muslim and will include two women...

MOSCOW (AP) -- Russia announced Wednesday that it would reduce oil exports by 150,000 barrels a day beginning Jan. 1, in response to OPEC's calls for production cuts to help stabilize petroleum prices. The announcement followed an earlier decision to reduce oil production and exports by 50,000 barrels a day for the rest of the year, a cut criticized as too small to affect prices. The larger cut was likely to go a long away toward satisfying the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries...

AP Business WriterNEW YORK (AP) -- AOL Time Warner Inc. chief executive Jerry Levin is stepping down as head of the world's largest media company and will be replaced by co-chief operating officer Richard Parsons. Steve Case will remain as chairman, while the company's other co-COO, Robert Pittman, will become the sole COO, according to Wednesday's announcement...

Associated Press WriterWASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush told congressional leaders over breakfast Wednesday that he will take the extraordinary step of vetoing the Defense Department appropriation if Democrats insist on attaching $35 billion in anti-terrorism spending...

Associated Press WriterKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Tests show a different medication mixed at another of Robert R. Courtney's pharmacies has been watered down, the FBI said, widening an investigation into the pharmacist accused of weakening medications for profit...

AP Medical WriterCHICAGO (AP) -- An alarming increase in the number of surgery mistakes involving operating on the wrong body part or wrong patient have been reported to a group that regulates hospital quality, prompting an alert urging better communication between patients, doctors and nurses...

Associated Press WriterWASHINGTON (AP) -- Three American soldiers were killed and 20 wounded in Afghanistan Wednesday when a bomb launched from an Air Force B-52 bomber missed its target. The friendly-fire accident produced the worst U.S. casualty toll of the war...

Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) -- A fugitive suspected of mailing hundreds of fake anthrax letters to abortion clinics was captured by federal authorities Wednesday. FBI officials said Clayton Lee Waagner was caught in the Cincinnati area. Apprehended by the U.S. Marshals Service, he was among the FBI's 10 most-wanted fugitives...

AP Business WriterNEW YORK (AP) -- Technology shares propelled the stock market higher for a second straight session Wednesday, helping to boost the Dow Jones industrials more than 220 points and giving the blue chips their first close above 10,000 since Sept. 5...

GIRLS BASKETBALL Kingston 49, St. Vincent 38 PERRYVILLE, MO. -- ST. VINCENT WAS OUTSCORED 16-3 IN THE THIRD QUARTER AND COULDN'T RECOVER. NICOLE HADLER LED ST. VINCENT WITH 12 POINTS, FOLLOWED BY DANIELLE SCHREMP WITH 10 AS THE SQUAWS DROPPED TO 3-2...

Construction of a high school in south Cape Girar-deau is prompting road building and attracting entrepreneurs who want to develop an abundance of open property. Among new developments: A retail center including space for 12 businesses at Highway 74, also called Southern Expressway, and South Silver Springs Road...

Learning toys and games that provide educational skills to children are popular requests for Christmas, but many families can't afford those luxuries. Without donations to Toybox, a joint program of the Cape Girardeau Jaycees and the Southeast Missourian, hundreds of children wouldn't get gifts for Christmas...

Mr. J. lives by himself now that his wife has been moved to a nursing home. His daughter lives nearby, which helps ease his loneliness, but his health isn't getting any better. Mr. J. suffers from emphysema and must have continuous oxygen. He would like to have noon meals delivered by the Senior Center but can't pay for them. A gift certificate or donation on his behalf would make an ideal Christmas gift...

A recent trip to Florida by members of the Southeast Missouri State University Physics Club was a day at the beach. And were they ever disappointed. A group of about 14 people made the two-day journey to Cape Canaveral, Fla., to watch Southeast alumna Linda Godwin head into space Thursday on NASA's STS-108 mission. But the launch of space shuttle Endeavour was delayed until Friday, and then scrubbed for the entire weekend...

Southeast Missouri's plants have been duped by a false spring that could bring record-setting high temperatures today. Forsythia, clematis and other early-blooming vegetation are brightening Cape Girardeau yards thanks to unusually warm temperatures around 70 the last few days. The same plants were covered in nighttime frost this time last year...

Fewer holiday packages and cards have are moving by mail, said Mike Keefe, Cape Gir-ardeau postmaster. "Our volume today, about 12 weeks into the new fiscal year, is down 3.8 percent throughout Southeast Missouri," said Keefe, according to mail volume at the U.S. Postal Service's Regional Mail Processing Center in the Cape West Industrial Park...

A Jackson, Mo., mother and son pleaded guilty to felony drug charges in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau. Deborah Ing, 40, and her son, Wesley Ing, 21, both appeared Monday before U.S. District Judge Rodney W. Sippel on methamphetamine charges...

A Chicago man pleaded guilty Monday to distributing crack cocaine in Southeast Missouri. Rubin L. Evans, aka Ruben Evans, 36, pleaded guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of cocaine base and one count of distribution of 50 grams or more of cocaine base...

10 years ago: Dec. 5, 1991 Show Me Center's Board of Managers Wednesday endorsed proposal to expand center, despite strong objections from one board member over how such project might be funded; Charles C. Leming submitted letter to fellow board members objecting to proposal to use surplus money in city tourism fund to partially fund construction of addition for convention and meeting room space...

SIKESTON, Mo. - A draft of a home rule charter that will change Siketon's form of government is ready to be presented for public input through hearings now that it has been finalized by a 13-member commission. The charter was approved by commissioners 10-2 with one commissioner abstaining during a charter commission meeting Monday...

MARQUAND, Mo. -- James Albert Watts, 53, of Marquand died Monday, Dec. 3, 2001, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Jan. 10, 1948, in Perry County, Pa., son of Clayton Pete and Mabel Alene Comp Watts. He and Shirley J. Frymire were married Dec. 31, 1968, at Lutesville, Mo...

Evans Daughter to Melissa Kimberly Evans of Cape Girardeau, St. Francis Medical Center, 8:38 a.m. Monday, Nov. 26, 2001. Name, Caitlynn Noelle. Weight, 6 pounds 6.5 ounces. First child. Ms. Evans is the daughter of Teri Kreitzer of Cape Girardeau and Gil Evans of Metairie, La. She is employed at St. Francis...

ADVANCE, Mo. -- Mabel S. Fisher, 93, of Advance died Monday, Dec. 3, 2001, at Advance Nursing Center. She was born Dec. 5, 1907, in Lodge, Va., daughter of Samuel Sebra. She and Samuel Fisher Sr. were married in 1921 at Lodge. He preceded her in death...

WOLF LAKE, Ill. -- Funeral for Doris Jean Williams of Wolf Lake will be at 1 p.m. Thursday at Hileman and Parr Funeral Home in Jonesboro, Ill. Burial will be in Casper Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home from 5-9 p.m. today. Williams, 74, died Monday, Dec. 3, 2001, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau...

Paul "Judge" Bollinger, 89, of Naples, Fla., died Monday, Dec. 3, 2001, at his home. Ford and Sons Mt. Auburn Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

JACKSON, Mo. -- Martha E. White, 84, of Jackson died Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2001, at Chateau Girardeau in Cape Girardeau. Graveside service will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at Russell Heights Cemetery. McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson is in charge of arrangements...

Funeral for Earl Dale of Cape Girardeau, formerly of Kennett, Mo., was held Tuesday at McDaniel Funeral Chapel in Kennett, with the Rev. Ed Jansson officiating. Burial was in Memorial Gardens Cemetery at Kennett. Dale, 96, died Sunday, Dec. 2, 2001, at Ratliff Care Center in Cape Girardeau...

VANDUSER, Mo. -- Larry G. Hunt, 33, of Vanduser died Monday, Dec. 3, 2001, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston, Mo. He was born June 19, 1968, in Sikeston, son of Gaila Warren. He and Vicki Clark were married June 6, 1992. Hunt was a member of the Church of Christ. He was a registered nurse at Missouri Delta Medical Center...

ULLIN, Ill. -- Bill Parmley, 88, of Ullin, formerly of Dongola, Ill., died Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2001, at Daystar Care Center in Cairo, Ill. He was born March 19, 1913, in Mounds, Ill., son of Devere and Nellie Tanner Parmley. He and Ara Frizzel were married Feb. 27, 1935...

All those sins I LIKE that comment about stripping the civil liberties of fat people. Gluttony and greed are sins, and if we're going to discriminate on basis of sexual orientation, why not discriminate against all those so-called evil people out there? Let's also check up to see who's given proper tithes to the church and donating to charity. ...

ANNA, Ill. -- Fount Edward Dillow, 87, of Effingham, Ill., formerly of Anna, died Monday, Dec. 3, 2001, at St. Anthony's Medical Hospital in Effingham. He was born Dec. 23, 1913, at Anna, son of Ora E. and Stella Mae Campbell Dillow. He and Ruth Lorene Kollehner were married Sept. 19, 1936, at Vienna, Ill...

Maryland and Illinois, two one-loss teams with no shot at the national championship, are headed to BCS bowls -- the Terps in Miami, the Illini in New Orleans. No. 7 Maryland, champion of the Atlantic Coast Conference, accepted an invitation Tuesday to the Orange Bowl, its first appearance in the game in 46 years...

NEW YORK -- Quarterbacks Ken Dorsey, Joey Harrington, Eric Crouch and Rex Grossman were picked Tuesday as finalists for the Heisman Trophy. Dorsey threw for 2,652 yards and 23 touchdowns this season to lead No. 1 Miami (11-0) to the Rose Bowl. Harrington threw for 2,415 yards and 23 touchdowns help No. 3 Oregon (10-1) win the Pac-10 championship...

Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings believes the very nature of college basketball makes it hard to believe that his team would dare take Southeast Missouri State University lightly tonight -- even though on paper the non-conference game in Nashville, Tenn., looks like a mismatch...

CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- Ken Dorsey walks around the hotel ballroom in circles, passing his teammates again and again. The other players don't pay attention, knowing this is one of his many pregame rituals. He continues around the room until it's time to leave for the stadium. His routine has just begun...

Gritty running back Jordy Mixon and speedy cornerback Dontay Clark, both of Charleston, were named to the Class 2A Bob Carter-Missouri Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association All-State first team. "They both deserved it," Charleston coach Brent Anderson said. "They both worked very hard to get where they're at."...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- In a wild season opener, Chaffee outscored East Prairie 11-0 in the fourth quarter to force overtime before eventually falling 68-56 in double overtime Tuesday night. "It was pretty wild way to start," said Chaffee boys basketball coach David Mirly, who made his Red Devil debut. "It seemed like we were always digging out of a hole."...

With Christmas just 20 days away, time soon will be running short for giving to projects that benefit the less fortunate of the area during the holiday season. Hundreds of people in the area who don't have the money for gifts or even traditional holiday foods are able to receive gifts and food from a number of charitable causes. Among them are Toybox, Christmas for the Elderly and the Salvation Army...

One provision under consideration in the U.S. Senate's farm bill would require the federal government to buy biobased products whenever they are found to be comparable in price, performance and availability to traditional products. The provision would cover any commercial or industrial product other than food that uses biological products or renewable domestic agricultural or forestry materials...

MILLERSVILLE, Mo. -- A Millersville man was seriously injured early Monday when his vehicle ran off the roadway and drove off an embankment near Millers-ville. Guy Conley, 32, was taken to St. Francis Medical Center after the 5:30 a.m. accident on Highway 72, three miles west of Millersville...

Cape Girardeau Wednesday, Dec. 5 DWIEugene Sabastion Criddle, 40, of 915 Hickory was arrested Monday for driving while intoxicated, unlawful use of a weapon and assault. ArrestsCynthia Lucille Shumate, 36, of Burfordville, Mo., was arrested Monday for probation violation...

Cape Girardeau Wednesday, Dec. 5 Firefighters responded to the following calls Tuesday:At 6:26 a.m., an emergency medical service at 3020 Boutin. At 6:33 a.m., an emergency medical service at 16 N. Frederick. At 10:42 a.m., a stove fire at 1135 S. Pacific...

Cape Girardeau Wednesday, Dec. 5 DWIEugene Sabastion Criddle, 40, of 915 Hickory was arrested Monday for driving while intoxicated, unlawful use of a weapon and assault. ArrestsCynthia Lucille Shumate, 36, of Burfordville, Mo., was arrested Monday for probation violation...

Gerald McDougall, dean of the Donald L. Harrison College of Business at Southeast Missouri State University, will be guest speaker at the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce's First Friday Coffee at 7:30 a.m. Friday at the Show Me Center. McDougall holds a doctoral degree in economics from the Claremont Graduate School. ...

WASHINGTON -- Executives of the two major satellite television providers made their case for a merger Tuesday on Capitol Hill, dogged by opponents warning the deal would rob millions of rural Americans of choice when they watch TV. The Justice Department and Federal Communications Commission will decide whether to allow the $25.8 billion merger of EchoStar's Dish Network and Hughes Electronics-owned DirecTV. Because Congress can influence the decision, its support is crucial to the companies...

WASHINGTON -- Anti-virus companies scrambled to protect their customers against a new viruslike e-mail attack Tuesday that purports to be a computer screen saver program. Security company McAfee reported thousands of its clients sent in copies of the worm, called "Goner." An Internet worm has the ability to spread to other computers on its own...

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration froze the financial assets and closed the offices of a Texas-based foundation linked to Hamas on Tuesday, broadening the fight against terrorism to a militant Palestinian group that claimed responsibility for last weekend's deadly attacks in Israel...

LOS ANGELES -- A revelation came to Shaquille O'Neal as he watched the Lakers beat the SuperSonics on a locker-room TV after being ejected early in the game. "I kind of realized this is a good team without me," he said. So what does that make the Lakers with O'Neal, the NBA's most dominant player?...

DEERFIELD, Ill. -- Three awful seasons have given Chicago Bulls coach Tim Floyd the worst start of anyone in NBA history, and the fourth is looking equally dismal. As the losses pile up again, Floyd's frustration is beginning to show, even though he says he's not going to quit...

Kansas names Mangino head football coach KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Mark Mangino, who helped mold Oklahoma's national championship team last year, was named Tuesday as head coach at Kansas. Mangino, the Sooners' offensive coordinator, will take over for Terry Allen, who was fired with three games left in his fifth straight losing season. The Jayhawks have had six losing years in a row and have been wholly ineffective in the rugged Big 12...

CHICAGO -- The Illinois Commerce Commission on Tuesday started wheels in motion to add another area code to the large part of the state now served by 618. But it will be at least one year before some callers in the 618 area -- which stretches across the bottom third of Illinois -- must learn a new code...

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistan has agreed to step up cooperation with the CIA in the hunt for Osama bin Laden, which is now centering on the rugged mountains along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, Pakistani intelligence officials said Tuesday. The agreement followed weekend meetings with CIA Director George Tenet, who also urged Pakistan to crack down on religious schools seen as training grounds for Islamic militants. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Gov. Bob Holden received an early Christmas gift from the state treasurer's office Tuesday -- a check for $349. Treasurer Nancy Farmer said that her predecessor received the check from the state's Unclaimed Property Division for a policy benefit claim from Gulf Insurance Company of Irving, Texas...

CLAYTON, Mo. -- A notable political woman came to Missouri Tuesday to help Jim Talent enlist more women in his effort to unseat a senator who happens to be a woman. Mary Matalin was in the St. Louis area for lunch and a pep talk for a new wing of the former congressman's Senate campaign: the Women for Talent Coalition. The group is charged with narrowing Missouri's gender gap -- the tendency of more women to vote for Democrats instead of Republicans...

CHICAGO -- After months of negotiating with Chicago Mayor Richard Daley's administration on an airport expansion plan, Gov. George Ryan has forged ahead without him. Ryan, answering congressional pressure to deal with long delays at O'Hare International Airport, said Congress should pass legislation to expand O'Hare, build an airfield in the Chicago suburb of Peotone and keep Meigs Field open for the next 25 years...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Law enforcement and city officials in Missouri, already operating under a heightened state of alert, plan few changes following the latest nationwide terrorism alert. Several residents and at least one private security agency said the recent warning from Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge means little to them, since they didn't make any changes after the attacks and have no plans to do so...

The Associated Press CHICAGO -- Cook County prosecutors are dropping charges against three men serving life sentences for a 1986 rape and murder because new DNA tests of semen and hair do not match them. State's Attorney Richard Devine announced Tuesday that he will ask Cook County Circuit Court Judge Dennis Potter Wednesday morning to release the three men...

RAMALLAH, West Bank -- Israel used bombs and missiles Tuesday to pressure Yasser Arafat to move against Palestinian militants, striking just yards from the Palestinian leader's West Bank offices and in the Gaza Strip. Two Palestinians were killed and about 150 were injured in the attacks...

JALALABAD, Afghanistan -- Anti-Taliban troops hunting for Osama bin Laden said they clashed Tuesday with al-Qaida fighters near their mountain hide-outs in Afghanistan. Elsewhere, Taliban forces pushed tribal fighters back from the airport near the former ruling militia's last bastion, Kandahar...

KOENIGSWINTER, Germany -- A U.N. envoy whittled down a list of 150 candidates Tuesday for posts in a new interim authority for Afghanistan, seeking to achieve ethnic balance while satisfying the many rival factions. Four ethnic factions presented U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi with candidates for 29 ministerial posts in a post-Taliban government that will take power from the northern alliance and run the country for six months...

A homemade marble loaf cake is an old-fashioned and comforting standby to have for the holidays -- especially a version from a baker who's made a specialty of desserts that conform to Jewish dietary needs. This recipe is from "My Most Favorite Dessert Company" by Doris Schechter, a collection of pareve recipes. ...

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Microphone in hand, President Bush took the stage of a town hall meeting Tuesday and expressed sympathy with workers and business owners struggling in a sagging economy. "There's nothing that hurts me more than to know, as we head for the holiday season, that some of our citizens and some of their families hurt because they've been laid off as a result of" the Sept. 11 suicide hijackings over Washington, New York and Pennsylvania...

Firm head asks to let cloning research go on WASHINGTON -- The president of the company that claims to have cloned the first human embryo defended his firm's actions Tuesday and urged senators not to hastily pass a bill restricting the practice. "We're not talking about the cloning of humans," Michael West, president of Advanced Cell Technology, told a Senate appropriations subcommittee. "We're talking about the cloning of cells."...

NEW YORK -- Three months after the World Trade Center attack, victims' families are being forced to face the ghastly possibility that many of the dead were "vaporized," as the medical examiner put it, and may never be identified. So far, fewer than 500 victims have been positively identified out of the roughly 3,000 feared dead. Sixty were identified solely through DNA...

Getting mistaken for a man over the phone is one thing. A woman might have a deeper voice, the person on the other end might be too busy to listen for subtle intonations, and the next thing you know, that woman is being called "sir." Happens to me all the time...

$$$Start ggarner We face a very formidable task tonight against a very good Vanderbilt team. The Commodores beat nationally ranked Western Kentucky Sunday and they come into tonight's game with a 5-2 record. Vanderbilt plays in the always tough Southeastern Conference, which is annually one of the best conferences in college basketball...

As Christmas approaches, the Clement Moore poem tells us, many children, nestled snug in their beds, will have visions of sugarplums dancing in their heads. But this coming Sunday many other children will dream of potato pancakes instead. That's because at sundown this Sunday, the 25th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev, the Jewish holiday Hanukkah begins, and like most holidays it is inextricably linked to food. Moreover, potato pancakes are essential to the celebration...

$$$Start jkoch By John Koch, DVM Question: I have a beautiful white long-hair cat. He is magnificently clean except for a one-inch spot on his tail just behind where it joins the body. This area is always greasy and attracts dirt. I have repeatedly washed the area, but dirt comes right back. Some one told me this is a condition called stud tail. What is stud tail?...

$$$Start By Dr. Michael Devaney The economic collapse of the 1990s had a lot to do with the collapse of communism. The metaphorical swords of war could finally be recast as plowshares, paving the way for the peace dividend and the longest economic expansion in U.S. history. Perhaps more important than the substitution of butter for guns was the widespread perception that the world was a less dangerous place...

$$$Start Christmas parties, shopping and other holiday festivities are sure signs that that "the most wonderful time of the year" is in full swing. I have made a concentrated effort to be better organized this year and get things finished early. Our children have worn the pages out in some of the catalogs we have received through the mail. ...

ST. LOUIS -- More belt-tightening is in Missouri government's future. Before Christmas, Gov. Bob Holden will announce another round of spending cuts, budget analysts say. State budget director Brian Long estimated a $150 million to $200 million shortfall for the fiscal year that ends in June. As a result, agencies will have to find more ways to save money, Long said in a meeting Wednesday with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and The Associated Press...

Associated Press WriterISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- The former Taliban ambassador to Pakistan said Thursday that the movement's leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, agreed to surrender Kandahar to tribal leaders starting Friday. Abdul Salam Zaeef said the handover would begin Friday and that Omar would be allowed to stay in the city under tribal protection...

AP Economics WriterWASHINGTON (AP) -- The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment checks dropped slightly last week while the total number getting benefits took the biggest plunge in 18 years. The Labor Department said Thursday that new claims for jobless benefits fell by 18,000 last week, the fifth weekly decline in the past six weeks...

Associated Press WriterBRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) -- Secretary of State Colin Powell said Thursday that an international peacekeeping force will soon be sent into Afghanistan, although "the mix and the leadership" among nations has yet to be determined...

Associated Press WriterBEIJING (AP) -- Agreeing to strengthen anti-terrorism cooperation, China has promised to consider letting the United States station an FBI agent in Beijing, an American envoy said Thursday. Francis X. Taylor, the top State Department counterterrorism official, praised China's help in tackling Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network. But Taylor's account of two days of talks with Chinese officials made clear that many issues still separate the two sides...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A man picked up by Secret Service officials outside a White House gate Thursday carried a foot-long knife and had a cache of loaded weapons in his pickup truck parked nearby. Secret Service spokesman Jim Mackin described the man, who was still being questioned at midmorning, as white, approximately 26 years old and with no prior record on file with the Secret Service...

Associated Press WriterWASHINGTON (AP) -- Attorney General John Ashcroft, defending administration measures to counteract terrorism, declared Thursday the nation must not let down its guard against threats that present "a daily chronicle of the hatred of Americans by fanatics."...

Associated Press WriterISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- Taliban supreme leader Mullah Mohammed Omar agreed Thursday to surrender his last major bastion Kandahar to tribal forces and put himself under the protection of tribal leaders, Afghanistan's interim leader and a Taliban official said...

Associated Press WriterWASHINGTON (AP) -- Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Thursday the United States would not stand for any arrangement that allowed Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar to remain free and "live in dignity" in the region...

LONDON (AP) -- Prince Edward's wife Sophie was airlifted to a hospital Thursday for emergency surgery, Buckingham palace said. Press Association, the British news agency, said she was "comfortable" following surgery for an ectopic pregnancy, which occurs when a fetus develops in a Fallopian tube...

Associated Press WriterUNITED NATIONS (AP) -- The U.N. Security Council unanimously endorsed a power-sharing agreement for a temporary post-Taliban government Thursday and called on all Afghan groups to fulfill its goal of restoring peace to the war-battered nation...

SOUTHERN AFGHANISTAN (AP)-- U.S. Marines fired mortar rounds Thursday and their base went on alert in response to what a military spokesman said was a threat to their installation in southern Afghanistan. The spokesman, Captain David T. Romley, said "it appears to be a credible threat" to the camp...

Associated Press WriterWASHINGTON (AP) -- DNA evidence taken from one of the 11 women killed by the Boston Strangler does not match that of Albert DeSalvo, who police have said was the infamous 1960s killer, a scientist said Thursday. James Starrs, a professor of forensic science and law at George Washington University, said investigators found DNA evidence on the remains of Mary Sullivan and compared it with DNA from the remains of DeSalvo, whose body was exhumed just before Thanksgiving.. ...

Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) -- The chairwoman of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights used divisive and "inflammatory rhetoric" when she told the White House that U.S. marshals would have to force her to seat Bush's new appointee, President Bush's spokesman said...

Associated Press WriterWASHINGTON (AP) -- The anthrax-tainted letter to Sen. Patrick Leahy that investigators opened this week is identical to the letter to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, two government officials said Thursday. Scientists at the Army's biodefense laboratory in Fort Detrick, Md., opened the Leahy letter Wednesday. The event had been delayed more than two weeks while technicians tried to determine the best way to protect the evidence retrieved from the letter...

AP Business WriterNEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street took an expected break from its two-session rally Thursday, held back by disappointing retail sales reports and apprehension about a business forecast from Intel due out after the market closed...

GOSHEN, Ind. (AP) -- As many as 30 people were feared shot Thursday at a factory in an industrial park, authorities said. Sheriff's Capt. Julie Dijkstra said there were no fatalities immediately reported. She said a former employee at the Nu-Wood simulated wood factory was believed to be responsible...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The amount of money the state will spend this year to operate its entire system of ports is roughly equivalent to its spending on a mere 12 miles of highway. Because roads are vital in linking all regions of Missouri, that segment of the Department of Transportation's budget will always overwhelmingly eclipse what is allocated for ports. ...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Though their house was engulfed in flames, Mike and Shellia Nix and their five children were happily welcomed home by Jackson firefighters Wednesday night. "The fire chief said it was the best thing he ever heard when he found out that we were all accounted for," said Michael Nix...

Mrs. K. continues to live alone at age 94 although her health is declining. She suffered a heart attack last year and has had hip replacement surgery. She uses a wheelchair to move about her Cape Girardeau home. Caseworkers at the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center say Mrs. K. is reluctant to ask for help or money when she needs it...

Brittany is excited about a visit from Santa Claus because he might bring Scooby-Doo toys or a sleeping bag. The 7-year-old girl and her siblings are likely to see Santa early when he delivers toys collected through Toybox. Brandon, 6, wants Lincoln logs, a whistle, football, and remote-controlled cars. Amanda, 5, wants Barbies and Hello Kitty toys...

A poignant night on a war-torn Italian hillside. A day off from hard labor at a bleak German prisoner-of-war camp. A fiery volcano eruption in Hawaii. All are the unusual memories of Christmases past for area soldiers who wore the uniform of their nation during World War II. And as the war in Afghanistan wears on, more American men and women will have their own stories of Christmases far from home, observances accompanied by the sound of gunfire instead of carols...

JACKSON, Mo. -- An errant chicken was behind bars Wednesday after trespassing on private property. A resident on Woodland Drive reported the black and white hen after it walked up Woodland Street from the Shawnee Drive area and stopped in her driveway...

Computer specialists in Cape Girardeau were scrambling Tuesday and Wednesday fighting the destructive e-mail virus dubbed "Goner." Fewer than 10 of Southeast Missouri State University's 3,000 computers were stricken with the virus by Wednesday, said Joan Evans, supervisor of the school's information technologies help desk...

NEW MADRID, Mo. -- State officials informed the public about how their tax dollars are being spent to preserve local history at a meeting this week on the Hunter-Dawson State Historic Site. Officials also included plans to expand the interpretation of history and continued restoration of the site...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Funding for the SEMO Crime Lab topped this week's agenda of the Poplar Bluff City Council. The council voted to commit $2,500 a year for the next five years to the SEMO Crime Lab's new $1.5 million building. Cities and counties in the area are sharing in the cost, along with federal and state money and a commitment from Southeast Missouri Sate University...

Southeast Missourian U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson's mobile office will make stops in several Southeast Missouri cities on Friday, including Marble Hill, Mo., and Jackson, Mo. The mobile office will be at the Marble Hill Library from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. and at the Jackson Chamber of Commerce from 2 to 3 p.m...

10 years ago: Dec. 6, 1991 Jackson - Authorities have offered $1,000 reward in case of bus vandalism serious enough to close Jackson schools Thursday; damage to bus tires, 104 of which were slashed, is estimated at $18,000. City Councilman Hugh White has announced he will seek re-election, but two-term incumbent David Barklage says he won't seek another four years...

The River Heritage Quilters' Guild recently raffled a patriotic quilt, raising more than $600 for the local chapter of the American Red Cross for disaster relief in the Southeast Missouri area. Tracy Louden, guild president, said making the quilt helped members cope with the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, showed their patriotism and helped a vital organization...

Florence Daughter to Charlene Francine Florence of Cape Girardeau, St. Francis Medical Center, 11:25 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2001. Name, Kaylynn Marie. Weight, 6 pounds 6 ounces. First child. Ms. Florence is the daughter of Dennis Florence of Springfield, Ill...

Funeral for Paul "Judge" Bollinger of Naples, Fla., will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at Ford and Sons Mt. Auburn Funeral Home. The Rev. Robert Chaney will officiate. Entombment will be in Cape County Memorial Park Mausoleum. Friends may call at the funeral home from 4-8 p.m. Friday...

RUSHVILLE, Ill. -- Funeral for the Rev. Marshall H. Ervin of Rushville, Ill., was held Tuesday at First United Methodist Church in Rushville. The Rev. Scott Henley officiated. Burial was in Rushville City Cemetery. Worthington Funeral Home handled arrangements...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Lester B. Winkler, 82, of Crestline, Ohio, formerly of Perryville, died Sunday, Dec. 2, 2001, in Crestline. He was born Dec. 5, 1918, in Perry County, Mo., son of Daniel and Anna H. Leible Winkler. He married Aline C. Renaud, who died March 23, 1972...

MOUNDS, Ill. -- Karen Muriel Adkinson, 50, of rural Mounds died Sunday, Dec. 2, 2001, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born Nov. 22, 1951, in Cairo, Ill., daughter of Norman and Bertha Thompson Seavers. She and Scottie Eugene Adkinson were married Feb. 21, 1976. He died July 21, 1996...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Martha Jane Kem, 79, of Sikeston died Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2001, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. She was born July 12, 1922, at Lilbourn, Mo., daughter of John and Inez Brown Hessling. She and Arthur Murel Kem were married in March 1939 at Sikeston. He died June 24, 1988...

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Nina Mae Champion, 89, of Carbondale died Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2001, at the Rehab and Care Center of Jackson County in Murphysboro, Ill. She was born March 14, 1912, in Knoxville, Iowa, daughter of Oren and Minnie Gullion Ross. She and Charles Champion were married June 10, 1952. He died in December 1977...

PULASKI, Ill. -- Zelma Harris, 75, of rural Pulaski died Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2001, at Carbondale Memorial Hospital at Carbondale, Ill. Arrangements are incomplete at Massie Funeral Home in Cairo, Ill.

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Clemo Harold James, 84, of Marble Hill died Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2001, at his residence. He was born in Lutesville, Mo., the son of Noah W. and Holly Jane Eaker James. He married Hazel L. Elledge on Nov. 9, 1940, in Sank, Mo. She survives...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Martha E. White, 84, passed away Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2001, at Chateau Girardeau in Cape Girardeau. Mrs. White was born Jan. 13, 1917, at Lixville, Mo., daughter of George and Matilda Yamnitz Emde. She and Wilson T. White were married Nov. 21, 1940. He passed away Dec. 24, 1994...

Parade entrepreneurs I ATTENDED the Jackson Christmas parade and was just absolutely aggravated by the young boys going around selling things like pies and candy to people who were trying to watch the parade. I think this is a very poor choice of time to try to make money off of people. It wasn't really appropriate. If you can't do your fund raising in an appropriate manner, don't aggravate people trying to watch a Christmas parade...

To the editor: My wife and I are guilty of living in Cape Girardeau for over four years without visiting the Cape River Heritage Museum. That all changed this past weekend when we took Marjorie Thompson up on her invitation in a letter to the editor last week to come see their antique toy display...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Southeast Missouri State University's Indians' are nothing if not resilient. The Indians, 19-point underdogs to Southeastern Conference member Vanderbilt Wednesday night, fought and battled and made the Commodores sweat out a much closer-than-anticipated 76-71 victory at Memorial Gym...

DEKALB, Ill. -- A balanced Northern Illinois squad defeated the Southeast Missouri State Otahkians 71-63 Wednesday night at Evans Field House. Northern Illinois had four players in double figures, while Southeast had only two. Southeast (5-3) got 19 points and nine rebounds from Veronica Benson, while Pam Iversen scored 16 points and pulled down six rebounds...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Fourth-seeded Sikeston pulled off an overtime upset of No. 1 Kelly 45-37 Wednesday night in the semifinals of the Chaffee girls basketball tournament. Sikeston outscored Kelly 9-1 in the overtime period. The Lady Bulldogs had a huge advantage at the free throw line, making 25 of their 34 attempts. Kelly meanwhile, made only eight of 22...

The Notre Dame girls basketball team led wire-to-wire in a 61-43 win over host Cape Central Wednesday night. The Lady Bulldogs (3-1), the Class 2A state runner-up in 2000-01, displayed a nice inside-outside mix on the offensive end and held the Lady Tigers (3-1) to 14 first-half points...

It was an outstanding year for football in Cape Girardeau County, maybe the best ever. Jackson went 12-1 and made it to the Class 5A semifinals. And after a slow start, Cape Central (7-5) advanced to the 4A quarters. As a result, three Indians and two Tigers were named all-state and both teams finished in the top 10 in their respective class...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Proposed changes in Jackson's subdivision regulations would increase the number of sidewalks in the city, require developers to take on more of the inspection burden and double the length of time the developer must guarantee infrastructure improvements...

CHICAGO -- Some kidney failure patients live longer if they undergo dialysis in the morning instead of the afternoon, a study suggests. But some kidney specialists say the study was seriously flawed. The Emory University study involved 242 end-stage kidney failure patients 60 and older. A total of 167 had dialysis in the morning and 75 had the procedure in the afternoon. The patients were followed for several years...

WILLIAMSBURG, Ky. Twelve-year-old Jordan Rickett nervously waited his turn in the Whitley County Central Elementary School gym, watching as a classmate seated in a dental chair got his teeth examined. "He's sure been there a long time," Jordan said, fidgeting. "I hope it doesn't take that long for me."...

Today Basic diabetes skills class from 1-4 p.m. in the Diabetes Center at St. Francis Medical Center. A registered dietitian and a certified diabetes educator will discuss the basics of diabetes care and management. "Twenty-one Ways to Survive the Holidays with Your Sanity and Diet Intact" will be discussed by Bonnie Morley, manager of pastoral care at St. ...

For a community its size, Cape Girardeau has so many cultural offerings for all to enjoy. And now someone who has been involved in the arts for a long time has been rightfully honored for his participation. Chuck Ross has devoted more than 20 years to community theater...

Old Town Cape had its first birthday last month. But unlike a 1-year-old child, its first year didn't feature huge leaps in development. In fact, other than an Old Town Cape office on Independence Street, some small summer concerts and the Glass Act Awards honoring downtown merchants with creative window displays, there is little physical evidence of the group's activities...

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- A 36-year-old Charleston woman received moderate injuries Wednesday when her vehicle ran off the road and struck a utility pole near Charleston. Marsa Mitchell was taken to Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston after the 5:20 p.m. crash eight miles west of Charleston on Route N...

Cape Girardeau Thursday, Dec. 6 DWIDerrick Babb Johnston, 22, 510 Johnson, was arrested Tuesday for driving while intoxicated. ArrestsJeremy Keith Hammack, 29, 1927 N. Kingshighway, was arrested Tuesday for forgery. Tammy Ellen Leigh, 35, Danville, Ill., was arrested Tuesday for traffic violations...

Cape Girardeau Thursday, Dec. 6 Firefighters responded to the following calls Tuesday:At 6:42 p.m., an emergency medical service at 1506 N. West End Blvd. At 8:16 p.m., an alarm sounding at 1000 N. Sprigg. Firefighters responded to the following calls Wednesday:At 8:52 a.m., an emergency medical service at 608 Good Hope...

After three tries and six days of waiting, Southeast Missouri State University physics professor John Tansil and a group of physics students finally got to see the space shuttle Endeavour lift off Wednesday afternoon. Only instead of watching it from an observation deck three miles away, they watched it on a large projection screen from 941 miles away in a Rhodes Hall computer lab...

A Cape Girardeau couple charged with conspiracy in the deaths of four endangered tigers turned themselves over to federal marshals Wednesday. Todd and Vicki Lantz were released on $25,000 bonds after appearing before U.S. District Judge Lewis M. Blanton...

WASHINGTON -- The Senate opened debate on an overhaul of farm programs Wednesday amid warnings from the Bush administration that it could damage the agricultural economy. The White House said it "strongly opposes" the Democratic bill but stopped short of threatening a veto. The administration says the increased crop subsidies would exacerbate problems with overproduction of crops and low commodity prices...

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Jean Carnahan is urging the Bush administration to get involved in stalled negotiations over seniority between the pilots unions for American Airlines and its new employees from the former Trans World Airlines. In a letter released Wednesday, Carnahan, D-Mo., asked Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta to try to revive talks over how much seniority TWA pilots should have. ...

WASHINGTON -- Guided by satellite, the military's newest "smart bomb" is designed to hit its target with great precision in any weather. The system is not without risk, as was evident Wednesday in Afghanistan, with deadly results for the U.S. military: three soldiers killed, 20 others wounded when a bomb carrying 2,000 pounds of explosives landed about 100 yards from their position...

WASHINGTON -- Lawmakers from the Senate and House agreed Wednesday to increase intelligence spending by 8 percent with an emphasis on rebuilding traditional human spy networks and boosting analysis of raw data so it will be useful to America's war against terrorism...

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Strom Thurmond marked his 99th birthday by flirting with his female colleagues Wednesday, in an effort to put concerns about his vigor to rest. "I love all of you men, but you women even more!" he declared by way of a thank-you, after Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., offered congratulations from the well of the chamber...

WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department is violating the Constitution and federal law by withholding basic information about some 1,000 people picked up by police since the terror attacks, the first lawsuit challenging government actions in the detentions alleged Wednesday...

WASHINGTON -- Former Montana Gov. Marc Racicot pledged aggressive efforts to raise money and attract minorities to the GOP after President Bush moved Wednesday to install the loyalist as head of the Republican National Committee. Racicot said he will keep his job with a Washington law firm, making him a lobbyist with an open door to the White House...

WASHINGTON -- President Bush urged world leaders Wednesday to join the United States in demanding that Yasser Arafat crack down on Palestinian terrorists striking against Israel. "He must show leadership. Now is his time," Bush said, speaking of the Palestinian leader during an Oval Office session with Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik...

Hurricanes reacquire Hill from Blues RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Carolina Hurricanes reacquired Sean Hill from the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday for seldom-used defenseman Steve Halko and a fourth-round pick in the 2002 draft. Hill, 31, had a career-high 13 goals and 44 points for the Hurricanes in 1999-2000, but became a free agent and signed a multiyear deal with the Blues worth about $2.5 million a year...

ST. LOUIS -- The 21st annual Shootout on Thursday will feature the latest high school player who could jump straight to the NBA, plus a pair of Duke recruits. A total of 28 NBA teams have requested credentials for the day-long, eight-game event, mostly to check out Amare Stoudemire. The 6-9, 240-pound Stoudemire, of Cypress Creek High School in Orlando, Fla., has orally committed to Memphis, but likely as a fallback option...

PHOENIX -- Sean Burke made 27 saves for his 29th career shutout as the Phoenix Coyotes won their third in a row and sixth straight at home, beating the St. Louis Blues 3-0 Wednesday night. The Blues lost for the first time in six games in a bitter homecoming for left wing Keith Tkachuk, the Coyotes' captain for seven years before his trade to St. Louis on March 13...

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Just 2 1/2 years ago, Eric Crouch was thinking about quitting football. Good thing for Nebraska he didn't. The senior quarterback has gone from being a disgruntled backup to open the 1999 season to Nebraska's first Heisman Trophy finalist in six years...

Rex Grossman might remember his record-setting year at Florida more for the sting of a season-shattering loss. Despite a gallant effort by Grossman, Florida lost to Tennessee 34-32 last week and missed a chance to play for the Southeastern Conference title and a spot in the BCS' national championship game in the Rose Bowl...

ST. LOUIS -- Injuries in the St. Louis Rams' secondary gave Dre' Bly, a gambler by nature, a chance to show the discipline he's added to his game. The third-year cornerback played airtight defense and also got the Rams (9-2) off to a fast start in last week's victory over the Atlanta Falcons. Bly's 56-yard interception return for a touchdown ruined Atlanta's first possession...

ST. LOUIS -- A former St. Louis teacher faces charges for allegedly grabbing the neck of an 8-year-old pupil. Timothy Simpson, 41, of Arnold, was charged with misdemeanor assault for an incident July 6 at Garfield School, prosecutors said Tuesday. The pupil, a boy, was not seriously hurt...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A couple dozen preschoolers sang Christmas carols while Gov. Bob Holden stood silently. Then the children placed hand-made ornaments on a tree -- and yet Holden uttered not a word. For Wednesday's annual dedication of the Capitol Christmas tree, Holden's presence had to suffice...

The Associated Press COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The state has ordered a Columbia nursing home to close by Dec. 31 after an investigation showed two people who died at the home received inadequate care. However, an attorney for the company that runs The Williamsburg said he expects the home to stay open after it corrects some problems and provides more information to state regulators...

ST. LOUIS -- An Egyptian man detained in jail for more than two months left Missouri for his homeland accompanied by two federal agents Tuesday. Osama El Far, 30, had worked as a mechanic at Lambert Airport in St. Louis before he was detained Sept. 24...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Agents are investigating whether someone besides Robert R. Courtney diluted a fertility medication sold at another of the jailed druggist's pharmacies, the FBI said Wednesday. Courtney is charged with diluting the cancer drugs Gemzar and Taxol at his Research Medical Tower Pharmacy in Kansas City. Tests released Tuesday showed two samples of progesterone from his store in Merriam, Kan., had been watered down...

JERUSALEM -- U.S. envoys urged Yasser Arafat to take harsh measures against Islamic militants in meetings and a phone call hours before a suicide bomber detonated explosives Wednesday outside a Jerusalem hotel, further rattling terror-weary Israelis' nerves...

HAVANA -- Hundreds of American college students poured off a ship Wednesday for a two-day visit to Cuba after their world floating campus cruise was diverted from the Middle East because of security concerns. The University of Pittsburgh's Semester at Sea program was supposed to take 672 students from more than 250 colleges through the Suez Canal, with stops in Egypt and Turkey...

LONDON -- OPEC is poised to trigger a 6 percent cut in its official crude oil output after Russia, relenting to intense pressure, agreed to reduce its production by 150,000 barrels a day to help prop up sagging oil prices. Russia's decision Wednesday ended a showdown with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries that threatened to unleash a price war for crude. ...

TORA BORA, Afghanistan -- Anti-Taliban forces battled guerrillas loyal to Osama bin Laden with tanks and mortars Wednesday, fighting their way through remote mountains toward a cave complex where they believe the terror suspect is holed up. Up to 1,500 tribal fighters pushed down a valley in the White Mountains toward the Tora Bora enclave as American B-52s pounded the area with 250- and 500-pound bombs, setting off orange flashes and plumes of smoke in the forested mountains...

LYON, France -- Interpol. People hear the name and think of something out of a James Bond movie. But few really know what Interpol does. Since Sept. 11, the international police agency has extended its hours around the clock, formed a task force, issued urgent "red" notices for the arrest of Osama bin Laden and his top deputies, and "blue" notices for information on the suicide hijackers. ...

KOENIGSWINTER, Germany -- With a war still being fought in their homeland, Afghan factions signed a pact Wednesday to create a temporary post-Taliban administration, putting aside differences over power sharing to take the first step toward peace. Amid applause and embraces, exhausted envoys at a luxury hotel near Bonn agreed to a U.N.-brokered plan that allows for the deployment of foreign troops to secure the transition, stresses the inclusion women and strives for a democracy. ...

SOUTHERN AFGHANISTAN -- U.S. Marines are moving into an offensive mode for the first time around the Taliban's last stronghold, Kandahar, helping tighten the siege of the city as Afghan tribal fighters move in, U.S. officers said Wednesday. The new tactics, cutting off roads and communications to the city, marked a significant shift in the role of the Marines after days of building up a forward base in the deserts outside Kandahar...

NEW YORK -- Technology shares propelled the stock market higher for a second straight session Wednesday, helping to boost the Dow Jones industrials more than 220 points and giving the blue chips their first close above 10,000 since Sept. 5. The advance also lifted the Nasdaq composite index past 2,000 for the first time since early August...

NORFOLK, Va. -- Pat Robertson resigned Wednesday as president and member of the board of directors of the Christian Coalition, a political force of the religious right. The religious broadcaster said he plans to concentrate on his Christian ministry...

Three Green Berets killed in an accident Wednesday in Afghanistan were proud leaders who loved the Army, family members and friends remembered. Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Petithory, 32, who grew up in western Massachusetts, "always wanted to be an Army man," said his brother, Michael. "He was born to do it."...

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Former President Bill Clinton dedicated the site of his presidential library Wednesday with a message of hope, reading from a letter his widowed mother wrote to her friend in 1946. "It seemed almost unbearable at the time," Virginia Kelley wrote, "but you see I'm six months pregnant and the thought of our baby keeps me going, and really gives me the whole world before me."...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- After nearly a week of delays, space shuttle Endeavour blasted off under heavy protection Wednesday on a flight to deliver a new crew to the international space station. The shuttle left a beautiful golden and peach contrail as it rose from its seaside pad shortly before sunset, carrying seven astronauts and a load of station supplies...

SPRINGDALE, Ohio -- An escaped convict suspected of mailing hundreds of anthrax hoax letters to abortion clinics was captured Wednesday at a copy shop in this Cincinnati suburb. Clayton Lee Waagner, one of the FBI's 10 most-wanted fugitives, was arrested after employees at a Kinko's store recognized him and called police, said Gary Richards, a chief deputy with the U.S. Marshals Service...

ATLANTA -- Coca-Cola Co. has hired Muhammad Ali to take part in community and marketing initiatives to promote Coke products. "I am excited to help Coca-Cola build on their outstanding legacy of global corporate citizenship and superior marketing programs," Ali said...

Dec. 6, 2001 Dear Julie, Five hundred years after England's Wars of the Roses, DC and I have been engaged in the War of the Ferns. Ironically, it began with an act of compassion. DC was trying to resuscitate two plants that accidentally caught a chill. She hung them on the shower curtain tubing that runs above our bathtub. In theory, the warm moist air creates an environment ferns love. Everybody knows that...

$$$Start By Terry W. Kitchen While I was listening to the Jackson-Hazelwood East football game on the radio, I started reflecting on this past fall's sports season and the accomplishments of the surrounding area's schools. I am mentioning the Notre Dame Regional High School Bulldogs, the Jackson High School Indians and the Central High School Tigers...

$$$Start By Jim Kreider JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Legislative term limits have been a hot topic for a decade as advocates have pushed for a return to the days of a citizen legislature, as opposed to career politicians. Missouri voters approved a ballot initiative in 1992 limiting lawmakers to no more than eight years in each legislative chamber. That law went on the books in 1994. This means that starting in 2002 life under term limits will be upon us...

JACKSON, Mo. -- A state board has been asked to settle a fierce budget battle between the Cape Girardeau County Commission and local circuit judges, and the outcome will decide the future of a proposed juvenile center in Cape Girardeau. At issue is whether the circuit court can order the county commission to build a juvenile center and mandate the size and design of the structure...

Associated Press WriterSOUTHERN AFGHANISTAN (AP) -- U.S. Marines attacked a Taliban convoy near Kandahar, killing seven fighters in their first offensive ground action since setting up base in southern Afghanistan, a Marines spokesman said Friday. No Marines were injured...

AP Photo XJCM102 By MATT KELLEY Associated Press WriterWASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. officials have warned Afghan opposition groups that American support will be cut off if they let Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar go free. Following reports that the Taliban may be ready to give up their final stronghold of Kandahar, Defense Secretary Donald H. ...

Associated Press WriterKABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Taliban forces abandoned their last bastion Kandahar on Friday, with witnesses saying joyous residents poured into the streets and tore down the Taliban white flag. Afghanistan's interim leader said Taliban supreme leader Mullah Mohammed Omar was missing and would be arrested if found...

AP Economics WriterWASHINGTON (AP) -- The nation's unemployment rate took another big leap upward in November to 5.7 percent, the highest level in six years, as 331,000 more Americans lost their jobs, the government reported Friday. It marked the second consecutive month of massive job losses as the weak economy continued to stagger from the blow delivered by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks...

AP Aerospace WriterCAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- Space shuttle Endeavour docked with the international space station on Friday, delivering a new three-member crew to relieve the men who have been up there since August. The shuttle pulled up as the two spacecraft orbited 250 miles above the Polish-Ukrainian border, ending a two-day chase...