Stories from July 2002

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Officially, Missouri begins its 2003 fiscal year today with a balanced state budget. But the state's financial plan is far from stable. Gov. Holden acknowledged as much while signing the $18.9 billion budget last week. The budget assumes money from several sources that still are uncertain, and doesn't account for some expenses that have arisen...

To Genise Denton of the veterans hospital in Poplar Bluff, Mo., having a veterans medical clinic next to a veterans home is a great idea. One of those why-didn't-we-think-of-it-sooner ideas. Officials from the state-funded Missouri Veterans Home and the federal-funded Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center have teamed up to build a medical facility on the same ground as the veterans home at the Interstate 55 interchange with Highway 61 near the Jackson and Cape Girardeau city limits. ...

SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea launched a blistering propaganda counterattack Sunday, saying the United States had pushed relations to the brink of war and that South Korea was guilty of "noisy, false propaganda" over the sea battle in which four southern sailors were killed...

For more than 200 Missouri teachers, this year's summer vacation is an opportunity to spend three weeks doing something that is part of their jobs during the school year: grading tests. These tests are the Missouri Assessment Program tests, which are given to students in grades three through seven and nine through 11 in communication arts, math, science, social studies and health/physical education...

Southeast Missouri State University is installing more efficient commodes and modified faucets in campus buildings as part of a $13.5 million energy savings project that covers everything from fluorescent light fixtures to the campus power plant. Southeast's power plant hasn't generated electricity for the past two years. But thanks to equipment improvements and repairs, the coal-fueled plant is expected to start generating its own power again in August...

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- If Osama bin Laden is alive it is "almost impossible" for him to be in Pakistan, President Gen. Pervez Musharraf said Monday. "I can't say for sure whether he is dead or alive," Musharraf told a news conference. But "one thing I am certain about is that he can't be in Pakistan."...

AP Business WriterNEW YORK (AP) -- Mounting concerns about accounting scandals and the health of the nation's businesses prompted investors to again sell stocks sharply lower Monday. The high-tech dominated Nasdaq composite index finished under its-post Sept. 11 closing low, while the Dow Jones industrials tumbled 130 points...

Associated Press WriterBAGRAM, Afghanistan (AP) -- U.S. aircraft attacked a village Monday while a wedding was under way, killing and injuring scores, witnesses and officials said. U.S. officials said an AC-130 gunship and a B-52 launched an attack after American forces came under fire...

Associated Press WriterKANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) -- U.S. planes bombed a village in central Afghanistan on Monday after the U.S. military said American forces came under fire. Afghans said villagers were celebrating a wedding and that scores were killed and injured, including many women and children...

Associated Press WriterCLEVELAND (AP) -- President Bush stepped back into the battle over school vouchers Monday, saying the Supreme Court's decision upholding government funding of private school education was as historic as one that outlawed separate schools for blacks...

Associated Press WriterJEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Gov. Bob Holden on Monday signed into law several measures prompted by the Sept. 11 attacks, including tougher penalties for terrorist acts and new abilities to close some records. Holden signed five bills, including one that creates felonies of terroristic threats and agroterrorism, such as spreading contagious diseases among livestock...

Standard Democrat SIKESTON, Mo. -- The 50th annual Sikeston Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo is just over a month away., and organizers are ready. "We hope that everybody is as excited as we are," said Deke Lape, president of the Sikeston Jaycees. "We think it's going to be a great year."...

10 years ago: July 1, 1992 Cape Girardeau Board of Education is looking for trouble; at early-morning meeting Tuesday at L.J. Schultz School, board directed Supt. Neyland Clark to hire structural engineer or someone to assess condition of Schultz, May Greene, Washington and Franklin schools; move comes after roof of cafeteria at Schultz partially collapsed and west wall began to buckle...

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Robert L. Reed, 62, of Carbondale died at 3:37 p.m., Saturday, June 29, 2002, at his home. Funeral arrangements are pending at the Lutz and Rendleman Funeral Home in Cobden, Ill.

Everett Barnett, 90, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, June 28, 2002, at the Lutheran Home. He was born April 12, 1912, at Sikeston, Mo., son of David and Hattie Schaefer Barnett. Barnett worked for the Marquette Hotel in Cape Girardeau for many years. He was of the Baptist faith...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- Lester Frick, 76, of Jonesboro died at 9:24 a.m., Sunday, June 30, 2002, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Funeral arrangements are pending at Lutz and Rendleman Funeral Home in Anna, Ill.

COBDEN, Ill. -- Anita Sherwood, 74, of Cobden died Saturday, June 29, 2002, at her home. Funeral arrangements are pending at Lutz and Rendleman Funeral Home in Cobden.

Earl Collins, 91, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, June 30, 2002, at a local hospital. He was born Nov. 21, 1910. Funeral arrangements are pending at the Lorberg Memorial Funeral Chapel in Cape Girardeau.

SIKESTON, Mo. -- James E. Clark, 75, of Sikeston died Sunday, June 30, 2002, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. He was born Dec. 5, 1926, in McKenzie, Tenn., son of Joe Kelly and Lois Inez Parker Clark. He first married Anna Mac Florence on Jan. 11, 1946 and she preceded him in death on Oct. 14, 1976. He then married Nanna Fay Shriner on Feb. 4, 1978 at Martin Hills, Mo...

June A. Moore, 87, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, June 30, 2002, at the Ratcliff Care Center in Cape Girardeau. Funeral arrangements are pending at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Scott City, Mo.

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- Richard Thompson "Dick" Reed, 78, of Charleston, formerly of East Prairie, Mo., died Saturday June 29, 2002, at Methodist Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. He was born Nov. 10, 1923, in Poplar Bluff, Mo., son of Buel and Rose Birkhead Reed. He and Dorothy Farmer Reed were married June 21, 1944 in Charleston...

Patches are in vain SOMETIMES I have to wonder what the MoDOT crews think they are accomplishing by throwing some asphalt into the cracks on I-55. It does nothing more than come out the instant someone drives over it as well as throwing asphalt all over the vehicle. It is a very vain attempt to make it look like MoDOT is trying to fix the roads. I really hope that Proposition B has funding in it to resurface all the interstates in this state, because they are awful...

A pair of well-placed, late-game singles by Denver Stuckey scored the game-winners Sunday to secure the Craftsman Union Capahas a sweep over the Cape Girardeau Riverdogs at Capaha Park. The Capahas (16-5) won 2-1 and 4-3. In the first-ever meeting between the two independent teams, the Capahas broke a 1-1 tie scored the go-ahead run in the seventh inning when Stuckey singled to left field and pushed home the game-winner from second base...

Briefly Baseball Pete Gray, who became a big-league ballplayer despite losing his right arm in a childhood accident, died Sunday. He was 87. Gray, born Peter Wyshner, perhaps was best known for his season with the former St. Louis Browns in 1945, when he appeared in 77 games. At the time, disabled athletes often were regarded as sideshow oddities...

Senior Legion holds off Chaffee for district win CHAFFEE, Mo. -- The Ford & Sons American Legion baseball team turned away Chaffee 11-10 in a nine-inning district game Sunday. Shane Kistner was 3-for-5 with a double and pair of RBIs for the Cape Girardeau team (10-9 all, 4-2 district). Tim Wincewicz and Matt Wulfers were 2-for-4. Jeff Brosey added a double...

FORT SCOTT, Kan. -- To the storied Kansas landscape of roaming buffalo and playful deer and antelope, add the elk. That is, domestic elk -- those raised behind tall fences. It's been a growing industry over the years but times have been a little rocky lately for many elk ranchers...

WASHINGTON -- Free fruits and vegetables or junk food: The government hopes public school students will go with the healthier option in a trial program that promotes good nutrition and offers farmers a chance to earn some extra money. This fall, 100 schools in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Iowa will receive $6 million to offer students free produce. ...

KEARNEY, Neb. -- Drought is not the only thing ravaging Nebraska's crops. Swarms of grasshoppers also are spreading havoc among farmers in central areas of the state, according to the Nebraska Farm Bureau. That comes despite efforts last month by a coalition of ranchers in the area to kill off young grasshoppers with spray insecticide...

European leaders are cautious. The secretary-general of the United Nations is outright opposed. Other world leaders are taking a wait-and-see attitude. The issue? President Bush's plan for the Mideast that hinges on the removal of Yasser Arafat as head of the Palestinian Authority...

Business counseling sessions available The Small Business Development Center of Southeast Missouri State University will be conducting counseling sessions for area small business people who are planning business ventures. The counselor, Gil Degenhardt, will be available from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. July 17 at the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce, 1267 N. Mount Auburn Road. Call 335-3312 for an appointment. The counseling sessions are free and last about one hour...

Dewees joins Chartwells as marketing director Lydia Dewees has joined Chartwells at Southeast Missouri State University as its marketing director. Dewees will be responsible for marketing research, promotions and special events, communication and public relations as well as other programs...

For the first time in nine years, many white-collar workers will get pay raises of less than 4 percent in 2002, according to a report released last week. The Conference Board survey is the latest indication that compensation gains are slowing, and raises concerns among economists that smaller raises could dampen consumer spending and economic growth...

Cliff Bowen came into the accounting world with a background in construction work. He was used to a crack-of-dawn start to the workday. So he continued on that schedule when he began working behind a desk. He liked to get in before everyone and start plugging away at the work that had piled up...

By Scott Moyers ~ Southeast Missourian Adding permanent workers doesn't make sense right now to employers who are nervous about the nation's fragile economic recovery. Their answer: temp help. Staffing companies say they've seen demand for temps escalate in recent weeks, after slumping from late 2000 through early this year during the recession...

Cape Girardeau Monday, July 1 ArrestsTimothy Carter, 38, 2801 Bloomfield, was arrested Saturday on a warrant for possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia. Charles Demolle, 17, 814 Morgan Oak, was arrested Saturday for delivery of a controlled substance and patronizing prostitution...

Cape Girardeau Monday, July 1 On Saturday, firefighters responded to the following calls:At 10:24 a.m., an alarm sounding at 36 N. Main St. At 1:31 p.m., an alarm sounding at 208 Linda. At 4:58 p.m., an emergency medical service at 308 Siemers. At 7:24 p.m., an alarm sounding at 208 Linda...

NEW MADRID, Mo. -- The search for a man who fell into the Mississippi River in New Madrid County while fishing Saturday will continue today. The name of the man has not yet been released. Johnny McWhiter, communications supervisor for the New Madrid Police Department, said crews spent the day Sunday searching for the man, who "went into the river when fishing around 3 p.m. Saturday and never came back up."...

WASHINGTON -- ConAgra Beef Co. of Greeley, Colo., is voluntarily recalling approximately 354,200 pounds of fresh and frozen ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli bacteria, the Agriculture Department announced Sunday. The department's Food Safety and Inspection Service said the labels on all the products being recalled bear the establishment code "EST.969" inside the USDA seal of inspection. ...

WASHINGTON -- At least three small airplanes intruded into airspace over Camp David this weekend while President Bush was at the mountain retreat in Maryland, including one escorted to a nearby airport by fighter jets, the Secret Service said Sunday...

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration warned the Palestinians on Sunday they would cloud their prospects for nationhood by re-electing Yasser Arafat as their leader. The Palestinian's U.N. envoy responded that Arafat probably will run in January's scheduled election and, as leader of a continuing liberation movement, will win if he does...

WASHINGTON -- The top federal securities regulator put WorldCom Inc. executives on notice that "people will pay heavily" if there are any falsehoods in a report due Monday detailing the company's accounting scandal. "We're demanding that they make a statement under oath, telling the American public exactly what went on there and what their true financial condition is," Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Harvey Pitt said Sunday...

WASHINGTON -- President Bush ran three miles and took a walk in the woods with the first lady Sunday at Camp David, resuming an active schedule after his colon screening. The president and Laura Bush also attended church services at the chapel at the presidential retreat in western Maryland...

WASHINGTON -- Americans should take extra care on the Fourth of July because the national holiday is an attractive symbol to potential terrorists, Bush administration officials said Sunday. The FBI plans to monitor and protect major Independence Day parades and festivities as a precaution against an attack. The bureau also has issued a law enforcement bulletin asking police to be on heightened alert even though no specific new intelligence suggests an attack...

YOKOHAMA, Japan -- This was supposed to be the year France won a second straight World Cup title and Argentina returned to glory. It was going to be a summer for Italy's resurgence and for Portugal's long-awaited breakthrough. But when this World Cup ended Sunday morning, the players celebrating at rainy International Stadium Yokohama were wearing familiar yellow-and-blue uniforms, doing the samba and singing in Portuguese...

ST. LOUIS -- Last month, the Cincinnati Reds blew an eight-run lead against the St. Louis Cardinals. On Sunday, they returned the favor. Reggie Taylor and Todd Walker hit two-run singles off Jason Isringhausen in the ninth inning as the Reds rallied from six runs down in the first inning for a 12-8 victory in the finale of a three-game NL Central showdown...

WIMBLEDON, England -- Venus Williams loses the opening set, composes herself, then drops just three games the rest of the way. Her sister, Serena, gets broken twice and is extended to two tiebreakers, but dominates each to win in straight sets. Ah, top players playing top tennis when they need to...

The St. Louis Cardinals placed outfielder J.D. Drew on the 15-day disabled list Sunday with tendinitis in his right knee prior to the team's game against the Cincinnati Reds. Drew missed the previous three games, and has not responded to treatment as well as the team had hoped. The move was made retroactive to Friday, and Drew will be eligible to return the day after the team returns from the All-Star break...

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Wladimir Klitschko wants Lennox Lewis. And he's hoping the first moves in their matchup will involve pawns instead of punches. The brainy, brawny 6-foot-7 inch heavyweight, who overpowered 41-year-old Ray Mercer to retain his WBO title Saturday night, wants a showdown with IBF/WBC champion Lewis -- and a game of chess with him beforehand...

CICERO, Ill. -- Cristiano da Matta fought off the challenge of fellow Brazilian Bruno Junqueira and oppressive 90-degree weather Sunday to win the Chicago Grand Prix for the second time in three years. Da Matta raced to his third straight victory, his fourth of the year and sixth in nine races...

PARIS -- Lance Armstrong dominated last year's Tour de France so completely that the race was over long before riders reached the finish. Now, as the Texan prepares to bid for a fourth straight title, he has some news to make opponents tremble: He's gotten even stronger...

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Len Mattiace won for the second time this year as he rallied from a seven-stroke deficit at the start of the final round by shooting a 7-under 64 Sunday to win the St. Jude Classic by a stroke. Mattiace, who won the Nissan Open in February, joined Tiger Woods (three) and Phil Mickelson (two) as the only multiple winners on tour this year...

CLEVELAND -- Curt Schilling got his major league-leading 13th win -- and first in four starts -- with a five-hitter Sunday, leading the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 5-2 win over the Cleveland Indians. Schilling (13-3) cruised from the opening pitch, and got his first victory since June 8 and first complete game in 16 starts...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Heart of America Indian Center has a new home and an amended mission: preserving native traditions while remaining relevant to the larger regional culture. "I can't tell you how many times I hear people say, 'There are Indians in Kansas City?"' said Pam Slade, a center staff member...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Hundreds of poor Missourians were to lose their cash welfare benefits today because of a five-year time limit required under a federal law. Of Missouri's 48,000 families receiving temporary cash benefits through the state Department of Social Services, 414 will have exhausted their eligibility today...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A beer-drinking rookie cabdriver turned a routine ride into 90 minutes of terror for three passengers who furtively phoned police as the taxi careened through city streets at high speeds. The trip ended with the driver's arrest in the parking lot of a car wash in suburban Grandview, about 10 miles south of the eastern Kansas City hotel where the three New Orleans men were staying...

ST. LOUIS -- On the final leg of his around-the-globe balloon quest, American adventurer Steve Fossett cruised Sunday over the Indian Ocean after apparently breaking his own record for distance traveled by a solo balloonist. The Chicago millionaire has completed about 80 percent of his sixth try at circling the globe, with expectations of completing the journey by Tuesday, exactly two weeks after its June 18 launch from western Australia...

UNITED NATIONS -- The United States agreed Sunday to keep the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Bosnia going for three more days, shortly after vetoing a six-month extension because American peacekeepers did not get immunity from the new International Criminal Court...

JERUSALEM -- An Israeli tank shelled a house in the West Bank city of Nablus on Sunday, killing a suspected Hamas bombmaker whose work is blamed for the deaths of at least 100 Israelis in suicide bombings. Israel also started building a towering electronic fence that will protect three sides of Jerusalem against Palestinian attacks, Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said on a visit to the area Sunday...

KABUL, Afghanistan -- To the solemn strains of a funeral march, the body of Afghanistan's former queen, Homaira Shah, was returned to Kabul on Sunday and buried in the royal family's war-damaged tomb on a barren stone ridge overlooking the city where her husband once ruled...

LOS ANGELES -- "Mr. Deeds" went to town in a big way as the Adam Sandler comedy debuted as the No. 1 weekend film with $37.6 million. Last weekend's No. 1 film, "Minority Report," slipped to third place with $21.6 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. "Lilo & Stitch," which opened just $400,000 behind "Minority Report" last weekend, remained the No. 2 movie with $22.2 million...

LOS ANGELES -- Interest in TV food shows is rising like a souffle in a hot oven. The Food Network's viewership increased 32 percent last year, and with growth continuing this season, the cable channel has almost 74 million viewers. Food fans weaned on the talents of Julia Child can still watch the grande dame dish it out on local PBS stations, while that doyenne of domesticity, Martha Stewart, fusses about in the Food Network's "From Martha's Kitchen."...

LOS ANGELES -- Some directors call it killing their babies, those painful excisions to reduce a movie to manageable length or prune it for reasons forced on them by circumstance. More filmmakers are now revisiting past works with director's cuts or special editions thanks to the theatrical success of a handful of such new versions and the rise of DVDs, whose large storage capacity opens options for refinements to the original film...

SHOW LOW, Ariz. -- For more than a week, the news has been dreadful. The nation's most destructive forest fire has been roaring through canyons and into wooded subdivisions and small mountain communities, incinerating more than 400 homes and forcing 30,000 people to flee...

From wire reports The biggest fire in Arizona history, which has scorched nearly a half-million acres over the past few days, was partly started by an out-of-work federal government firefighter, state and federal officials alleged Sunday. Leonard Gregg, 29, a contract firefighter with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, was charged with starting the Rodeo fire in the hope he would be hired to put it out, officials said. ...

LOS ANGELES -- Fans, family members and fellow entertainers remembered singer Rosemary Clooney on Sunday for her seemingly effortless singing style, her warm humor and her triumphant comeback from emotional problems and drug abuse. "For over 50 years she has brightened our lives with the richness of her personality and her voice," Dolores Hope, a fellow singer and wife of entertainer Bob Hope, said in a statement. "Her courage and love have been an inspiration to all who called her friend."...

Smokers in six states will pay more for their habit as of Monday, nudity with "artistic value" will no longer be off-limits to minors in Utah, and teddy bears will have official status as the state toy of Mississippi. Hundreds of new laws take effect with the July 1 start of fiscal years in many states. The laws reflect legislators' concerns with the burdensome threats of terrorism and budget deficits, spiked with a few less-weighty matters...

NEW YORK -- Relatives of World Trade Center victims welcomed Gov. George Pataki's promise that there would be no commercial development on the footprints of the 110-story twin towers. "I'm very happy with that stand," Joseph Maurer, who lost his daughter in the attack, said Sunday...

SAN FRANCISCO -- Thousands of rainbows appeared under the blue sky Sunday as an estimated half million people lined the streets to celebrate diversity and progress during the city's 32nd annual gay pride parade. The people were just as colorful as the flags they waved -- gay, straight, young and old. Some wore leather, feathers, or held balloons while others sported little more than a smile...

NEW YORK -- Barred by the terms of his probation from messing with computers, ex-convict hacker Kevin Mitnick has turned to writing about them, baring the tricks of his former trade in a forthcoming book. An advance copy of the book, "The Art of Deception," describes more than a dozen scenarios where tricksters dupe computer network administrators into divulging passwords, encryption keys and other coveted security details...

smoyers Within business circles, the rumors are flying. Calls are being made to the city's inspection department. Worried competitors are calling real-estate agents. Advertising reps are calling eager business editors. They're all asking the same thing...

Don't fret, America, Tom Osborne is working for you. The stock market is plunging; unemployment is rising. The Middle East is a powder keg of suicide bombers and helicopter gunships. Terrorism threatens our own homeland security. Not to worry. Congressman Osborne is going to squash those pesky sports agents if it's the last thing he ever does...

You've probably dreamed of being able to drive a powerful car as fast as you want on public highways, weaving through traffic, squealing tires and triggering accidents left and right. Well, OK, it's always been my dream. But you can get in on the fun with a copy of "Burnout," from Criterion Games and Acclaim for the Xbox. This arcade-style racer is short on automotive reality and long on frantic, high-speed action...

Whatever happened to good quality programming like "Matlock" and "Murder She Wrote"? OK. I know what you're thinking: "What? Those were boring." That's the reaction I used to get from my college roommates, who made fun of me every time they came back from class to find me perched in front of the television watching Andy Griffith portray a lawyer...

Associated Press WriterNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Tennessee Gov. Don Sundquist proposed a compromise plan Tuesday to help resolve the budget stalemate over taxes and end the partial government shutdown. "If there was ever a time for compromise it's now. We need to reach a conclusion by Wednesday. If not, we should work around the clock if we have to," the governor said in a news conference...

AP Business WriterWASHINGTON (AP) -- The chief executive officer of beleaguered WorldCom Inc. apologized Tuesday for "past transgressions" at the firm, and pledged cooperation as the government probes accounting irregularities that totaled billions of dollars...

AP Business WriterNEW YORK (AP) -- Persistent worries about corporate accounting scandals sent stock prices sharply lower again Tuesday as a new probe into the books of Worldcom worsened an already dismal climate of distrust in corporate America...

Associated Press WriterRAWALPINDI, Pakistan (AP) -- Pakistan has evidence that al-Qaida financed last month's deadly car-bombing at the U.S. Consulate in Karachi that killed at least 12 people, the country's internal security chief said Tuesday...

Associated Press WriterWASHINGTON (AP) -- American gunfire, rather than an errant U.S. bomb, may have been responsible for scores of deaths reported in a central Afghan province, defense officials said Tuesday. But it's too soon to know exactly what happened in Uruzgan province Monday night, where villagers reported neighbors killed in U.S. air attacks, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said...

BAGRAM, Afghanistan (AP) -- A U.S. military convoy returning from the hospital in Kandahar was fired on late Tuesday on the outskirts of the city and one U.S. soldier was wounded, a military spokesman said. Col. Roger King said the Americans had been visiting the hospital where victims of a U.S. air attack Monday were undergoing treatment. Their vehicles came under fire about 1.5 miles outside the city...

AP Sports Writer WIMBLEDON, England (AP) -- Venus Williams swept to another easy straight-set victory Tuesday as she moved into the semifinals and closer to her third straight Wimbledon title. The top-seeded Williams, who has dropped one set in five matches, crushed 48th-ranked Elena Likhovtseva 6-2, 6-0 in 44 minutes in the day's opening match on Centre Court...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- The funeral for Jonathan Kyle Spence of Sikeston will be held at 2 p.m. today at Ponder Funeral Home. The Rev. Tom Geers will officiate, assisted by Tanner Fritz. Spence, 16, died Saturday, June 29, 2002, from injuries received in an automobile accident...

GLEN ALLEN, Mo. -- Donald Chester Miller, 91, of Glen Allen died Sunday, June 30, 2002, at his home. He was born Aug. 24, 1910, in Anna, Ill., son of Tony and Lillian Sprague Miller. He married Nellie McCulley, who preceded him in death. He and Beryl Boner were married Oct. 11, 1947. She died Feb. 15, 1995...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- Lester H. Frick, 76, of Jonesboro died Sunday, June 30, 2002, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Aug. 25, 1925, in Jonesboro, son of Coney and Flora Reynolds Frick. He and Helen Louise Treece were married June 9, 1951, in Jonesboro...

OLMSTED, Ill. -- Gladys Mayberry, 88, of Olmsted died Monday, July 1, 2002, at St. Joseph Hospital in Murphysboro, Ill. Arrangements are incomplete at Wilson Funeral Home in Karnak, Ill.

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Rosemary Layton, 82, of Perryville died Sunday, June 30, 2002, at Perry County Memorial Hospital. She was born April 4, 1920, in Perry County, daughter of Louis and Mary McLain Gibbar. She and William L. Layton were married Sept. 17, 1942. He died April 25, 1992...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- The funeral for Phillip Crider of Sikeston will be held at 11 a.m. today at Ponder Funeral Home. The Rev. Dolan Rogers will officiate. Burial will be in Poplar Bluff Cemetery at Poplar Bluff, Mo. Friends may call at the funeral home from 9 a.m. to service time...

Virginia Louise Babb, 67, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, June 29, 2002, at the Lutheran Home. She was born Oct. 6, 1934, in Charleston, Mo., daughter of William Andrew and Dorothy L. Weakley. She and Edward G. Babb were married June 11, 1955. He died March 11, 1985...

Lillie L. Barks, 81, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, July 1, 2002, at Ratliff Care Center. She was born Oct. 11, 1920, at Millersville, Mo., daughter of Daniel and Elsie Miller Wallis. She and Loy V. Barks were married April 16, 1940. He died Dec. 3, 1990...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- A graveside memorial service for Johanna Hopper of Sikeston will be held at 11 a.m. today at Bloomfield Cemetery in Bloomfield, Mo. Cline Ables will officiate. Blanchard Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. Hopper, 82, died Friday, June 21, 2002, at Miner Nursing Center...

DEXTER, Mo. -- Mary Jo Smith, 67, of Dexter died Friday, June 28, 2002, at Missouri Southern Health Care. She was born May 6, 1935, in Gray Ridge, Mo., daughter of Manual and Daisy Rusche Welch. She first married Louie McCollough, who preceded her in death. She and Charles A. Smith were married Sept. 5, 1972...

COBDEN, Ill. -- Anita Mae Sherwood, 74, of Cobden died Saturday, June 29, 2002, at her home. She was born June 9, 1928, in Belleville, Ill., daughter of Adam Louis and Agnes Ihle Brust. She and Billy Dean Sherwood were married May 24, 1947, in Piggott, Ark. He died July 17, 1977...

Earl Lee Collins, 91, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, June 30, 2002, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. He was born Nov. 21, 1910, at Portageville, Mo., son of Jeff and Lily M. Williams Collins. He and Clarissia B. Ness were married in 1932 in Sturgis, S.D. She died in 1975...

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- Daisy Ethyl Holder, 86, of Scott City died Monday, July 1, 2002, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. She was born May 12, 1916, at Bell City, Mo., daughter of Samuel and Mary Jones Dodson. She and David Everett Holder were married Dec. 10, 1932. He died Sept. 26, 1985...

June Aleta Moore, 87, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, June 30, 2002, at Ratliff Care Center. She was born Dec. 24, 1914, at Kime, Mo., daughter of Matthew Forrest and Dora Bell Berry Rhodes. She and E.N. "Ned" Moore were married Sept. 25, 1943, at Crump, Mo. He died Feb. 29, 2000...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Charlotte S. Wessel, 82, died Monday, July 1, 2002, at her home, after a four-year battle with cancer. Charlotte was born Jan. 18, 1920, at Gordonville, daughter of William and Emma Hager Gross. She was baptized and confirmed at Christ Lutheran Church in Gordonville...

Briefly Basketball Gunmen attacked three people outside the home of Magic point guard Troy Hudson, fatally shooting a 20-year-old man and pistol-whipping a 15-year-old boy, police said. Hudson wasn't home late Sunday when a car pulled into his driveway, two men got out and opened fire, police in this wealthy Orlando suburb said...

Thies pitches Cape Legion team past Calvert City John Thies pitched his fourth complete game of the season Monday, helping lift the Ford & Sons American Legion baseball team past Calvert City, Ky., 8-5 at Capaha Park. Thies improved to 4-1 after he gave up four hits and four earned runs in nine innings...

7:30 p.m. Monday, July 1 City Hall Action Items Power and Light Committee Approved the mayor's appointment of Lester Maevers to fill the unexpired term of David Hitt on the Park Board. Approved the mayor's appointment of Kevin Schaper to fill the unexpired term of Lester Maevers on the Zoning Board of Adjustment...

BOSTON -- To doctors' amazement, experimental new medicines are rescuing people from the brink of blindness so they can read and drive and sometimes even regain perfect vision. These lucky few are the first beneficiaries of an entirely new category of drugs that many hope will revolutionize the care of common eye diseases...

Kiblinger finalist in Pre-Teen America Theresa Kiblinger, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Mark Kiblinger of Cape Girardeau, has been selected as a finalist in the Pre-Teen Missouri Scholarship and Recognition Program to be held Aug. 30 through Sept. 2 at the Capital Plaza Hotel in Jefferson City, Mo...

Cape Girardeau Tuesday, July 2 DWIHarold Mabins of 123 N. Clark St. was arrested Saturday for driving while intoxicated. ArrestsBeronica Deon Lewis, 36, of 1804 N. Main St., was arrested Saturday on a warrant for burglary and domestic assault. Fred Lee Harris Sr., 49, of 1115 Bloomfield Road was arrested Saturday for forgery...

Cape Girardeau Tuesday, July 2 Firefighters responded to these calls Sunday:At 7:41 p.m., a medical assist to a motor vehicle accident at Mount Auburn and Hopper roads. At 9:26 p.m., a medical assist at Towers West. Firefighters responded to these calls Monday:At 4:03 a.m., an alarm sounding at 19 N. Water...

Vision 2020's survey asked what resident think are the most important future projects. The current results are compared with past surveys.2002 Riverfront/downtown Flood/stormwater Airport services Transportation trust fund 1994 Street connections...

Public Hearings Gary M. Arnold appeared to answer questions at a public hearing regarding the request for a special-use permit for a model home at 1493 Cheetah Lane in an R-1, single-family residential district. No one spoke against the request.Consent Ordinances...

N WHAT IS THIS COURT? As of now, it's a four-member team with a phone and fax machine at offices in the Netherlands. The court opened for business Monday under a 1998 treaty ratified by 75 countries. ...

YOKOHAMA, Japan -- Senegal wasn't supposed to beat France. The United States wasn't supposed to scare the soccer powers. And Brazil, mighty Brazil, wasn't supposed to run off with the World Cup. It figures that in a tournament filled with surprises, soccer's most accomplished nation would be an unexpected winner of its fifth championship, two more than any other country...

The AssociatedPress The Cardinals, struggling on their final homestand before the All-Star break, juggled their bullpen Monday by optioning struggling right-hander Gene Stechschulte to Triple-A Memphis and recalling right-hander Mike Crudale from Triple-A Memphis...

ATLANTA -- Matt Franco hit a grand slam in the fifth inning, and Atlanta's bullpen pitched six scoreless innings to lead the Braves past the Montreal Expos 7-5 Monday night. Phillies 6, Mets 3 PHILADELPHIA -- Brandon Duckworth pitched 7 1-3 strong innings and Travis Lee homered and drove in four runs as Philadelphia defeated New York...

Bobby Holik will try to bring his winning ways to the New York Rangers, who sorely need the help. Holik, a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the New Jersey Devils, became the NHL's first major unrestricted free agent to sign this year. He left the Devils on Monday, the first day teams could sign free agents other than their own, for New Jersey's biggest rival...

ST. LOUIS -- Woody Williams ignored the 96-degree heat and just kept pitching. Williams hit his second career home run and won for the fourth time in five starts, working eight strong innings as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the San Diego Padres 7-3 Monday night...

WIMBLEDON, England -- They wanted to talk of doubles and tennis, not politics and religion. But the off-court topics were unavoidable for the Pakistani Muslim and the Israeli Jew, the remarkable tennis partnership of Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi and Amir Hadad...

YOKOHAMA, Japan -- And now, on to 2006. The next World Cup will be held in Germany, which staged the world soccer championship in 1974 and won it. Organizers picked 12 cities as game sites: Berlin, Nuremberg, Hamburg, Leipzig, Cologne, Stuttgart, Dortmund, Gelsenkirchen, Munich, Kaiserslautern, Hanover and Frankfurt...

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Cardinals' lone All-Star is far from pleased with his first half this season. Pitcher Matt Morris, selected Sunday for the second straight time, is 10-5 with a 3.27 ERA. Those numbers are in line with his breakthrough season last year, when he won 22 games and finished third in the NL Cy Young balloting...

WIMBLEDON, England -- Top-seeded Lleyton Hewitt and Venus Williams bolstered their status as title favorites by winning easily in straight sets Monday to reach the quarterfinals on a chilly, rainy day at Wimbledon. Tim Henman, meanwhile, rallied from a break down in the fifth set to maintain his hopes of becoming the first British player to win the men's title since 1936...

NORMAN, Okla. -- Rep. J.C. Watts of Oklahoma, the only black Republican in Congress and a member of the House GOP leadership, said Monday that he won't run for re-election. "It has been a wonderful ride. It has been a wonderful journey. Of course, the work of America is never done, but I believe my work in the House of Representatives at this time of my life is completed," Watts said at a news conference in Norman, where he was a football star for the University of Oklahoma before entering politics.. ...

ST. LOUIS -- Steve Fossett is oh-so-close to finally flying his balloon around the world all by himself. After years of spectacular crash landings, the Chicago investment tycoon was expected to reach western Australia within a day and claim the record of being the first solo balloonist to circumnavigate the globe...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A state gas station association has decided to remain neutral on a proposed transportation package that would raise fuel and sales taxes. The Missouri Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association had considered an advertising campaign against Proposition B on the Aug. 6 ballot, but the group opted against it on Monday...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri's Medicaid program could have saved millions of dollars through better management of its prescription drug program, the state auditor said. The report by Auditor Claire McCaskill was released Monday -- the same day the state began offering prescription drug benefits under a new program for senior citizens not covered by Medicaid...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Gov. Bob Holden on Monday signed into law several measures prompted by the Sept. 11 attacks, including tougher penalties for terrorist acts and new abilities to close some records. Holden signed five bills, including one that creates felonies of terroristic threats and agroterrorism, such as spreading contagious diseases among livestock...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Needing to renew your driver's license? Wanting to start a new business? Or are you just looking for the winning lottery numbers? A new-look state Web site premiered Monday that is intended to make it easier for Missourians to sort through the bureaucracy of state government and find answers to everyday questions...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Gov. Bob Holden has nominated two outgoing lawmakers to the state Labor and Industrial Relations Commission. Rep. John Hickey, D-Bridgeton, and Sen. David Klarich, R-Clayton, were nominated to serve six-year terms on the commission...

FRANKFURT, Germany -- A Russian airliner and a Boeing-made cargo plane collided over southern Germany late Monday, and up to 150 people aboard were believed to have been killed, police said. Rescue workers have already recovered bodies of some of the victims after the Tupolev 154 and the Boeing 757 freight plane crashed into each other at 11:43 p.m. , said Wolfgang Wenzel, a spokesman for police in the city of Tuebingen...

MANILA, Philippines -- Philippine troops, backed by helicopter gunships, pounded Muslim extremist guerrillas with artillery and rocket fire Monday in the latest clash in a U.S.-backed military offensive, officials said. At least one soldier was wounded and an unspecified number of Abu Sayyaf guerrillas were killed or injured in the mountainous hinterlands of Patikul town on Jolo island, the military said...

UNITED NATIONS -- More than 100 nations hailed the birth of the world's first International Criminal Court on Monday as a landmark for global justice, vowing that its mission to prosecute and deter future war criminals will not be sabotaged by U.S. opposition...

KAKARAK, Afghanistan -- U.S. planes bombed a village in central Afghanistan on Monday after the U.S. military said American forces came under fire. Afghans said villagers were celebrating a wedding and that scores were killed and injured, including women and children...

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- President Gen. Pervez Musharraf expressed doubt Monday that Osama bin Laden is hiding in Pakistan, saying it would be "almost impossible" for him to have escaped detection here. "I can't say for sure whether he is dead or alive," Musharraf told a news conference. But "one thing I am certain about is that he can't be in Pakistan."...

LIMA, Peru -- Vladimiro Montesinos, once one of Peru's most feared men, was convicted Monday of usurping office -- the first of more than 70 criminal charges ranging from arms smuggling to homicide that the ex-spymaster faces. Montesinos, accused of orchestrating a vast network of corruption during former President Alberto Fujimori's rule, was sentenced to nine years in prison for seizing control of the National Intelligence Service while serving as an adviser to the agency...

JERUSALEM -- Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, defending Israel's killing of a top Hamas bombmaker, said Monday that "there is no compromise with terror." Hamas extremists vowed revenge. The threats came as a top Palestinian official said the United States will find no Palestinian willing to negotiate in place of Yasser Arafat, whom Israel holds ultimately responsible for all the attacks against its people because he has not taken serious steps to stop them...

HONG KONG -- As protesters lashed out at Beijing's "murderous regime," President Jiang Zemin marked Hong Kong's first five years back in China by saying Monday it had retained its capitalist ways and now should support the mainland. Right after Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa was sworn in to a second term, Jiang urged everyone in the former British colony to "keep enhancing their sense of the country and of the nation."...

BEIJING -- Marking the 81st anniversary of its Communist Party, China exhorted its people and party faithful Monday to follow what it called President Jiang Zemin's progressive approach to reform -- a doctrine that has pushed the country toward a world it once shunned...

SEOUL, South Korea -- Despite a skirmish that killed at least four South Korean sailors, President Kim Dae-jung said Monday he would push ahead with his "sunshine" policy of trying to seek reconciliation with North Korea. "We will maintain the sunshine policy of firm security and peaceful resolution efforts," Kim's office quoted the president as saying in a speech at a state dinner in Tokyo hosted by Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. ...

LONDON -- For nearly 200 years they have lain in a vault: the bloodstained silk coin purse Adm. Horatio Nelson carried to his death at the Battle of Trafalgar, and letters written by his wife and her rival in love, the legendary Emma Hamilton. Auctioneers Sotheby's on Monday displayed what Tom Pocock, biographer of Britain's greatest naval hero, has called "the most remarkable Nelsonian archive and collection to be discovered for more than a century."...

MOSCOW -- Russian laws took a long-awaited step away from the authoritarian past Monday with the implementation of two crucial codes promising new protections for defendants and new restrictions on jailers and prosecutors. Supporters hope the criminal and administrative law codes, key components of Russia's post-Soviet legal reform, will relieve the overburdened prison system and boost the business climate by curbing corruption...

MOSCOW -- The Russian government said Monday that leaky torpedo fuel caused the explosions that destroyed the Kursk nuclear submarine, wrapping up nearly two years of sensitive investigation into one of the country's worst post-Soviet disasters. The announcement that the vessel was destroyed by an internal malfunction -- and not a foreign submarine as had once been theorized -- was an uncomfortable admission for Russia's struggling military. ...

Miami police: Pilots were drunk before takeoff MIAMI -- Two America West pilots at the helm of a Phoenix-bound jetliner were ordered to return to the airport terminal moments before takeoff Monday and were arrested for being legally drunk, police said...

As WorldCom Inc. acknowledged that its financial woes could go deeper than previously disclosed, the company in a report made public Monday attempted to blame its bookkeeping lapses squarely on former chief financial officer Scott D. Sullivan. In the report to the Securities and Exchange Commission, which last week accused WorldCom of civil fraud for allegedly hiding $3.8 billion in expenses, WorldCom said its own auditors discovered the irregularities in May and fired Sullivan June 25 after conducting an internal audit.. ...

WASHINGTON -- The fact that undercover agents continue to sneak dummy weapons through airport security points to a need for better training of screeners and highlights the problems of a system in a difficult transition, Transportation Department officials acknowledged Monday...

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- Residents hoping to get driver's licenses and summer tourists looking for information ran into "closed" signs Monday, the first day of a partial government shutdown while the Tennessee legislature tries to resolve the state's budget...

HONG KONG -- Chanting and cheering, hundreds of Buddhists sent the fish on a swim for freedom, putting them onto a pair of stainless steel slides that dropped off the side of a ferry into the South China Sea. Followers of Buddhism are duty-bound to save any trapped animal -- and the Chinese have adopted the practice and made a tradition of buying, then freeing fish, birds and turtles in the belief it can bring good fortune...

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Scientists are developing a handheld sensor they say would help save lives by quickly pinpointing the presence of a deadly E. coli strain and other harmful germs in food and drinks, in some cases within minutes. The device has been in development for the past decade, during which time several fatal E. coli outbreaks have occurred throughout the country...

CIBECUE, Ariz. -- The man charged with starting one of the blazes that has blackened a huge swath of Arizona forest and destroyed hundreds of homes was fascinated with flame when he was a boy and sometimes set fires, a foster brother said. Federal prosectors have accused Leonard Gregg, 29, of starting the blaze in dry grass because he wanted to earn money as part of a fire crew...

They kept washing ashore, hundreds of them. The huge but emaciated bodies of gray whales floated lifeless into Puget Sound and San Francisco Bay, and drifted onto beaches from Alaska to Baja California. The putrid carcasses became such a nuisance in 1999 and 2000 that beach communities took to towing the 35-ton cadavers out to sea or burying them with backhoes. Eskimo whalers reported harpooning "stinky" whales that appeared to be rotting alive, too smelly even for dogs to eat...

OAKLAND, Calif. -- This Independence Day, Richard Mak envisions American flags displayed proudly alongside the Peking ducks, Asian pears and jade rings in this city's bustling Chinatown. Mak and about 200 volunteers are planning to visit each Chinatown merchant in Oakland, and offer to hang free flags from storefronts. ...

JACKSON, Mo. -- The first day of a new system aimed at reducing the amount of trash the city collects went smoothly, public works director Rodney Bollinger told the Jackson Board of Aldermen Monday. "Things went extremely well," he said. Under the new plan, Jackson residents must place their garbage in trash bags and no longer can use containers, a change aimed at speeding collection...

Call it sewer district hot potato. Two sets of neighbors along the 2300 block of Perryville Road, unable to come up with a compromise since November 2000, finally gave their problem to their city council. And for the second time in two months, the city council handed the problem back to the neighbors...

Lone Star Industries is in a battle with the Mississippi River, which has been spewing millions of gallons of water into the company's 350-foot-deep stone quarry for the past three months. "It's dumping water on us, there's no question about that," said Lone Star spokeswoman Barbara Sinclair. "We're doing all we can to keep up with it."...

833 By Laura Johnston ~ Southeast Missourian Teen-agers today don't have the spare time they used to have, but many still find time to devote to volunteering. Dozens of area non-profit agencies, rely on volunteers to help carry the administrative duties and programs they offer. And more often those volunteers are youth...

Editor's note: This article was written in November for a school project. By Claire Segar Cape Girardeau citizens have always had a big heart. They have had the chance to show it since Sept. 11. From memorial services to blood drives and other fund-raisers, Cape Girardeau has been very supportive of those affected by the terrorist attacks on America...

Not too big, not too small. Just right. According to Vision 2020 survey results released Monday, residents say the city's best quality is its size. Residents here also say they like the low crime in Cape Girardeau, the medical facilities and having a university in town. They think the fire department is doing a great job and are pleased with the parks and recreation department, the waste disposal and police service as well...

Cape Girardeau County is creeping up on a year since a new juvenile detention center became an issue. Since then, there have been countless meetings and communications between these groups. Figures have been presented and mulled over. The case was taken to the Missouri Judicial Finance Commission. ...

I've been debating with myself for about three weeks on writing about Southeast Missouri State University's RIVER CAMPUS. Last Saturday I decided not to. But this Sunday while in Paducah, Ky., I picked up Paducah's daily newspaper which featured at the top of the front page their optimistic story on their $34 million Four Rivers Center for the performing arts. A photo showed the steel frame going up on the structure which is 20 percent completed and targeted to open in October 2003...

The Southeast Missourian softball team is ranked dead last in the co-ed city league. Three of our games were called in the fourth inning under the league's 12-run rule. This week, we were beaten 14-1 by a team playing a person short and with two girly girls who struck out every time at bat...

jkoch By John Koch, DVM Question: The other evening I was sitting around with a few friends. We had all been having a few drinks and started getting a little silly. It turns out one of the guys had spent several years working as an artificial insemination technician at a large California dairy. ...

smclanahan Like many other families in the area we are gearing up for our family reunion. We have about 100 people attending the festivities fromThursday to Sunday. It is such a wonderful experience and the time goes by so quickly. Family will be arriving from all over the United States at different times of the day, which spreads out the excitement...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Following the second of two public hearings, city council members selected Council Option 4 in a 4-1 vote to establish Sikeston's wards. Two members of the public offered their opinions on the designation of wards during what city manager Doug Friend described as "the last opportunity based on our schedule for public comment" at Monday's regular city council meeting...

DEXTER, Mo. -- With a large measure of pomp and hometown pride, a statue in memory of the only person from Stoddard County to ever receive the Medal of Honor was unveiled Saturday morning. The special dedication ceremonies for a statue in honor of 1st Lt. Ken Sisler were held on the grounds of the Keller Public Library in Dexter...

10 years ago: July 3, 1992 Spokesman for Missouri Highway Department says department won't attempt to plant trees at Wedekind Roadside Park until next year; while official admits park can't be restored to way it was, department will try to put back as much as possible; about 40 full-grown trees were cut down two weeks ago to allow for construction of highway median through park; move prompted many complaints to highway department and news media...

Boxdorfer Daughter to Matthew Alan and Shari Lynn Boxdorfer of Cape Girardeau, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 8:34 a.m. Thursday, April 11, 2002. Name, Abigail Rae. Weight, 6 pounds 6 ounces. Second daughter. Mrs. Boxdorfer is the former Shari Polk, daughter of Sharon Butler and John Polk of Festus, Mo. Boxdorfer is the son of Alan and Linda Boxdorfer of Perryville, Mo. He is employed at Aramark Uniform Services...

OLMSTED, Ill. -- Gladys Smith Mayberry, 88, of Olmsted died Monday, July 1, 2002, at St. Joseph Hospital in Murphysboro, Ill. She was born March 3, 1914, in Olmsted, the daughter of William and Josie Jones Smith. She married Allie Mayberry. He preceded her in death...

MOUNDS, Ill. -- Mary Lou Ford, 59, of Mounds died Tuesday, July 2, 2002, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Massie Funeral Home in Cairo, Ill., is in charge of arrangements.

Lawanda O. Norris, 75, of Cape Girardeau died Tuesday, July 2, 2002, at her home. She was born June 21, 1927, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Homer Logan and Helen May Moore Ozment. She and Fred A. Norris were married Dec. 22, 1951, in Piggott, Ark. Norris had worked at Florsheim Shoe Co. and later at Cape Osteopathic Hospital. She was a member of First Pentecostal Church and was a Sunday School teacher many years...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Lorine Agnes Miget, 74, died Monday, July 1, 2002, at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. She was born Oct. 12, 1927, in Perry County, daughter of Thomas and Inez Jannin Turlin Sr. She and Hubert Miget were married April 26, 1952, in Arkansas...

Leaning on God DON'T THEY still start sessions of the U.S. House and Senate with prayer? Who are they praying to? Our own president called for a National Day of Prayer after Sept. 11, 2001. Who did we pray to? There is such an overwhelming sense in this country of leaning on God when things go wrong or when things are a problem. ...

To the editor: I can't begin to explain how much I disagree with the university's decision to have a parking lottery for students wishing to obtain preferred parking permits. I live two hours away from Cape Girardeau (approximately 115 miles). I mailed my payment and my application for parking last year as soon as I got the application. ...

To the editor: I read Doug Phelps' letter on the Pledge of Allegiance decision with some astonishment. He correctly quoted the rights enumerated in the Declaration of Independence. However, he neglected to finish the quote by adding the phrase "endowed by their Creator," which comes before the enumeration of rights. God is the Judeo-Christian name for the Creator...

To the editor: Sam Blackwell's column Thursday about the kitten was a masterpiece. Thank you, Sam, for sharing such a poignant story. BEN MILLERING Cape Girardeau

Jackson Jr. Legion sweeps Dunklin Co. JACKSON, Mo. -- The Jackson Junior Legion posted a pair of run-rule victories Tuesday night over Dunklin County. Jackson (15-13) won the opener 16-0 in five innings and claimed the second game 15-5 on a sixth-inning walk-off grand slam by Kyle McMinn...

Dalhousie Golf Club is living up to the title of hottest new golf course in Southeast Missouri. On Tuesday, the Gary Nicklaus-designed course was both, opening its fairways to the public for the first time on a day when the temperature reached 94 and the heat index topped 100...

Todd Obergoenner thought his golf game was shaping up. It was officially pronounced fit last week at Normandie Golf Course in St. Louis. Obergoenner, 16, shot a 1-under 70 to win the Westfield Junior PGA Championship by three strokes and qualify for the Junior PGA Championship July 17-20 at the Westfield Group Country Club in Westfield Center, Ohio...

Briefly Basketball Two days after his team won the United States Basketball League title, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar resigned. Team spokesman Eric Newendorp said that the NBA Hall of Famer and team owner James Sears Bryant reached a "mutual decision" that Abdul-Jabbar would end his involvement with the team. He declined further comment...

Tuesday Diabetes Self-management support group meets from 1 to 2 p.m. in Generations Resource Center at Southeast Missouri Hospital. For information, call 651-5844. Reclaiming life after loss support group meets at 7 p.m. in meeting in room 101 at Southeast Missouri Hospital. The group is for parents and spouses dealing with grief...

Cape Girardeau Wednesday, July 3 ArrestsKitrell Sebastian Fields, 35, was arrested Monday for trespassing. Barrett Chancelor Lenington Swan, 18, St. Louis, Mo., was arrested Monday on a city of Cape warrant for failure to appear. SummonsEmily Dean Thomas, 36, 1132 N. Middle, was issued a summons Tuesday for animal neglect...

On Thursday, we celebrate for the 226th time the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the birth certificate of the free and prosperous nation we have become. This year's celebrations need something extra. On Sept. 11, evil struck at the very heart of America. Now we are war with the most insidious of enemies. There are no rules with terrorists, who are driven by hatred of our freedom and prosperity...

Cape Girardeau Wednesday, July 3 On Monday, firefighters responded to the following calls:At 5:36 p.m. to an emergency medical situation at 1215 William. At 6:06 p.m. to an emergency medical situation at 2116 William. At 6:28 p.m. to an emergency medical situation at 318 N. Middle...

Three people sustained moderate injuries in two separate accidents in Cape Girardeau County Monday and Tuesday. Wayne Turner, 54, and Lori Turner, 39, both of Chaffee, Mo., were both taken to Southeast Missouri Hospital with moderate injuries after an accident Monday evening on Nash Road, 1.2 miles west of Interstate 55...

Researchers mining the data from their survey of 2,000 U.S. households recently came across an interesting fact about the "digital divide": There isn't one. Or, at least, the divide that once was clear seems to be disappearing. A team from the University of California at Los Angeles found the gap between those who have Internet access and those who do not is closing when measured by the degree of education computer users have attained...

Bicentennial Mural: This 40-by-22 foot mural at the corner of Fountain and Broadway depicts the founding of Cape Girardeau. It was dedicated on the city's 200th birthday in 1993. Jake Wells Mural: Located in Kent Library at Southeast Missouri State University, this 38-foot-by-20-foot mural is one of the largest indoor murals in the state. Figures on the mural include railroad workers, farmers, early settlers and American Indians...

A top-10 list of traffic improvement needs according to the stakeholder survey: New interchange on I-55 at Main Improve East Jackson and Shawnee intersection Improve Hope and Main intersection Widen Highway 34/72 Improve High Street and Washington intersection...

Authorities in North Carolina have seized $1.4 million worth of narcotics and have convicted more than 80 Marines and sailors of using or distributing designer drugs, officials said Tuesday. It was one of the biggest drug investigations involving the military in recent years. Although narcotics cases in the military are not rare, they usually involve smaller numbers of people. A recent drug scandal at the Air Force Academy, for example, implicated 38 cadets...

Everyone loves a good party and there's none in America like the Fourth of July -- summer sightseeing, concerts and parades, ooh-ing and aah-ing over the fireworks. And Thursday, the nation's first celebration of its founding since the Sept. 11 attacks, promises much of the same. More than nine in 10 people surveyed say they intend to stick with their Independence Day plans, despite any terror threat still hanging overhead...

WASHINGTON -- The government is using outdated science in assessing the health risks of more than 3 million tons of sewage sludge used as fertilizer each year, a panel of scientists said Tuesday. When the Environmental Protection Agency set standards in 1993 on the use of "biosolids" for treating soil, it used an unreliable 1988 survey to identify hazardous chemicals in sewage sludge from wastewater treatment plants, said the National Research Council panel...

WASHINGTON -- Many men older than 60 are receiving unnecessary surgery and other treatments for prostate cancer even though the disease is unlikely to progress far enough to cause health problems, according to one analysis. A study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute examined the use of a blood test to find prostate cancer in a group of patients 60-84 over a 10-year period. It concluded that 29 percent to 44 percent of the men were "over-diagnosed."...

WASHINGTON -- The chief executive of embattled WorldCom Inc. on Tuesday blamed former company officials for its multibillion-dollar accounting dodges and cast doubt on auditor Arthur Andersen. While striking a mostly upbeat tone about the company's future, John Sidgmore said he could not rule out the possibility of bankruptcy for the nation's second-largest long-distance carrier...

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. warplane that may have been responsible for dozens of civilian casualties in southern Afghanistan opened fire because its crew believed they were taking fire from anti-aircraft weapons, a senior American general said Tuesday. Marine Corps Gen. ...

WASHINGTON -- A scientist who helped pioneer AIDS protection for hospital workers and went on to battle anthrax has been chosen to head the nation's top public health agency, administration officials said Tuesday. Dr. Julie Gerberding will become the first female director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...

ATLANTA-- Bartolo Colon won in his first start since coming over from Cleveland, and Fernando Tatis hit a go-ahead grand slam as the Montreal Expos beat the Atlanta Braves 5-2 Tuesday night. Michael Barrett also homered for second-place Montreal, which pulled within 8 1/2 games of the Braves in the NL East. Atlanta lost for just the second time in 13 games...

ST. LOUIS -- Placido Polanco had three hits, including his fourth home run in 10 games, and three RBIs as the St. Louis Cardinals overcame another topsy-turvy outing from Bud Smith to beat the San Diego Padres 11-5 Tuesday night. The Cardinals, who have a seven-game winning streak against the Padres and are 23-3 against them the last three seasons, took a one-game lead in the NL Central over second-place Cincinnati. ...

AREA EVENTS Two-man scramble, Arcadia Valley Country Club, Ironton, Mo., Saturday and Sunday. Three-person scramble, Crowley Ridge Golf Club, Bloomfield, Mo., Saturday and Sunday. Kochitzky Mixed Scramble, Malden (Mo.) Country Club, Saturday and Sunday...

WIMBLEDON, England -- Venus Williams raced in behind a stinging approach shot, all 6-foot-1 of her poised at the net. Her opponent barely got to the ball and spun a stroke wide, giving Williams a break point during their Wimbledon quarterfinal on a rainy, windy Tuesday...

Goalie fever hit the NHL on Tuesday, with Curtis Joseph leaving Toronto for Detroit, Ed Belfour departing Dallas to replace Joseph, and Steve Passmore staying put in Chicago. Joseph said he's signing with the Stanley Cup-champion Red Wings, where he will replace the retired Dominik Hasek...

ALTON, Ill. -- A 17-year-old father has been accused of beating his infant daughters who suffered skull fractures and broken bones, authorities said. Madison County prosecutors charged Torrence D. Lloyd on Monday with two counts of aggravated domestic battery. Bond was set at $200,000...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Parents could legally abandon their newborn babies and clergy would be required to report suspected child abuse under separate bills signed into law Tuesday by Gov. Bob Holden. The abandoned baby law applies to cases in which babies younger than 30 days old are left with hospital or health care workers, law officers, firefighters or emergency medical technicians. The prosecution-free pass would not apply if the baby had been abused...

ST. LOUIS -- The apparent heat-related deaths of two elderly St. Louis area women have prompted renewed warnings from health officials to be especially vigilant when the mercury rises. A neighbor found Betty J. Broccard, 73, and her pet dog dead on Saturday in the woman's Hazelwood house, where Broccard lived alone. Authorities said it was 90 degrees inside the home, which had no air conditioning or a fan. The windows were closed...

ST. LOUIS -- A priest already charged criminally with sexually abusing a teen-age boy in 1995 was sued Tuesday by that alleged victim and his parents, who also accuse the St. Louis archdiocese of intentionally failing to supervise the clergyman. The lawsuit, filed in St. Louis Circuit Court, did not identify the family or specify damages sought from the Rev. Bryan Kuchar or the archdiocese. The suit includes claims of child sexual abuse and infliction of emotional distress...

MUSKOGEE, Okla. -- A federal judge on Monday granted a request that a Missouri man accused of impersonating a military officer at a deadly bridge collapse undergo a psychiatric evaluation to see if he is mentally competent to stand trial. The attorney for William James Clark, 36, and federal prosecutors both want to determine Clark's mental state the day he allegedly pretended to be a military officer when the Interstate 40 bridge collapsed into the Arkansas River near Webbers Falls...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The state Supreme Court has set an Aug. 14 execution for a man convicted of the 1992 murder-for-hire of a St. Charles woman. Daniel Anthony Basile, 35, of Fenton was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death for the slaying of Elizabeth DeCaro. The Supreme Court set his execution date Tuesday, the attorney general's office said...

KALGOORLIE, Australia -- In dark skies high above the ocean south of Australia, American adventurer Steve Fossett reached the milestone he has chased for more than six years -- becoming the first person to fly a balloon solo around the world. "Steve has crossed the finishing line," said mission controller Joe Ritchie as Fossett's silvery Spirit of Freedom balloon crossed east of 117 degrees longitude at 27,000 feet to complete the circumnavigation...

LONDON -- Police in seven European countries struck Tuesday at a sophisticated child abuse and pornography ring dubbed "Shadowz Brotherhood," arresting 50 people and seizing computer equipment, CD-ROMs and videos, authorities said. Police described the images created and distributed by the group as some of the most shocking they had ever seen. ...

UNITED NATIONS -- The United States proposed a compromise Tuesday to keep American peacekeepers from being prosecuted by the new international war crimes tribunal and avoid a threatened halt to U.N. peacekeeping in Bosnia. There was no immediate reaction from the 14 other members of the U.N. Security Council, who overwhelmingly support the International Criminal Court which officially came into existence on Monday...

Associated Press AIDS sufferer Tatenda Gukura, left, had his file checked by an unidentified nurse at the Shirikadzi Nursing Home in Harare, Zimbabwe, Tuesday. According to statistics released by United Nations, Zimbabwe has the second-highest HIV rate in the world, with 33 percent of adults infected with the virus.The Associated Press...

MULTAN, Pakistan -- A Pakistani tribal council ordered an 18-year-old girl to be gang-raped in order to punish her family after her brother was seen walking with a girl from a higher-class tribe, police said Tuesday. The private Human Rights Commission of Pakistan demanded that all those involved in the rape, which took place June 22 in the village of Meerwala, be punished...

BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe -- Thabani Ndlovu, 24, lies emaciated and barely moving on a ratty mattress in a patch of winter sunlight in his father's back yard, dying of a disease that is ravaging his country. According to statistics released Tuesday by the United Nations, Zimbabwe has the second-highest HIV rate in the world, with 33 percent of adults infected with the virus...

SALEM, Israel -- Giant dump trucks lumber along a freshly hewn dirt road behind the house where Bilan Arifi and his family live in this Israeli Arab village. Israel is building a barrier separating Israel from the West Bank, a move of potent symbolism and uncertain prospects in the aftermath of the Palestinian suicide bombing campaign...

UNITED NATIONS -- Amid growing U.S. criticism of Syria's support for Palestinian militant groups, Syrian leaders are fighting back, saying they have cooperated with the U.S.-led "war on terrorism" without receiving credit from the Bush administration...

RAMALLAH, West Bank -- Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on Tuesday fired his West Bank security chief and the Gaza police chief, officials said. West Bank preventive security chief Jibril Rajoub told The Associated Press that he had been informed of Arafat's decision. Gaza police chief Ghazi Jibali insisted the reports were "rumors."...

UEBERLINGEN, Germany -- A chartered Russian airliner had less than a minute's warning before slamming into a cargo plane over southern Germany, killing 71 people, including 52 children headed for a beach vacation in Spain, authorities said Tuesday...

UFA, Russia -- They were the chosen children, standout athletes or students with the best grades, selected to travel and represent their Muslim region on a trip to the Spanish coast away from their homes in this industrial and oil-refining city in the heart of Russia...

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- In an unprecedented statement, the Afghan government demanded Tuesday that the United States take "all necessary measures" to avoid civilian casualties following an air attack in which scores of villagers died. U.S. troops who inspected the hospital in Kandahar where some of the wounded had been taken came under fire late Tuesday as they were returning to the American base outside the city, U.S. ...

Pakistan: Al-Qaida behind attack on U.S. Consulate RAWALPINDI, Pakistan -- Pakistan has evidence that al-Qaida financed last month's deadly car-bombing at the U.S. Consulate in Karachi that killed at least 12 people, the country's internal security chief said Tuesday...

By Anthony Breznican ~ The Associated Press LOS ANGELES -- The Who turned their mourning into defiant energy in their first concert after the death of their longtime bassist. Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey, the surviving members of the seminal, 1960's British rock band performed Monday night at the Hollywood Bowl in the group's first concert since John Entwistle's death last week...

A one-dish preparation is ideal as the center of a summer meal, and pasta is a great base on which to create delightful -- and delightfully streamlined -- combinations. The following seafood pasta can be assembled in little more than the time it takes to cook the pasta, about 20 minutes in all, and is served warm. The confetti pasta salad uses cooked and cooled pasta. Serve either for a light lunch with crusty bread and fruit, as part of a party buffet, or to go with cookout fare...

This recipe for pork wraps promises full flavor with only a modest fat content. One way of slimming the ingredients down is to replace rolls with a Middle Eastern soft flatbread such as lavash, and to use low-fat sour cream and mayonnaise for the tangy, refreshing coleslaw that accompanies the wraps...

SAN ANTONIO -- Torrential rain drenched central Texas for a fourth straight day Tuesday, flooding homes and blocking highways. One man died and another was missing after they were swept away in floodwaters. Gov. Rick Perry activated the Texas National Guard to help with relief efforts. Rescue teams used rafts, personal watercraft and helicopters to rescue people from stranded vehicles and flooded homes...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Lawmakers agreed Tuesday to work through the night in an effort to break the state budget stalemate that has forced a partial government shutdown. With Gov. Don Sundquist imploring the House to get something done quickly, members were still bitterly divided between supporters of Tennessee's first income tax and those who will support just about anything else...

CIBECUE, Ariz. -- Travis Duryea has noticed an undercurrent of fear among the White Mountain Apaches since a member of the tribe was accused of starting a huge forest fire. Accustomed to heading north to the predominantly white Show Low area to shop and work, some tribal members have become reluctant to do so since Leonard Gregg was arrested on federal charges...

INS launches Web site to track foreign students WASHINGTON -- The Immigration and Naturalization Service has launched the Internet Web site that the nation's universities will use to register foreign students -- the first step in the government's plan to track the movements of all those with temporary visas, said INS officials...

Gregory Spon was a drafting student at Pittsburgh Technical Institute when he decided to move to a four-year college and earn a bachelor's degree in engineering or architecture. He got a nasty surprise. Spon hoped to transfer some credits, but one university after another rejected the college-level courses taken with his vocational training. After two years and $18,000 in federal student loans, attending college meant beginning again as a freshman...

Desserts, just as much as other treats and confections, can take on a patriotic air for special occasions. All-American Strawberry Clouds, assembled candy-cup form, can dress up party tables for the Fourth of July and beyond, whenever summer celebrations suggest...

Food played a critical role in the American Revolution. Tomorrow, the Fourth of July, food is as important as fireworks. And why not? After all, the American Revolution had deep culinary connections. Moreover, the chief author of the document we commemorate tomorrow would think Independence Day victuals no trivial matter....

Airman charged with car theft ARNOLD, Mo. -- An airman stationed at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois has been convicted of stealing a 1989 Porsche 911 belonging to actor Nicolas Cage. In January, Missouri Water Patrol divers found the $100,000 car at Lake of the Ozarks, submerged in 12 feet of water. It had been stolen a month earlier from a parking lot in Arnold, a St. Louis suburb, while in a transport trailer on its way from California to Pennsylvania...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Intersections and a proposed interchange topped a list of needed traffic improvements in a survey of influential Jackson residents. The survey results were released Tuesday. Civic leaders who completed the survey believe the results mirror the feelings of the majority in Jackson...

The late Jake Wells enjoyed designing the Cape Girardeau Bicentennial Mural because it combined two of his loves -- art and history. "I think he was glad to see there were members of the community getting involved in art and history," said Wells' daughter, Jeanie Troy of Marble Hill, Mo. "To be asked to design something like that, it made him feel good. He loved Cape County."...

Local fireworks dealers won't say patriotism has fizzled, but it hasn't sent people flocking to tent-covered stands in Cape Girardeau and Jackson, Mo., to get a bang out of the Fourth of July. But patriotism has exploded sales of fireworks and patriotic merchandise at the Boomland store in Benton, Mo., says that store's manager...

Reviewed by Justin Colburn and Keayn Dunya Another world. Another time. 1000 years ago the Crystal of Truth cracked, giving birth to two new creatures: the cruel Skeksis and the gentle Mystics. The Skeksis took control of the land from their new home in the Castle of the Dark Crystal, while the Mystics made their home in the mountain valley far away. ...

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand - For the sake of your family's health, beware your teenager's stinky feet. That's the word from researchers here - and at America's famed Mayo Clinic - who proved in concurrent studies that foot odor is not just repulsive, it's dangerous...

By Jeff Smith Reviewed by Justin Colburn and Keayn Dunya Phoncible P. Bone, the richest Bone in Boneville, was just run out of town for the third time. With the aid of his cousins, Fone Bone and Smiley Bone, he sets out from Boneville to escape the lynch mob pursuing him. ...

Reviewed by Justin Colburn & Keayn Dunya Based on a Phillip K. Dick short story, Minority Report is about a experiment in the future in which precognition, future-seeing, is used to stop murder. Detective John Anderton (Tom Cruise, Vanilla Sky) is the head of the PreCrime Unit. ...

"All these people whose destiny is mass produced are haunted by dreams of escape." -- Simone de Beauvoir Because you see folks, as a great philosopher once elucidated, there's no point in getting upset by all this cloning nonsense when most of us are still utterly flabbergasted by the fact that we possess the technology to actually be able to Xerox our own asses and have the choice of being able to fax it to the nearest unsuspecting Kinko's employee - or to scan in said Xerox and e-mail it to the entire bloody world, further contributing to the Sisyphean mound of decadence that has sped up the declination of Western civilisation and got it tunneling towards its own demise quicker than we can reach for the fifth of Johnny Walker Black and the Sam's-sized 10-gallon bucket of Quaaludes at the thought of a just and benevolent god actually allowing Kevin Costner to direct another movie. ...

JACKSON, Mo. -- A fireworks show planned to awe a crowd estimated at more than 20,000 went awry Thursday, shooting some shells in the direction of spectators, members of the Jackson Jaycees said. At 10:10 p.m., fireworks on an 8-foot-long wooden stand went in the wrong direction, across Rotary Lake in Jackson's city park, said Phil Johnston, a member of the Jaycees' fireworks team...

Although he saw combat against communist partisans in northern Italy in 1946, Floyd Smith of Cape Girardeau wasn't eligible for medals Missouri awarded to World War II veterans last year. However, Gov. Bob Holden signed a bill into law Wednesday that in addition to re-opening the application period for the medals, which closed Jan. 1, will expand the program to include veterans like Smith who served when the war was technically over, although scattered pockets of fighting remained...

Abstraction is a common interest in the 30 works juror Jan Estep chose for the Girardot National Juried Exhibition. In her juror's statement, the senior editor at New Art Examiner writes of artists "making a personal, private experience public ..." and being drawn in by "the quirky sensibility revealed through the aesthetic choices made ... ."...

Fifty years of rodeo in Sikeston exhibit SIKESTON, Mo. -- An exhibition telling the history of 50 years of rodeo in Sikeston opens today at The Sikeston Depot. Featured will be an exhibit from the Pro Rodeo Museum in Colorado Springs, Colo., titled "The Artist and the Bucking Horse."...

'In Between' The way electronic music absorbs and transforms its influences into new hybrids parallels the history of jazz, a genre that has mutated into many different forms. The "nu-jazz" movement in electronica embodies this analogy perfectly...

These are the 10 songs Steve Mosley of Cape Girardeau wouldn't want to live without: 1. "Heartbreak Hotel" -- Elvis The King's performance of this song on TV changed me and the world. 2. "Great Balls of Fire" -- Jerry Lee Lewis...

HURON, Ohio -- Finally! Opening night! It has been an insane past few days making sure "The Sound of Music" is ready to go on stage in front of sold-out audiences. My brain has been overloaded with information. Since I'm one of the monks who moves scenery in the show, I have to know where each piece of scenery goes and when to move it, which is quite a task when there are nearly 20 scene changes. ...

HHHH Now this is a movie well worth going to see! Adam Sandler is his usual funny and lovable self. The plot, which takes in a variety of people we all could relate to in one way or another, was easy to follow and made for laughs and a few tears. The movie was steady in pace so you were not aware of the movement of time. The plot was interesting enough to keep you waiting for more and the music was good. (Not the ear-splitting music some features find it necessary to inflict on you)...

HHHH Adam Sandler is growing up. "Mr. Deeds" is a cute and clever movie with heart and substance without all of the gross and juvenile humor that he is sometimes known for. This is an extremely funny movie, and you have to be sharp and somewhat well read in order to "get" certain references...

H 1/2 Let me start with how I really, really wanted to like this movie. My daughter loves Adam Sandler, and for that alone I was willing to give this a chance. No chance. Once again Adam Sandler has shown his true talent: Getting studios to fund his projects...

10 years ago: July 5, 1992 Jackson - Area residents greeted Fourth of July with lawn chairs and mud at annual Independence Day celebration at Jackson City Park; 32 teams competed in mud volleyball tournament during day; celebration, sponsored by Jackson Jaycees, featured everything from Little Miss and Mr. Firecracker contest to watermelon-eating contest...

Wiseman Twin sons to J.J. Earl and Shawna Marie Wiseman of Jackson, Mo., St. Francis Medical Center, Wednesday, June 26, 2002. Rhett Earl was born at 2:50 p.m. and weighed 5 pounds 10 ounces. Riley James was born at 2:51 p.m. and weighed 5 pounds 4 ounces. ...

GLENALLEN, Mo. -- Mary Ann Brown, 57, of Glenallen died Wednesday, July 3, 2002, at St. Louis University Hospital in St. Louis. She was born March 5, 1945, in St. Louis County, the daughter of Joseph Henry and Meredith Winkler Mitchell. She married Taylor Anthony Brown on March 12, 1968, in St. Louis...

MOUNDS, Ill. -- Iris Ruth English, 73, of Mounds, died Thursday, July 4, 2002, at the Union County Hospital in Anna, Ill. Arrangements are incomplete at the Massie Funeral Home in Cairo, Ill.

Grace Lola Hoffer, 92, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, June 27, 2002, at her home. She was born Jan. 23, 1910, at Whitewater, Mo., daughter of Asa L. and Cordelia Craig Stevens. She and Van Hoffer were married March 26, 1931. He died March 5, 1975...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Jean P. Koenig, 68, of Perryville, died Wednesday, July 3, 2002, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Nov. 7, 1933, in Perryville, daughter of John and Anna Kaiser Bangert. She and Oliver Koenig were married Nov. 10, 1951, in Perryville...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Shannon Lee Mahnken, 23, of Perryville died Tuesday, July 2, 2002, at his home. He was born March 27, 1979, in Perry County, son of Nelson and Lisa Martens Mahnken. Mahnken worked at Tri-State Asphalt. Survivors include his mother, Lisa Leimbach of Perryville; his father of St. ...

VIENNA, Ill. -- Norman L. Botarf, 80, of Vienna died Tuesday, July 2, 2002, at his home. He was born Jan. 6, 1922, in Philadelphia, Pa., son of Elmer and Beatrice MacKenzie Botarf. He first married Margie Cooper Feb. 24, 1950, in Johnson County, Ill. She died Dec. 9, 1986. He later married Clara Thomas Greer in October 1989, in Vienna...

Leola Hopgood, 99, of Cape Girardeau died Tuesday, July 2, 2002, at the Lutheran Home. She was born Sept. 22, 1902, at East Prairie, Mo., daughter of William Cullen and Emma Bertha Raidt Bryant. She and Marshall Hopgood were married Aug. 15, 1951, in Arkansas...

MOUNDS, Ill. -- The funeral for Mary Lou Ford of Mounds will be held at noon Saturday at Massie Funeral Home in Cairo, Ill. The Rev. J.L. Posey will officiate. Burial will be in Greenlawn Memorial Gardens at Villa Ridge, Ill. Friends may call at the funeral home after 10 a.m. Saturday...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Lance Ashley Fahrenkrog, 19, of Marble Hill died Tuesday, July 2, 2002, in an automobile accident. He was born July 30, 1982, in Cape Girardeau, son of James and Rhonda Collier Fahrenkrog. Fahrenkrog was a service technician with Marion Pepsi-Cola Co. He was a member of Victory Baptist Temple in Piedmont, Mo...

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- Carl J. Raines, 60, died Wednesday, July 3, 2002 at Jefferson Memorial Hospital in Crystal City, Mo. Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Scott City is in charge of funeral arrangements, which are incomplete.

ADVANCE, Mo. -- Dollie M. Winters, 94, of Advance, Mo. and formerly of Perryville, Mo., died Wednesday, July 3, 2002 at the Advance Nursing Home. She was born March 25, 1908, in Malden, Mo., daughter of David and Ruth Tanner Baker. She and Dempsy J. Grantham were married Sept. 21, 1925. He preceded her in death Feb. 17, 1977. She and Hubert Winters were married in July of 1978. He preceded her in death March 6, 1989...

COMMERCE, Mo. - Family and friends are invited to gather Saturday morning at 11 at the Sanders Family Cemetery near Commerce, to honor the late James Richmond Sanders, formerly of Commerce and Scott City, Mo. The cemetery is located on the old Sanders/Bretzel farm off Route N, north of Commerce. The entrance to the farm will be marked...

Troubling paradox I WANT to thank the Southeast Missourian and Scott Moyers for the series of stories you've been doing about immigration and the global economy. For a while, I thought you were only going to focus on the positive side. But your article about how many people come into this area illegally underlined that there is a troubling paradox about some immigrants. ...

To the editor: I would like to reply to recent comments that "under God" excludes other religious groups and that the court's ruling on the Pledge of Allegiance "was absolutely right." I would like to ask those who voice these objections whether they have thought of the fact that God is mentioned in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, in the prayers at the inauguration of a president and in the prayers before each daily session of Congress...

To the editor: What do we think of our police officers? They are called from their regular beats to go places over and above the call of duty. Do we remember them? No. Two weeks ago, several officers were called to the scene of an accident on I-55. A pedestrian suspected of being intoxicated had tried to run across the interstate and was hit by a truck. It was not the fault of the truck driver...

To the editor: I read your paper every day. No, you're not the St. Louis paper or any other large publication, but I find it hard to understand that reporters write about stolen sunglasses, scratched mailboxes, stolen electricity and other non-headlines that appear in your police report section. ...

To the editor: The recent program of the Area Wide United Way and the Retired Senior Volunteer Program was met with praise. It gives the community much to be grateful for. The support and effort is certainly to be admired. The Volunteer Inter-generational Center has thus far created an interest and sparked a great deal of enthusiasm among various age groups, which shows promise of a continued interest and expansion...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Comparing the challenge ahead of him to "climbing Mount Everest," John D. Hoskins took the oath of office Monday as the seventh director of the Missouri Department of Conservation. Hoskins, a graduate of SoutheastMissouri StateUniversity and a Van Buren, Mo., native, was sworn in during a ceremony watched by about 100 people. ...

While recently barbecuing on my deck I saw an enormous hornet. It commanded attention because it seemed to be the size of a hummingbird. Everyone present stopped their conversation to watch this insect hover about, hoping that aggression was not on its mind. This was my first good look at a live European hornet...

Keep young wildlife in the wild, MDC advises Each year, more than 100 Missourians find fawns without their mothers nearby and decide the young deer have been abandoned. Believing they are performing a good deed, they bundle the adorable, spotted animals off to the nearest Missouri Department of Conservation office. It's a scene that's as tragic as it is common...

BENTON, Ky. -- A top prize of $10,000 is being offered to the winner of a fishing tournament Aug. 12 through 25 at Kentucky Lake. The second annual Kentucky Vacationland Lodging Association Fishing Derby also will offer prizes between $50 and $500 to top finishers in five categories. The $10,000 prize will go to the person with the grand prize tagged fish...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Fun in the sun turned into fun in the mud Thursday for more than 300 participants in the annual mud volleyball tournament at the Jackson City Park. "It's deep, it's dirty and it's hot," tournament co-chair Jamey Dockins of Jackson said...

Cline Myers Jr. is out of racing. For now. The defending pure stock points champion at Auto Tire and Parts Racepark said he sold his 1978 Camaro stock car this week and is content with being a spectator the rest of the season after his track-record winning streak ended Saturday at eight races...

Briefly Colleges A big jump in football TV income helped the Southeastern Conference take in more than $100 million last year to maintain its position as the college sports league with the most revenue. The SEC's take from regular-season football games increased 38 percent to $49 million during the tax year that ended Aug. ...

Sledge leads Capahas in tournament opener EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- The Capahas began their march toward repeating as tournament champions Thursday by defeating Louisville, Ky., 11-2 in the opener of a 12-team baseball event in Evansville. Chris Sledge went 4-for-5, including a three-run home run that helped the Capahas (17-5) go up 11-0 in the sixth inning. Sledge had four RBIs...

For many of us who live in the Midwest, Amtrak conjures up images of high-cost passenger trains that rely on federal and state subsidies to survive. And many of us question the wisdom of pouring millions of dollars into a service that is under-utilized, serves so few people and piles up enormous costs to keep passenger trains moving across woods, fields and plains from one urban area to another...

In its ongoing series of stories on "Globalization: Our place in the world," Southeast Missourian news staff has dramatically shown that Southeast Missouri is as much a part of the global economy as anywhere else. When it comes to issues of illegal immigration, it is easy to assume that the real problem is along the U.S. ...

Cape Girardeau Friday, July 5 ArrestsMonique Jene Willis, 20, Sikeston, Mo., was arrested Tuesday for stealing. Sydney Marie Bennett-Dewitt, 18, New Madrid, Mo., was arrested Tuesday for stealing. SummonsMarkale Tyshawn Boyce, 18, 1927 Briarwood, was issued a summons Tuesday for a fireworks violation...

Cape GirardeauFirefighters responded to the following calls on Tuesday: At 2:53 p.m., a medical assist at 401 Independence At 4:33 p.m., an extrication at 1446 State Hwy OO At 7:59 p.m., a medical assist at 823 Clark At 8:13 p.m., a medical assist at 1401 N. Main...

Earl E. Maevers, 83, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, July 3, 2002, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. He was born Sept. 21, 1918, in Egypt Mills, Mo., son of Sherman Christian and Leona Laura Foeste Maevers. He and Verna Olida Roth were married Oct. 2, 1937 at Wittenburg, Mo. She preceded him in death on Nov. 24, 1983. He and Ethel Proffer were married June 9, 1984, in Cape Girardeau. She survives...

Omer Lindman was just a young man in 1939 when he bought his dream machine, a 1938 Packard from a car dealer on Michigan Avenue in Chicago. He says one of the reasons he bought it "was to impress the girls." "Back then not very many people even had cars," recalled the 94-year-old Lindman. "If you had a car, especially a car like the Packard, girls noticed you. They might not have given me the time of day before I had the car, but after ... they noticed."...

When Dizzy Dean visited his brother, Paul, in Cape Girardeau in 1944, it wasn't the first time the two baseball-throwing brothers were in the area. Turning the clock back a dozen years from 1944, the Dean brothers were among celebrities attending the grand opening of the Colonial Tavern just outside the city limits, on the west side of Kingshighway at Broadway, on Oct. 1, 1932...

Jackson Angus breeder heads to national contest Gregory Meier of Jackson will compete in the 2002 National Junior Angus Showmanship Contest in Milwaukee, Wis., July 7 through 13. Meier, a junior member of the American Angus Association, is one of 45 young Angus breeders from 27 states who have earned the right to represent their state at the national event. The contestants will compete for the coveted title of Top Showman...

WASHINGTON -- A deadly shooting attack at Los Angeles Airport breached the unprecedented security precautions imposed nationwide Thursday to protect American lives on the Fourth of July. The military temporarily reactivated post-Sept. 11 combat jet patrols over Washington and New York. Other cities also got the overflights, although the Pentagon would not name them. And security zones were imposed at public places such as New York's Empire State Building to the Gateway Arch in St. Louis...

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Aviation Administration revoked the licenses of the two America West pilots accused of trying to fly a jetliner from Miami while drunk. The federal agency announced Thursday that emergency orders taking away the licenses are effective immediately...

WASHINGTON -- Someone sent free boxes of once-a-week Prozac to south Florida depression patients -- people who don't take regular Prozac and hadn't even discussed trying the new version with their doctors. It's not clear how many patients got the unsolicited Prozac, which came to light when one furious recipient filed an invasion-of-privacy lawsuit this week against her doctors, her pharmacy and Prozac maker Eli Lilly & Co...

ST. LOUIS -- Pitching with runners on base doesn't faze St. Louis rookie Travis Smith. Jim Edmonds and Albert Pujols hit solo home runs, and Smith worked out of trouble to win for the first time since May 1 as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2 Thursday...

CINCINNATI -- Eric Young's two-out, two-run double in the ninth inning off Danny Graves rallied the Milwaukee Brewers to a 5-4 victory Thursday, their first in eight tries this season over the Cincinnati Reds. Trying to protect a 4-3 lead, Graves (3-3) gave up singles to Robert Machado and Alex Sanchez between outs. Young then doubled to the gap in left-center...

HUTCHINSON, Kan. -- Juli Inkster birdied four of the first six holes and finished with a 3-under 67 Thursday to share the first-round lead of the U.S. Women's Open with fellow American Laura Diaz and Shani Waugh of Australia. Inkster, 42, is trying to become the oldest champion of the Women's Open. Fay Crocker was 40 years, 11 months when she won in 1955...

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the leader of NASCAR's new generation. He's also a confused twentysomething, still feeling his way after being thrust into such a demanding role. Preparing to defend his title at the Pepsi 400 on Saturday, Earnhardt, 27, sees himself as a star without star's credentials, a businessman without a businessman's experience, and a great driver without a great driver's record...

Lakes Clearwater Lake: 72 degrees, high, murky; black bass fair on minnows; catfish fair on worms; crappie fair on tube baits & jigs; all other species slow. Council Bluff: 74 degrees, normal, clear; largemouth bass fair on soft plastic lures & spinnerbaits; channel catfish fair; redear sunfish fair on red wigglers; all other species slow...

local events Late model, modified, hobby, pure stock, cruiser divisions, Malden (Mo.) Speedway, 7 p.m. Friday. Motorcycle, ATV divisions, SEMO Motor Speedway, Sikeston, Mo., 7:30 p.m. Friday. Trophy, super pro, pro and ET divisions, Sikeston Drag Strip, 5 p.m. Saturday...

MACON, Mo. -- A Moberly woman died when her vehicle ran off of Macon County Business 36 near Macon and overturned Thursday morning. The Missouri State Highway Patrol said Tiffany R. Tolson, 19, died at the scene. She became the patrol's first reported fatality die in the 30-hour Independence Day counting period...

ST. LOUIS -- People with supposed links to terrorist groups have accessed a Web site about stadiums worldwide, downloading images of at least St. Louis' Edward Jones Dome and Indianapolis' RCA Dome, an FBI official said. "There's no specific threat," Bill Eubanks, head of St. Louis' FBI office, said Wednesday. "They just simply accessed the Web site."...

ST. LOUIS -- U.S. Coast Guard and Missouri State Water Patrol boats crashed Thursday, tossing two Coast Guard crew members overboard, while chasing a Mississippi River pleasure boater who mistakenly entered a restricted zone near the Gateway Arch. The Coast Guard members were quickly pulled from the water with "just a few bumps and bruises," said Lt. Cmdr. David Haynes of the Coast Guard's Marine Safety Office here...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Jerry Nachtigal has earned a footnote in Missouri history: spokesman for three consecutive governors. But the former journalist finds it hard to celebrate. He earned the distinction through tragedy. Of all the words Nachtigal spoke on behalf of the governor's office, the toughest were uttered in October 2000...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Tuition is up, state appropriations are down. But the last five years have been good to the top brass at the University of Missouri-Columbia, where the number of administrators has grown 42 percent, and 480 workers at the Columbia campus and hospital earn over $100,000...

ST. CHARLES, Mo. -- The 93-year-old Goldenrod Showboat, shipped off to this St. Louis suburb a decade ago, may be on the move again -- this time to Illinois. Upset by delays in repairing the vessel and getting Coast Guard approval to reopen it, local officials, among other things, are considering selling it or just giving it away in light of worries about the ongoing cost of maintaining the boat on the city's Missouri River waterfront...

JERUSALEM -- A car explosion Palestinians blamed on Israel killed a senior militia leader in the Gaza Strip on Thursday night, hours after Israeli officials said nearly all of the most-wanted terror suspects in the West Bank had been arrested or killed...

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands -- Based on new theories, government historians said Thursday they are reopening the case file on Anne Frank to determine who betrayed the hiding place of the Dutch Jewish teen-ager to the Nazis. The theories were raised by two biographers of Anne Frank, whose diary scrawled in notebooks during her 25 months locked in a secret warehouse annex made her a heroine of the Holocaust...

BEIJING -- China has suspended a transmission of the BBC World TV channel that reaches thousands of foreigners across the country after it objected to a news item dealing with the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement, the broadcaster said Thursday. The satellite service remained suspended Thursday, four days after the item aired, the British Broadcasting Corp. said. Other satellites continued to bring the BBC into China, however...

SYDNEY, Australia -- U.S. adventurer Steve Fossett launched Independence Day celebrations early when his Spirit of Freedom balloon ended its record-breaking flight around the world Thursday. Fossett had a bloodied mouth but was jubilant after his cramped capsule made a bumpy landing on a remote cattle ranch in Australia's Outback...

LONDON -- About 45 million more people worldwide will be infected with the AIDS virus in the next eight years, a huge increase that can be averted only with drastic action, experts say. In research released Friday ahead of next week's International AIDS Conference in Barcelona, scientists estimate 29 million of the cases, about two-thirds, could be prevented...

BAGRAM, Afghanistan -- The order came from the top: "Uncle Sam Says Have Fun," read the posters plastered up around U.S. military headquarters in Afghanistan on the Fourth of July. The soldiers did their best, using a helicopter pad as a basketball court and trading ration packs for T-bone steaks flown in specially for celebrations...

KAKARAK, Afghanistan -- Twenty-five mounds of small white stones laid out in orderly rows atop a barren, windblown hill mark what villagers said Thursday are the graves of civilians killed by a U.S. airstrike this week. U.S. military investigators, however, said they were not shown the graves, despite repeated requests when they visited this village Wednesday. That has led them to question claims that 44 people were killed in Kakarak and nearby villages by U.S. forces Monday...

UNITED NATIONS -- The United States backed down from its threat to end the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Bosnia and gave it a reprieve until July 15 after diplomats failed twice to get immunity for American peacekeepers from the new war crimes tribunal...

UEBERLINGEN, Germany -- Swiss prosecutors opened a criminal investigation Thursday into collision of two airliners as grieving families piled flowers around the wreckage that fell from nearly seven miles up with their children on board. Meanwhile, initial results of a German-led inquiry into the crash -- which killed 72 people, 45 of them Russian children headed for an end-of-school beach vacation -- found a Russian pilot had been given just 44 seconds warning before slamming into an oncoming cargo plane.. ...

The Associated PressLONDON -- Wary but determined, Americans around the globe marked Independence Day with barbecues, sports and parties Thursday despite warnings that large gatherings could become a target for terrorists. Even Cuba announced an unprecedented Fourth of July observance in homage to the American people. ...

VIENNA, Austria -- Emerging from four hours of closed talks, U.N. officials and Saddam Hussein's representatives said Thursday that they had made some progress toward returning U.N. weapons inspectors to Iraq. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan declared he was "satisfied" with the session. But he sidestepped the question of whether a deal was near that would let inspectors back in Iraq for the first time in 3 1/2 years...

LONDON -- A London man said Thursday he knocked the head off a statue of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to protest global capitalism, but pleaded innocent to the charge against him. Paul Kelleher, 37, admitted whacking the 8-foot-tall marble sculpture with a cricket bat, then knocking off its head with a heavy metal pole...

LOS ANGELES -- The number of movie and television roles for Screen Actors Guild members dropped 9.3 percent last year, with supporting actors among the hardest hit, the guild said. So-called runaway production, in which projects are filmed outside the United States, was one reason for the decline, SAG said...

BELFAST, Northern Ireland -- The Irish Republican Army must deliver "a full transition from violence to democracy," British Prime Minister Tony Blair declared Thursday during a mission designed to rebuild Protestant support for Northern Ireland's peace accord...

LOS ANGELES -- Robert Wuhl insists "Arli$$" is no longer about the money, despite those dollar signs. The star, creator, executive producer, co-writer and occasional director of the HBO satire about wheeler-dealer sports agent Arliss Michaels says the $$ angle has become "insignificant."...

Associated Press WriterUEBERLINGEN, Germany (AP) -- Prosecutors in Switzerland have begun a criminal investigation into the collision of two airliners amid questions over whether air traffic controllers warned the aircraft that they were too close...

The Associated Press NEW YORK -- He gorged, and gulped, and nearly gagged. And then, in a last-minute feeding frenzy, Takeru Kobayashi of Japan -- the Michael Jordan of hot dog eating -- defended his world title Thursday by gobbling a world record 50 1/2 franks in just 12 minutes...

SAN DIMAS, Calif. -- A small plane struggling after takeoff crashed into a Fourth of July crowd at a suburban Los Angeles park, killing four people and injuring 12, some of them children picnicking with their families, authorities said. The pilot and a 12-year-old girl were among the dead...

TAOS, N.M. -- She's a "Runaway Bride" no more. Academy Award-winning actress Julia Roberts married her cameraman boyfriend Daniel Moder early Thursday at her 40-acre estate outside Taos. The wedding marks Roberts' second trip down the aisle. The star of "Runaway Bride" and "My Best Friend's Wedding" was married for 21 months to country and western singer Lyle Lovett...

The Associated PressFive hundred immigrants became Americans during a ceremony at Disney World by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, "especially under God." Thousands of parade-watchers in Michigan sang "America the Beautiful." A Yankee Doodle Pops concert-goer in Iowa showed up with dyed red and blue hair...

Baseball will be transformed, its whole future reshaped dramatically for better or worse, in the next 90 days. Unless, perhaps, the game's multiple crises come to a head in 40 days. This excruciating process -- of facing the game's looming labor war and confronting charges by ex-players that many in the game use steroids -- will begin next week at the most tense, bizarre all-star game in history...

The pocketknife Paul Walker was holding in his hand one morning this week looked like it had been sculpted in a futuristic computer lab while no humans were around to muck up a machine's creative process. Paul, who also works here at the Southeast Missourian, was obviously proud of his new toy. I think he was a little put off that I -- also a full-fledged member of the big-boys-and-their-toys fraternity -- didn't get too excited...

They came, they saw, they will make a recommendation. That's about all Cape Girardeau Regional Airport manager Bruce Loy could say about a technology company's visit last week, the first step in making the airport meet standards set by the new federal Transportation Security Administration...

NEW YORK -- Airlines understand that business travelers will spend less when the economy sours, but the industry also counts on this important group of higher-paying customers to resume their free-spending ways once financial conditions rebound. That's not a safe assumption to make anymore...

NEW YORK -- It happens to many baby boomers: The attic or the garage, or maybe the closets or the kitchen cabinets, turn from a repository of great bargains and acquisitions into a nightmare. A little like "The Blob" or the exploding marshmallow man in "Ghostbusters," clutter has taken over and turned a house or office into a mess. ...

The Associated PressAn oppressive heat wave refused to release its grip on the Northeast early Thursday as hot and sticky air ushered in another day of sweltering conditions outdoors and stressed electricity supplies indoors. Sightseers visiting New York's Times Square around midnight rolled up their sleeves and gulped bottled water as the temperature and humidity combined for a heat index, or perceived temperature, of 93 degrees...

ATLANTA -- The newly appointed director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who gained prominence during the recent anthrax scare, said the agency must be concerned with more than just bioweapons. "Our agenda is not simply protection against terrorism," said Dr. Julie Gerberding, who was named the first female director of the CDC on Wednesday...

The Associated PressPHILADELPHIA -- Secretary of State Colin L. Powell was awarded the 2002 Philadelphia Liberty Medal on Thursday for his leadership in the war on terrorism, his efforts in the Middle East and his concern for human rights...

JACKSON, Mo. -- The five state representative candidates for the 157th District marked the Fourth of July atop a flatbed trailer in 90-degree heat, in front of a microphone. Each one tried his or her best to explain the state's issues, the plans required to solve them, and why he or she is the best person for the job...

FIREWORKS FRENZY By Mike Wells ~ Southeast Missourian JACKSON, Mo. -- Two days after the smoke cleared, officials are trying to determine what sent fireworks flying in to a crowd of more than 20,000 at a Fourth of July celebration in Jackson City Park...

One of every dozen U.S. children and teenagers 5.2 million has a physical or mental disability, according to new figures from the 2000 Census that reflect sharp growth in the nation's young handicapped population over the past decade. The disabilities captured by the census could range in severity from mild asthma to serious mental illness or retardation demanding full-time care...

Jackson man dies in crash on county road A Jackson, Mo., man was killed in a car crash on County Road 227 early Friday morning. Nilay Patel, 21, Jackson, slid sideways into an embankment going northbound on County Road 227 about two miles south of Gordonville. He was not wearing his seat belt and struck the windshield. He was pronounced dead at the scene...

Daily American Republic HIRAM, Mo. -- A suspected indoor marijuana-growing operation involving nearly 100 plants landed a Hiram man in jail, facing a felony charge. Jon Kiser, Wayne County prosecuting attorney, has charged David Vansickle, 32, of Hiram with the production of a controlled substance. Vansickle is being held in the Wayne County Jail on $25,000 cash bond...

Daily American Republic CLUBB, Mo. -- It wasn't a happy Fourth of July for two Illinois men after an ash from a cigarette ignited one of the homemade fireworks inside their truck, injuring both of them. Wayne County sheriff's chief deputy Bobby Burch said deputies responded at about 8:45 p.m. Thursday to a report of an explosion on Highway 34 just west of the Bollinger County line...

BUNKER, Mo. -- Bond is set at $250,000 for a Bunker man accused of shooting into a Reynolds County sheriff's deputy's house earlier this week, injuring the deputy's wife. Darin Jordan, 39, is charged with armed criminal action, first-degree assault on a law enforcement officer, first-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon, said Gary Barton, Reynolds County sheriff. Jordan is being held in the Reynolds County Jail...

10 years ago: July 6, 1992 Group of residents, unwilling to concede recent trash-fee increase, appears before city council to voice its complaints; about 60 people pack council chamber and about half the number endure nearly four-hour meeting to await opportunity to speak...

McCarty Daughter to Brian Lee McCarty and Patricia Lynn "Trish" Hewlett of Scott City, Mo., Southeast Missouri Hospital, 1:51 p.m. Tuesday, June 11, 2002. Name, Kaylee Karan Jean. Weight, 7 pounds 6 ounces. Ninth child, third daughter. Mrs. Hewlett is the former Patricia King, daughter of Karan King of Rolla, Mo., and Luke King of DeSoto, Mo. McCarty is the son of Vicki Ross of Scott City and Donald McCarty of Jackson, Mo. He is employed by Defender at Procter & Gamble...

Hershell D. Grubbs, 63, died Thursday, July 4, 2002, at his home in Cape Girardeau. He was born Aug. 1, 1938, in Parma, Mo., son of Lloyd C. and Lillie B. Nordin Grubbs. He married Jessie Ann Hill on April 12, 1969. He owned and operated the former Heartland Auto Body Repair shop in Cape Girardeau for 15 years, retiring in 2001 due to failing health...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Nilay A. Patel, 21, of Jackson died Friday, July 5, 2002, in an automobile accident south of Gordonville, Mo. He was born Jan. 30, 1981, in Chicago, son of Ashvin and Damina Shantilal Patel. Patel was a 1998 graduate of Jackson High School. He graduated with honors in June from DeVry University in Pomona, Calif., where he received a bachelor of science degree in business management with emphasis in industrial operations. He was president of Alpha Beta fraternity...

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- The funeral for Carl James Raines of Scott City will be held at 9 a.m. Sunday at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Scott City. The Rev. Randy Morse will officiate. Burial will be in Lightner Cemetery. Friends may call from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. today at the chapel...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- William K. "Bill" Parker, 84, of Sikeston died Friday, July 5, 2002, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. He was born Sept. 22, 1917, in Sikeston, son of John U. and Cora Mae Baker Parker. He and Alpha Mae Clore were married in August 1940. She died May 28, 1972...

Dr. C. John Ritter, 65, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, July 4, 2002, at St. Louis University Hospital. He was born June 5, 1937, at Cape Girardeau, the son of Clarence J. "Brick" Ritter and Mabel L. Kurre Ritter. He and Donna Burkett married April 21, 1962. She died Oct. 30, 1985. He married Marcia Kay Southard on Dec. 20, 1986. She survives...

ADVANCE, Mo. -- Stella B. Clark, 90, of Advance died Thursday, July 4, 2002, at Wood Memorial Nursing Home in Mineola, Texas. She was born Sept. 17, 1911, at Rombauer, Mo., daughter of William D. and Artie Mae Rievley Duncan. She and Guy Clark were married March 16, 1929. He died Aug. 14, 1979...

JOPPA, Ill. -- Howard Evers, 57, of Joppa died Thursday, July 4, 2002, at the home of his daughter in Pittsburg, Ill. Arrangements are incomplete at the Wilson Funeral Home in Karnak, Ill.

DEXTER, Mo. -- Graveside service for Arthur L. Bernard of Dexter will be held at 10 a.m. today at Dexter Cemetery. The Revs. Buzz Brown and Marshall Link will officiate. Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. Bernard, 90, died Thursday, July 4, 2002, at Cypress Point Healthcare...

ST. PETERS, Mo. -- Thelma Sue Haynes, 60, of St. Peters, formerly of Glenallen, Mo., died Friday, July 5, 2002, at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. She was born Dec. 8, 1941, at Glenallen, daughter of Charlie Floyd Sr. and Thelma Jane Deck Underwood. She and Jerry Haynes were married June 18, 1960, at Glenallen...

VILLA RIDGE, Ill. -- Minnie Louise Niestrath Clancy, 88, of Villa Ridge died at 11:34 p.m. Thursday, July 4, 2002, at Daystar Care Center in Cairo, Ill. She was born Dec. 20, 1913, in America, Ill., daughter of William Henry and Mary Elizabeth Leidigh Niestrath...

Nursing tuition I AM not in the nursing program, but I am finding the increased tuition to be ridiculous, especially after financial aid has already been handed out. I am a sophomore on the dean's list who has applied for scholarships through the college and other places. I was turned down for all scholarships. Even though there are scholarships out there, it doesn't mean you can easily obtain them...

To the editor: The assertion that being forced to recite the phrase "under God" violates one's rights is without merit. The Pledge of Allegiance is not a prerequisite for an American citizen receiving the rights as guaranteed by our Constitution. ...

To the editor: I hope this is the last letter I write about President Clinton and his administration. I was appalled when many intellectuals said it would be a mistake to impeach Clinton. In my opinion, they sold out. It showed me that some intellectuals can be corrupted...

To the editor: I do not understand the reason for declaring the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional because it contains the words "under God." The pledge does not define the word "God." The dictionary describes God as being of more than human attributes and powers, a deity, the supreme being, the eternal and infinite spirit...

Briefly Basketball The Suns signed both of their first-round draft picks -- Amare Stoudemire and Casey Jacobsen -- on Friday. Stoudemire, a 19-year-old power forward from Cyprus Creek High School in Orlando, Fla., was the No. ...

Capahas rally in seventh, advance in tournament EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- Three runs in the bottom of the seventh lifted the Capahas to a 4-3 win over St. Wendels, Ind., Friday in the second day of a tournament at Evansville. The Capahas trailed 3-1 after St. Wendels scored in the top of the seventh. With the bases loaded with one out, Zach Borowiak singled and drove in two runs to make it 3-3. With two outs, Chris Sledge singled to left and drove in Denver Stuckey for the winner...

WICHITA, Kan. Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Hudson slid up out of her chair in Judge Clark Owens' courtroom, the right leg of her navy pantsuit hanging up on her ankle. The hem had fallen out as she was getting dressed and she'd only had time to pin it. She'd forgotten her purse at home, was operating on little sleep and had been running late ever since a file came up missing at her first hearing...

Hell topic of sermon at First Church of God The Rev. Mark Ramsey of First Church of God in Cape Girardeau will address the topic of hell in a sermon Sunday at the 10:45 a.m. worship service. Assembly of God Church to hold revival ADVANCE, Mo. -- Revival services will be held at Greenbrier Assembly of God Church through beginning Sunday through July 14. Services are at 6 p.m. each Sunday and at 7 p.m. each night. Joe and Ada Combs of Houston, Mo., will be the speakers...

MUNDELEIN, Ill. -- When asked to name a Christian movie, Zena Dell Schroeder doesn't go for the Bible-based epics. "The Ten Commandments"? Nope, no stone tablets here. "The Greatest Story Ever Told"? It stays untold. And don't even get her started on "The Omega Code," or "Megiddo: The Omega Code 2," two surprisingly successful Christian films released over the past few years...

Life in Cape Girardeau is better if you have a car. Unlike big cities where owning a car can be more of a headache than a help, Cape Girardeau's lifestyle of shopping, recreation, medical care and even church attendance lends itself to motorized transportation...

The Cape Girardeau Board of Education took a chance on school superintendent Mark Bowles. The same night his highly successful and popular predecessor, Dan Steska, announced his retirement, he recommended his assistant as a replacement. The board accepted the suggestion...

JACKSON, Mo. -- When administrators from the Jackson School District met with parents, teachers and community members for long-range planning in 2000, they discovered one thing everyone wanted was a program for children at risk of failing or dropping out of school...

Cape Girardeau Saturday, July 6 ArrestsTravis Sintell Turner, 20, 510 N. Fountain, Apt. 3, was arrested Friday on a Cape Girardeau city warrant for failure to appear for stealing, resisting arrest, driving while suspended, possession of a controlled substance and on a Jackson city warrant for contempt of court...

Cape Girardeau Saturday, July 6 Firefighters responded to the following calls Thursday:At 8:08 p.m., an emergency medical situation at 1132 N. Frederick St. At 9:18 p.m., an emergency medical situation at 114 Green Acres. Firefighters responded to the following calls Friday:At 4:27 a.m., an extrication at County roads 222 and 227...

Dr. C. John Ritter spent a good portion of the last 10 years of his life traveling to countries plagued with malnutrition, civil war and extreme poverty. Ritter didn't do it for money, or any personal acclaim, he merely wanted to put his medical skills to a greater good and give back some of the blessings he had received from God...

A Cape Girardeau man escaped with only a few scrapes Friday after his experimental airplane lost a wheel and flipped during a landing at Cape Girardeau Regional Airport. Fred T. Schmucker, 72, refused medical treatment after the mishap, which occurred about 11 a.m...

NEW YORK -- Two pilots were charged Friday with reckless endangerment for flying through restricted airspace around New York City, spurring fears of a July Fourth terrorist attack. The two planes flew just 25 feet over a swimming area, well below the required 1,000-feet minimum, federal authorities said. The pilots had been returning to their New Jersey base from Massachusetts, where they towed advertising banners above holiday beachgoers...

By Paul Watson ~ Los Angeles Times PIR PANJAL RANGE, India -- To prove a point, fighters from one of the world's most ruthless guerrilla armies emerged from the dense mountain forest and walked right under the noses of Indian soldiers hunkered down in hillside bunkers...

WASHINGTON -- The unemployment rate nudged up to 5.9 percent in June as companies -- uncertain about the economic recovery and shaken by accounting scandals -- steered clear of big hiring commitments. The latest snapshot of the job market released Friday by the Labor Department shows an economy that is mending from last year's recession but at a frustratingly slow pace, economists said...

WASHINGTON -- The day before his inauguration, George W. Bush pointed to Karen Hughes at a staff meeting and told his other top advisers, "I don't want any important decision made without her in the room." Bush's order was strictly enforced. No major presidential conclusion, event or public utterance has escaped the eyes and ears of Hughes -- perhaps the most influential woman ever to have served a president...

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Someday, the Infiniti 35A engine Eddie Cheever helped to develop is going to win without him. His pride as a driver will be stung, of course. But the more drivers who use the Infiniti, with which Cheever won last year at Kansas Speedway, the more the Indy Racing League owner/driver looks like a visionary...

HUTCHINSON, Kan. -- Annika Sorenstam shot a 1-under 69 Friday and shared the second-round lead at the U.S. Women's Open with Juli Inkster and Laura Diaz. Inkster and Diaz, who were part of a three-way tie after the first round, had 72s and were at 1-under 139...

ATLANTA -- After firing manager Don Baylor and minus Sammy Sosa because of a family emergency, Chicago lost again, falling to Atlanta 4-3. The Cubs dismissed Baylor earlier in the day and replaced him with Bruce Kimm, but the move didn't pay immediate dividends. Kimm, who moves up from Triple-A Iowa, won't be with the team until today. Bench coach Rene Lachemann ran the team in the interim, and the Cubs lost for the ninth time in 11 games to fall a season-worst 16 games below .500 (34-50)...

CRYSTAL RIVER, Fla. -- Ted Williams, Beantown's ever cranky but much beloved "Splendid Splinter" and baseball's last .400 hitter, died Friday. The Boston Red Sox treasure, who made good on his goal to be known as the greatest hitter of all time, was 83...

ST. LOUIS -- Eric Gagne pitched himself into trouble, then wriggled out of it. The All-Star closer escaped a bases-loaded, none-out jam in the ninth inning Friday night to preserve the Los Angeles Dodgers' 6-5 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in a matchup of first-place teams...

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Friends are as hard to come by as victories for Kevin Harvick these days. Acquiring a reputation as a reckless bad sport on a losing streak can do that to a guy. Harvick has reason to think his fortunes might be changing, though. He won the first Winston Cup pole position of his career Friday, qualifying first for the Pepsi 400...

WIMBLEDON, England -- Lleyton Hewitt is going to the Wimbledon final for the first time and Tim Henman is going out as a semifinal loser for the fourth time. The top-seeded Hewitt overwhelmed No. 4 Henman in straight sets Friday to close in on his second Grand Slam title, and ended the British player's latest attempt to become the first homegrown champion since 1936...

MOUNT VERNON, Mo. -- Charlotte Ann Neely-White used a gun to fend off an attacker on Thursday. Then she got married. The man suspected of assaulting the bride-to-be was charged Friday while he lay in a guarded hospital bed, recovering from a gunshot wound to the chest inflicted while he struggled with Neely-White for the gun. Meanwhile, the new bride spent day one of her honeymoon answering questions from detectives...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Missouri River barge traffic from Sioux City, Iowa, to Kansas City, Mo., could stop entirely this summer because of a decision issued Friday by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, an Army Corps of Engineers spokesman said. The drought-stricken Missouri currently is at its minimum navigational flow, said the spokesman, Paul Johnston...

The Associated Press KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Two people died in separate Independence Day accidents involving fireworks and explosives, authorities said. A 32-year-old Kansas City man died as he was loading a commercial fireworks device called a mortar. The device apparently went off sooner than expected, according to Eric Dooley of Metropolitan Ambulance Services. The man's name was not given...

BEIJING -- Roll away, "Sorcerer's Stone"! Step aside, "Prisoner of Azkaban"! Harry Potter and Leopard-Walk-Up-To-Dragon are here! Chinese fans of the British boy wizard with the lightning-bolt scar on his forehead are snapping up the fifth book in the wildly popular series...

TORONTO -- Growing piles of rotting garbage lines the streets and suspended public services sparked health concerns Friday as the largest strike by city workers in Canadian history continued to paralyze Toronto. The walkout by 23,500 municipal workers also is threatening to tarnish the image of Canada's largest city as a clean, tourist-friendly destination...

KABUL, Afghanistan -- The governor of the province where a U.S. airstrike reportedly killed scores of people warned Friday that Afghans will rise up against Americans if U.S. troops don't stop killing civilians in the hunt for Taliban and al-Qaida fugitives...

UEBERLINGEN, Germany -- Workers used chain saws to cut fir trees from around part of a crumpled fuselage Friday, starting the laborious task of gathering wreckage from two planes that collided near the German-Swiss border, killing 71 people. While attention has focused on whether Swiss air traffic controllers gave the pilots enough warning to avoid one another, investigators will also be looking at the debris for clues that could help piece together the cause of Monday night's crash...

VIENNA, Austria -- After two days of talks that had raised hopes Iraq might relent, the United Nations said Friday it had failed to convince Baghdad to allow the return of U.N. weapons inspectors. Diplomats agreed, however, to continue talks in Europe in the coming months...

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- Mourners fired assault rifles into the air and demanded revenge Friday after a car bomb killed a militia leader and a member of the security forces in what Palestinians say was the latest Israeli attack on prominent militants...

NEW YORK -- Investors coming back from their Fourth of July break sent share prices soaring Friday on Wall Street, pushing the Dow Jones industrial average to its strongest gain since September. By the end of a shortened trading day, the Dow had climbed 324.53, or 3.58 percent, to 9,379.50. ...

Rain caused more flooding in Texas on Friday. From Castroville to LaCoste 4,000 people remained evacuated because of Medina River flooding. An estimated seven inches of rain fell around the Nueces River basin overnight and the river was nearly 10 feet above the flood stage near Asherton, Texas, Friday afternoon...

LOS ANGELES -- The FBI said Friday that the heavily armed Egyptian immigrant who fatally shot two people at the ticket counter of Israel's national airline had gone to the Los Angeles airport to kill. "Why he did that is what we are still trying to determine," FBI special agent Richard Garcia said...

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Former Gov. Wallace Wilkinson, a self-made millionaire who helped create Kentucky's lottery and overhauled the state's public schools, died Friday. He was 60. Wilkinson, a Democrat who was governor from 1987 to 1991, had been battling a recurrence of lymphatic cancer that was first diagnosed while in office. He died at St. Joseph Hospital, a day after suffering a stroke...

Sale stopped of nude photos of TV hostess RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- Lawyers for a popular children's television hostess stopped a bookstore from auctioning photo negatives of her posing nude. The Universal bookstore canceled Thursday's auction of 12 slides showing Xuxa naked after her lawyers warned the images belonged to her and the negatives belonged to the photographer, store manager Roberto Menezes said. Menezes said he stopped the auction to avoid further problems...

HIGHLAND PARK, Mich. -- A spate of fires caused by fireworks and arsonists destroyed several homes and spread fire and police crews thin in this cash-strapped town, authorities said. Fires broke out in five separate locations about 11:40 p.m. Thursday, said police Sgt. Robert Howard. By 4:30 a.m. Friday, the blazes were contained. No injuries were reported...

JACKSON, Miss. -- WorldCom Inc. filed a federal lawsuit Friday against former chief financial officer Scott Sullivan, who was fired after the company revealed it had improperly accounted for nearly $4 billion in expenses. The battered telecommunications giant is demanding that Sullivan, 40, pay back the $10 million bonus he received last year...

SAN ANTONIO -- With heavy rain falling again, surging floodwaters ripped houses off their foundations Friday and pushed up against dams already straining to hold back swollen rivers across central and south Texas. Hundreds of people fled their homes, joining more than 4,000 who have been forced out by high water in the past week. Flooding has killed at least seven people and caused tens of millions of dollars in damage...

MALABAR, Fla. -- Sitting together in the home of their adoptive parents, the six children seem unshaken as they describe seven years of beatings and other abuse at the hands of their foster family. The Roe children -- Jesse, 15; twins Jordan and Joseph, 14; Toby, 12; and twins Suzanna and Robbie, 9 -- realize they are finally safe...

The Associated Press PHILADELPHIA -- Bellowing out "Oyez! Oyez!" and "hear ye, hear ye," town criers from the United States and Canada unfurled their ornate scrolls Friday in the North American Town Criers Competition. "Come one, come all, come hear my call. My message's clear, for every year," boomed Bruce Bedell, of London, Canada...

So Rick Reilly's publicity stunt has turned Sammy Sosa into the poster boy for steroid use in major-league baseball. How convenient. How utterly unfair, contrived and unethical. Reilly, the Sports Illustrated back-page columnist with loads of clout and groupie peers, ambushed Sosa during a recent pre-game interview and asked the slugger to take a drug test at a Chicago lab. Sosa balked, turned angry and cut off the interview...

FROM 1800 TO 1950SBy Jeremy Joffray Southeast Missourian Pat Zellmer has turned her passion for history into a project that all Cape Girardeau residents can enjoy. Under the direction of Zellmer and Gretchen Griggs, the Southeast Missourian will release a pictorial history book of Cape Girardeau showing a chronology from 1800 to the 1950s...

A group of nine area teenagers will travel to Arizona on Sunday to put their knowledge of criminal justice to the test at the 2002 National Law Enforcement Exploring Conference at Northwestern Arizona University. The group, which is part of the Cape Girardeau Boy Scout Co-ed Explorer Law Enforcement Post 4230, will participate in team and individual events ranging from a shooting competition to a crime scene search to a hostage negotiation...

By Peggy Noonan ~ The Wall Street Journal I mark the Fourth of July remembering the words of a friend of Samuel Johnson, who said, "I meant to be a philosopher, but happiness kept breaking through." This year, we must celebrate. ...

WASHINGTON -- A widespread smallpox attack could require vaccinating many more Americans than the estimated 10,000 to 20,000 first responders recommended by a government panel for the shots, federal health officials say. A decision about who to vaccinate against the virus is expected by month's end from Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson...

To the editor: With respect I would like to point out the flaws of Gary Rust's column on the River Campus. Rust talks about the Four Rivers Center for the performing arts in Paducah, Ky. Bill Minix, senior vice president of First Community, said, "If the increase in quality of life helps bring one plant in, it can pay for itself very quickly." Rust must ask if the residents of Southeast Missouri want to take the chance of a big "if." It would be wiser to wait and see how it works in a community of our size, like Paducah.. ...

SEDGEWICKVILLE, Mo. -- Carl and Trula Mayfield of Sedgewickville will be honored at a reception July 14 to celebrate their 60th anniversary. The event will be held from 1-3 p.m. in the fellowship hall at Sedgewickville Methodist Church.

JACKSON, Mo. -- Mr. and Mrs. Thomas N. Boudinot of Jackson recently celebrated their 50th anniversary with a dinner at Wayside Inn in Middletown, Va. Hosts were their son and daughter-in-law, Tom and Barbara Boudinot of Winchester, Va. Boudinot and Jacquelin "Jackie" Hoffmeister were married June 22, 1952, in Jackson. Her sister, Pat Hoffmeister, and Don Baker were also married that day. It was also the 23rd anniversary of Jack and Sweetie Hoffmeister, parents of Jackie and Pat...

BENTON, Mo. -- Mr. and Mrs. Jose Adame of Pearland, Texas, announce the engagement of their daughter, Irma Patricia Adame, to James Edward Burns. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. John Burns of Bakersfield, Calif., and formerly of Benton. Adame received a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Houston. She is an engineer with Shell Oil Products...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Wilfred and Lucille Renner of Perryville announce the engagement of their daughter, Jolene Ann Renner, to Christopher William Hancock, both of Jackson, Mo. He is the son of Nancy Hancock of DeSoto, Mo. Renner is a 1996 graduate of Perryville High School. She received a bachelor's degree in human environmental studies from Southeast Missouri State University in 2001. She is salon coordinator at Style Stop...

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- Mr. and Mrs. Roger Smith of Scott City announce the engagement of their daughter, Alicia Dawn Smith, to Lucas Andrew Ziegler. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Roy Ziegler of Benton, Mo. Smith is a 1999 graduate of Scott City High School. She is employed at D&K Healthcare Resources Inc...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Patty Hargett of Woodlawn, Ill., Dennis Shroyer of Mt. Vernon, Ill., and David Hargett of Woodlawn announce the engagement of their daughter, Alaina Joe Shroyer, to Christopher Brent Hinze, both of Jackson. He is the son of Everett and Jeanette Hinze of Jackson...

Mr. and Mrs. Roger Pierce of Cape Girardeau announce the engagement of their daughter, Jennifer Kay Pierce, to David Wayne Bisher. He is the son of Simon Bisher of Cape Girardeau, and the late Rose Bisher. Pierce is a 1991 graduate of Central High School. She received a bachelor of science degree in nursing from Southeast Missouri State University in 1999. She is a registered nurse in the Medical Progressive Care Unit at Southeast Missouri Hospital...

John L. and Jill Essner of Cape Girardeau announce the engagement of their daughter, Elizabeth Ann Essner, to Joshua Ree Penfield. He is the son of Kenneth and Susan Miracle of Cape Girardeau. Essner is a 1997 graduate of Notre Dame High School. She expects to receive a bachelor's degree in elementary education and specialization in early childhood from Southeast Missouri State University in December 2003...

Hobbs Chapel United Methodist Church was the setting Oct. 20, 2001, for the wedding of Jennifer Lynn Whitticre and Shawn Robert Royle. The Rev. James Hogue performed the double ring ceremony. Music was provided by Joyce Macke of Cape Girardeau. Larry and Melinda Whitticre of Cape Girardeau are parents of the bride. The groom is the son of Frank and Jane Honackie of Sarasota, Fla., and Thomas Royle of Orlando, Fla...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Jill Lindsay Lowes and Matthew Todd Allen exchanged vows Dec. 29, 2001, at St. Paul Lutheran Church. The Rev. David Johnson performed the double ring ceremony. Pianist and organist was Orville Perr Jr. of Jackson, and string selections were by Trio Girardeaux. Soloist was Anne Gardner of Philadelphia, Pa., and a duet was sung by Mr. and Mrs. Jason Vance of Houston, Texas, brother-in-law and sister of the groom...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Jamie Suzanne Rauh and Chris Lee Johnson were married Feb. 25, 2002, at Sand Dollar Beach Resort in Barbados. The Rev. C.A. Darlington performed the double ring ceremony. Music was provided by Bridgeport steel drum band. Parents of the bride are Dale and Mary Rauh of Jackson. The groom is the son of Duane and Zula Johnson of Independence, Mo...

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- Jennifer Nicole Coomer and Charles Lee Harless were married June 8, 2002, at Memorial Wesleyan Church. The Rev. Joe Hudson performed the double ring ceremony. Vocalist was Sara Rhodes, sister of the bride. Robert and Barb Coomer of Scott City are parents of the bride. The groom is the son of Mary Harlow of Cape Girardeau and Ronnie Kirk of Sikeston, Mo...

Julie Christine Illers and Douglas Ben Spooler were united in marriage June 8, 2002, at Trinity Lutheran Church. The Rev. Douglas Breite performed the double ring ceremony. Organist was Marty Roth, trombonist was Rick Wieser, and soloists were Michelle Spooler, stepmother of the groom, and Tara Thomas...

Stephanie Jeanne Slinkard and Edward Allen McGee exchanged vows April 27, 2002, at East Cape Baptist Church in East Cape Girardeau, Ill. The Rev. Raymond Oxford performed the double ring ceremony. Lisa Murphy of McClure, Ill., provided music and was soloist...

Patty Berry and Rob Hente were married June 1, 2002, at the Common Pleas Courthouse Gazebo. The Rev. Jim Matthews performed the ceremony. Soloist was Robyn Hosp of Jackson, Mo. The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Gifford of Fredericktown, Mo. Mr. and Mrs. Robert Hente of Cape Girardeau are parents of the groom...

Venus and Serena. Or is it Serena and Venus? Yeah, I think it is Serena and Venus now. But either way, they dominate the game in a manner in which we are not familiar. Take the current Wimbledon championship Saturday morning. ... Another episode of All In the Williams Family, just like the U.S. Open final in September and the French Open final last month...

A piece of America died Friday. A treasure waits to be buried. Ted Williams, the cantankerous old cuss, takes a time with him to the grave, too -- a colorful era that was, all at once, black-and-white and golden. Suddenly, and with finality, 1941 is going, going -- gone...

KENNETT, Mo. -- Every time a state official defensively responds to disclosure of a failed or botched program under his jurisdiction, I recall the words of an audit report issued on one program in Jefferson City that went something like this: "The agency has not properly overseen its contracts. ...

DEXTER, Mo. -- A nine-member committee has been appointed by the Dunklin County Commission to spearhead an effort to restore the Old St. Francis River Channel in northwestern Dunklin County. The steering committee is a product of a meeting the county commission hosted in late May in Campbell to test public interest in establishing a 17-mile section of the Old St. Francis River channel as a fishing and wildlife area...

Man jailed in stabbing incident By Teresa Oyler Daily American Republic POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- As a 38-year-old Poplar Bluff man was walking to the hospital after being stabbed twice Saturday night when an investigating police officer saw the suspect in the stabbing walking out of a residence on Lester Street with a large amount of blood on his shirt...

10 years ago: July 7, 1992 One of seven bills passed this year, designed to make health care more accessible and affordable for Missourians, was signed into law Monday by Gov. John Ashcroft at Cape Girardeau County Health Department; measure guarantees insurance for small businesses employing three to 25 workers, regardless of health status or claims experience of their employees...

10 years ago: July 8, 1992 After 32-year career with Cape Girardeau Fire Department, 28 in supervisory capacity, Fire Chief Gene Hindman will take off his chief's shield and retire Oct. 1. Structural engineer tours Cape Girardeau's four oldest public school buildings looking for possible problems; Robert MacDermott of R.W. McDermott and Associate Consulting Engineers in Kirkwood, tours L.J. Schultz, Washington, May Greene and Franklin schools...

COBDEN, Ill. -- Charles L. Cates, 67, of Cobden died on Friday, July 5, 2002, at his home. He was born on Dec. 30, 1934, at Cobden, the son of Charles Ford and Anna Elizabeth Huback Cates. He married Mu Son Kim on May 16, 1973 in South Korea. Survivors include his wife of Cobden; two daughters, Yvonne and Dorothy Cates of Anna, Ill.; three sons, Harold and Mark Cates of Atlanta and Chang Cates of Nashville, Tenn.; five brothers, Floyd Cates of Cobden, Donald Cates of Chicago, Gaylon Cates of Elwood, Ill., Ed Cates of Anna and Homer Cates of Fayetteville, N.C.; three sisters, Edna Poole of McClure, Ill., Ginny Mears of Cobden and Helen Treece of Anna; and six grandchildren.. ...

LITCHFIELD, Ill.--Lena May Miller, 85, of Litchfield, died Saturday, July 6, 2002, at the Litchfield Health Care Center. Funeral arrangements are incomplete and will be announced later by the Jones Funeral Home in Villa Ridge, Ill.

OAK RIDGE, Mo. -- Robert Dean Grable, 67, of Oak Ridge died Friday, July 5, 2002, at his home. He was born on Sept. 19, 1934, at Sikeston, Mo., the son of Romey and Grace L. Cronister Grable. He and Dona Sprutte were married on March 14, 1952, at St. Louis, Mo...

LONGVIEW, Texas -- Harold Beasley, 77, of Longiew died Friday, July 5, 2002, at a Longview hospital. Beasley was born June 27, 1925, at Fulton, Ark. He and Alene Beasley were married for 60 years. Beasley was a sales representative, independent businessman and was retired from Tri-State Water Company in Cape Girardeau. He was a member of Greggton First Baptist Church in Longview. He was ordained a Baptist deacon in Hickory Street Baptist Church in Texarkana in 1956...

Dr. C. John Ritter, age 65, passed away on Thursday, July 4, 2002, at St. Louis University Hospital in St. Louis, Mo. Friends may call Sunday, July 7, between 3-8 p.m. at the McCombs Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau and Monday after 12:30 p.m. at Grace United Methodist Church in Cape Girardeau...

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- Mary Alice Walter, 78, of Scott City died on Saturday, July 6, 2002. She was born on Jan. 10, 1924 at Kelso, Mo., the daughter of Joseph and C. Alvina Lux Ressel. She married Arthur Kilhafner on Nov. 27, 1943, and he preceded her in death on Sept. 17, 1951. She married Louis A. Walter on Sept. 3, 1955 and he preceded her in death on Feb. 29, 1992...

Christian nation AS FAR as Judge Alfred Goodwin's opinion that it's unconstitutional to recite the Pledge of Allegiance: That's his opinion. There are millions of people who disagree. His ruling is unconstitutional to those of us who believe in God and believe that this nation was founded under God. ...

To the editor: The worst fires in U.S. history are burning in almost all of the Western states. Two were set by misguided individuals. I am sure neither of them really thought of the possible long-term consequences of their acts before setting the blazes...

To the editor: Gov. Bob Holden slashed $20 million out of the budget for Missouri's nursing homes and $83 million for colleges and universities. These cuts were never necessary. He can and should restore his damaging cuts now. Under the governor's cuts, quality of care will be diminished. College students will have to pay even more in tuition increases and surcharges or drop out of school. Schools are spending reserves, cutting jobs, eliminating programs and reducing student aid...

Briefly Baseball The Yankees pulled off another big deal, boosting their already stellar rotation by getting Jeff Weaver from Detroit early Saturday in a three-team trade that included Oakland. As part of the deal, the Yankees dealt pitcher Ted Lilly and two top prospects to Oakland. The Athletics sent first baseman Carlos Pena to the Tigers...

Capahas win fourth game in Indiana tournament EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- Tristen McDonald hit a pair of two-run home runs late in the game to seal the Capahas' 11-0 win over Beckley, W.V., in a tournament Saturday in Evansville. McDonald hit his home runs in the fifth and sixth innings to put the game away. Josh Eftink added a three-run homer in the sixth...

FRUITLAND, Mo. astoral landscapes that look as if they could have been painted by an artist are one of the features that make the home at 297 County Road 541 near Fruitland, Mo., so attractive. Large, round bales of hay and oceans of green grass lay the backdrop for this brick and white tri-level home...

BARCELONA, Spain -- More Americans are getting infected with forms of HIV that are resistant to life-extending drugs, a finding produced by a study showing that 16 percent of new cases in San Francisco are caused by a strain that resists treatment with one or more drugs...

Few 19th century American leaders who failed to reach the presidency cast a longer shadow than one James G. Blaine. This failed presidential candidate has a legacy that bears directly on our lives today. Blaine was one of a handful of distinguished leaders whose backgrounds would seem to have prepared them to be president -- and who came close to that goal. The story of how it happened is fascinating...

In one of those rulings that concentrate the issues at stake where our judiciary is concerned, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals outdid itself. This federal appeals panel ruled, by a 2-1 vote, that the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance rendered that time-honored jewel of Americanism unconstitutional for purposes of requiring students in public schools to recite it...

The Republican leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives has pushed through a $450 billion increase in the national debt limit (currently $5.95 trillion) by the thinnest of margins: 215-214. The increase had already been approved by a wide margin in the Senate, so it goes to the president's desk, where it will be signed into law. The increase was necessary to avert an unprecedented default on the federal debt...

Cape Girardeau Sunday, July 7 Firefighters responded to the following calls Friday: At 7:35 p.m., a CO detector at 1439 N. Park. At 9:27 p.m., an emergency medical service at 801 Good Hope. At 11:09 p.m., an emergency medical service at 407 Morgan Oak...

Cape Girardeau Sunday, July 7 Arrests Terry Creek, 31, Piedmont, Mo., was arrested Friday on a Cape Municipal warrant for failure to appear. Hardy Gaines, 17, Unity, Ill., was arrested Friday for stealing. Summons Kenneth Wayne Foor, 53, 1222 N. Spanish, was issued a summons Saturday for failure to maintain property...

WHAT IT MEANS Twenty-one Caring Communities programs throughout Missouri were ended July 1 because government funding was cut. The program had locations in four Cape Girardeau elementary schools and contracted specialists to provide therapy and tutoring for children who needed it. ...

MEXICO CITY -- Giovanni Hurtado Aviles was hurrying to his engineering class when he realized he didn't have the two pesos about 20 cents for the subway. When he tried to use somebody's else's pass to get on, he was caught and hauled to jail. "I made a mistake. I am really sorry. I won't do it again," Hurtado, 20, said he told the guard who nabbed him that January morning...

India's army rescues thousands from floods GAUHATI, India -- Indian soldiers on Saturday battled swirling river waters in the northeastern state of Assam to help authorities rescue nearly 700,000 people hit by devastating floods. Hundreds of thousands of people were moved by boat to makeshift relief camps in schools and government buildings in safer areas after their homes were submerged by floods, officials said...

CHANGOUREH, Iran -- From atop a pile of rubble that buried Dr. Achbar Esmaeli alive, Jamsheed Amiri pointed to a deep black scar cutting across a hill in the distance. That's the spot where the earth tore open and flames shot out the morning a powerful earthquake devastated this roughly 300-year-old village, he said...

There's nothing like a good dog to make us feel proud to be Americans, particularly one covered in mustard and slapped on a bun. The Fourth of July gives us a good excuse to chow down on some hot dogs and get a bang out of life without violating a single city ordinance...

WASHINGTON -- The new government agency responsible for airline security said Saturday it will place armed law enforcement officers -- uniformed and plainclothes -- at ticket counters and other public areas of airports. The Transportation Security Administration made the announcement in response to the shooting at Los Angeles International Airport two days earlier, when three people, including the gunman, were killed. ...

WASHINGTON -- A campaign season of House-Senate spending clashes over counterterrorism, schools and other items approaches, but it is unclear if the one event sure to grab headlines will occur: a veto by President Bush. Bush seems to be itching for his first veto. The confrontation would help polish his credentials as a fiscal conservative after presiding over the return of budget deficits and signing an expensive farm bill...

In the wake of the Enron scandal, the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations recommends that directors of publicly traded corporations: Stop accounting practices and transactions that put the company at high risk of not complying with generally accepted accounting principles and resulting in misleading and inaccurate financial statements...

WASHINGTON -- Enron's board closed its eyes to evidence the company was heading for financial disaster, and claims by former directors that they were kept in the dark are untrue, a Senate report concludes. "Much that was wrong with Enron was known to the board," the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations said in a scathing 60-page critique...

WASHINGTON -- People moving to the suburbs -- or planning to farm near a city -- may find it's more important than they thought to know which way the wind blows. That's because it rains more for several miles downwind from large cities, sometimes a lot more...

AMERICUS, Ga. -- A state-operated excursion train to former President Jimmy Carter's childhood home will start its run through southwest Georgia this fall. SAM Shortline -- which stands for Savannah-Americus-Montgomery, the line's historic route -- will travel from Cordele to Plains, gliding through cotton fields, pecan groves and peanut farms and over Lake Blackshear. Officials hope the project will stimulate tourism in southwest Georgia...

CLAUDE, Texas -- James "Biscuit Man" Robinson's instructions for brewing "cowboy coffee," sometimes called camp coffee: Pour cold water into a two-gallon pot until it is half full. Add coffee grounds and place pot on grill over hot fire. Bring to a rolling boil and set aside while boiling...

Getting there: Roam the Texas Panhandle in your own car via Interstate 40 from the east or west, Interstate 27 from the south and U.S. 287 from the southeast or northwest. Follow Texas Highway 217 from the town of Canyon to the entrance to Palo Duro Canyon State Park. ...

CLAUDE, Texas -- Dawn breaks evenly above the plain, first white and then gold as the sun flirts with a bank of low clouds. A solitary mare and a faraway windmill punctuate the horizon. No crowded mall here. No stoplights, either, as the old Claude Highway rolls away from Amarillo. The flat landscape of the Texas Panhandle stretches beyond the eyes' ability to focus, hiding a geological wonder that plunges down instead of up...

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Ten years after his retirement, Richard Petty is still "The King" of the race track. He walks quickly through the garage, a big cowboy hat on his head and a brash gold belt buckle touting his seven Winston Cup championships...

WIMBLEDON, England -- David Nalbandian's first appearance on Centre Court at the All England Club will be for the Wimbledon final against No. 1-ranked Lleyton Hewitt. It's one of many firsts for the 20-year-old Argentine. No other man reached the final in his Wimbledon debut in the Open era (since 1968). No other Argentine has been this far at the tournament. And, most amazingly, Nalbandian never had played a tour-level event on grass...

ATLANTA -- If Don Baylor had gotten pitching like this, he might still have a job. Carlos Zambrano pitched five innings of two-hit ball and Moises Alou hit two homers as the Cubs beat the Atlanta Braves 7-3 Saturday night in Bruce Kimm's first game as Chicago's interim manager...

BOSTON -- They were the heroes of the Greatest Generation: Mantle, DiMaggio, Williams. Now they're gone, and baseball fans in Boston and around the country mourn the passing of an era. "Everyone was hanging onto yesteryear through Ted," said Carlton Fisk, the former Boston Red Sox catcher whose retired number hangs next to Williams' on the facade at Fenway Park. "It's a sad day."...

WIMBLEDON, England -- At the trophy ceremony following the first one-family final at Wimbledon in 118 years, Venus Williams leaned over to sister Serena and whispered. "You have to curtsy," Venus said. "Did you know that?" It was the only time Saturday that there was any need to coach Serena -- now No. 1 in the world and her own home...

After months of doomsday speculation, public relations campaigns and sniping from both sides, the most significant strike call of the Major League Baseball season looms when the union meets Monday in Chicago. Frustrated by lagging negotiations on a new bargaining agreement and concerned about the unilateral implementation of new work rules after the World Series, the Major League Baseball Players Association has chosen the All-Star break as a time to turn up the heat on team owners...

ST. LOUIS -- Eric Gagne slammed the door on the St. Louis Cardinals after Jason Isringhausen let another one get away. Isringhausen blew his third save in six games Saturday, opening the door for the Los Angeles Dodgers' 4-2, 11-inning victory in a battle of division leaders. Gagne, who escaped a bases-loaded jam with no outs a day earlier, this time retired the top of the Cardinals' lineup in order for his major league-leading 32nd save in 34 chances...

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Finally, a win for Michael Waltrip to savor. Waltrip, whose only other career win was marred when Dale Earnhardt died in the Daytona 500 last year, finished first again at NASCAR's most famous track Saturday night, beating Rusty Wallace in a race that finished under caution...

PHOENIX -- Barry Bonds ended a 10-game drought with his first home run off Randy Johnson and the San Francisco Giants beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-2 Saturday. J.T. Snow singled in the go-ahead run off reliever Matt Mantei (1-1) in the eighth inning after Arizona had rallied to tie it 2-all on Craig Counsell's two-out single with the bases loaded in the seventh...

HUTCHINSON, Kan. -- A shrinking list of challengers all made costly bogeys on the 18th hole, allowing Annika Sorenstam to get out of the sweltering sun with a two-stroke lead Saturday in the U.S. Women's Open. She says the tournament is far from over...

CHICAGO -- Former Gov. Jim Edgar reportedly has turned down an offer to become the chairman of the state Republican Party. Edgar, who still is popular, has decided not to replace Lee Daniels as the new GOP leader, according to the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times' Saturday editions. Both papers cited unnamed sources...

ST. LOUIS -- Lambert Airport police have stepped up their patrols around airline ticket counters after the fatal shootings at Los Angeles International Airport, but do not plan to bolster security at the St. Louis airport beyond that. The added Lambert police presence began Thursday after an armed Egyptian immigrant opened fire at the El Al airline ticket counter in the Los Angeles airport's international terminal, killing two people and wounding three others before being shot by El Al security officers.. ...

JERSEYVILLE, Ill. -- As a road warrior, Ivan Beard sees his fair share of roadkill. "And where there's dead meat," the Jerseyville railroad worker has discovered, "there's usually a big, ugly bird." True. Turkey vultures aren't likely to win any beauty contests...

PLATTE CITY, Mo. -- A former learning disabilities teacher was sentenced to four months in jail and five years probation for having sex with a 14-year-old student. Platte County Circuit Judge Owens Lee Hull Jr. on Friday also ordered Rachelle L. Hernandez, 31, not to have any unsupervised contact with children under 18, to forfeit her Missouri teaching license and to receive counseling. She also must perform 100 hours of community service...

ST. LOUIS -- If some see a Windy City tycoon's solo balloon trek around the globe as a bit looney, don't tell it to the woman running the Ballooney Bin in Laramie, Wyo. Naomi Nottage cheers Steve Fossett's flight into history as a welcomed break from everything she's sick of hearing -- the drone about America's war on terrorism, crime and politics...

ST. LOUIS -- The number of fatal Missouri boating accidents and drownings has more than doubled over the first six months of this year from the same period in 2001, the Missouri Water Patrol said. The 19 deaths from Jan. 1 through June 30 are 11 more than in last year's first half...

FRANKENSTEIN, Mo. -- Lois Bixenman isn't ashamed to admit it. She's a picnic groupie. "We like the food. The food is excellent," Bixenman, 66, said recently while carefully dotting her bingo card. "It's just a way to pass away the time on a Sunday afternoon. We pick out the ones we want to go to, but we know it's all good. Bring the whole family because they are going to have a good time."...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Children caught smoking are being summoned to court alongside adult theft and assault suspects under a nearly year-old Missouri law intended to discourage youths from using tobacco. A law enacted last August made it illegal for those younger than 18 to possess tobacco products -- not just to buy them, as had previously been the law...

ST. LOUIS -- The chief of Washington University's Genome Sequencing Center will leave the school probably by this year's end, depriving St. Louis of one its most-respected scientists and perhaps large amounts of revenue the center generates for the university...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Impostors are calling Missouri residents to pay $500 to get their names added to a fake national no-call list, Attorney General Jay Nixon said Friday. Nixon said there is no national no-call list. Also, it does not cost anything to be added to the state's list of people who do not want telemarketers to call them...

Bond between child and parents runs deep, effects are lasting By Martha Irvine ~ The Associated PressRICHMOND, Ind. e is gone -- torn from her life by cancer when she was 15 years old. Seven years later, Connelly Stokes-Prindle still finds herself longing for her father's advice...

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Abdul Qadir, a vice president and cabinet minister in the Afghan government and a key political figure for 25 years, was assassinated just after noon Saturday as his vehicle left his ministry compound in the capital. Qadir, 48, was the second-highest-ranking ethnic Pashtun in the ethnically mixed government of President Hamid Karzai. ...

RIGA, Latvia -- Leaders of former communist countries hoping to join NATO looked ahead to the responsibilities of membership on Saturday, pledging to bring their democracies in line with Western standards. The 53-year-old alliance is just months away from a summit where it is expected to issue invitations for its most ambitious expansion and map out a historic transformation to fulfill the security needs of a post-Sept. 11 world...

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Former President Carter launched a Venezuela peace mission Saturday sanctioned by leftist President Hugo Chavez but met with skepticism by many of Chavez's opponents. "It is my hope that the Venezuelan government and opposition groups will pursue constructive talks to settle immediate pressing differences," Carter said in a statement released before he was welcomed Saturday by Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel...

The Associated Press KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- Malaysian police have rescued 13 babies and arrested seven suspected members of a baby smuggling racket, a newspaper reported Saturday. The Berita Harian newspaper quoted Mohd Yusoff Jaafar, police chief of Sarawak state on Borneo island, as saying the group had been selling babies for the past six years for between $1,000 and $4,700...

PAMPLONA, Spain -- Tens of thousands of cheering, champagne-soaked revelers packed the central streets and plaza of this northern city Saturday to kick off Spain's most famous fiesta -- the bull-running festival. To the cries of "Viva San Fermin!," town councilor Roberto Jimenez ignited the traditional "chupinazo" firecracker in the city's main square to officially start the San Fermin festival, popularized by Ernest Hemingway's 1926 novel "The Sun Also Rises."...

HAVANA -- After decades in Cuba's sugar industry, Ezequiel Bonilla is finding it hard to give up the only way of life he's known. "I don't like it," Bonilla says of the government's decision to cut sugar's industrial capacity by 50 percent and close many of its 154 sugar mills, including the one he has lived near all his 65 years...

MALUSO, Philippines -- At least 80 U.S. Navy Seabees were pulled out of the southern Philippines after finishing their work in support of a six-month counterterrorism training exercise, a Navy officer said Saturday. Lt. Bill Siemer, an officer with the U.S. Naval Construction Battalion deployed in Maluso town, on Basilan island, said the Seabees were sent back to their home base in Kadena, Japan, on Thursday...

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Seeking to avoid a rift with Afghan allies, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan acknowledged Saturday that civilians had been killed in a U.S. airstrike this week and promised to find ways to avoid such mistakes in future. The statement by Lt. Gen. Dan McNeill was made at a joint press conference with Afghan Foreign Minister Dr. Abdullah in response to Afghan allegations that 48 people were killed and 117 wounded in an air raid Monday in Uruzgan province...

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistan's military ruler Gen. Pervez Musharraf decreed Saturday that any former prime minister who held the post for two terms was ineligible to hold it again. The move appears aimed at shutting out two former prime ministers -- Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif -- from October elections aimed at returning Pakistan to democracy. Musharraf seized power three years ago, toppling Sharif in a bloodless coup...

TEL AVIV, Israel -- About 50 El Al passengers who survived a shooting attack in the Los Angeles airport arrived in Israel early Saturday to the hugs and tears of relatives. The passengers were waiting for a flight Thursday, the Fourth of July, when an Egyptian immigrant gunned down two Israelis at the ticket counter of Israel's national airline before an El Al security guard shot him dead...

By David McHugh ~ The Associated Press UEBERLINGEN, Germany -- German officials said most of the wreckage had been recovered Saturday as investigators tried to piece together clues about the collision of two jetliners at 35,000 feet over the German-Swiss border...

STEVENSVILLE, Md. -- It was one thing for Paul Reed Smith to see the wooden electric guitars he designed in the hands of rock icon Carlos Santana. It was another to see complete strangers wearing T-shirts with his logo. But when fans started coming into his factory with tattoos of the initials "PRS," that was another level altogether...

Who better to provide a thoughtful look at the most highly charged issues than Bill Moyers, who examines the relationship between Islam, Middle Eastern politics and America in his PBS newsmagazine. Two special editions of "Now with Bill Moyers" air Friday (check local listings for time), both drawing on a recent seminar that gathered Muslim, Christian and Jewish scholars and journalists from seven countries and was moderated by Moyers...

You've put in a hard day. Now you're ready to chill in front of the TV and watch some basket-weaving. Or maybe you've got a taste for motorcycles. Or outer space. Or Shakespeare. What are the odds you could click to a show devoted to that interest whenever you get the urge?...

FIVE QUESTIONS By Alisa Blackwood ~ The Associated Press PHOENIX -- Although there are plenty of teen-age pop stars to provide competition, Michelle Branch has carved out a niche of her own...

SAN QUENTIN, Calif. -- John Whearty was 22 when San Quentin State Prison officials gave him a .38-caliber revolver, a 12-gauge shotgun and a crash course in being a prison guard. "The officer I relieved was kind enough to stay half an hour to train me when I relieved the third watch," says Whearty, 78, with a wry smile...

LOS ANGELES -- The government had started deportation proceedings in 1996 against the Egyptian immigrant who gunned down two people at Los Angeles International Airport. But the following year, the man gained U.S. residency because his wife received a valid visa, officials said Saturday...

HATTERAS, N.C. -- Divers have uncovered the turret of the Civil War ironclad Monitor in the first phase of an expedition to raise the artifact from the ocean floor, the Navy said Saturday. The Navy and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are trying to preserve what they can of the warship's deteriorating wreckage, especially the revolving gun turret that inspired modern naval guns. ...

MADISON, Wis. -- Wisconsin lawmakers are considering using the state's entire share of the national tobacco settlement -- once estimated to be worth $5.9 billion -- to help cover a one-time budget deficit. The settlement, signed in 1998 by tobacco companies involved in a class action lawsuit over health care costs, was set up to pay states over a 25-year period. ...

LOS ANGELES -- John Frankenheimer, director of such Hollywood classics as "The Manchurian Candidate" and "Birdman of Alcatraz," died Saturday. He was 72. Frankenheimer died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center of a stroke due to complications following spinal surgery, said his business manager, Patti Person...

HOLLISTER, Calif. -- Tens of thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts jammed into this sleepy farm town Saturday for a holiday weekend rally that recalled one of the pastime's darkest hours. Tattooed and leather-clad bikers filled the narrow sidewalks, snapping up souvenirs, hot dogs and beer. Roaring motorcycles cruised the town's main drag -- closed to all other traffic...

A dull, lingering headache was Melissa Palka's first sign that something was wrong. Unaffected by aspirin, it slowly worsened, taxing her as she went about her work teaching students at a missionary school in the West African nation of Togo. After three days, Palka was stricken with deep chills -- the sort of doubled-over, teeth-chattering that comes with a bad virus. Shivering beneath quilts piled deep despite the warm climate, she realized she had malaria...

Keep Darwin in mind when you go fishing. A new look at what happens when you toss the small ones back -- as often required by law -- suggests it's not really wise to select fish by size. Returning wee ones to the water may force the population to downsize, gradually evolving populations of smaller fish...

Filmmaker tried to put character in Indian face TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Action film director John Woo says Western films often have given viewers the mistaken idea that American Indians are without emotion. "Whenever we saw the Indian character on the screen, he was very stoic," Woo said during a recent promotional visit for his new movie, "Windtalkers."...

MEDLEY, Fla. -- A truck trailer loaded with almost a ton of hazardous cleaning chemicals was stolen from a fenced lot and was still missing Saturday, police said. Authorities issued a nationwide alert warning officers of potential health risks if they locate the trailer...

MICO, Texas -- Hundreds of people fled three small West Texas towns Saturday as a storm dumped more than a foot of rain on an area that rarely sees more than 2 feet a year, while rainfall tapered off in flood-weary Central Texas, where water surrounded homes in 29 counties...

DENVER -- Fire crews are eager to begin replanting a carpet of green shrubs and grasses where a 138,000-acre fire seared the wooded slopes southwest of Denver and where rain now threatens to wipe out roadways and homes. The plan, submitted to the U.S. ...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Scientists made a trek to Round Island off Alaska's coast, where walruses spend their time soaking up the summer sun, and they found exactly what they were looking for: carcasses. The carcasses, which result from diseases or injuries sustained in fights or falling off cliffs, helped the scientists test a veterinary crossbow that attaches transmitters to the spot between the thick, tough hide and the blubber...

The Associated Press GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- A Florida man was charged with faking more than 1,100 calls to 911, tying up emergency service lines for two days. Michael A. Holmes, 20, placed the calls June 30 and Monday because he was bored, an Alachua County sheriff's office spokesman said...

SAN ACACIA, N.M. -- An army of water-sucking soldiers is marching along the banks of nearly every waterway in the West. The soldiers -- with their skinny leaves and non-nutritious seeds -- have invaded more than 1 million acres of river and stream banks in New Mexico, Texas and more than a dozen other arid states. They have pushed out native plants, birds and other wildlife, and sucked dry already dwindling water supplies...

MINNEAPOLIS -- On her 63rd birthday, the Queen is getting a facelift. She'll be spending more of her time uptown, too. International Dairy Queen, which introduced Americans to "the cone with the curl on top" in 1940, is cautiously rolling out a new restaurant format with more food choices and warm, earth-toned dining rooms where customers can enjoy lingering...

CHICAGO -- When Tionda Bradley played outside her apartment building, her little sister Diamond was usually toddling close behind. "The two of them were always together. They used to hold hands," said neighbor Robert Washington. "Everywhere Tionda went Diamond was right with her."...

BOSTON -- They don't wear cowboy hats or boots, but they certainly have a little more swagger than your typical bean counters. Forensic accountants inhabit a cloak-and-dagger corner of the accounting world. Their job: respond at a moment's notice when a client spots trouble -- anything from procurement fraud to a top executive cooking the books to industrial espionage...

For years, consumers and electronics manufacturers have had an unwritten agreement. Shoppers keep spending billions of dollars to upgrade their gadgetry, knowing their investments will quickly become outdated. In return, the makers of computers, TV accessories and audio devices keep innovating, bringing consumers greater value and selection...

VALRICO, Fla. -- A couple wanted to express pride in their Italian heritage with the license plate "2 Dagos," but were told to return the plate to the state because some people feel it's an ethnic slur. But Phil and Fran Lascola said they are fighting the request, saying they don't consider the term insulting...

ALBANY, Ga. -- For years, experts predicted fire ants couldn't tolerate frosty winters in the north Georgia mountains. But the aggressive, fast-breeding South American pests have defied predictions, spelling trouble for crops, wildlife and people. Fire ants have spread to all of Georgia's 159 counties and a new type discovered in the Rome area seems especially adept at hunkering deep in the ground to escape the cold, said Wayne Gardner, a University of Georgia entomologist...

CAMBRIDGE SPRINGS, Pa. -- The two women listening intently as their instructor explains how to measure and cut drywall could be mistaken for vocational students, if not for their red shirts with telltale "DOC" on the back. Kim Scott and Penny Adams are the first female inmates in Pennsylvania training for masonry work, roofing and other general construction jobs under a community-based program run by Operation Outward Reach Inc...

NEW YORK -- Early this year, Mike and Kelly Weiss, buoyed by a general sense that the economy was improving, purchased a house in Kensington, Md., and filled it with furniture. They also planned to buy a second car, and do some major home renovating...