Stories from June 2007

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Gov. Matt Blunt signed into law new fire safety requirements for Missouri's long-term care facilities on Friday in response to a deadly fire at a group home for the mentally ill and disabled. Blunt signed the bill at the site of the former Anderson Guest House in southwest Missouri, where 11 people died in a Nov. 27 fire that smoldered in the attic before sweeping through the building...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- A woman trying to get away from a man who was beating her crawled onto an interstate highway and was struck and killed by a tractor-trailer, police said Friday. The tractor-trailer driver left the scene. Police were looking for both the truck driver and the man who allegedly beat the woman...

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -- The top candidate to lead the University of Missouri system has turned down an offer to lead the institution, The Associated Press has confirmed. University curators made the undisclosed offer to Terry Sutter, 49, a New Jersey business executive and graduate of the Columbia campus, a source familiar with the offer told the AP...

Cape Girardeau Central High School is one of only eight schools in Missouri and 382 nationwide to be singled out for academic rigor in mathematics and science by the ACT Education Division. Central High School principal Dr. Mike Cowan said the commendation by ACT, a nationwide testing service, validates the academic program at Cape Girardeau's public high school. The high schools singled out by ACT include some of the traditionally best academic schools in the nation, Cowan said...

The Missouri Legislature passed tax cuts for senior citizens, tax credit programs for businesses and funding for buildings at Southeast Missouri State University, but Sen. Jason Crowell said he's proudest of an appropriation for an autism center in Cape Girardeau...

Some of you will remember my raccoon-trapping days. A few years ago, a swarm of raccoons invaded our neighborhood and became nuisances and pests. Over a matter of a few weeks I trapped seven of the critters and reunited the band in the Land of Lincoln -- well across the continent's mightiest river, which, I'm pretty sure, cannot be navigated by a raccoon even on a good day...

BENTON, Mo. -- A Sikeston, Mo., couple is facing 30 state misdemeanor charges apiece for allegedly supplying alcohol to minors at a party earlier this month. The charges were filed Thursday against Mark Cheatham, 48, and his wife, Terry Brewer-Cheatham, 47. All 30 charges are for supplying alcohol to a minor...

Gov. Matt Blunt let a local parent do the talking Thursday when it came to touting the importance of millions of dollars in increased state funding to fight autism. "Early diagnosis and early intense therapy can give these kids a better chance at living an independent, functional and happy life," said Kim Daniel of Cape Girardeau, the mother of 4-year-old twin daughters diagnosed with autism...

Amy Roadarmel has packed dishes for weeks. She's still not done. It takes time when you have about 900 "dishes" to pack in boxes. That's particularly the case when you're packing up Mississippian Indian clay pottery dating back some 1,000 years...

A Scott City man under investigation on child sex charges tried to mislead police by faking an apparent drowning and was tracked down in Poplar Bluff, Mo., when he used his ATM card, police said. Charles E. Rothman, 65, was arrested Thursday by a plainclothes deputy for the Butler County Sheriff's Department, Scott City police chief Don Cobb said. Officers began tracking Rothman's movements after obtaining a subpoena that morning to monitor his cell phone use and ATM transactions...

A teaching column; Reasons to invade; Justifying drinking; Behind bars; Loving others; European illegals; Affecting minds; Muy loco; Mowing in parks; Deadbeat who?; Worst enemy; Prayer problems; Making choices; Better jobs; Strict judges

Gov. Matt Blunt came to Cape Girardeau last week as part of a statewide tour to sign legislation passed in this year's legislative session that provides $350 million over the next six years for construction projects at state-funded colleges and universities. In addition, the legislation significantly increases the number of need-based scholarships and puts caps on future tuition increases...

Puxico, Mo., farmer Wayne Cryts, the focus of national attention since he was jailed two weeks ago in Russellville, Ark., on a contempt of court charge, will soon be released; U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Charles Baker says he is closing the case in which Cryts is involved...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Amid mounting public speculation and leaked candidate names, University of Missouri officials remained mum Thursday about the search for the system's next president. Curators interrupted their regularly scheduled meeting on the Columbia campus for an unannounced closed session about the next presidential hire. They also are scheduled to meet behind closed doors this afternoon to discuss the confidential search...

Southeast Missourian A coal barge struck the U.S. 62/60 bridge between Cairo, Ill., and Birds Point, Mo., Thursday afternoon, closing the bridge to traffic while safety inspectors checked for structural damage, the U.S. Coast Guard reported. The bridge over the Mississippi River was closed for about two hours while the inspectors checked bridge piers for damage...

ST. LOUIS -- For two years, American-born Khadijah Heather Jones has fought a custody battle in Oman. Now, with the custody hearing in the Middle Eastern country less than a week away, she faces deportation before she can make her case. And she knows if that happens, she may never see her children again...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Ameren Corp. wants more money from its electricity customers. The state thinks it should get less. Both asked the Missouri Public Service Commission on Thursday to reconsider last week's decision approving a $43 million annual rate increase for Ameren's 1.2 million Missouri electric customers. Other parties also filed rehearing requests by Thursday's deadline...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- An annual report on racial profiling during traffic stops continues to find that black drivers are pulled over at a higher rate than white drivers, and the gap is growing. The report, released Thursday by the attorney general's office, found black drivers were 57 percent more likely to be stopped than whites, and Hispanic drivers were 15 percent more likely to get pulled over than whites. ...

NEWARK, N.J. -- The New Jersey Supreme Court certified a class-action lawsuit against Wal-Mart by employees who claim that the nation's largest retailer denied them meal and rest breaks and forced them to work off the clock. The Thursday ruling revives the workers' lawsuit, which had been denied class-action status by a trial judge and an appellate panel...

NEW YORK -- Junk e-mail continued to hit mailboxes around the world Thursday, despite the arrest a day earlier of a man described as one of the world's most prolific spammers. Even if Robert Alan Soloway is ultimately convicted and his operations shuttered, spam experts say dozens are in line to fill the void...

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. military is working more aggressively to forge cease-fires with Iraqi militants and quell the violence around Baghdad, judging that 80 percent of enemy combatants are "reconcilable," a top U.S. commander said Thursday. However, Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno also warned that he may not be able to make a full assessment of the situation in Iraq by September, as demanded by lawmakers...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA managers announced Thursday that they would press ahead with the first space shuttle launch of the year next week, three months later than originally planned because of a hail storm that pockmarked the spacecraft's external tank...

WASHINGTON -- President Bush, under international pressure to take tough action against global warming, on Thursday called for a summit of the United States and other nations that spew the most greenhouse gases on the planet. The goal: set a long-term global strategy for reducing emissions -- and counter allegations the United States is foot-dragging...

WASHINGTON -- Evan O'Dorney always eats fish before his spelling bees. The brain food apparently has served him well: He's the 2007 Scripps National Spelling Bee champion. The 13-year-old from Danville, Calif., aced "serrefine" Thursday night to become the last youngster standing at the 80th annual bee. He triumphed after a tense duel with Nate Gartke of Spruce Grove, Alberta, who was trying to become the first Canadian to win...

Irma A. Lappe, 89, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, May 30, 2007, at the Lutheran Home. She was born Oct. 3, 1917, in Kelso, Mo., daughter of Joseph J. and Pauline A. Dohogne Seyer. She and Sylvester E. Lappe were married May 29, 1940, at St. Mary's Cathedral. He died Nov. 24, 1986...

ORAN, Mo. -- Annabelle Nicole Mansker Parmer was stillborn Wednesday, May 30, 2007, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Survivors include her parents, Ronnie Floyd Parmer II and Stephanie Marie Mansker of Oran; maternal grandparents, Allen and Susan Mansker Sr. of Oran; paternal grandfather, Ronnie Parmer Sr. of Thebes, Ill.; and maternal great-grandparents, Wesley and Wanette Daniels of Oran...

MORLEY, Mo. -- William "Bill" Bryeans, 82, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Wednesday, May 30, 2007, at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. He was born April 11, 1925, at Morley, son of Claude Pearl and Ida May Osborn Bryeans. He and Carmela Isaacs were married June 8, 1951...

Dallas S. Tjaden, 87, of Council Bluffs, Iowa, died Wednesday, May 30, 2007, at Mercy Hospital. He was born Jan. 9, 1920, in Council Bluffs, son of H.S. and Virginia McMullen Tjaden. Tjaden graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in 1937. He received degrees from Drake University and the University of Iowa. Advanced study was done at Berkshire Music Center, Chicago Musical College, Aspen Music Institute, and George Peabody College in Nashville, Tenn...

Charles Woodford, 82, of Cape Girardeau, died Thursday, May 31, 2007, at his home. Arrangements are incomplete with Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Chapel.

Mark D. Emmendorfer, 46, of Dallas, Texas, died Wednesday, May 30, 2007, at his home. McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson is in charge of arrangements.

Robert L. Jenkins, 66, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, May 26, 2007, at his home. He was born April 26, 1941, in Cape Girardeau, son of Fred and Annie Runnels Jenkins. He married Marylin Graham. Jenkins was a graduate of Central High School. Survivors include a daughter, Kimberly Campbell of Cape Girardeau; his mother of Cape Girardeau; three brothers, Harold and Frankie Jenkins of Cape Girardeau, William Jenkins of Cleveland, Ohio; two sisters, Charlotte Wade and Peggy Primm of Cape Girardeau; and a grandson.. ...

Arrests; Theft

n At 6:54 p.m., an assist to the police department at the Diversion Channel. n At 10:01 p.m., emergency medical service in the 1400 block of Clark Avenue. n At 12:29 a.m., emergency medical service in the 600 block of South West End Boulevard. n At 12:38 a.m., an assist in the 500 block of Albert Street...

Smith; Johnson; James; Hopkins; Markham; Rees; Alexander; Blechle; Shipley; Green; Walters; Ward; Callis; Johnson

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Three former U.S. presidents joined together Thursday to praise evangelist Billy Graham and dedicate a new library in his honor, a $27 million complex that traces the preacher's rise from farm boy to America's pastor. On a stage in view of a 40-foot glass cross that serves as the museum's front door, the frail preacher said he was embarrassed by the attention and there was "too much Billy Graham" in the exhibits...

MADRID, Spain -- The Spanish government said Thursday it has filed a lawsuit in a U.S. federal court against an American firm over a shipwreck the company has found laden with a colonial-era treasure. If the vessel was Spanish or was removed from Spanish waters, any treasure would belong to Spain, Spain says...

BEIJING -- Fast-spreading, foul-smelling blue-green algae smothered a lake in eastern China, contaminating the drinking water for millions of people and sparking panic-buying of bottled water, state media said Thursday. The algae bloom in Lake Tai, a famous but long-polluted tourist attraction in Jiangsu province, formed because water levels are at their lowest in 50 years, leading to excess nutrients in the water, Xinhua said...

MOSCOW -- President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Russia's test-firing of new missiles this week was a response to U.S. plans to build missile defense sites across Europe, and suggested Washington is pursuing an imperialist policy that has triggered a new arms race...

BAGHDAD -- U.S. troops battled al-Qaida in west Baghdad on Thursday after Sunni Arab residents challenged the militants and called for American help to end furious gunfire that kept students from final exams and forced people in the neighborhood to huddle indoors...

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- The detainee who died at Guantanamo Bay in an apparent suicide was identified Thursday as a Saudi military veteran and self-described Islamic holy warrior who denied he ever intended to kill Americans. U.S. military records show the detainee admitted having a connection to al-Qaida but insisted he was little more than a Taliban foot soldier when the United States invaded Afghanistan following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks...

I'm typically not one to gush praise. Sure, it's one of my faults and a legitimate gripe many people express to me -- I'm too apt to criticize. Not today. Because the truth is, when I see someone who deserves praise, I try to give it to them any way I can. And right now, I can think of two people who deserve all the praise we can heap on them -- Dr. Joel Ray and Dr. Jean Chapman...

Local artist Dr. Jean Chapman's final exhibition was last year in September ... or, at least, that's what everyone thought. "I thought it might be, and I really didn't think I would do it again," said Chapman, a man recognized by many as a founding father of Cape Girardeau's current visual arts culture. "But Peggy saw how I was doing recently with the porcelain and thought we should do something with that."...

The Show Me Center will kick off a big month when award-winning country artists Martina McBride and Little Big Town play the venue Thursday night. The concert will be the first of three taking the stage at the center this June -- a sharp contrast to recent summers when concert offerings were slim...

The Southeast Missourian was unable to arrange a phone interview with Martina McBride in time for the publication of the Arts and Leisure section. But in honor of her Thursday night Show Me Center appearance, we've assembled these facts about the attractive country star...

Pockets to hold DeWolf tribute concert; More seats released for McBride concert; Carson Center unveils 2007-2008 season; Monte Montgomery to play at Dexter; Writers Guild workshop at Barnes & Noble; Cape, Jackson municipal bands begin next week; -- From staff reports

New at the theaters: 'Knocked Up'; 'Mr. Brooks'; STILL PLAYING: 'Bug'; 'Delta Farce'; 'Disturbia'; 'Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End'; 'Shrek the Third'; 'Spider-Man 3'; 'The Waitress'; 'Wild Hogs'

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. -- Former longtime "Tonight Show" sidekick Ed McMahon is urging people to donate DVDs for U.S. troops in Iraq, saying movies offer a safe and comforting escape from wartime realities. "This program accomplishes two things: The troops are entertained and they know that citizens at home care and support them," McMahon, 84, said Wednesday during ceremonies at the Palm Springs Airport's USO facility...

The addition of Central baseball standouts Brad LaBruyere and Matt Hester should help make the Cape Girardeau Ford & Sons American Legion team a district contender as the summer season gets under way. LaBruyere and Hester both recently finished their senior seasons for the Tigers, and are heading to Legion ball after playing on traveling teams in the past. Both players signed with Southeast Missouri State during their senior seasons...

ST. LOUIS -- A state investigation found no evidence that workers at Mike Shannon's restaurant knew Josh Hancock was drunk when they served the Cardinals pitcher alcohol in the hours prior to his fatal accident. Peter Lobdell, supervisor of the state Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control, said at a news conference Thursday that investigators interviewed four employees of the restaurant and two of Hancock's teammates who were with him that night...

Tiger Woods was waiting on the edge of the 10th green Thursday when an approach shot from Charley Hoffman whizzed by his head and missed him by about a yard. Woods was about the only one who dodged illness or injury at the Memorial. Phil Mickelson withdrew after 11 holes because of an injury to his left wrist, which he suspects happened at Oakmont earlier this week as he practiced chipping out of the deep rough while preparing for the U.S. Open...

PARIS -- Imagine this:~ The two-time defending champion breezed into the third round. The third tour-level match of your professional tennis career is against Rafael Nadal in a 9,950-seat stadium at the French Open. You've watched Nadal from afar. You know all about his recently snapped 81-match winning streak on clay. ...

The reward for a dominant regular season comes today for Missouri's baseball team, hosting an NCAA regional and carrying a top seed. The Tigers' 40-16 record and second-place finish in the Big 12 conference far outweighed a 1-2 showing in the conference tournament. ...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The competitor in Carl Nafzger wanted to enter Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense in the Belmont Stakes for a rematch with Preakness victor Curlin. The trainer in him argued otherwise. After Nafzger and owner James Tafel debated for two hours the viability of sending the colt to New York for the final leg of the Triple Crown, the trainer side won...

Cape Junior Legionsweeps Perryville The Cape Girardeau Plaza Tire Junior Legion baseball team swept Perryville in a pair of games Tuesday night,scoring the winning run in the bottom of the seventh in both games. Cape won the opener 7-6, then rallied for a 4-3 victory in the second game...

Southeast Missourian Tunes at Twilight organizers have announced a last-minute change to tonight's 7 p.m. concert at the Common Pleas Courthouse gazebo. The group originally scheduled to perform, Canadian folk duo The Laws, have been replaced by Nashville-based folk duo The Cantrells...

ORLANDO -- Rich history wasn't enough to lure Billy Donovan away from Florida. In the end, it was just riches. Donovan will have plenty of them after he was hired to coach the Orlando Magic on Thursday. The team confirmed the hiring Thursday night and scheduled a news conference for Friday morning...

Imagine sitting snugly and comfortably in a baseball glove -- while you're in a car. That is how it can feel inside a new, 2008 Audi TT with optional "baseball optic" leather seat trim. The rich cowhide brown color swathed onto the seats is spot on for a baseball glove, and wide, darker brown stitches that are instantly visible on the sides of the seats when the doors open add to the fanciful baseball illusion...

Jess Bolen is not about to predict how many more years he'll add to his four-decade run as the Plaza Tire Capahas manager. But if Bolen continues to get as excited for a new season as he is right now -- and his health continues to cooperate -- don't expect his tenure to end any time soon...

DENVER -- Juan Encarnacion hit a two-out, three-run double in the sixth and Brad Thompson allowed two runs in 7 1/3 innings to help the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Colorado Rockies 7-3 on Thursday night. Cardinals manager Tony La Russa gave star slugger Albert Pujols his first day off of the season because he was "wearing down," and St. Louis responded well offensively...

Two and a half stars (out of four) Yo-ho, yo-ho, a pirate's life for me? The best thing about this movie is Elizabeth Swan. GIRL POWER! Elizabeth is one tough chick. I appreciate these strong female roles. Johnny Depp is whimsical as Captain Jack, however I think all the characters lack depth. Overall the adventure is compelling. The sailing scenery is beautiful, and the peculiar escapades in the beginning excite you for what is to come...

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- LeBron James used one of the most spectacular performances in playoff history to lift the Cleveland Cavaliers to the verge of their greatest season. James' career playoff-high 48 points -- including 29 of his team's final 30 -- carried the Cavaliers to within a win of the NBA finals for the first time in franchise history with a 109-107 double-overtime victory over the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night...

Arts Council of Southeast Missouri, 32 N. Main St. The Arts Council of Southeast Missouri will host a dual photography exhibition with images of Cuba by local orthodontist Dr. David Crowe and the landscape photography of KFVS12 meteorologist Brian Alworth. The Visual Arts Cooperative's newest work will also be on display...

Farmers markets offer everything from fresh fruits and vegetables to homemade breads, meats and honey, enough for people live virtually free of trips to the grocery store, some vendors say. "There's a movement now toward the 100-mile diet, which is when you eat things within 100 miles of your home. ...

A Greyhound bus traveling from Memphis to St. Louis was evacuated Saturday when it ran off the shoulder of Interstate 55 just south of the Center Junction exit. None of the 49 passengers on board were injured, Cape Girardeau police Sgt. Carl Eakins said shortly after the bus was driven from the highway at about 1 p.m...

When Charles Woodford died Thursday at his home, the local veteran's community lost a man described by friends as "a tiger." Woodford, who served in both the Navy and the Air Force, was a proud member of both the VFW and American Legion chapters in Cape Girardeau...

The 31st annual Scott City Summerfest kicked off Friday night with the opening of the fair grounds and several pageants. Scott City Parks department director Phyllis Crump of Cape Girardeau said the two-day, mid-summer carnival in Scott City Park is an important event for community development...

The Department of Veterans Affairs medical and benefits system was the subject of stinging criticism -- and some praise -- from a group of about 50 veterans and other area residents who took part Friday in a town-hall meeting hosted by U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill...

Cape Girardeau Central High School is one of only eight schools in Missouri and 382 nationwide to be singled out for academic rigor in math and science by the ACT Education Division. The commendation by ACT, a national testing service, validates the academic program at Central, principal Dr. Mike Cowan said Friday...

The workers compensation changes enacted by the Missouri Legislature in 2005 were sought by Gov. Matt Blunt as a way to make the state friendlier to business. A little more than two years after the bill was enacted, insurance rates paid by businesses are down and insurance companies are paying substantially less to workers who claim on-the-job injuries...

Trail of Tears State Park, known for its tragic history as the place where many Cherokee Indians crossed the Mississippi River and lost their lives in a forced relocation, celebrated its 50th anniversary Saturday. For 29 of those 50 years, a wild area of 1,300 acres has been protected by Missouri's Wild Area System, patterned after the federal Wildnerness Act signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. Only 11 wild areas exist in nine Missouri State Parks...

n At 9:25 p.m., emergency medical service in the unit block of Benton Street. n At 10:27 p.m., emergency medical service at the intersection of Good Hope and Hanover streets. n At 9:20 a.m., a citizen assist at 1105 Linden St. n At 9:56 a.m., emergency medical service at 816 Elm St...

Arrests; Summons

By Amy Blouin Wearing rose-colored glasses makes things appear brighter than they are. So it is with Gary Rust's May 24 column ("Medical spending") that asserts Missouri's budget record for the past three years "has been good for the state." A closer look reveals a far different picture...

Good friends?; Not another tax; Fix the pothole; Irresponsible trash; Welcome addition; Radical site; Surrender idea; Enough already

LOS ANGELES -- Good news for Harry Potter fans marking off the days before the release of the boy wizard's next movie. "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," the fifth movie based on the best-selling books, will open in U.S. theaters July 11, two days earlier than previously scheduled...

Heitman; Proffer; Schallberger

Gary W. Huff, 61, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, June 1, 2007, at his home. He was born Nov. 19, 1945, in Cape Girardeau, son of Claude and Myrtle Poe Huff. He and Eugenia "Jean" Rezabek were married June 21, 2003, in Chaffee, Mo. Huff graduated from Central High School in 1964. He worked in the steel mills in Indiana and then served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. He lived in St. Charles, Mo., and worked in construction. He moved back to Cape Girardeau in 2001...

Vernon E. Haertling, 74, of New Wells died Friday, June 1, 2007, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson is in charge of arrangements.

The Driskills will not perform at the American Legion Hall in Jackson as listed in Friday's Southeast Missourian.

Mark D. Emmendorfer, 46, of Dallas passed away Wednesday, May 30, 2007. He was born July 29, 1960, in Perryville, Mo., son of Frank and Bettilee Cook Emmendorfer. Mark was a 1978 graduate of St. Vincent de Paul High School in Perryville. He received a bachelor's degree in graphic communication from Washington University in St. Louis...

Rosemary O. McGee, 82, of Cape Girardeau, died Friday, June 1, 2007, at her home. She was born Aug. 3, 1924, in Commerce, Mo., daughter of Roy and Rozena Oguin Knight. She and Robert D. McGee were married Feb. 10, 1944, in Scott County, Mo. He died July 22, 1983...

Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Charles E. Woodford, 82, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, May 31, 2007, at his home. He was born Feb. 22, 1925, in Osmond, Neb., son of Fay D. and Emma Rohrberg Woodford. He and Eileen C. Caldwell of Jackson were married Oct. 21, 1944. She died June 1, 1977. He and Lois Leming Weber of Cape Girardeau were married Dec. 22, 1978...

All Jolani McCanless wanted to do was be a Marine. And for almost three years, the Oak Ridge resident was doing what he loved -- working on logistics to support fellow Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan. And despite repeated injuries, he carried on. But things changed Aug. ...

MOUND CITY, Ill. -- Marcia K. Harp, 58, of Mound City died Friday, June 1, 2007, at her home. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at this time and will be announced later by the Barkett Funeral Home of Mound City.

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Frances A. Fox, 94, of Perryville died Friday, June 1, 2007, at Perry County Nursing Home. She was born Feb. 19, 1913, in Perryville, daughter of Fred C. and Frances A., Downing Kahmke. She and William J. Fox were married Nov. 9, 1932. He died Jan. 22, 1988...

A recent court decision might entitle tipped workers at local restaurants and bars to back pay. If an employer has more than $500,000 in yearly gross sales, tipped employees are eligible to receive $3.25 an hour for any work done after Jan. 1. Employers must pay tipped workers one-half of the minimum wage, $3.25, according to the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations...

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands -- A television show in which a woman would donate a kidney to a contestants was revealed as a hoax Friday, with presenters saying they were trying to pressure the government into reforming organ donation laws. Shortly before the controversial program was to air, Patrick Lodiers of the "Big Donor Show" said the woman was not actually dying of a brain tumor and the entire exercise was intended to put pressure on the government and raise awareness of the need for organs...

The following information was released by the office of federal prosecutor Catherine Hanaway for defendants appearing in federal court before U.S. District Judge Jean C. Hamilton:Convicted Age: 27 Residence: Charleston, Mo. Charges: Possession of more than 50 grams of crack cocaine with intent to distribute, illegal possession of firearms and possession and production of child pornography...

Summerfest pageant winners Summerfest Teen n Macy Heisserer, queen n Jaqulyn Lewis, first runner-up n Toi Hosey, second runner-up Junior Miss Teen n Myriah Miller, queen n Lindsey Ressel, first runner-up n Hannah Salada, second runner-up Scott City Woman of the Year...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- With more rain predicted for Missouri and Kansas this weekend -- after a wet May that produced damaging floods in both states -- National Weather Service forecasters understood worries about this year turning into another 1993. But so far, they said Friday, that scenario doesn't appear likely...

BEIJING -- Vice Premier Huang Ju, a key ally of former Chinese president Jiang Zemin who climbed the ranks of Shanghai politics to join the Communist Party's inner sanctum of power, died early today, the official Xinhua News Agency said. He was 68...

BAGHDAD -- An al-Qaida-linked suicide bomber struck a safehouse occupied by an insurgent group that has turned against the terror network. Friday's attack northeast of Baghdad killed two other militants, police said, the latest sign that an internal Sunni power struggle is spreading...

PARIS -- The weather was nippy and overcast and the water just chest-high, but a new scuba-diving pool in Paris has something Bali, Belize and other diving hotspots don't: a terrific view of the Eiffel Tower. To promote the sport, scuba instructors began offering free lessons Friday -- with wet-suits, scuba gear and even a biodegradable towel -- at the foot of the French capital's famed landmark...

COLDWATER, Mich. -- Jack Kevorkian, the retired pathologist dubbed "Dr. Death" for claims that he participated in at least 130 assisted suicides, left prison after eight years Friday still believing people have the right to die. A smiling Kevorkian, now 79, said it was "one of the high points in life" as he walked out with his attorney...

ST. LOUIS -- The former head of the state public defender's office in St. Louis faces federal charges for arranging a sham marriage to keep his boyfriend in the United States, federal prosecutor Catherine Hanaway said Friday. Eric Affholter, 40, and the man described by prosecutors as his partner, Pedro Cerna-Rojas, 31, a native of Peru, were indicted on one count each of conspiracy to commit marriage fraud. ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Stung by the rejection of a job offer to its top candidate, University of Missouri curators plan to start a new search for the system's next president. "The committee is going to start a completely new search," board chairman Don Walsworth said Friday afternoon following a two-hour closed meeting...

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Days after Cindy Sheehan announced she was stepping down as the face of the anti-war movement, a pro-troop organization said Friday it plans to buy her protest site outside President Bush's ranch. But Sheehan doesn't want to sell to just anyone...

GALESBURG, Ill. -- Caisha Gayles graduated with honors last month, but she is still waiting for her diploma. The reason:~ About a month before the ceremony, students and their parents had to sign a contract promising to act in dignified way. the whoops of joy from the audience as she crossed the stage...

United Way tournamentcrowns scramble champs The team of Keith Holloway, Brian Stevens, Kurt May, and Jim Hobbs took first place at the 20th annual United Way Charity Golf tournament Friday at the Cape Girardeau Country Club. The tournament used a scramble format...

A glance at how area athletes fared this spring at the collegiate level. Baseball n Central graduate Sean Bard earned first-team Southwestern Athletic Conference after a monster season for Mississippi Valley State's baseball team. Bard, a junior college transfer from Mineral Area College, had team highs with a .376 average, 52 RBIs, 41 runs, 9 home runs and 21 doubles. Bard also walked 32 times...

Seed money for economic development, initial construction funds for a riverfront park and a full year's funding for the city's subsidized taxi system are three of the proposed funding programs that are new in Cape Girardeau's recommended 1982-1983 fiscal year budget; those programs were discussed last night during a four-hour city council session...

In April 1956, Cape Girardeau Countians voted 5,625 to 699 to authorize a tax to buy the land that became Trail of Tears State Park north of Cape Girardeau along the Mississippi River. People knew this was a special place of wilderness, wildlife, bluffs and unmatched views of the river. ...

This month all across our nation brides and bridegrooms will be putting on their best, presenting themselves to each other and expressing a vow that is intended to unite them for life. So much goes into planning and setting up a wedding that, often, preparing and paying for the event overshadows the point of the ceremony: the marriage...

Roger Clemens will pitch Monday for the New York Yankees. He'll be 45 years old in a couple of months. He's won seven Cy Young Awards, emblematic of being the best pitcher in major league baseball in those years. That's two more Cy Youngs than anybody else. ...

Briefly Singing event at Father's Arms Fellowship Father's Arms Fellowship is having a gospel singing with The Southern Brothers at 6 p.m., June 3 at 1400 Main St., Scott City, in the church parking lot. There will be refreshments served by the teens as a fund raiser, and the community is invited. Everyone should bring lawn chairs. In the event of rain, the program will move to the sanctuary...

The Plaza Tire Capahas had a successful season opener Friday night, thanks largely to three players making their Capahas debuts. But considering Phillip Riley, Omar Padilla and Zach Blemker all recently completed their college seasons, that really didn't surprise manager Jess Bolen...

The future of Lesterville, Mo., is contingent on AmerenUE's hydroelectric plant. Ameren Corporation officials announced plans to rebuild the upper reservoir of its Taum Sauk Plant near Lesterville in early February but the utility company is awaiting a unified settlement proposal from the state of Missouri...

ADVANCE, Mo. -- Stray herbicide is causing a dust-up between a Charleston, Mo.-based crop-duster and farmers in the Advance area, but agronomists say the farmers probably have nothing to worry about. The conflict began when Jason Thompson, owner of Thompson Flying Service, started contracting his services with farmers in the Advance area for the first time. ...

DENVER -- The Atlanta lawyer quarantined with a dangerous strain of tuberculosis apologized to fellow airline passengers in an interview aired Friday, and insisted he was told before he set out for his wedding in Europe that he was no danger to anyone...

On a June day 175 years ago, 13 people gathered under a tree on the bank of Whitewater Creek on the old Farmington-Jackson road about a mile east of Heitman's Mill. That was the first official meeting of what is now Whitewater Presbyterian Church in Sedgewickville, Mo., according to information provided by board member Larry Bollinger...

Cape Girardeau's municipal band will kick off its concert season Wednesday night with an opening concert featuring talent from Central Junior High School's recent production of the musical "Beauty and the Beast." Jackson's municipal band will continue its season Thursday with its second concert, this one featuring fiddler and Cape Central High School orchestra director Steve Schaffner...

Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols headed for first base on a fourth-inning double during Friday's game against the Astros in Houston.

CHICAGO -- Now the Chicago Cubs are really getting beat up -- by each other. Carlos Zambrano and catcher Michael Barrett shoved each other in the dugout, then the pitcher busted his teammate's lip in the clubhouse so badly that Barrett wound up in a hospital...

An economic development bill would clear the way for a study that could lead to development of a post-secondary vocational school district or even possibly set the stage for development of a new community college in Southeast Missouri, the bill's proponents say...

Jerrel and Patricia Busey of Jackson celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary and renewed their vows May 19, 2007, at the VFW Hall in Wappapello, Mo. Approximately 100 guests attended the event, hosted by their children and spouses. Busey is a member of the VFW. He was a judge advocate general for Post 3416 in Wappapello, and was a board member of Wappapello Fire Department...

Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Slinkard of Cape Girardeau are celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary this month. Slinkard and Charlotte Jean Scott were married June 1, 1947, at First Baptist Church in Chaffee, Mo. They have three children, Kathy Velvet of Branson, Mo., Beth Gray of Olive Branch, and the Rev. Kerry Slinkard of Elkton, Md. The couple has eight grandchildren, Scottie, Candida and Angie Velvet; Aaron and Jason Hoffman; Ellie, Matt and Yujie Slinkard; and eight great-grandchildren...

Mr. and Mrs. Bob Feemster of Jackson celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary May 27, 2007. Feemster and Mary Pensel were married May 27, 1967, at St. Mary's Cathedral in Cape Girardeau. They have a daughter, Heather (Dom) Mastropierro of Jackson, and two grandchildren, Christian and Adrianna...

Mr. and Mrs. George "Dude" Huey of Cape Girardeau celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary May 19, 2007. The couple and their daughters hosted a dinner and dance at the Eagles Lodge. Huey and Schirley Jo Sinn were married May 19, 1957, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Cape Girardeau, by the Rev. Walter Keisker...

Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Fenton Venable of Jackson celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary May 30, 2007. Venable and Susan Jane LaPierre were married May 30, 1952, at MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Ill. Their children and spouses are: Daryl and Brenda Venable of Clarksville, Tenn., Eric and Martha Venable of Jackson, Stuart and Bobbie Venable of Springfield, Mo., Linda and Kerry McLain of Steelville, Mo., and Steven and Cheryl Venable of Lino Lakes, Minn...

Molly Hill and William Ford announce their engagement. She is the daughter of Joyce and Jerry Cooley of Cape Girardeau, and Russell Hill of McClure, Ill. Ford is the son of Mark and Olive Ford of Carman, Ill. Hill is a 2003 graduate of Central High School. She expects to receive a bachelor's degree in speech communication/public relations from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale in August...

Jerry and Kathy Norton of Danville, Ill., announce the engagement of their daughter, Jennifer Norton of Carbondale, Ill., to Jeffrey Mueller of League City, Texas. He is the son of Stephen and Diane Mueller of Cape Girardeau. Norton is a 2003 graduate of the University of Illinois, and a recent graduate of Southern Illinois University School of Law. She will be practicing law in Houston, Texas...

Kenny and Bambi Fowler of Jackson announce the engagement of their daughter, Hannah Elizabeth Fowler, to McGraddie Robinson. He is the son of McGraddie and Gabrielle Robinson of Jackson. Fowler is a 2005 graduate of Jackson High School, and is pursuing a degree in elementary education at Southeast Missouri State University. She is employed at American Eagle Outfitters...

Graduation party; National issue; Gasoline taxes; Trained to kill; Nice doctors; Oil refineries

Mentoring programs for Missouri's youths are offered by a variety of organizations, some privately funded and others supported by tax dollars. One statewide program that receives both state and federal funding is the Missouri Mentoring Partnership, which has several programs in Southeast Missouri as well as other locations across the state...

To the editor:The Cape River Heritage Museum is especially pleased the newest residence hall on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University has been honored with the name of Willard Duncan Vandiver. One of the permanent exhibits at the museum revolved around the life of this gentleman. His educational and congressional activities are highlighted, and most certainly his "Show me" statement...

To the editor:The Missouri Supreme Court last week turned its back on 60 years of precedent and overstepped its role in granting collective-bargaining rights to public employees. The salaries for government employees are allocated and approved through a budgetary process, and collective bargaining will allow an outside group such as a negotiating team to supersede the budget passed by a legislative body. ...

To the editor:I want to thank every member of the community who participated in a pair of recent benefits and silent auctions held for my father, Carl Fledderman, who was recently diagnosed with terminal cancer and is not able to work. These benefits were at the Plaza Convention Center and Port Cape Restaurant. Both benefits were a success and an extremely kind gesture put together by close friends of my family...

To the editor:The 2007 National Association of Letter Carriers Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive was an overwhelming success. We collected over 18,000 pounds of nonperishable food items to stock the local food banks. The residents in this community are to be commended for their kindness and generosity in support of this drive. A special thanks to all the city and rural carriers, Schnucks, Maevers Management-Save-A-Lot, KFVS12 (Business Break), KZIM and Fish volunteers...

Bill and Glenda Landewee of Leopold, Mo., announce the engagement of their daughter, Kristi Landewee, to Eric McGowen. He is the son of Jim and Marsha McGowen of Cape Girardeau. Landewee is a graduate of Leopold High School, and received a bachelor of science degree in business administration from Southeast Missouri State University. She is supervising secretary at the Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney's Office in Jackson...

Richard and MaryAnn Hoffman of Cape Girardeau announce the engagement of their daughter, Laura Beth Hoffman, to James Leroy Albers, both of Lake St. Louis, Mo. He is the son of James and Laura Albers of Wentzville, Mo. Hoffman received a bachelor of science degree in psychology in 2002, and a master of science degree in clinical psychology in 2005, both from Missouri State University. She is a clinical therapist at Edgewood Children's Center in St. Louis...

Richard and Laura Kaiser of Jackson announce the engagement of their daughter, Amber Renee Kaiser, to Nathan Daniel Ruopp. He is the son of Kathleen Riggs-Ruopp of Jackson. Kaiser is a graduate of Jackson High School. She is employed at Gastroenterology Associates...

KELSO, Mo. -- Geri Lynn Bradshaw and William Steven LeGrand II were married May 27, 2006, at St. Augustine Catholic Church in Kelso, Mo. The Rev. Scott Sunnenberg performed the ceremony. Vocalists were Marissa Huff and Justin Moore of Cape Girardeau, and Hayley Deschamps of Pittsburgh, Pa. Violinist was Liesl Schoenberger of Cape Girardeau, organist was Meg Garner of Jackson, and guitarists were Huff and Deschamps...

Shannon Lynn Scott and Justin Dobsch were married Sept. 2, 2006, in an outdoor setting at Chaumette Vineyards in Ste. Genevieve, Mo. J.C. Hicks performed the ceremony. Music was by Landolfi String Quartet of St. Louis. Vocalists were Rebekah Niere of St. Charles, Mo., and Jessica Cannon of Keokuk, Iowa. Guitarist was Erika Beasley of Jackson...

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Thrill-seekers searching for the new biggest, tallest or fastest roller coaster rush may be slightly disappointed. The 2007 class of coasters at amusement parks across America isn't a record-breaker. In fact, one park is dumping two of its old coasters and another is re-engineering a wooden coaster to make it a little less thrilling...

7:30 p.m. Monday Jackson City Hall, 101 Court St., Jackson Action Items Power and light committee n Consider a motion approving a donation, not to exceed $5,000, to match donations received by the Jackson Chamber of Commercefor the annual Independence Day Celebration fireworks display...

A routine bus trip from Memphis to St. Louis was delayed by an unscheduled layover Saturday in Cape Girardeau. The Greyhound bus carrying 49 passengers ran off the road near exit 99 on Interstate 55 northbound. No injuries came of the accident, but passengers were taken to the Osage Community Centre, where they waited several hours for another bus to pick them up and finish the route to St. Louis...

Southeast Missourian ULLIN, Ill. -- Inmates at the Tri-County Correctional Center in Ullin emerged peacefully Friday night after locking themselves in a room and setting fire to mattresses and books. The incident occurred around 8:30 p.m., when the inmates locked themselves in a housing area of the jail. ...

KABUL, Afghanistan -- A powerful and sophisticated type of roadside bomb prevalent in Iraq but not seen before in Afghanistan was discovered near a university in Kabul last week, prompting a rare countrywide warning to NATO and Afghan troops. The bomb, known as an EFP, or explosively formed projectile, was notable for its level of sophistication and similarity to those seen in Iraq, said Maj. John Thomas, a spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force...

ROSTOCK, Germany -- Protesters with black hoods and bandannas covering their faces showered police with rocks and beer bottles Saturday, before the heavily armored officers drove them back with water cannons and tear gas during a rally against an upcoming Group of Eight summit...

TOKYO -- A 2,100-year-old melon with the flesh still on the rind was unearthed in western Japan, apparently preserved underground over the centuries in a vacuum-packed state, an official said Friday. Archaeologists used radiocarbon analysis to estimate the age of the fruit, believed to be the oldest melon found with flesh still on the rind, said Shuji Yamazaki, a local official in the city of Moriyama...

TRIPOLI, Lebanon -- A missile-firing helicopter joined the Lebanese army offensive against al-Qaida-inspired militants Saturday, the second day of a push against Islamic fighters vowing a fight to the death inside a Palestinian refugee camp. Army tanks shelled militant hideouts in the Nahr el-Bared camp by this northern port city, blasting upper floors of buildings where the militants placed snipers...

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Two men hauling more than 40,000 pounds of Jawbreaker candies also had some not-so-sweet freight: nearly 1 1/2 tons of marijuana, the Minnesota State Patrol said. Luis Rene Avila and Juan Carlos appeared in federal court Thursday on charges of intent to distribute marijuana...

NEW YORK -- A 12-year-old boy getting into the shower heard a crash and his grandmother scream, so he jumped naked out of a second-floor window and called 911, helping police foil an armed robbery, police said. "I knew I had to get out, get help," Edwin Alamo told the New York Daily News in Saturday's edition...

HOMOSOSSA SPRINGS, Fla. -- Tropical Storm Barry weakened into a tropical depression Saturday as it moved through Tampa Bay, bringing nearly 7 inches of rain to parts of the drought-parched region. Forecasters discontinued the tropical storm warnings and watches issued for stretches of the Gulf Coast. The depression's sustained winds had slowed to near 35 mph, and it was moving north-northeast at 23 mph...

SINGAPORE -- Stronger penalties are needed against Iran "not next year or the year after, but right now" because of the uncertainty over how soon Tehran may acquire a nuclear weapon, President Bush's defense secretary said Saturday. Pentagon chief Robert Gates did not rule out military action to stop Iran's program, though he said it was an unattractive option...

SAN FRANCISCO -- Google Inc. bills the latest twist on its online maps as "Street View," but it looks a bit like "Candid Camera" as you cruise through the panorama of pictures that captured fleeting moments in neighborhoods scattered across the country...

NEW YORK -- Federal authorities announced Saturday they had broken up a suspected Muslim terrorist cell planning a "chilling" attack to destroy John F. Kennedy International Airport, kill thousands of people and trigger an economic catastrophe by blowing up a jet fuel artery that runs through populous residential neighborhoods...

BAGHDAD -- From south and north, Iraq's Kurdish region felt pressure from two sides Saturday, as saboteurs bombed a vital bridge link to Baghdad, and Turkish troops across the border massed for a possible strike. "We won't allow it to be turned into a battleground," Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Saturday of the relatively peaceful Iraqi north, a haven for anti-Turkish Kurdish guerrillas...

MOGADISHU, Somalia -- A U.S. warship pounded Somalia's remote coastal northeast, targeting Islamic militants hours after a gunbattle with Somali government forces that left eight insurgents dead, officials said Saturday. The fighting late Friday, which the provincial government said included an American militant, appeared to mark the opening of a new front against Islamic militants in Puntland, a semiautonomous region that has remained relatively peaceful through Somalia's anarchy...

AURORA, Colo. -- An amputee who discovered a burglar inside his home was shot while fighting him off with a crutch. Roger Baxter survived the Tuesday incident after a cell phone apparently slowed a bullet to his chest. "I just got it programmed," Baxter said of the phone...

Billy Griffin lived up to his ranking Saturday night at the seventh annual Perry County Community Rodeo. The cowboy from Lee's Summit, Mo., led the International Professional Rodeo Association's standings in bareback bronc riding heading into this weekend's competitions...

With its showcase American Junior Golf Association tournament two weeks away, Dalhousie Golf Club will tune up with a couple of smaller, but notable events in the coming days. On Monday, the club will host a 2007 Missouri Amateur Championship qualifier, featuring a 36-man field. The women will take the stage the following day, as about 80 participants will gather for the SEMO Women's Golf Association Tournament...

Kerry Robinson remains in peak physical condition, which is why he has no doubt he could still be a very productive professional baseball player. But the former Southeast Missouri State standout, who was released by the Boston Red Sox organization a month ago, is simply tired of the minor-league grind...

Chad Bogenpohl said he almost decided to hang up his baseball glove for good after last summer, but decided to delay his retirement for a year. With the way Bogenpohl continues to pitch, Plaza Tire Capahas manager Jess Bolen figures the right-hander could have considerable success for years to come...

NEW WELLS, Mo. -- Vernon E. Haertling, 74, of New Wells passed away June 1, 2007, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born July 30, 1932, near New Wells, son of Benjamin and Hattie Meyr Haertling. He and Norma Richter were married May 23, 1954. She survives...

Reagan; Yount; Dailey; McClard; Long; Carothers; Estes; Wadlow; Livingston

Cape Girardeau: Arrests; Summons; Thefts

n At 5:51 p.m., emergency medical service at 532 Woodbine Place. n At 6:35 p.m., an alarm sounding at 13 Doctors Park. n At 7:44 p.m., a standby at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport. n At 9:38 p.m., emergency medical service at 418 S. Benton St. n At 9:43 p.m., emergency medical service at 303 S. Hanover St...

MOUNDS, Ill. -- Marian D. Hurley, 78, of Mounds, formerly of Cairo, Ill., died Saturday, June 2, 2007, at Daystar Care Center in Cairo. Funeral arrangements are incomplete with Barkett Funeral Home in Cairo.

MOUND CITY, Ill. -- Marcia K. Harp, 58, of Mound City died Friday, June 1, 2007, at her home. She was born in Cairo, Ill., on Nov. 26, 1948, the daughter of Edd and Dorothy Hargrove Yarbrough. Harp was a member of Calvary Christian Fellowship Church in Wickliffe, Ky...

ADVANCE, Mo. -- Billy Jean Smith, 78, of Advance died Friday, June 1, 2007, a Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born Aug. 14, 1928, at Delta, Mo., son of Levi and Ora Hartsell Smith. He and Virginia Cox were married in September 1948 at Piggott, Ark., and she survives...

Beatrice C. Corbett Sargent, 96, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, June 2, 2007, at The Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. She was born in Pearl City, Ill., daughter of William J. and Margaret Schasker Corbett. She and Howard Sargent were married Feb. 2, 1928, in Princeton, Ill. He died Oct. 25, 1954...

Efforts to build a riverfront park at Cape Girardeau get a boost with the announcement that a Chamber of Commerce fund drive to help build the park has been established and that the Army Corps of Engineers is expected to approve the park plans shortly...

The Plaza Tire Capahas displayed plenty of offensive punch in sweeping a season-opening three-game series from the visiting Valmeyer (Ill.) Lakers. But that was with aluminum bats, which the Capahas don't use all that often. They generally swing with wood, which is mandated during National Baseball Congress-sanctioned events...

Victorious vaulter; Neglected in Marion

Trail of Tears State Park, known for its tragic history as the place where many Cherokee Indians crossed the Mississippi River and lost their lives in a forced relocation, celebrated its 50th anniversary Saturday. For 29 of those 50 years, a wild area of 1,300 acres has been protected by Missouri's Wild Area System, patterned after the federal Wilderness Act signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. Only 11 wild areas exist in nine Missouri State Parks...

Jackson's American Legion team opened the week Tuesday with a pair of blowout wins over Perryville and closed the week Saturday at home by surrendering 23 runs in a pair of blowout losses to De Soto. It was just a typical week of peaks and valleys in the early Legion season, according to Jackson manager Mark Lewis...

HOUSTON -- The Houston Astros broke out of their hitting slump Saturday and extended Kip Wells' misery in the process. Carlos Lee hit a homer and had three RBIs and rookie Hunter Pence drove in two runs to lead the Astros to an 8-3 win over the Cardinals and hand Wells his major league-leading 10th loss...

CHICAGO -- The first scientific tests of some popular alternative medicine products hint that American ginseng might lessen cancer fatigue and that flaxseed might slow the growth of prostate tumors. But a big study proved shark cartilage worthless against lung cancer, and doctors said people should not take it...

NEW ORLEANS -- The bodies are no longer being dragged from houses and buildings toppled by Hurricane Katrina, but nearly two years later many in the medical community think the storm is still killing. Storm survivors are dying from the effects of both psychological and physical stress, from the dust and mold still in dwellings to financial problems to fear of crime, health experts and officials say...

SAN ANTONIO -- After an acquisition binge that transformed the smallest Baby Bell into a telecommunications heavyweight, AT&T Inc. is undergoing another change today:~ The new executive has to finish the integration of BellSouth and the AT&T long-distance business...

Her heel slipped, her bottom hit the floor and millions crowded around their television sets let out a collective groan. Miss USA Rachel Smith lay sprawled onstage at the Miss Universe pageant in a glittering evening gown, a very public victim of one of the oldest physical gaffes known to humankind: falling down...

The Cape Girardeau County Commission on Monday named former Jackson police Lt. Richard "Dick" Knaup as the county's new emergency management director. Knaup, who currently works for USIS, a private investigative company, replaces David Hitt, who retired in April after 11 years in the job. Knaup will be paid $34,694 annually, Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones said...

VAN BUREN, Mo. (AP) -- Democratic House member Sam Page entered the race for lieutenant governor Monday. Page, 42, a doctor from Creve Coeur, was first elected to the Legislature in 2002. He officially announced his candidacy Monday from the auditorium of Van Buren High School, his alma mater, and had other stops planned around the state Monday and Tuesday...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- A federal appeals court on Monday opened the way for Missouri to resume executing condemned inmates, ruling the state's lethal injection procedure is not cruel and unusual punishment. The case filed on behalf of condemned killer Michael Taylor had effectively halted Missouri executions since early last year. A judge said he wanted to be sure that the three-drug injection method did not cause risk of pain and suffering...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- A backup warning system did not prevent the Taum Sauk reservoir collapse because Ameren Corp. employees effectively disabled a set of alarms by readjusting them to keep the hydroelectric plant running at full capacity, according to a newly released report...

The county transit authority wants a bigger subsidy from the city of Cape Girardeau. Transit officials are requesting the city council increase the subsidy by $40,000. That would bring the total subsidy from the city to $110,000 for the fiscal year that begins July 1...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Now playing: "Collective Bargaining," the latest release from the Missouri Supreme Court. Already available online. Coming soon to a community near you. Pundits, critics and experts agree: There will be change. How much so? "Monumental," declares a leading lawmaker. "Very radical," proclaims a longtime labor law professor. "Profound," asserts a top education group...

Gov. Matt Blunt signed legislation Friday that started out expanding health insurance options and ended up, unbeknownst to most lawmakers, legalizing midwifery. Under previous Missouri law, midwifery was a felony crime -- punishable by up to seven years in prison -- when practiced by anyone other than certified nurse midwives working in collaboration with physicians...

Plaza Tire Service opened its 45th location in Scott City on Memorial Day. The new five-bay facility is at the corner of Main and Crites streets next to Burger King. Ground was broken for the Scott City store in January. Plaza Tire Service president, Mark Rhodes, said the company had been looking forward to serving Scott City long before that time...

ST. LOUIS -- The McKinley bridge between St. Louis and southern Illinois is scheduled to reopen this fall, and communities are hoping increased traffic will bring new economic opportunities. The rebuilt span is slated to open Sept. 25, after it closed in 2001. The bridge will have two lanes for vehicles and additional outside lanes to carry bicycles and pedestrians. It will not have tolls, as it had in the past...

One of Cape Girardeau's numerous flood-prone intersections will be rebuilt in the coming weeks as the city starts one of two street drainage improvement projects slated for work this year. Construction easements have been acquired and bids will be considered tonight for drainage improvement work at the intersection of Themis Street and Silver Springs Road, city engineer Jay Stencel said...

Think water park; Muslin connection?; Time to pull out; Exit gracefully; With strings attached; Improper penalty; Immigration laws; Seeking understanding; Spreading TB; Casual attire; Nothing worthwhile; Irresponsible attitude

The new Missouri Virtual Instruction Program has enrolled 1,700 students so far and has extended enrollment through June 13. Twenty of the students enrolled are from Cape Girardeau County, 10 from Scott County and nine from Bollinger County. No students have yet enrolled from Perry County...

LYNWOOD, Calif. -- Many women at the Los Angeles County jail where Paris Hilton is expected to arrive any day are already angry at the socialite, a former inmate said. Susannah Johnson, who was released Saturday after a one-day stay at the jail, said inmates were angry at Hilton, believing officials were making room for the starlet at the expense of other inmates already coping with crowded conditions in the 2,200-bed jail...

401 Independence St. Today, 7 p.m. Study session at 5 p.m. Invocation: The Rev. Sam Ramdial, First General Baptist Church Communications from city staff n Appearance by Dick Tuttle and Kevin Priester of Alliance Water Resources. n Appearance by Tom Mogelnicki of the Cape Girardeau County Transit Authority...

ST. LOUIS -- Several weeks ago, Ron Cresong's son asked him to play on his dodgeball team, the Mean DB Machines, at First Baptist Church of Lake St. Louis. Now, he's hooked. "It's a blast," Cresong, 45, of Lake St. Louis, said between matches. "I used to play baseball a lot, and this is fun because you can be old and effective if you have a strong [throwing] arm and the ability to catch."...

WEST PLAINS, Mo. -- A package containing an explosive device and addressed to the town's police department was discovered in the post office and rendered safe, according to U.S. postal inspector Dan Taylor. West Plains is in Howell County in the south central part of the state...

ST. LOUIS -- A woman killed by a tractor-trailer after she crawled into traffic on Interstate 44 to escape an attacker was identified this weekend as Janine Lifritz, 45, of House Springs, Mo. Detectives continued to look Sunday for the driver of the tractor-trailer and the man who was allegedly beating Lifritz, police said...

MOLINE ACRES, Mo. -- The Riverview Gardens public school district spent about $1.7 million on travel costs over four years, more than districts double its size. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch analyzed the suburban district's records and found that since 2003, Riverview has sent almost 600 teachers, administrators and board members on more than 100 trips to at least 60 cities, from Lake of the Ozarks to Cape Town, South Africa...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Bradley Schlozman, former U.S. attorney in Kansas City for more than a year, faces questions this week from the Senate Judiciary Committee about his role in prosecutions and hiring decisions at the U.S. Justice Department. Schlozman, who was appointed in March 2006 when his predecessor, former U.S. attorney Todd Graves, resigned. Graves and Schlozman go before the committee Tuesday...

The question of whether a mobile home park should be built on Lampe Road near Klaus Park, west of Cape Girardeau, was aired at a public hearing yesterday before the County Court; controversy has surrounded the proposal because residents in the area have petitioned against it and the city of Cape Girardeau has objected to it; the county Planning Commission, however, has approved the plan...

Jean Mayhew, age 53, of Jackson passed away Saturday, June 2, 2007, at her home in Jackson. She was born Dec. 15, 1953, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of the late Stanley C. and Ruby I. McCain Hunsaker. She and Jim Mayhew were married March 26, 2005, in Jackson. He survives...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Bob C. Hanners, age 65, of Marble Hill passed away Saturday, June 2, 2007, at his residence. He was born June 4, 1941, at Bessville, Mo., son of John Henry and Ruby Eva Cook Hanners. He and Audrey James were united in marriage on Dec. 24, 1960, near Lutesville...

CAIRO, Ill. --Marian D. Hurley, 78, of Mounds, Ill., died Saturday, June 2, 2007, at Daystar Care Center in Cairo, Ill. She was born Aug. 28, 1928, at Cairo, Mo., daughter of George J. and Doris Bucher Klein. Hurley was a receptionist for Dr. Gillespie's dental office for many years before her retirement. She was a member of St. Marys Catholic Church in Mound City, Ill., a former member of St. Patricks Church in Cairo, Ill., and was also a member of St. Marys Sodality...

Jeffrey J. Moore, 46, of Jackson died Sunday, June 3, 2007, at Saint Francis Medical Center. Arrangements are incomplete at Cracraft-Miller Funeral Home in Jackson.

Virginia L. Sides Smith, 44, of Alto Pass, Ill., died Sunday, June 3, 2007, at her home near Alto Pass, Ill. She was born Jan. 6, 1963, at Carrollton, Ill., daughter of Ezra and Mary Lewis Sides. She and Kenny A. Smith were married Sept. 7, 1999, at Paducah, Ky...

Doyle W. Strop, 61, of Cape Gir­ar­deau died Sunday, June 3, 2007, at his home. Arrangements are incomplete at Ford and Sons Funeral Home.

Cape Girardeau: Arrests; Assault; Summonses; Property damage; Miscellaneous; Jackson: Thefts; Property damage; Miscellaneous

n At 5:20 p.m., motor vehicle accident in the 800 block of North Kingshighway. n At 5:41 p.m., alarm sounding in the 2900 block of Beavercreek Drive. n At 5:43 p.m., emergency medical service in the 1700 block of Cecilia Street. n At 6:38 p.m., emergency medical service in the 1700 block of Cecilia Street...

OMAHA, Neb. -- Bob Baker has seen the worst of the worst in his 27 years as an animal cruelty investigator. There was the Missouri breeder who would skimp on food by skinning dead dogs and feeding them to other dogs in his kennel. There was the South Dakota breeder who used a handsaw to amputate the leg of a pregnant Rottweiler, injured in an attack by another dog, in hopes that the Rottweiler would survive long enough to give birth to another litter...

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Democratic presidential candidates clashed Sunday on Iraq and over the security of the country since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, trailing both New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama in national polls, criticized their cautious approach in forcing President Bush to withdraw troops from Iraq...

NEW YORK -- A convicted drug dealer who agreed to pose as a wannabe terrorist among a shadowy group plotting to blow up John F. Kennedy International Airport secretly fed information to federal investigators in exchange for a lighter sentence. His surveillance trips to the airport with the suspects, travels abroad to meet with supporters and assurances he wanted to die as a martyr in the attack on an underground jet fuel pipeline gave counterterrorism agents insight and evidence that was otherwise unattainable.. ...

WASHINGTON -- Neighbors and rescue personnel threw children out of the path of a speeding car that plowed through a crowded street festival, preventing more serious injuries than the 40 people struck, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty said Sunday. A 4-year-old boy with a broken leg was the only person still hospitalized a day after a woman's car sent people and strollers flying, leaving debris and injured bodies strewn in her wake...

AURORA, Ill. -- A high school senior accused of starting a massive food fight that left a police officer injured was among three students arrested in the prank. At least 200 students were in West Aurora High School's cafeteria when french fries, milk, sandwiches and pizza slices were hurled in a free-for-all, authorities said...

BEIJING -- A strong earthquake shook a hilly southwestern Chinese region near the border with Laos early Sunday, killing at least three people -- including a child who was crushed by debris -- injuring hundreds and forcing 120,000 people from their homes, state media reported...

BAGHDAD -- Fourteen American soldiers were killed in three deadly days in Iraq, the U.S. military said Sunday, including four in a single roadside bombing and one who was struck by a suicide bomber while on a foot patrol southwest of the capital. The blast that killed the four soldiers occurred Sunday as the troops were conducting a cordon and search operation northwest of the Iraqi capital, according to a statement. ...

LONDON -- The widow of poisoned former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko denies that he was working for British intelligence as the man charged with killing him has claimed. Andrei Lugovoi, a former KGB man sought on a murder charge in Britain, has said Litvinenko was working for MI6, the British foreign intelligence agency, and that British intelligence may have had a hand in the slaying...

MOGADISHU, Somalia -- A suicide car bomber drove through a roadblock guarding the home of the Somali prime minister Sunday and rammed the vehicle into a wall. Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi was whisked to safety, officials said, but at least five people were killed in the explosion...

Sharen Karraker has been baby-sitting since she was a teenager, and now, at 38, she has a teenager of her own. She's been called a taxi mom from time to time, having done her share of escorting children around the community. Now she is ready to make the title official...

Local trucking firm gives out five service awards; Area bank promotes four management team members

LeeAnna Reagan, 14, of Patton, Mo., recently was recognized for her grade-point average at Meadow Heights School to compete in Miss Teen of Missouri pageant. After filling out an application, she was chosen to compete in the Miss Teen pageant in August in Warrensburg, Mo. This is a pageant of intelligence and poise with several categories of competition...

In June, Red House Interpretive Center activities celebrate African-American month. Contact Jane Randol Jackson at 651-0028 or 204-2331 for further information. n The Red House Kids' Club will meet at 10 a.m. Saturday. The topic is "African-Americans in the Old Cape Girardeau District." From 11 a.m. ...

Six-year-old Kristen Shrum recently donated her hair to Locks of Love at Great Clips in Jackson. Kristen is the daughter of Chris and Sherri Shrum. Stylist Kim Rollet cut her hair for the donation. Locks of Love is a not-for-profit organization that uses donated hair to create the highest quality hair prosthetics for financially disadvantaged children younger than 18 suffering from long-term medical hair loss. ...

Recycling seems to come naturally for Cape Girardeau's Huff family. They've been recycling since Cape Girardeau started its program in 1991, putting their plastics and paper on the curb each week for city workers to pick up. The family takes its aluminum cans themselves in order to get the small amount of cash that comes with turning in aluminum...

The Blue Star Memorial Marker Program of the National Garden Clubs Inc. in 1945 began to honor men and women serving in the Armed Forces during World War II. In 1951 it was expanded to honor all men and women who had served, were serving or would serve in the armed forces of the United States...

Army Spc. Adam L. Schafer has been mobilized and activated for a future deployment to an undisclosed overseas location in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Schafer normally is assigned to the 735th Combat Support Company out of De Soto, Mo...

Annual Anna flea market canceled after 31 years The annual Anna flea market, sponsored by the Union County Historical and Genealogy Society, is being canceled after a run of 31 years. The Historical Society did not get enough response from their dealer base to make this year's market worthwhile...

By R.B. FALLSTROM The Associated Press COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Chris Dominguez' bat kept underdog Louisville alive in the NCAA tournament. His mouth was a much more popular subject. Dominguez hit a pair of two-run home runs in two victories, and angered host Missouri when he lingered at the plate to admire his go-ahead shot in a 4-3 victory Sunday night that forced a deciding game today. He and catcher Trevor Coleman were engaged in a shouting match before and after Dominguez rounded the bases...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Over the years, winning NCAA regionals and appearing in the College World Series has become the norm at Miami. This year, for the first time in coach Jim Morris' 14 seasons, the heralded program made an early exit. The Hurricanes' string of 13 consecutive regional titles ended Sunday with an 8-7 loss to Louisville, their second loss to that school in three days. Players appeared at the post-game news conference dabbing their eyes...

CHICAGO -- Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella was suspended indefinitely and fined an undisclosed amount by Major League Baseball on Sunday for his latest dirt-kicking tirade against an umpire. Piniella was ejected in the eighth inning of Saturday's 5-3 loss to the Atlanta Braves...

LOS ANGELES -- Being the mother of Tom Cruise's baby daughter has been so much fun that Katie Holmes tells "Entertainment Tonight" she's ready to have more children. "We're having the best time; it's so amazing," Holmes, 28, said of the year she and Cruise have spent largely out of the spotlight. She gave birth to the couple's first child, Suri, in April 2006...

K.J. Choi figured the best way to learn to play golf was to study books by Jack Nicklaus and spend hours watching video of golf's greatest champion. It was only fitting Choi celebrate the biggest victory of his career at the Memorial on Sunday with a handshake from Nicklaus that was as meaningful as the trophy...

HOUSTON -- Albert Pujols homered twice Sunday and nearly had two more, an encouraging sign for the St. Louis Cardinals. Pujols and So Taguchi hit 10th-inning home runs off Dan Wheeler, lifting the Cardinals to an 8-6 win over the Houston Astros on Sunday...

After opening the season with three home victories on Friday and Saturday, the Plaza Tire Capahas capped a perfect weekend with two resounding road victories Sunday in Evansville, Ind. In a pair of seven-inning games, the Capahas first defeated the Evansville Outlaws 12-2, then pounded Columbia, Tenn. 12-0...

OTTAWA -- Anaheim defenseman Chris Pronger received a one-game suspension Sunday for his hit to the head of Ottawa forward Dean McAmmond in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals. Pronger, also given a one-game ban during the Western Conference finals, leveled McAmmond with a forearm Saturday night in the Ducks' 5-3 loss to the Senators. He will miss tonight's Game 4 of the series, that Anaheim leads 2-1. He is eligible to return for Game 5 back in Anaheim on Wednesday...

DOVER, Del. -- Joe Gibbs Racing is negotiating to bring Chevrolet back next season and might be talking with Dale Earnhardt Jr. to come along for the ride. No doubt, there's been plenty going on behind the scenes at Joe Gibbs Racing over the past week, and team officials have stayed tightlipped on all the swirling speculation...

PARIS -- Maria Sharapova saved two match points Sunday and advanced to the quarterfinals at the French Open by beating Patty Schnyder of Switzerland 3-6, 6-4, 9-7. Schnyder served for the match three times, at 5-4, 6-5 and 7-6 in the third set. She was one point away from ending the match in the 10th game and again in the 14th -- and she also was two points away from victory on 11 occasions...

The Cape Girardeau Ford & Sons American Legion baseball team suffered its first loss of the season in the championship game of the Dyersburg (Tenn.) tournament Sunday, as Memphis escaped with a 3-2 victory in eight innings. After battling to a 1-1 tie through seven innings, Memphis scored two runs in the top of the eighth, while Cape (4-1) managed just a single run in the bottom of the inning, stranding the tying and winning runs on base...

DOVER, Del. -- The NASCAR Nextel Cup race at Dover International Speedway as postponed until today due to rain. Heavy rain Sunday forced NASCAR to push back a Nextel Cup race for the third time in the last four points races. The Autism Speaks 400 will start at 11 a.m. today...

CHICAGO -- For the first time, doctors say they have found a pill that improves survival in liver cancer, a notoriously hard to treat disease diagnosed in more than half a million people globally each year. The results in a multinational study of 602 patients with advanced liver cancer are impressive and likely will change the way patients are treated, cancer specialists including the study authors say...

SAN FRANCISCO -- Google Inc. bills the latest twist on its online maps as "Street View," but it looks a bit like "Candid Camera" as you cruise through the panorama of pictures that captured fleeting moments in neighborhoods scattered across the country...

WASHINGTON -- Sun block. Beach umbrella. Laptop. One in five people toted laptop computers on their most recent vacations, an AP-Ipsos poll released Friday said. Along with the 80 percent who said they brought along their cell phones, the survey shows going on vacation no longer means being out of the electronic loop...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Owners of Missouri orchards hit hard by an Easter freeze are looking to other states to provide peaches, blackberries and blueberries for their customers. David Murphy knows customers will be hankering for fresh peaches this summer, so he has vowed to provide a harvest. But with the peach crop at his Marionville orchard non-existent because of the freeze, Murphy is looking for affordable peaches in South Carolina, Georgia and Michigan so he can resell them...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Five members of the St. Louis School Board are asking a Cole County judge to block the state's plan to take over the ailing urban school district. The board members filed a motion to block the state intervention Monday, calling the move "unlawful, arbitrary and capricious."...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A Kansas City police officer was recovering Tuesday after being shot while trying to pull over a fleeing driver in a stolen car. The officer, who was identified only as a 9-year veteran to the department, tried to pull over a black Camaro around 3 a.m. Tuesday when the vehicle sped off...

CARTHAGE, Mo. AP) -- Missouri's attorney general is seeking to oust three paid officers from the Carthage Humane Society over allegations of financial misdeeds and poor animal care, including that employees were ordered to place kittens and cats in a freezer to euthanize them...

For the past five years, Richard "Dick" Knaup, Cape Girardeau County's new emergency management director, has been doing background investigations on people seeking sensitive government jobs. That followed seven years as a court security officer at the federal courthouse in Cape Girardeau and 18 years as police officer in Jackson, where he rose to the rank of lieutenant...

To build the new Interstate 55 interchange for Jackson and Cape Girardeau, the Missouri Department of Transportation is going to have to dig a hole through the highway. While that construction is underway, four lanes of traffic will narrowed to two and funneled on to the portions of the new interchange that will evenutally be the on and off ramps to LaSalle Avenue on the Cape Girardeau side of the highway. ...

Americans -- my family among them -- love amusement parks. Our family and friends drove 10 hours one way -- and shelled out tons of money for gas -- just to spend the Memorial Day weekend riding roller coasters on the shore of Lake Erie in Ohio. The Cedar Point amusement park is home to 17 roller coasters. There are actually 18 if you count the dual coasters on one of the rides as my younger daughter, Bailey, does...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A military panel has recommended a general discharge for an Iraq war veteran who wore his uniform during an anti-war protest and later responded to a superior officer with an obscenity when told he might have violated military rules...

By Charles N. Davis Congress, apparently content to explore ever new depths in public disapproval, is on the verge of having a single member derail the most meaningful reform in years of the federal Freedom of Information Act. How, you ask, when overwhelming majorities support the legislation in both the House and Senate?...

Learn from French; Be a parent; Respect for law; Give them freedom; Explosion factor; Public pay; Piling on; Ready to fight; Pay issues; Doesn't cut it; Close to alcohol

The county transit authority wants bigger subsidies from the cities of Cape Girardeau and Jackson, totaling $67,000. Transit authority executive director Tom Mogelnicki appealed to the Cape Girardeau City Council on Monday night to increase the city's subsidy by $40,000. That would bring the total subsidy from the city to $110,000 for the fiscal year that begins July 1...

WEBB CITY, Mo. -- City officials will consider a proposal to dump 1 million cubic yards of rock into an old swimming hole as part of a plan by the Environmental Protection Agency to clean up abandoned mining land near this southwest Missouri town. The EPA will seek about $9 million from Congress this year to clean up 300 acres of former lead and zinc open-pit mines around Webb City, just north of Joplin...

Monday Jackson City Hall, 101 Court St., Jackson Action Items Power and light committee n Approved a donation, not to exceed $5,000, to match donations received by the Jackson Chamber of Commerce for the annual Independence Day Celebration fireworks display...

Eight people have applied for the vacant Cape Girardeau school board position, board president Steven Trautwein said Monday. The filing period closed at 5 p.m. Monday. The applicants are Brynda Dickson, Martha Hamilton, Brenda Newbern, Twila Brown, David Hess, Carrie Bell Smith, Mary Jackson and Van Ayers...

Traffic signals at two busy locations on William Street in Cape Girardeau will be turned off this morning while AmerenUE replaces a transformer, Missouri Department of Transportation officials said. The signals will be turned off at the Interstate 55 northbound on-ramp and at the Farrar Drive intersection...

BENTON, Mo. -- Two Scott City men and a Benton man were arrested Sunday by sheriff's deputies and Scott City police as the three suspects dismantled a meth lab. The arrests occurred at 701 Wall St. in Scott City as the three men attempted to flush chemicals from the meth lab down the toilet, Scott County Sheriff Rick Walter said...

Wage increases averaging 10 percent will be passed on to Southeast Missouri State University employees during the 1983 fiscal year, which starts next month, it was decided yesterday by the board of regents; in addition, the board discussed how best to allocate the rest of the university's $23,568,498 operating budget for the new fiscal year...

ST. LOUIS -- A backup warning system did not prevent the Taum Sauk reservoir collapse because Ameren Corp. employees effectively disabled a set of alarms by readjusting them to keep the hydroelectric plant running at full capacity, according to a newly released report...

ST. LOUIS -- A federal appeals court ruled Monday that the state's lethal injection procedure is not cruel and unusual punishment, a decision that could restart executions in the state for the first time in nearly two years. The case filed on behalf of condemned killer Michael Taylor prompted a federal judge last year to place a moratorium on Missouri executions. ...

BAGHDAD -- Insurgents linked to al-Qaida issued a video Monday claiming they killed all three U.S. soldiers captured in an ambush last month. "They were alive and then dead," a voice said during a sequence of images that included the military IDs of two Americans still missing...

WASHINGTON -- Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., was indicted Monday on federal charges of racketeering, money-laundering and soliciting more than $400,000 in bribes in connection with years of trying to broker business deals in Africa. The charges came almost two years after investigators raided Jefferson's home in Washington and found $90,000 in cash stuffed in a box in his freezer...

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration is drastically scaling back efforts to measure global warming from space, just as the president tries to convince the world the United States is ready to take the lead in reducing greenhouse gases. A confidential report to the White House, obtained by The Associated Press, warns that U.S. scientists will soon lose much of their ability to monitor warming from space using a costly and problem-plagued satellite initiative begun more than a decade ago...

CHICAGO -- Porn used to be relegated to a video hidden in the bottom drawer or a magazine under the mattress. Today, it's part of everyday life. Hugh Hefner's girlfriends have become TV's "girls next door." Porn stars have MySpace pages and do voiceovers for video games. And while "porn on demand" is standard for hotel-room TVs and upgraded cable packages, it's even easier to find it with a few clicks on the computer...

n At 4:28 p.m., a power outage at the intersection of South West End Boulevard and Southern Expressway. n At 10:06 a.m., a vehicle fire at the intersection of Good Hope Street and South Kingshighway. n At 12:46 p.m., emergency medical service at the 1600 block of Dunklin Street...

Elfrink

Cape Girardeau: DWI; Arrests; Summons; Thefts; Property damage; Jackson: Arrest; Thefts; Miscellaneous

Dr. Charles Francis Ernst Jr., 84, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, June 3, 2007, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. He was loved as Charles, Doc, Pop, Grandpa, Doe, Uncle Charlie and Sonny to his family and close friends during his formative years. He was the eldest of four siblings, born July 10, 1922, to Charles and Juanita Ernst (deceased) in St. Louis...

MURPHYSBORO, Ill. -- Wallace F. "Wally" Kohlfeld, 86, of Murphysboro, passed away at 10:35 a.m. Sunday, June 3, 2007, at Helia Healthcare in Energy, Ill. His body will be cremated. A funeral Mass will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at St. Andrew Church in Murphysboro, with the Rev. Leo Hayes officiating. Burial will be in St. Andrew Cemetery...

Jeffrey James Moore, 46, of Jackson died Sunday, June 3, 2007, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born April 19, 1961, in Cape Gir­ar­deau, son of James Franklin and Dixie Lee Gregg Moore. He and Terri Burns were married Feb. 2, 2001...

Doyle W. Strop, 61, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, June 3, 2007, at his home. He was born Sept. 12, 1945, in Cape Gir­ar­deau, son of Doyle B. Strop. He and Brenda Moore were married in Cape Gir­ardeau. Strop served in the U.S. Army from Jan. 26, 1967, to Sept. 25, 1968, in the Vietnam War...

Evangeline I. Cannell, 80, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, June 3, 2007, at her home. McCombs Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau is in charge of arrangements.

Joe Haley died Thursday, May 31, 2007, at Heartland Care Center. Friends may call from 11 a.m. to noon Wednesday at Ford and Sons Sprigg Street Funeral Home. Funeral will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday at Oak Grove Cemetery in Charleston, Mo.

LONGTOWN, Mo. -- Palmer Paul Mueller, 74, of Raytown, Mo., died Tuesday, May 29, 2007, at Research Medical Center in Kansas City, Mo. Mueller was born Aug. 10, 1932, at Longtown, son of Rudolph and Emma Mueller. He received a degree in agriculture from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He was a civil engineer with Missouri State Highway Department and worked as a project supervisor. He was a member and elder at Peace Lutheran Church in Kansas City...

ST. LOUIS -- Jennifer Lyons, 51, of St. Louis died Friday, June 1, 2007. She was born Sept. 5, 1955, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Henry and Geraldine Love. She and David Lyons married Feb. 16, 1974. Lyons attended Cape Girar­deau Central High School...

In a story published last Easter, four years after her death, Jean Bell Mosley wrote about a little boy who helped young Jean understand the meaning of Easter. He likened it to a game of hide-and-seek, when at the end "all who'er out can come in free."...

LOS ANGELES -- "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" hit an ebb tide in its second weekend but still had enough buoyancy to hold the No. 1 spot at the box office. With a $43.2 million weekend, Disney's blockbuster sequel sank a steep 62.4 percent from its $114.7 million opening a week earlier, according to studio estimates Sunday...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Rusby Lanford Mayfield, 94, of Marble Hill died Sunday, June 3, 2007, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girar­deau. He was born Dec. 25, 1912, son of Marshall Hamilton and Amanda Bess Mayfield. He and Anna Idell Long were married Dec. 16, 1939. She died Nov. 26, 2003...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Freda Clemens, 88, died Saturday, June 2, 2007, in Oklahoma City. She was born Oct. 29, 1918, in Chaffee, daughter of Claude and Flo Kinder. She married Chester O. Clemens, who died in 1981. Survivors include two sons, Chester Clemens of Kansas City, Mo., Edward Clemens of Gladstone, Mo.; four daughters, Alice Roxburg of Gilbert, Ariz., Carole Gregory of North Kansas City, Sarah Clemens-Russell of Kansas City, Judy Hardin of Oklahoma City; 14 grandchildren; 37 great-grandchildren; and several great-great-grandchildren.. ...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Mildred Lee Wadley, 86, of Cairo died Sunday, June 3, 2007, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Gir­ar­deau. She was born Nov. 14, 1920, in Mounds, Ill., daughter of Lee and Virgia Jennings Henderson. She married Vernon Wadley, who preceded her in death...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Chris Dominguez silenced a hostile crowd while carrying underdog Louisville to its first NCAA regional title. The redshirt freshman answered a chorus of boos with a grand slam that highlighted an eight-run first inning and he added a three-run shot in the fourth, helping the third-seeded Cardinals beat top seed Missouri 16-6 in the championship game of the Columbia Regional on Monday...

Notre Dame senior Meridith Medlin was named the region's girls soccer player of the year in Class 1 after the Bulldogs reached the state quarterfinals this past season. Medlin was one of six Notre Dame players to earn first-team all-region honors. Destiny Dirnberger, Claudia Brauss, Mindy Siebert, Alex Fowler and Courtney Luehmann also made the first team for the Bulldogs...

DOVER, Del. -- DEI returned to Victory Lane with a junior -- Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s unheralded and previously winless teammate, Martin Truex Jr. After another weekend of nonstop Earnhardt speculation, Truex gave the Dale Earnhardt Inc. team a much-needed victory in the 400-mile race at Dover International Speedway on Monday with his first career victory...

Bill France Jr., who transformed NASCAR from a small Southern sport into a billion-dollar conglomerate during his 31 years as chairman, died Monday at his Daytona Beach, Fla., home. He was 74. France, who was diagnosed with cancer in 1999, had been in poor health for much of the last decade. Although he was in remission, the extensive treatments took a toll. He never regained his full strength, often had difficulty breathing and had taken to using a motorized scooter to get around...

MILWAUKEE -- Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella's suspension was set at four games Monday by Major League Baseball for his weekend dirt-kicking tantrum against an umpire. The commissioner's office originally planned to suspend Piniella for five games, then reduced the penalty by one game after the manager spoke with John McHale Jr., MLB's executive vice president for administration...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Pinch-hitter Alan Oaks homered off Vanderbilt ace David Price in the top of the 10th inning and Michigan (42-17) beat the overall No. 1 seed Commodores 4-3 on Monday night to advance to the NCAA tournament's super regionals. Price (11-1), a left-hander starter projected as one of the top picks in this week's amateur baseball draft, pitched the ninth and 10th innings in relief...

CLEVELAND -- Above the Cavaliers' training room door on the wall adjacent to LeBron James' locker hangs a photograph of one of his signature dunks -- one of his nastiest, wake-up-the-kids slams. The one over Tim Duncan. Someone placed it there a few days after Cleveland's 88-81 win in San Antonio on Nov. 3, the Cavaliers' first victory in the Alamo City since 1988 and one that set the tone for a special season...

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Billy Donovan's NBA coaching career might end up being a whole lot shorter than his pro playing career -- and that didn't last very long. Donovan is trying to void the five-year, $27.5 million contract he signed last week with the Orlando Magic in hopes of returning to the Florida Gators, a person familiar with the negotiations said Monday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue...

By IRA PODELL The Associated Press OTTAWA -- Andy McDonald bailed out Chris Pronger and set up Southern California for a playoff party like never before. The Anaheim Ducks are within a win of their first Stanley Cup championship. McDonald scored two goals in the second period, then shook free of hard-hitting Chris Neil and assisted on Dustin Penner's winner in the third, giving Anaheim a 3-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Monday night...

NEW YORK -- Tank Johnson is the latest NFL player to feel the impact of commissioner Roger Goodell's crackdown on off-field misbehavior. The Chicago Bears defensive tackle was suspended Monday for the first eight games of the 2007 NFL season, the third player sidelined this offseason under Goodell's toughened personal-conduct policy...

PARIS -- Rafael Nadal managed to make Lleyton Hewitt, the guy who gets to every ball, a bit of a bystander. Nadal made Hewitt, as fierce a competitor as there is, go quietly. For two sets in the French Open's fourth round Monday, Nadal made Hewitt, a past champion at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, look more like a guy making his Grand Slam debut...

TADWORTH, England -- Ryder Cup star Darren Clarke failed to qualify for a major championship for the first time in 10 years when he did not earn one of nine spots available Monday in a European qualifier for the U.S. Open. Clarke, who went 3-0 last year in the Ryder Cup while playing a month after his wife died of cancer, shot 75-72 at Walton Heath, at least eight shot more than he needed to qualify for Oakmont...

Ford & Sons sweepsPerryville Legion Cape Girardeau Ford & Sons American Legion continued its fast start Monday with a 14-5 rout of Perryville in the opener of a doubleheader at Capaha Field. Brad LaBruyere went 2-for-3 and drove in four runs to lead Cape. Alex Shell and Kory Kitchen were 3-for-4 with three RBIs each...

graduations The following local college students graduated recently with honors or advanced degrees: n Whitney Pingle of Cape Girardeau graduated summa cum laude from University of Missouri-Columbia with a bachelor's degree in early childhood education...

Big Sky Airlines' two-year contract with the U.S. Department of Transportation was scheduled to begin service for the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport on June 1, but the airline is still in the hiring process. According to Big Sky president Fred deLeeuw, if he hired all the pilots necessary tomorrow, it would still take 12 to 15 weeks for them to go through Federal Aviation Administration Certified Ground School and Flight Training School...

Record-high gas prices are leading to more drive-offs at the pump. According to police reports, 66 gas drive-offs were reported in May, making it the busiest month for drive-offs since October. April had the second most with 53 reports. The most drive-offs occurred at Rhodes 101 stores at 1126 N. Sprigg St. and 1624 N. Kingshighway and the Jasper's at 10 S. West End Blvd., according to Cape Girar-deau police reports...

Nobody ever said summer would be easy. Remember back when you were a kid, and summer was this magical, mythical time of year? The air felt different, smelled different. Everything seemed more real, life more alive. Now those feelings seem to be gone, caught up in an endless barrage of premature presidential speculation and war, war, war. Hell, "American Idol" isn't even on anymore. What a shame...

Mr. Sanders: I read your column in the May issue of OFF and it brought no outrage. It brought no happiness. It brought no insight. It didn't even bring me constipation. It, like many of the columns I've read in the OFF over the past couple of years, just added to the sense of numbness I've had in me over the state of music and music coverage in the area over the said period. And since you have invited opinion, I'll take time better spent studying for finals to respond...

They spent hours in line, either to make sure they'd get their hands on tickets before they sold out or as a show of solidarity. But if they were worried about a sell out, they were wasting their time. When tickets for Tool's June 16 Show Me Center concert with Japanese noise rockers Melt Banana went on sale last month, a couple of hundred Tool fans waiting for hours, showing up as early as 8 a.m. to get the tickets that went on sale at 5 p.m...

OFF: I guess I'll get straight to it -- what are you going to do to move on as a band? Timexx: We've been talking about that. We took some time to just get over some things first, but we know for ourselves and for Tommy too that the band has to keep going. ...

In his four-plus decades in country music Merle Haggard has more than established himself as a legend and an icon. Who doesn't know the stories about his youth spent in and out of jail and his encounter with Johnny Cash at San Quentin? Even in his 70s, Haggard is still making the same kind of traditional country that made him who he is, most lately teaming up with Ray Price and Willie Nelson for the aptly titled "Last of the Breed"...

It's June! A hot and boring month. On the upside, it is the beginning of the summer season and a good time for summer activities and/or vacations. Though the latter has become foreign to me lately, aside from the quick jaunts to and from the STL which proves to be typically more of a stressor than a relaxing break...

COMMUNITY JUNE 10 Book signing: Steve and Viney Mosley will be at Barnes and Noble Booksellers autographing copies of "And God Answered", a posthumously published autobiography by Steve's mother and prolific local writer Jean Bell Mosley, from 3 to 5 p.m...

After a long winter and an unusually chilly spring, what could be nicer than enjoying the beautiful summer weather with a bit of music in the background? But where to go to experience this simple but exquisite pleasure is the real question. Well, you are in luck being a resident of this area, as there are many wonderful places in which to find a great combo of songs and the sun (or stars!)...

Since relocating to the corner of West End and Harmony in 1999, the Islamic Center has remained a mystery to most Cape Girardians. Someone might have a friend of a friend who went once, but for the most part those of us who drive by the center on our way to work or school don't know what it does...

Despite Tommy DeWolf's death, the members of Drivin' Rain have decided to continue on. They recently released the unfinished "Delightfully Evil" as-is, Tommy's "last official recording." Rain frontman Timexx Nasty says the disc contains the band's most revealing songs, full of darkness and death. The CD is now available at www.drivinrain.net...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The federal government has appealed a federal judge's ruling that Missouri's chief election officer met her legal obligations in keeping voter registration rolls current. The U.S. Justice Department sued the state and Secretary of State Robin Carnahan's office in November 2005 for alleged violations of the 1993 National Voter Registration Act, which requires "reasonable efforts" to purge ineligible voters from registration lists...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Health officials warned Missourians to guard against tick bites on Wednesday, after the death of a child bitten by one of the insects in a northeastern part of the state. The child became ill after being bitten by a tick and died May 23, after ten days of intensive medical care, health officials said...

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) -- The Most Rev. Marion Francis Forst, a Roman Catholic bishop in Kansas for 47 years, has died at the age of 96. Forst, who was the oldest bishop in the U.S., died Saturday night at Olathe Regional Medical Center. A funeral Mass was scheduled for Thursday at Savior Pastoral Center in Kansas City, Kan., with burial in the nearby Gate of Heaven Cemetery...

The eight applicants for the vacant position on the Cape Girardeau school board include parents of students in the school system, as well as a woman who is raising her grandchildren, a real estate agent whose family graduated from Central High School, and a single woman who describes herself as a "product of the Cape Girardeau public school system."...

Fueled by a new, three-year federal grant, Southeast Missouri State University plans to restart its mobile health unit this summer, school officials said Monday. Southeast Health on Wheels, or SHOW Mobile, has received a $375,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services...

When Missouri toughened the penalties for underage drinking in 2005, lawmakers made it easier for prosecutors to gain a conviction against both the young people and adults who know about the drinking but do nothing to stop it. The 2005 law takes away the driver's license of anyone under 21 who is caught in possession of alcohol. ...

"I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him." -- Abraham Lincoln Two veterans. A dentist, musician and missionary. A former educator. All proud of the place in which they live. All living in a way that makes their place proud...

Flouting the law; Guzzling gasoline; Golf guarantee; Setting an example; Good VA experience; Shameful episode; Failed session; Getting organized; History major; Background checks; Not a free pass; Tales of folklore

Recent increases in the state and federal minimum wage have drawn praise and disdain from business leaders and advocacy groups. Those in favor of the increases said they will provide much needed funds to low-income families, while opponents said they will tighten the budgets of businesses and raise inflation...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A proposal awaiting action by the Public Service Commission would require electric companies to provide credits to customers who endure prolonged or frequent outages. The commission is expected to consider whether to move forward with the rule in the next couple of weeks, after compiling responses from utilities on what the new standards would cost them. ...

BLACKSBURG, Va. -- The building where a gunman killed 30 people and himself on the Virginia Tech campus will be reopened for offices and laboratories, but it will never again be used for classrooms, the university announced Tuesday. Norris Hall will open June 18 for the engineering science and mechanics and civil and environmental engineering departments. ...

BENTON, Mo. -- Charles E. Rothman, accused of nine counts of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl, pleaded not guilty Tuesday when he was arraigned on the charges. Rothman became the subject of an intense search last week when he apparently tried to fake his death to escape prosecution by setting his fishing boat adrift in the Diversion Channel. ...

The Missouri Department of Transportation will host a public meeting June 14 to inform motorists of upcoming changes to traffic on Interstate 55 because of construction work on a new interchange. The meeting will be from 4 to 7 p.m. ...

After serving as music teacher at St. Mary's School for 10 years, Sister M. Cordula Wekenborg will be leaving Cape Girardeau to become music education instructor at St. Anthony's Parish School in Effingham, Ill.; she is honored by parish members with a vesper service at the cathedral, followed by a covered-dish dinner...

Southeast Missouri State University has been awarded a $90,126 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to purchase and install an irrigation system at the school's new farm on Highway 25 at Gordonville. ...

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- The Stars and Stripes Museum in Bloomfield, Mo., will join forces with area radio clubs to honor America's military around the world. "This is an event that is quite unusual," said Dr. Frank Nickell, museum board member and history professor at Southeast Missouri State University. "We have never done anything like this before, and we hope a lot of people learn about the newspaper because it is the publication of our military."...

Public hearing n Held a public hearing regarding the annual operating budget for fiscal year 2007-2008. Consent ordinances (Second and third readings) n Accepted a permanent storm-water easement and temporary construction easements from various property owners for storm-water improvements at the Silver Springs Road and Themis Street intersection...

Jackson got a new fire chief Tuesday when city administrator Jim Roach announced the selection of fire Capt. Jason Mouser to replace Brad Golden, who has resigned to take a nursing position at Saint Francis Medical Center. Mouser, 34, has been a Jackson firefighter since 1997, when he began as a part-time, on-call employee. He became a full-time firefighter/EMT in 1999 and a captain in 2004...

When former convicts return to society and try to rebuild their lives, one of the first roadblocks they encounter is going through the hiring process with a prison record. But a statewide initiative called the Missouri Re-entry Process aims to help ex-cons overcome some of those barriers and help them become wage-earning, taxpaying citizens...

Keith Boeller's name was spelled incorrectly in a story about gasoline drive-offs in Monday's edition. The Southeast Missourian Regrets the error.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Missouri's attorney general is seeking to oust the director and disband the board of a local Humane Society chapter over allegations of missing money and poor animal care, including euthanizing kittens and cats by putting them in a freezer...

GALESBURG, Ill. -- Five students denied diplomas after cheers erupted when their names were called at a central Illinois high school graduation emerged empty-handed Tuesday from a meeting with school administrators. Their families said Peoria lawyer Jeffrey Green has volunteered to work on the case. ...

BENTON, Mo. -- James Lee Gregory Sr., 66, of Benton died Monday, June 4, 2007, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born Dec. 30, 1940, at Morehouse, Mo., son of Earl Theopolis and Mable Marie Pack Gregory. He and Mildred Virginia Finney were married Jan. 31, 1959, at Bloomfield, Mo...

Joe Wilbert Haley, 76, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, May 31, 2007, at Heartland Care and Rehab. He was born July 26, 1930, in Tiptonville, Tenn., son of Austin and Susie Lucas Haley. Survivors include three sons, David Johnson of Murphysboro, Ill., Larry Haley of Flint, Mich., Bobby Haley of Sikeston, Mo.; two daughters, Sylvia Haley of Dyersburg, Tenn., Carolyn Swanks of Carbondale, Ill.; three brothers, Cletus Haley of Sikeston, Austin Haley of Cape Girardeau, J.L. ...

Lorene S. Maevers passed to her eternal home Monday, June 4, 2007, at the Lutheran Home. She was born in New Hamburg, Mo., Oct. 9, 1912, to Alphonse and Katie Hahn Schwartz. She was the oldest of two children. Her brother, Phillip, passed away in 1994...

Evangeline Cannell, 80, of Cape Girardeau passed away Sunday, June 3, 2007, at her home. She was born Feb. 27, 1927, in Rushford, Minn., daughter of Alfred and Mabel Haarstad Bakken. She and William Cannell were married Aug. 14, 1946, in Kasson, Minn. He passed away Aug. 25, 2006...

Lillian M. Brown Young, 89, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, June 4, 2007, at Saint Francis Medical Center. She was born Sept. 1, 1917, in Perryville, Mo., daughter of Robert and Teresa Baudendistel Brown. She and Richard Young were married Jan. 19, 1946, in St. Louis. He preceded her in death April 17, 1990...

Bradley Wahl, 44, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, June 4, 2007, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. He was born Dec. 30, 1962, in Cape Girardeau, son of Charles R. and Rita Westrich Wahl. Wahl was a 1981 graduate of Notre Dame High School, and 1985 graduate of Southeast Missouri State University. He worked for Drury Industries in Cape Girardeau. He was a member of St. Mary's Cathedral and Knights of Columbus Council 1111...

Ramos

Firefighters reponded to the following call Monday. n At 10:24 p.m., emergency medical service in the 500 block of Vincent Park Drive. n At 12:52 a.m., a citezen assist in the 1100 block of Linden Street. n At 5:23 a.m., emergency medical service in the 200 block of South Pacific Street...

ST. LOUIS -- Missouri utility regulators will reopen their investigation into the Taum Sauk reservoir collapse after learning that Ameren Corp. readjusted crucial safety gauges at the facility and removed the gauges after the basin collapsed. Missouri Public Service Commission chairman Jeff Davis said Tuesday he made the decision after learning that Ameren employees had removed the gauges immediately after the reservoir collapsed Dec. ...

City engineer Jay Stencel is leaving the position for a teaching job, and the city of Cape Girardeau needs to find a replacement. Traffic operations engineer Kelly Green will shadow Stencel for a month so she can take over his responsibilities until a candidate is hired...

There are a million ways to cook chicken. Every time I find myself with a chicken or chicken parts, I always find a new way to cook it. I enjoy the diversity of chicken and, of course, its economic value. Clip these recipes to have on hand for your next chicken menu and try something new and different for a refreshing change...

Ceiling fans can increase comfort and save energy as they help warm or cool you, depending on which way they turn. Many ceiling fans have a forward and reverse switch. In forward mode, blades turn clockwise and air blows down, creating a breeze and a cooling effect. This mode reduces summer air-conditioning costs. In reverse, blades turn counterclockwise, pulling room air up, causing warm ceiling air to be gently pushed down outer walls and reducing winter heating costs and condensation...

Lamplighters FCE The Lamplighters FCE Club met April 19 at the home of JoAnn Hahs, president. Thirteen members were present. Baked goods were donated to the Mississippi Valley Therapeutic Horsemanship barn dance April 28. Canned foods were also donated for a basket to be auctioned at the dance...

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad -- A Guyanese suspect in an alleged plot to bomb a fuel pipeline feeding New York's John F. Kennedy Airport surrendered to police Tuesday in Trinidad, a police official said. Abdel Nur turned himself in at a police station outside the Trinidadian capital of Port-of-Spain, police spokeswoman Wendy Campbell said...

WASHINGTON -- On Tuesday a senior Justice Department official defended his decision to bring a Missouri voter fraud case just days before the 2006 election, despite guidelines discouraging such cases because of the potential to influence voting. Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee said the case is another example of the department acting out of partisan political motives under the Bush administration...

WASHINGTON -- Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison Tuesday for lying and obstructing the CIA leak investigation -- the probe that showed a White House obsessed with criticism of its decision to go to war...

Harriette Myers needed two playoff holes, but the two-time defending SEMO Women's Golf Association Tournament stroke-play champion won her third consecutive title Tuesday at Dalhousie Golf Club. Myers, playing for Dalhousie, parred the second playoff hole -- the par 5 No. 2 -- to defeat Janice Hoffman of Hidden Trails Country Club (Dexter). Both players had parred the first playoff hole after finishing the 18 holes of regulation play tied at 81...

Capahas manager Jess Bolen believes that Plaza Tire Service, as the primary sponsor of what is thought to be the nation's oldest amateur baseball team, already does plenty to help his squad. But Plaza Tire Service president Mark Rhodes thinks he has a way to further promote the team that has been a fixture in Cape Girardeau since the 1890s...

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Now that the Anaheim Ducks have that elusive road win, they are ready to do what they do best:~ Anaheim has a 3-1 series lead and history on its side. close things out at home. Twice the Ducks have reached the Stanley Cup finals and both times they were perfect on home ice and inept in enemy territory. That all changed in Canada's capital city Monday and set up an NHL-style beach party...

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Orlando Magic are close to resolving their coaching fiasco by agreeing to a deal to dismiss Billy Donovan and hire Stan Van Gundy, according to reports Tuesday. ESPN.com reported Donovan and the team were finalizing an agreement for his departure. ...

NEW YORK -- It's a go for Rags to Riches. The fabulous filly will run Saturday in the Belmont Stakes, where she will attempt to become the first of her sex in 102 years to win the final jewel of the Triple Crown. Trainer Todd Pletcher took several days before deciding to give his Kentucky Oaks winner a chance to take on the boys in the 1 1/2-mile Belmont, the longest of the Triple Crown races...

PARIS -- Befuddled all match, Serena Williams reacted to one flubbed backhand by spiking her racket to the court, drawing full-throated boos from spectators. It was as spirited as Williams -- or the crowd -- got during her lopsided French Open quarterfinal loss to No. 1 Justine Henin, the one moment Tuesday when the last U.S. singles player in the tournament truly appeared to want to turn things around...

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Pinch-runner Danielle Rodriguez beat the throw home on Adrienne Acton's groundout in the 10th inning as Arizona beat Tennessee 1-0 Tuesday night, extending the Women's College World Series to a decisive third game. Sam Banister started Arizona's rally with single to left field and moved to second on a sacrifice before an error by Tennessee second baseman Kenora Posey allowed Callista Balko to reach base and Rodriguez, who pinch ran for Banister, to get to third...

OMAHA, Neb. -- Before Omaha builds a new ballpark or does a major renovation of Rosenblatt Stadium, home of the College World Series for 57 years, the NCAA must agree to a contract extension of at least 10 years, an official said Tuesday. CWS Inc., the local organizing committee for Division I baseball's national championship, and the city have submitted to the NCAA plans for either a $25 million Rosenblatt face-lift or a $50 million stadium that would be built downtown...

My life is getting pretty boring. Well, not boring so much, just slowing down a little. School's out, and the pace is calming to a crawl around my town. My next trip out of the country isn't until July, and my new favorite person is on the road making his musical dreams happen...

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Cardinals lost another catcher, and kept on winning. Pinch hitter So Taguchi singled over a drawn-in outfield in the ninth inning for his second straight game-winning hit in a 4-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. The Cardinals won for the fifth time in six games without Gary Bennett, who left in the second after getting hit by an Aaron Harang breaking ball...

After serving as music teacher at St. Mary's School for 10 years, Sister M. Cordula Wekenborg will be leaving Cape Girardeau to become music education instructor at St. Anthony's Parish School in Effingham, Ill.; she is honored by parish members with a vesper service at the cathedral, followed by a covered-dish dinner...

O'FALLON, Mo. (AP) -- Count a member of the Busch family among those opposed to O'Fallon's plan to annex more than 12 square miles. The St. Charles County town's plan includes annexation of the Busch wildlife area and the Missouri Research Park. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that some politicians and environmental advocates, including Adolphus Busch IV, are outraged...

IMPERIAL, Mo. (AP) -- St. Louis County police believe a 2-year-old boy found dead early Thursday near a Jefferson County school was killed by his mother's boyfriend. The 22-year-old man has been arrested, and authorities were seeking warrants to charge him with first-degree murder, police spokeswoman Tracy Panus said...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- The shooting death of Mario Claiborne has forced the dismissal of the St. Louis man's closely watched case before the U.S. Supreme Court. A ruling was expected within the next few weeks as justices sought to clarify how much discretion federal judges have when applying sentencing guidelines...

Dear Julie, Buckminster Fuller, inventor of the geodesic dome, said everyone is born a genius. "The process of living de-geniuses them." Genius has been all around this week visiting my sister Sally's family in Cincinnati. The high school our nieces Carly and Kim attend won the state baseball championship in Columbus Friday night. ...

The Most Rev. Marion Francis Forst, a Roman Catholic bishop and former pastor of St. Mary's Cathedral, has died at age 96. Forst, who was the oldest bishop in the United States, died Saturday night at Olathe Regional Medical Center. A funeral Mass is scheduled for today at Savior Pastoral Center in Kansas City, Kan., with burial in the nearby Gate of Heaven Cemetery...

CARBONDALE, ILL. -- Nanofibers are about 1/250,000th of an inch across, but they could have a huge impact on such diverse areas as national security, factory safety and aerospace construction. Dr. Ling Zang, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, recently received a $592,000, five-year CAREER grant from the National Science Foundation to continue his research with nanofibers...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Two Perryville teens accused of beating a man in his home and robbing him of $170 face possible penalties of life in prison. David J. Claywell, 18, and Shawn M. York, 17, were charged Tuesday with a single count each of first-degree robbery for the Sunday beating of a man in his apartment. ...

Zapping squirrels; Brunt of defense; Futile arguments; Insidious disgrace; Reporting crimes; Libertarian line; Headed for relic status; On Eagle's Pings; Euphemistic legislation; Moderate benefits; Eyesore is gone; Do the right thing; Long time coming; Private prayer; Construction first; Something to do; Economic voters; Dangerous path

To the editor:I could not sit back after reading the column "Spending priorities" by Amy Blouin of the Missouri Budget Project in the June 2 paper. It was such an obvious political attack on conservative lawmakers and not a thoughtful analysis of Missouri's spending priorities like the Gary Rust column she referred to...

To the editor:Value your teens. It only comes around once. Appreciate it, and do not abuse it. Live it wisely, and get involved. Give thanks for your blessings. You had many, I feel sure. Think of others and not always of yourself, as Joel Osteen said recently in a sermon. Then perhaps 101 years of age will seem like a day, just as mine did to me recently...

Only a few local issues will face area voters who go to the polls tomorrow to decide the fate of constitutional Amendment 1; the proposal calls for issuance of $600 million in bonds to improve state facilities and those of local governments in Missouri...

Section 29. That employees shall have the right to organize and to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing. -- Missouri Constitution, Article I, Bill of Rights The language in the Missouri Constitution regarding collective bargaining appears straightforward enough -- except that for 60 years it has been interpreted to apply only to employees in the private sector, not public employees such as teachers, firefighters and police officers...

The Cape Girardeau City Council may ask voters to approve a half-cent sales tax in November to fund parks and storm-water improvements. The tax could fund park improvements from upgrades to ball fields and the municipal golf course to construction of a water park and more walking trails, city officials said Wednesday...

Southeast Missourian U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Mo., announced her staff will visit with constituents throughout the 8th District at Congressional Connection stops. Locally, her staff will be stopping from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. at Advance City Hall, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- A New Jersey business executive who spurned an offer to become the next University of Missouri president has been hired as chief operating officer of a Florida steel manufacturer. Terry Sutter, 49, will join Gerdau AmeriSteel Corp. as its vice president and chief operating officer, the Tampa, Fla.-based company announced Wednesday...

MURFREESBORO, Ark. -- Walking along a path taken by thousands of others at the Crater of Diamonds State Park, Nicole Ruhter noticed something everyone else had missed -- a tea-colored 2.93-carat diamond. Ruhter, 13, of Butler, Mo., said she would name her find the "Pathfinder Diamond" after pulling what she described as a broken pyramid from the ground. ...

Motorcyclist injured after collision with truck A motorcyclist was seriously injured Wednesday morning when he was struck by a pickup truck near Fruitland. Timothy L. Stone, 47, of Cape Girardeau was traveling northbound on U.S. 61 about 6:40 a.m. when his Harley-Davidson was struck by a 2000 Ford pickup driven by Ashley L. ...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- An Iraq veteran who wore his uniform at a protest lost his appeal Wednesday for a new hearing. An attorney for Cpl. Adam Kokesh filed the appeal after a military panel that met Monday at the Marine Corps Mobilization Command in Kansas City recommended kicking Kokesh out of the Marines with a general discharge for the uniform infraction and using an obscenity in an e-mail to a superior officer...

ST. LOUIS -- An Illinois teenager who died after police shot him at least twice with a stun gun when he reportedly turned unruly had no drugs in his system and succumbed to "natural causes," a pathologist said Wednesday. Roger Holyfield's family rejected Dr. ...

CLAYTON, Mo. -- A high school senior will spend two months in jail for an explosive senior prank that his teachers didn't find so funny. Prosecutors say 18-year-old Benjamin Smith fashioned a crude explosive device and detonated in an empty locker near Oakville High School's cafeteria in suburban St. Louis on April 19. The locker was dented, and no one was injured...

GALESBURG, Ill. -- Five students will get diplomas they were denied because of cheers at their high school graduation, after school officials relented Wednesday on a get-tough decorum policy. Galesburg school officials defended efforts to curb commencement rowdiness, but said the stalemate over the diplomas and the national media attention it attracted has taken up valuable time and energy...

Missouri health officials say people can protect themselves from tick bites by:n Avoiding areas with lots of ticks. Walk in the center of trails to avoid overhanging grass and brush. n Keeping ticks off their skin. Apply a repellent that contains 20 percent or more DEET and read the label. Wear light-colored clothing that makes ticks easier to see. Tucking your pants into your socks can also help...

Administration lowers growth forecast WASHINGTON --The White House on Wednesday lowered its forecast for economic growth this year even as it slightly upgraded its outlook for unemployment. Under the administration's new forecast, gross domestic product, or GDP, will grow by 2.3 percent as measured from the fourth quarter of last year to the fourth quarter of this year. ...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Kenneth P. Christisen, 65, of Perryville died Wednesday, June 6, 2007, at his home. He was born Dec. 17, 1941, in Perry County, son of Ludwig and Evelyn Schremp Christisen. He and Pat Dillon were married Dec. 17, 1988, at Overland, Mo...

Jessie Ruth Karwick, 85, of Caruthersville, Mo., died Saturday, June 2, 2007, at Dyersburg Manor in Dyersburg, Tenn. She was born Oct. 6, 1921, at Caruthersville, daughter of Walter L. and Annie L. Entriken Sides. She and Don Karwick were married Aug. 8, 1943, in Caruthersville...

Helen McCallister, 93, of Jackson died Tuesday, June 5, 2007, at Monticello House. Cracraft-Miller Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

JoAnn Stone, 59, of Cape Girardeau passed away Tuesday, June 5, 2007, at Saint Francis Medical Center. She was born Oct. 29, 1947, in St. Louis, daughter of John H. and Iva "Pearline" Lewis Poston. JoAnn worked several years at Food Brands Inc. at Piedmont, Mo. She then worked six years as a certified nurse assistant at the Lutheran Home...

Ramos; Ritrovato; Burnett; Chambers; Leek; Rhodes

DWIs; DWI

n At 5:17 p.m., a grease fire at 101 S. Lorimer St. n At 5:40 p.m., an illegal burn at Country Club Drive and Marlin Drive. n At 5:51 a.m., emergency medical service at 414 Washington Ave. n At 7:29 a.m., responded to a call at 133 S. Benton St. n At 9:18 a.m., a natural gas leak at 829 Kary St...

NEW YORK -- In a leap forward for stem-cell research, three independent teams of scientists reported Wednesday that they have produced the equivalent of embryonic stem cells in mice without the controversial destruction of embryos. They got ordinary skin cells to behave like stem cells. If the same could be done with human cells -- a big if -- the procedure could lead to breakthrough medical treatments without the contentious ethical and political debates surrounding the use of embryos...

TRENTON, N.J. -- Um, honey, Joe Piscopo is on the phone talking about a U.S. Senate candidate. Many New Jersey residents got automated calls from a host of politicians and celebrities, including the former "Saturday Night Live" comedian, as last year's campaign season heated up. But those "robocalls" could soon be banned or restricted, in New Jersey and many other states...

CHICAGO -- Injuries from trendy roller shoes are far more numerous than previously thought, contributing to about 1,600 emergency room visits last year, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said Wednesday. The injuries were mostly in children, the target market for the wheeled shoes that send children cruising down sidewalks, across playgrounds and through shopping mall crowds...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA resolved lingering concerns about lines connecting the external fuel tank to Atlantis on Wednesday and moved ahead with preparations for the first space shuttle launch of the year. Forecasters predicted a 70 percent chance the weather would be favorable for launching Atlantis at 6:38 p.m. Friday...

WASHINGTON -- U.S. doctors are beginning a dramatic experiment this month to try to save patients dying from congestive heart failure -- by temporarily resting their hearts and then boosting them with a drug long abused for bodybuilding. The goal: To help the heart heal itself, and rescue patients who otherwise wouldn't survive without a heart transplant or an implanted machine to pump their hearts...

We all know them. And, truth be told, we have even felt like one every now and then. I am talking about victims. Being called a victim is almost akin to being labeled a gas guzzler in our enlightened society. After all, a victim is someone who probably asked for it and most certainly isn't taking responsibility for their authorship of their dire straights. Right?...

Friday Heart Smart screenings, Southeast Missouri Hospital HealthPoint Fitness Center, 410 W. Main St., Jackson, 8 to 10 a.m. Romp 'n Stomp, Southeast Missouri Hospital HealthPoint Fitness Center, 410 W. Main St., Jackson, 10:15 to 11:15 a.m. For more information, call 243-2211...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Lois Faye Robertson, 66, of Perryville died Saturday, Dec. 9, 2006, at Perry County Nursing Home. She was born Aug. 24, 1940, in Stuttgart, Ark., daughter of Clifton and Lydia Crank Leirer. She and Clarence Robertson were married April 17, 1959, at Dexter, Mo...

COLLEVILLE-SUR-MER, France -- Above a cliff of silent reminders, Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Wednesday evoked the image of fallen warriors to mark the 63rd anniversary of the Normandy D-Day landings that turned the tide of World War II. The bloody beach assault June 6, 1944, "unfolded as if it were a lifetime" for the young men who braved German guns, Gates said, looking out upon a vast field of white grave markers on a rainy, chilly day...

WASHINGTON -- The globe-trotting tuberculosis patient moved up his flight to Europe after health officials urged him to stay put -- but the Atlanta lawyer, in defiant testimony from his hospital room Wednesday, insisted he wasn't ducking anyone. "I didn't go running off or hide from people. ...

MUSCAT, Oman -- Cyclone Gonu battered Oman's coast Wednesday with fierce winds and torrential rains, forcing thousands from their homes and shutting down oil installations before heading toward the world's most important crude oil tanker route. The storm -- a rarity in the Middle East -- was expected to make landfall on the southeastern Iranian coast late today, according to the U.S. ...

VATICAN CITY -- A German man jumped a security barrier and grabbed the back of Pope Benedict XVI's open popemobile before being swarmed by security guards Wednesday -- reviving a debate over whether the pontiff needs stronger protection during his public audiences...

MOSCOW -- Two Russian cosmonauts spent more than five hours outside the international space station Wednesday, laying cable and installing protective panels to guard against space debris. The walk lasted five hours and 37 minutes, about 15 minutes faster than planned...

NEW YORK -- Fox News Channel issued a second on-air apology Wednesday for mistakenly running tape of a different congressman while reporting on the indictment of Rep. William J. Jefferson on bribery charges. House Judiciary Committee chairman John Conyers of Michigan, whose picture aired while Fox anchors talked Monday about Jefferson's indictment, had been unhappy with Fox's apology Tuesday. Both congressmen are black...

NEW YORK -- More than 33 million people have used mobile phones to access the Internet this year, according to Nielsen Media Research, which Wednesday announced its new effort to measure such use. With Nielsen known primarily for its ratings system for television viewing, the announcement is another indication of how it is trying to keep up with rapidly changing entertainment options...

LOS ANGELES -- Fans trumpeting the cause of CBS' canceled drama "Jericho" have caught the network's ear. CBS, deluged with calls, messages and shipments of nuts signifying viewer displeasure, is reconsidering its decision, a source close to the production said Tuesday...

NEW YORK -- Will "The Sopranos" end with a whack or a whimper? The HBO series on Sunday night concludes its eight years of mob maneuvering, metaphor-laden dream sequences and mad exclamations of "Marone!" Questions abound as the series finale nears. ...

Crader reunion to be held at County Park; River Heritage Quilters' Guild to hold meeting

Three Cape Girardeau Lions Club members, Jim Hirsch, Fred Goodwin and Steve Strom, were recently honored as Melvin Jones Fellows by president David Morris. Joining Morris in the presentation were past recipients Freck Shivelbine, Rob Williams, Keith Deimund and Larry Osteen...

NEW YORK -- With all the women in television news on both sides of the camera, you would think sexism was an issue relegated to the 20th century. Yet recently a CBS News executive, herself a pioneer for women in the industry, said she believed that Katie Couric was having trouble catching on with the public as "CBS Evening News" anchor because she was the first solo female anchor for a network nightly news show...

Brad LaBruyere shut down the Sikeston offense and Mark Himmelberg provided a clutch hit as Cape Girardeau's American Legion team picked up a 4-0 win Wednesday in its district opener at Capaha Field. Post 63 completed a doubleheader sweep with a 16-5 rout in five innings in the non-district nightcap. Cape improved to 8-1...

Southeast Missouri State's Jim Klocke and Nick Harris were unquestionably two of the Ohio Valley Conference's top freshman baseball players this year. Now they have also been rated among the nation's best freshmen. Klocke and Harris were named Louisville Slugger Freshman All-Americans on Wed-nesday, as selected by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper...

DETROIT -- People might have to stop making all those jokes about the quality of Ford's cars -- the ones that say Ford stands for "Found on Road Dead" or "Fixed or Repaired Daily." Now, it could be "Fixing Our Reputation Daily." Ford Motor Co. supplanted Toyota as leader of the pack in J.D. Power and Associates' annual initial quality rankings released Wednesday, grabbing more individual awards than any other automaker for the first time since 1998, when it tied for the top spot...

The Plaza Tire Capahas have dominated the all-time series with the Charleston Riverdogs, winning 26 of 27 meetings, including all seven last year. But that doesn't mean Capahas manager Jess Bolen expects an easy time tonight when the local amateur baseball teams square off in a 7 p.m. first pitch at Hillhouse Park in Charleston...

Clark scores hole in one at Kimbeland Bill Clark picked up his third hole in one Wednesday at Kimbeland Country Club. Clark, of Cape Girardeau, used a pitching wedge from 115 yards out on No. 4. Ray Moore, Jeff Schott and Gordon Feeney witnessed the shot...

ST. LOUIS -- Mark Mulder has no idea when he might be ready to pitch again, and said the St. Louis Cardinals shouldn't count on him coming to the rescue in the second half of the season. The left-hander, rehabbing from rotator cuff surgery last September, threw off a mound for the first time since then Tuesday. The team has been hopeful of him returning around the All-Star break, but after the session Mulder was more pessimistic, saying there's a chance he won't be back until next season...

ST. LOUIS -- Albert Pujols always knew the St. Louis Cardinals could straighten things out. Pujols' two-run homer snapped a seventh-inning tie, helping his surging team beat the Cincinnati Reds 6-4 on Wednesday night. The Cardinals (26-30) have won six of seven and pulled five games behind first-place Milwaukee in the NL Central...

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The Anaheim Ducks aren't called mighty anymore. Now they can simply answer to Stanley Cup champions. The 14-year-old Ducks captured their first NHL title with a 6-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday, ending the series in five games in front of the home folks again...

ST. LOUIS -- The state Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control is renewing its investigation into whether restaurant workers knew Josh Hancock was drunk but continued to serve alcohol to the Cardinals pitcher before his fatal crash. On May 31, ATC supervisor Peter Lobdell announced there was no evidence that employees at Mike Shannon's Steaks & Seafood knew Hancock was drunk. ...

Child Care Resource & Referral, along with Success by Six, presented Outstanding Early Childhood awards recently at the annual provider brunch at Southeast Missouri State University.

SAN ANTONIO -- Headphones tilted back on his head, LeBron James walked the Cleveland Cavaliers through the shadowy tunnel and into the arena's gleaming lights -- and their first NBA finals. "We're here now!" James shouted. He brought them. And he will decide how far they'll go...

ST. LOUIS -- Health officials warned Missourians to guard against tick bites Wednesday, after the death of a child bitten by one of the insects in a northeastern part of the state. The child became ill after being bitten by a tick and died May 23, after 10 days of intensive medical care, health officials said...

Randy Oliphant, a Volunteer Firefighter with the Millersville Fire and Rescue, was the second on the scene of the fire at C & G Mini Storage on highway 34. The Fire & Rescue received the page at 5:30 a.m., and responded with 20-25 men.

GLADSTONE, Mo. (AP) -- A fire that killed an elderly couple in their suburban Kansas City home of 50 years was accidental, authorities said Friday. The fire started in the bathroom where the space heater ignited some nearby combustibles, said Gladstone Public Safety spokesman Richard King...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) -- A Springfield middle school teacher and Boy Scout troop leader was charged Friday with possession of child pornography after a computer repair shop alerted police to images on a hard drive. Greene County prosecutors charged Gary Rademacher, 53, with 10 felony counts of possessing pornographic pictures and films of boys younger than 14. Rademacher is a former Springfield elementary school principle and now an eighth-grade history teacher, they said...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Four days after a federal appeals court ruling opened the way for restarting executions in Missouri, Attorney General Jay Nixon on Friday asked the state Supreme Court to set execution dates for 10 condemned inmates. Nixon's motions actually renew requests for execution dates for five men. He filed new motions in five other cases...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The director of the state Workers' Compensation Division said Friday that she was forced to resign, though she believes she had "done a terrific job." Pat Secrest submitted her resignation Thursday, a spokeswoman for the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations said...

A 31-year-old woman reported being forcibly taken early Friday from the streets of downtown Cape Girardeau to a secluded location in the northeast part of the city where she was raped, police spokesman Sgt. Barry Hovis said. Police were still investigating the report, Hovis said. "We are completing all the things we do with a rape," he said...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Gov. Matt Blunt on Friday signed into law new legal protections for doctors, health care providers and volunteers who help during state emergencies. The measure bars most lawsuits and administrative penalties against licensed caregivers who are deployed in Missouri during officially declared emergencies. It would still permit penalties for injuries caused by "willful and "wanton" mistakes...

Seaman Apprentice Justin Burns of Cape Girardeau was arrested May 26 at his mother's home on charges of desertion. He is back at the Norfolk, Va. naval base. On Wednesday, Burns wrote this letter to Rudi Keller of the Southeast Missourian. It has been edited for grammar and to conform to style...

There we were, last Sunday afternoon, plodding through the clover and tall grass in the parklike area between the new overlook where the old bridge used to be and the parking lot under the new bridge where the trail starts that skirts the area between the River Campus and the mighty Mississippi River...

A fire at a Cape Girardeau County storage unit Thursday destroyed one of the business' buildings and all the belongings of a local family. "I had everything in that unit," said Sharon Burton as she sorted through what was left of her belongings at C&G Mini Storage on Highway 34...

The Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce board of directors endorsed the implementation of two Leadership Cape projects at its Tuesday meeting. The two projects, Complete the Streets and the Self-Guided Audio Tour, will now be forwarded to the city of Cape Girardeau and the Convention and Visitors Bureau for consideration...

National Guard equipment shortages "should set off alarm bells," according to Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., co-chair of the Senate National Guard Caucus. Bond said Wednesday it was past time the White House and Pentagon ensured that the Guard was adequately equipped to do its job...

In the May 31 edition of the Economist, Britain's prime minister Tony Blair reflects on the lessons of his decade in office. The following are some excerpts, and I highly encourage you to read (in print or online) all of his remarks, which include his domestic issue observations...

We're not quitters; Outrageous rents; Justice system; No comparison; Troop strength; Wait and see; Increasing fees; Paying for incompetence; Taking out Iran; Safe drinking

WASHINGTON -- The National Archives on Thursday unveiled a handwritten note by Abraham Lincoln exhorting his generals to pursue Robert E. Lee's army after the battle of Gettysburg, underscoring one of the great missed opportunities for an early end to the Civil War...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Gov. Matt Blunt is seeking federal assistance for farmers in 29 counties affected by last month's Missouri River flood. In a letter sent to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns, Blunt asked that farmers in western and central Missouri be eligible for federal money to compensate them for lost potential income...

A late-night canine search for a parole absconder came up empty-handed Thursday. Officers of the Cape Girardeau Police Department unsuccessfully searched the Rockwood Drive area for more than an hour for Todd Lemont Williams, 34, of Springfield, Mo. The Cape Girardeau Fire Department assisted...

A think tank will be formed to develop a system for small businesses in Southeast Missouri to help lower health-care costs through consortiums. Sen. Jason Crowell and Steve McPheeters, communications superintendent with Noranda Aluminum, facilitated a forum at the Glenn Auditorium on the Southeast Missouri State University campus Thursday to make health care more affordable for the area's workforce. ...

OVERTON, Mo. -- Scientists, government officials and environmentalists agree that a two-decade-long project to restore Missouri River habitat helped reduce flooding last month. They just don't know how much. Although the Missouri River had flooded since the U.S. ...

Cape Girardeau's proposed $10,070,863 budget for the 1982-1983 fiscal year doesn't quite have enough money in it to please everyone; at a public hearing last night, a subsidy of more than $15,000 was requested to help underwrite the operation of Channel 10, the city's local cable access channel, and a $25,000 request was presented for the purchase of new lighting systems for several softball diamonds at Arena Park...

OLATHE, Kan. -- A man with a page on the popular Internet networking site MySpace.com bears a striking resemblance to Edwin R. Hall, the man accused of kidnapping and killing a teenager, and describes his interests as "eating small children and harming small animals," photography and painting...

ST. LOUIS -- A report from the St. Louis Fire Department said a delay in allowing paramedics into the city jail and "substandard" emergency care may have contributed to the death of an inmate who suffered an asthma attack, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Thursday...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A federal lawsuit over an eastern Kansas school district's restrictions on a Fellowship of Christian Athletes group has been settled, with the district agreeing to recognize the club and extend it the same privileges as other student groups...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- State revenue continue to climb higher than expected for the year but dipped slightly last month compared with a year ago, the state Office of Administration reported Thursday. With just one month remaining in the fiscal year ending June 30, state coffers grew 4.9 percent to $6.93 billion this year. But revenue in May dropped 1.5 percent compared to last May. State officials' revenue projection, updated in January, counts on revenue to grow by about 4 percent...

Missouri is blessed with popular streams and lakes that attract thousands of visitors who enjoy water sports, camping and fishing. Unfortunately, how some individuals have a good time has made it all but impossible for others to enjoy themselves, particularly on weekends when some rivers and coves become enclaves of drinking, drugs, profanity and nudity -- not exactly the right atmosphere for a family outing...

WASHINGTON -- Consumer borrowing posted the smallest increase in six months in April as Americans actually paid off some of their credit card debt. The Federal Reserve reported Thursday that consumer borrowing rose at an annual rate of just 1.3 percent in April, down from a 7 percent rise in March. It was the weakest showing since consumer debt rose at a tiny 0.1 percent rate last October...

WASHINGTON -- The Democratic-controlled Congress passed legislation Thursday to loosen restraints on federally funded embryonic stem-cell research, but the bill's supporters lacked the votes needed to override President Bush's threatened veto. The 247-176 House vote marked the second time in recent weeks that Democratic leaders have chosen to confront Bush over an issue on which they command widespread public support, following a veto struggle over a proposed troop withdrawal timetable from Iraq.. ...

SAN FRANCISCO -- As heated as the debate over the immigration overhaul is on Capitol Hill, the divisions may run even deeper among immigrants themselves. The measure is pitting computer-science Ph.D.s against strawberry pickers, legal immigrants against illegal ones, and those who want it all against those who are grateful for whatever the bill offers...

MATTHEWS, Mo. -- Reinterment and memorial service for former Matthews resident Charles Ray Burnett will be held at 10 a.m. Monday at Missouri State Veterans Cemetery in Bloomfield. The Rev. John Goodwin of Hunter Memorial First Presbyterian Church will officiate...

Lloyd Carlton, 86, of Pompano Beach, Fla., formerly of Cape Girardeau, died Saturday, June 2, 2007, at Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., after a lengthy battle with cancer. He was born April 8, 1921, at Brownwood, Mo., son of Ora and Anna Mae Gibbs Carlton. He first married Juanita "Skeets" Johnson, who died in 1990. He and Gloria Gearing were married Sept. 9, 1999...

Suzanne Williams, 67, of Jackson died Thursday, June 7, 2007, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson is in charge of arrangements.

Kay K. Scharenborg, 64, of Jackson died Thursday, June 7, 2007, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson is in charge of arrangements.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- Charles Odell Miller, 90, of St. Joseph, formerly of Scott City, died Wednesday, June 6, 2007, at Missouri Veterans Home in Cameron, Mo. He was born Oct. 17, 1916, in Illmo, son of Charles Anthony and Luvada Harmon Miller. He and Rosemary Ball were married Aug. 2, 1947, at Scott City...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Herbert A. "Bun" Wilburn, 99, of Perryville died Wednesday, June 6, 2007, at Perry Oaks Manor. He was born Feb. 13, 1908, near Sikeston, Mo., son of Benjamin Franklin and Mamie Ellen Turner Wilburn. He and Opal Lee Berry were married Feb. 24, 1934. She died Nov. 23, 1989...

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- Thelma Juanita Watson Robertson, 90, of Elsberry, Mo., died Thursday, June 7, 2007, at Elsberry Healthcare Center. She was born Jan. 3, 1917, at Bloomfield, daughter of John and Atha Norton Bolin. She married Earl Watson, who preceded her in death...

ANNA, Ill. -- Hazel Redcloud, 90, of Anna died Thursday, June 7, 2007, at Union County Hospital. She was born Oct. 2, 1916, in Pulaski County, Ill., daughter of Homer and Amanda Manus Beaver. She and Orville H. Redcloud were married Oct. 1, 1932. He died Jan. 6, 1982...

n At 4:43 p.m., emergency medical service at 741 Giboney Ave. n At 7:05 p.m., emergency medical service at 2901 Hawthorne Road. n At 7:18 p.m., an illegal burn at 2827 S. Sprigg St. n At 8:10 p.m., emergency medical service at 500 Emerald St. n At 3:50 a.m., a police assist at Rockwood Drive and North Henderson Avenue...

DWIs; Jackson: DWI

LOS ANGELES -- Paris Hilton's release from jail may be short-lived. Hours after she was sent home under house arrest Thursday for an undisclosed medical condition, the judge who put her in jail for violating her reckless-driving probation ordered her into court to decide if she should go back behind bars...

MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Simmering tensions in the Alabama Senate boiled over Thursday when a Republican lawmaker punched a Democratic colleague in the head before they were pulled apart. Republican Sen. Charles Bishop claimed that Democratic Sen. Lowell Barron called him a name with an expletive...

HEILIGENDAMM, Germany -- Group of Eight leaders including President Bush agreed Thursday to call for substantial global emissions reductions to fight global warming and cited a goal of a 50 percent cut by 2050. European leaders hailed the deal as progress in the wrangling between Europe and the United States over global warming, with the Europeans pushing mandatory cuts and the United States resisting...

PARISHEV, Ukraine -- Two decades after an explosion and fire at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant sent clouds of radioactive particles drifting over the fields near her home, Maria Urupa says the wilderness is encroaching. Packs of wolves have eaten two of her dogs, the 73-year-old says, and wild boar trample through her cornfield. And she says fox, rabbits and snakes infest the meadows near her tumbledown cottage...

Local rockers Drivin' Rain have played with the likes of L.A. Guns, Skid Row and others. But the band's success was recently overshadowed by the death of guitarist Tommy DeWolf. Timexx Nasty, the singer, and Skully, the remaining guitarist, talk about what's next for one of Cape Girardeau's biggest bands...

Evening Optimists endow arts scholarship; Art students win prizes at Paducah Art Show; Casting call goes out for local movie 'Fire Lily'; City of Roses festival dates announced; Casino Aztar schedules barbecue festival; Valle house presents French veillee; Alto Vineyards holds shrimp, barbecue fest; Local student selected for Fine Arts Academy; -- From staff reports

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The sound was never exactly polished, but it had plenty of soul, and the Memphis sound created at Stax Records has found its own special place in the history of American music. Some of pop's most cherished recordings came out of the Stax studio, including Sam & Dave's "Soul Man," Otis Redding's "(Sitting On) The Dock of the Bay," and Isaac Hayes' Oscar-winning "Theme from Shaft."...

NEW YORK -- A bronze sculpture of the Roman goddess Artemis fetched $28.6 million Thursday at auction, a world-record auction price for a sculpture of any period, Sotheby's said. "Artemis and the Stag," dating from the first century B.C. to first century A.D., was purchased by London art dealer Giuseppe Eskenazi on behalf of "a European private collector," according to Sotheby's spokeswoman Lauren Gioia...

New at the theaters: 'Hostel: Part II'; 'Ocean's 13'; 'Surf's Up'; STILL PLAYING: 'Disturbia'; 'Knocked Up'; 'Mr. Brooks'; 'Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End'; 'Shrek the Third'; 'Spider-Man 3'; 'The Waitress'; 'Wild Hogs'

LOS ANGELES -- The next "Indiana Jones" flick will not be another father-son affair. Sean Connery says he will not return to play dad to Harrison Ford's globe-trotting adventurer Indy. Connery played Indy's father in 1989's "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," the third installment of the franchise directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by George Lucas...

SIKESTON -- Lance Young spent Thursday night preparing the scouting report on the Union City Greyhounds. Tonight, Young will try to implement the plan when he heads to the mound for the Sikeston Bulls. The Bulls won their home opener Thursday, beating Union City 6-1 to improve to 3-3 for the season...

Southeast Missouri State men's basketball coach Scott Edgar has filled out his staff by hiring somebody he once recruited. Rodney Hamilton will join the Redhawks after serving the past two seasons as an assistant at Crichton College, an NAIA program in his hometown of Memphis, Tenn...

There is a new milestone in baseball -- 500 saves. Trevor Hoffman became the first big leaguer to reach that mark when he got a save in the San Diego Padres' 5-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday night. Hoffman set the career record with his 479th save on Sept. 28 against Pittsburgh, breaking Lee Smith's old mark of 478. Hoffman finished the 2006 season with 482...

PARIS -- Maria Sharapova's serve was shaky and her strokes were off. Her customary grit was nowhere to be found. Time and again, she'd shank an easy shot, turn her back to the court and fiddle with her racket strings, searching for an answer. She never found one...

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Stan Van Gundy was hired Thursday as coach of the Orlando Magic, who acted quickly after their days-old agreement with Billy Donovan collapsed. The hiring ends a chaotic two weeks in which Orlando fired Brian Hill, hired Donovan and then had to find another replacement because he changed his mind and returned to the Florida Gators...

The TPC Southwind and gusty wind gave anyone wanting a tuneup for next week's U.S. Open a grinding preview. With only seven players breaking par, Adam Scott survived a rough start to shoot a 3-under 67 for a share of the lead with Fredrik Jacobson in the toughest opening round ever in the Stanford St. Jude Championship in Memphis...

David Price is bringing his blazing fastball to Tampa Bay. The hard-throwing left-hander out of Vanderbilt was selected by the Devil Rays with the No. 1 pick in the baseball draft Thursday. "I knew that I had the talent to be that type of player," Price said. "So, I just had to put the talent and the mental game together."...

Cape Senior Babe Ruthsweeps Chaffee The Cape Girardeau Senior Babe Ruth team swept a doubleheader against the Chaffee 16-year-old team on Thursday at Capaha Field. Cape won the first game 13-9 and the nightcap 12-1 in five innings. Cape improved to 3-0...

When you're 5 years old, basic school rules like raising your hand to ask a question or walking single file in the hallway can be a challenge. But for 59 children entering kindergarten in the Cape Girardeau School District this fall, the start of classes will be a lot easier thanks to a prekindergarten program this month at Franklin Elementary School...

By R.B. FALLSTROM The Associated PRess ST. LOUIS -- After a miserable stretch, Kyle Lohse is dominating hitters. Lohse came within two outs of his second shutout in three starts and the Cincinnati Reds got home runs from Ken Griffey Jr., Edwin Encarnacion and Adam Dunn in a 5-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday night...

By TOM WITHERS The Associated Press SAN ANTONIO -- One of the most anticipated debuts in NBA finals history was way, way off the mark. A LeBrick, if you will. LeBron James couldn't solve San Antonio's stifling defense and the pick-and-rolling Spurs, as fundamental and selfless as ever, outclassed Cleveland in an 85-76 win over the Cavaliers in Game 1 on Thursday night...

ST. LOUIS -- Intangibles beyond the raw numbers led the St. Louis Cardinals to select Oklahoma high school shortstop Pete Kozma with the 18th overall pick of the baseball draft on Thursday. Kozma, 18, batted .522 his senior year with 11 home runs and 55 RBIs, and only five strikeouts in 113 at-bats. His solo homer was the only run in the Class 6A title game for Owasso High...

The odds for local success at the 23rd annual Kelso Klassic got a boost with the addition of a third Kelso squad in the 14-team field, but without a title in more than 10 years it will continue to be an uphill battle for Kelso Fastpitch, Kelso JAMCO and Kelso Supply when play begins today...

Minivans don't have quite the same appeal that they did more than 20 years ago when they debuted. But one minivan -- the Honda Odyssey -- has been reliably racking up annual sales records until this year. It appears the 12 percent drop in Odyssey sales in the first five months of 2007 comes as shoppers turn to Honda's smaller vehicles, like the Civic and Fit cars and CR-V sport utility vehicle...

One half star (out of 4 stars) Maybe the movie should be renamed "Knocked Out," as in 10-count, bloody nose, black eyed, broken jaw. This movie was painful to watch. At the risk of sounding like a prude, this movie had no redeeming quality. Or maybe just one. As if the world doesn't have enough social problems, let's glorify and try to make light of drug abuse, anti-Semitism, premarital sex and using abortion as contraception. Did I leave any of our social dysfunctions out?...

WASHINGTON -- A reading score that rates a fourth-grader "proficient" in Mississippi would be a failing score in Massachusetts, according to a report Thursday by the Education Department. The wide variations found in how states assess student progress are certain to fuel debate about whether the federal No Child Left Behind law should be overhauled to make standards more uniform from state to state...

Crushing debt from the birth of a child and an illness suffered by his wife -- not a desire to avoid military service -- led Seaman Apprentice Justin Burns to leave the Norfolk, Va., naval base and return home to Cape Girardeau, he said Thursday. In an interview and lengthy e-mail to the Southeast Missourian, Burns laid out the circumstances he said led to his being arrested May 26 on desertion charges. ...

Dear Tom and Ray: I recently bought a Honda Fit. I love the car, and the dealer even gave me a few hundred dollars for my Metro. I really like the Fit and want to take care of it. The Fit has a feature that shows the oil usage as a percentage. ...

CHARLESTON -- It didn't take long for the Plaza Tire Capahas to pretty well assure themselves of a sixth straight win to begin the season. The Capahas jumped on the host Charleston Riverdogs for eight first-inning runs and cruised to a 16-4 victory Thursday night at Hillhouse Park in a game stopped after seven innings by the 10-run rule...

Cape Girardeau's proposed $10,070,863 budget for the 1982-1983 fiscal year doesn't quite have enough money in it to please everyone; at a public hearing last night, a subsidy of more than $15,000 was requested to help underwrite the operation of Channel 10, the city's local cable access channel, and a $25,000 request was presented for the purchase of new lighting systems for several softball diamonds at Arena Park...

A 31-year-old woman reported being forcibly taken early Friday from the streets of downtown Cape Girardeau to a secluded location in the northeast part of the city where she was raped, police spokesman Sgt. Barry Hovis said. Police are looking skeptically at the report, however, because of problems with the woman's statement, Hovis said...

The U.S. Navy replied Friday to some of the issues raised by Seaman Justin Burns in his letter explaining his decision to leave the Norfolk, Va., naval base, but left many answers incomplete because of rules governing privacy. And representatives of a company responsible for administering military health insurance contacted the Southeast Missourian offering to help Burns navigate their program to settle $13,000 in medical debts...

Seven women ended their walk across Missouri to raise money for cancer research Saturday morning at the Mississippi River floodgate on Broadway. However, raising money was not their only goal. Carrie Pendley, 48, of Frankclay, Mo., has beaten cancer on three occasions. After she turned back breast, ovarian and brain-stem cancer, her close friends and family decided it was time to do something to celebrate...

National Asset Recovery Services Inc. announced Friday the completion of the transition from the company's temporary facility at Auburn Park Place to its permanent location in the Town Plaza shopping center in Cape Girardeau. "This is officially the last time we'll call it the old Sears building. It's the new NARS campus," said president and CEO Chris Buehrle. "I want this to be a landmark. I want people to say, 'Go to the NARS building and take a left.'"...

"Killshot" director John Madden has confirmed scenes of Cape Girardeau are still in the movie. "The key shots ... are there: an establishing shot from the top of the courthouse steps, a shot of Carmen looking out at the Mississippi, her car going over the bridge, the Cape Barge and Drydocks quayside, Wayne standing on top of the barge going upriver at twilight, etc. ...

Ruth M. Hodges, 93, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, June 6, 2007, at the Lutheran Home. She was born Oct. 18, 1913, in Mount Vernon, Ill., daughter of John and Goldie Bell Thompson Wetzer. She and Gleason M. Hodges were married Aug. 31, 1937, in St. Charles, Mo. He died Feb. 23, 1996...

n At 4:42 p.m., emergency medical service at 200 Franks Lane. n At 5:35 p.m., emergency medical service in the 1600 block of Henderson Avenue. n At 6:10 p.m., a fire alarm at 1000 Towers Circle. n At 7:53 p.m., emergency medical service in the 1300 block of North Sprigg Street...

Cape Girardeau: DWI; Arrests; Summonses; Thefts; Property damage; Miscellaneous; Cape Girardeau County: Arrests; Jackson: Summons; Property damage; Miscellaneous

Safe partying; Government protection; Saving gasoline; Lexington potholes; Short on candidates; Governing in Iraq; Thanks for help; Leave the change; Best TBY yet; Road-rage passing; Thanks for music; Thanks for TBY; Meaningful column

Bonnie M. Ludwig, 81, of Jackson died Friday, June 8, 2007, at Jackson Manor Nursing Home in Jackson. Arrangements are incomplete at McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson.

Delma M. Huettig, 93, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, June 8, 2007, at the Lutheran Home. She was born Nov. 20, 1913, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of August and Amelia (Meyer) Oberbeck. She and Wilbert E. Huettig were married Sept. 10, 1944, in Cape Girardeau. He died Feb. 14, 2004...

Suzanne D. Williams, 67, of Jackson passed away Thursday, June 7, 2007, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Gir­ar­deau. She was born July 1, 1939, in Pana, Ill., daughter of Stanley "S.I." and Ruth Leighty Hudson. Suzanne was a riverboat cook 13 years for Continental Grain. She was a former Girl Scout leader. She was a follower of the Eckankar faith. She previously attended First Presbyterian Church and New McKendree United Methodist Church...

SANTA FE, N.M. -- Goodbye, Stonefridge. Or Fridgehenge, if you prefer. A sculpture of more than 100 old refrigerators, stacked and arranged like England's Stonehenge, was removed by the city last week. Strong wind had toppled much of the 80-foot-high, graffiti-covered structure, and city and state officials found that it had become a health and safety hazard...

The closest I've ever come to being in a fire was jumping over celebratory blazes on the streets of Chapel Hill, N.C., after my university won the 2005 national basketball championship. That was, of course, until Friday, when I attended the Cape Girardeau Fire Department Media Day...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Kimberly Rae Kurre, 39, of Perryville died Friday, June 8, 2007, at her home. She was born March 18, 1968, at Lake Park, Fla., daughter of Frank Musil and Carol Foster. She and Joel Kurre were married Nov. 29, 1994. Kurre worked in customer service at Solar Press. She was a member of New Salem United Methodist Church in Daisy, and a former member of Perryville Elks Ladies Auxiliary...

Harley Lee Eddleman Sr., 95, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, June 8, 2007, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday at Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home. The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at the funeral home...

Seven women walking across Missouri to raise money for cancer research end their 450-mile journey at the Mississippi River in Cape Girardeau today. Carrie Pendley, Cathy Phipps, Rhoda Netherton, Tammy Myers and Sarah Myers, Kim Kinnard and Debbie Loewe will leave the Pear Tree Inn on William Street at 8 a.m., joined by a police escort, and proceed down Farrar Drive. ...

The Missouri Department of Social Services has referred 22,689 cases of child nonsupport to county prosecutors since Jan 1. Eight of them were recently filed in Scott County, part of 334 that have been referred in the past six months. Cape Girardeau County has received 140 of the cases in the same time period, according to department statistics...

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration sidelined Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on Friday, announcing plans to replace him as the nation's top military officer rather than reappoint him and risk a Senate confirmation struggle focusing on the Iraq war...

The history and colorful stories of the Bunker, Mo., area will be featured Sunday in an interview with retired educator Dean Burns on the "Going Public" radio show. Burns researched and wrote a history of his Ozarks area hometown called "Voices from Bunker and Extended Communities."...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- The actions of a Sikeston couple who hosted a high school graduation party that police say involved underage drinking reflect a widespread attitude among parents that it's OK to hold such parties, a leader of a drug-free coalition says...