Stories from March 2008

Gov. Matt Blunt sent a message Friday to President George Bush asking for federal aid for 18 Missouri counties, including Cape Girardeau, Bollinger, Butler, Scott, Stoddard and Wayne counties, which suffered significant damage from ice storms that swept across the state Feb. 10 through 14. Two people died and 50 more were injured in storm-related traffic accidents. Electric wires, utility poles and trees snapped under the weight of ice...

For the past three months, Lt. Col. Roger Shuck's primary work has consisted of reconstruction -- the slow process of rebuilding the economy and government in Iraq. Shuck's unit, the 4th Brigade Combat Team, Third Infantry Division, is responsible for the Forward Operating Base Kalsu, about 40 miles south of Baghdad. It is in the Babil region, which encompasses an area about the size of Switzerland, Shuck said in a telephone interview...

The Bootheel Food Bank is moving from Sikeston, Mo., to a 25,700-square-foot building on Nash Road near the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport. The move, which will be completed later this month, will increase visibility for the food bank, which distributes federal surplus commodities and donated food to 150 agencies in 16 Southeast Missouri counties, executive director Karen Green said in a news release issued Friday...

One player stuck out as Notre Dame boys basketball coach Paul Hale studied his team's next opponent. Senior guard Jordan Flora leads St. Clair in scoring, averaging 19.1 points per game, including hitting 52.5 percent from 3-point range, according to stltoday.com...

The Southeast Missouri State men's track and field team jumped out to the lead after the opening day of the Ohio Valley Conference indoor meet. Southeast scored 48 points in five finals contested Friday at Tennessee State University in Nashville, Tenn...

One of the primary reasons Missy Whitney and Ashley Lovelady chose to play basketball for Southeast Missouri State was to win championships. It's not surprising that as their college careers wind down, the Redhawks' two seniors couldn't have scripted things much better...

Southeast Missouri State ace Dustin Renfrow experienced control issues at the start. And that's the opening Northern Colorado needed to spoil the Redhawks' first home game of the season. The Bears took advantage of Renfrow's early wildness to score three first-inning runs despite getting just one hit...

After canceling today's schedule of the All-Missouri Strike Out Against Cancer Classic due to poor field conditions, the Southeast softball team will open its home schedule Sunday in a scaled-back version of the original format. Three squads will participate, with Saint Louis University and Missouri State joining the Redhawks at the Southeast Softball Complex. Missouri-Kansas City will not make the trip...

Southeast Missouri State senior center Mike Rembert never envisioned his final college basketball season ending this way. Especially not after the Redhawks won their first six Ohio Valley Conference games to lead the standings nearly one-third of the way through the OVC schedule...

JUNEAU, Alaska -- One of the cruelest ironies of living in Alaska is this:~ Shipping costs: Most of the state's oil must be refined on the West Coast The state is awash in oil money, but many residents of remote villages are struggling to heat their homes because of fuel bills that are two or three times the national average...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA on Friday cleared space shuttle Endeavour for liftoff in less than two weeks on the longest space station visit ever. Endeavour is scheduled to blast off March 11 on a 16-day mission that could end up stretching by another day...

BOSTON -- Almost nothing Misha Defonseca wrote about herself or her horrific childhood during the Holocaust was true. She didn't live with a pack of wolves to escape the Nazis. She didn't trek 1,900 miles across Europe in search of her deported parents, nor kill a German soldier in self-defense. She's not even Jewish...

ST. LOUIS -- Dogs may have a hard time wrapping their paws around this one: Robotic competition is nipping at their heels in the man's-best-friend department. A study by Saint Louis University found that a lovable pooch named Sparky and a robotic dog, AIBO, were about equally effective at relieving the loneliness of nursing home residents and fostering attachments...

Briefly Upcoming events of the Vincentian Marian Youth n The next Vincentian Marian Youth Encounter with will begin at 6 p.m. March 9 at the Shrine Church in Perryville, Mo. The evening will start with a five-minute Faith Alive. Mass celebrated by the Rev. Milton Ryan will follow...

WEBSTER GROVES, Mo. -- A suburban St. Louis teenager was being treated at a hospital after having his leg cut off by a freight train. Police told STLtoday.com, the Web site for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, that 19-year-old Joseph Alexander somehow managed to crawl 50 yards for help, flagging down a passing motorist...

Our recent ice storms have taught us many things. Collectively, the area was resilient during the outages, and our emergency responses seemed to be appropriate. To our knowledge, everyone survived the power outages. But in the grand scheme of things, an earthquake could be much worse than an ice storm...

Edna E. Nagel, 93, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, Feb. 29, 2008, at the Lutheran Home. Lorberg Memorial Funeral Chapel is in charge of arrangements.

CAIRO, Ill. -- Katie Lee Tandy, 90, of Cairo died Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2008, at Western Baptist Hospital in Paducah, Ky. Friends may call from 12:30 p.m. until time of service today at Massie Funeral Home in Mounds, Ill. The service will be at 2:30 p.m. today at the funeral home, with Paul Jones officiating...

The work of the Center for Environmental Analysis at Southeast Missouri State University goes far beyond groundwater testing. It ranges from improving pediatric asthma care to developing a means of detecting methamphetamine exposure to finding old graves with radar. CEA research projects include lead exposure, discharges from swine farm operations and earthworm species identification, among many others...

I walked down the street shortly after a massive ice storm. I had been forced to stay in far more than usual. Roads and streets were icy and slick. I dared to barely scoot my feet along. I asked myself the purpose of the sudden deep freeze. Aside from benefits to nature, what was God trying to show me?...

CHESTERFIELD, Mo. -- Dean DeWitt Donadon, 82, of Chesterfield, formerly of Marble Hill, Mo., died Thursday, Feb. 28, 2008, at Brooking Park Nursing Home in Chesterfield. He was born Jan. 31, 1926, in Kansas City, Mo., son of Elmer and Ruth Stella Staul Donadon. He and Leanna G. St. Clair were married July 13, 1948, in St. Louis. She died Sept. 24, 2002...

WASHINGTON -- In a stunning upset, Boeing Co. lost out to Northrop Grumman Corp. and the maker of Airbus planes on Friday in the battle to win a $35 billion dollar contract to build military refueling planes for the Air Force. The decision is a major disappointment for Wichita, Kan., where Boeing Integrated Defense Systems would have been the finishing center for the militarization of the tanker...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Gary W. Wengert, 57, of Perryville died Thursday, Feb. 28, 2008, at St. Louis University Hospital. He was born Feb, 7, 1951, in Cape Girardeau, son of Herbert and Emogene Riney Wengert. Wengert was president of First State Community Bank in Perryville. He was a member of St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, Knights of Columbus and Perryville Optimist Club...

JERUSALEM -- Israel's deputy defense minister warned of disaster in the Gaza Strip after Palestinian rocket fire grew more ominous Friday with an assault on an Israeli city. Gaza's unbowed Hamas rulers promised to fight on. Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai told Army Radio that because of the militants' attacks, Israel had "no other choice" but to launch a massive military operation in the Gaza Strip...

LONDON -- Police are no longer investigating Amy Winehouse on suspicion of attempting to interfere with a court case involving her husband, her spokesman said Friday. The 24-year-old singer is not required to return to a police station for further questioning, her spokesman, Chris Goodman, said in a statement...

Budnick; Urhahn; Cook; Abraham; Mahnken; Medlock; Hale; Loy; Seabaugh; Mayhew; Naeter; Sheppard; Biler; Roberts; Jackson; Barr; Hendricks

BAGHDAD -- Gunmen abducted a Chaldean Catholic archbishop soon after he left Mass in the Iraqi city of Mosul, the latest in what church members called a series of attacks against Iraq's small Christian community. The gunmen killed three people who were with Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho, said Iraqi Brig. Gen. Khalid Abdul Sattar, a spokesman for the Ninevah province police...

Cape Girardeau The company hired to clear debris from Cape Girardeau streets collected 1,300 cubic yards of debris Friday. Marriott Logging finished clearing zones C and D. Today, the crews will work in Zone F, around Southeast Missouri State University...

BAGHDAD -- The Saddam Hussein henchman known as "Chemical Ali" for gassing thousands of Kurdish civilians is due to hang within the month, following the endorsement of his death sentence Friday by Iraq's presidential council. But even survivors were notably subdued about the news in a nation weary of violence and suffering...

PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- A suicide attacker blew himself up at a funeral Friday for a slain policeman in Pakistan's volatile Swat Valley, killing at least 35 people including the officer's 16-year-old son. It was the deadliest attack in the country since the Feb. 18 parliamentary elections. And it was the bloodiest in the Swat Valley since militant followers of a pro-Taliban cleric grabbed control of large parts of the scenic corner of Pakistan's restive northwest...

n At 6:11 p.m., emergency medical service in the 400 block of North Frederick Street. n At 3:25 a.m., emergency medical service in the 1500 block of Grandview Drive. n At 4:55 a.m., emergency medical service in the 1400 block of Price Drive. n At 9:22 a.m., an alarm in the 2300 block of Arabian Drive...

WASHINGTON -- Regulators and aircraft manufacturers are not keeping adequate tabs on the quality of plane parts made domestically and abroad, potentially raising risks for fliers, government investigators said in a report released Friday. The inspector general's office of the Transportation Department said the Federal Aviation Administration has failed to conduct enough audits to determine whether manufacturers' quality-assurance systems are working...

Life coaching experts have stressed that to be more fulfilled and successful in your life you need to create and act on a daily plan. Yet there are those days that do not turn out like we think they should. Days that, no matter how we schedule them, just will not conform. ...

LONDON -- Prince Harry wanted to be "one of the lads," an ordinary soldier sharing risk and hardship with his men. For 10 weeks, he got his wish -- and that may be enough to advance his career in the military. British defense chiefs announced Friday they were withdrawing him immediately from the combat zone in Afghanistan after his deployment, once a closely guarded secret, became public...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Ask any shark diver why they do it and the answer is quick and simple -- the thrill. From Cape Town to California, Florida and the Bahamas, adventurous divers can slip into the ocean with an experienced guide to observe some of the world's fiercest predators...

WASHINGTON -- For Republicans, watching Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama fight for supremacy in fundraising is not just a spectator sport. It is a look into the future, and the GOP isn't cheering. Obama and Clinton together raked in as much as seven times as much cash in February as John McCain, the all-but-certain Republican nominee...

Proposed trade; Not a good idea; Bowhunting insanity; Time for audit?; Funding conflict; Some problems; Sentencing skepticism; Woman of integrity; Outstanding job; Qualified to work; Where's his boss?; A bad idea; Suspended sentence; Vacation package

NEW ORLEANS -- The federal official in charge of rebuilding the Gulf Coast after the 2005 hurricanes said he submitted his resignation Friday because he wants to return to Texas to get back into banking. Donald Powell, former chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., acknowledged that work remains to help the region recover from hurricanes Katrina and Rita. ...

DWI; Theft; Arrests

CAIRO, Ill. -- Shirley Ann Taylor, 67, of McDonough, Ga., died Thursday, Feb. 28, 2008, at Sacred Journey Hospice in McDonough. She was born in Cairo, daughter of Fred M. and Helen L. Hawf Lilley. She married Edward Albert Taylor, who preceded her in death...

In 2004 and 2005, monitors reporting to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found potentially harmful levels of the weedkiller atrazine in the South Fabius River and Youngs Creek watersheds in northeastern Missouri. Some studies have shown that atrazine can produce hermaphroditic frogs and male frogs with ovaries and eggs, although the level of exposure has varied in those studies. ...

The Westborough Mall site is apparently back in the running as a potential location for a multipurpose building in Cape Girardeau; an agent representing the owners of the site contacted Mayor Howard C. Tooke over the weekend and indicated an interest in making the site available for the arena project...

Anyone who thinks young people aren't grounded in their spiritual faith needs to meet Joshua Smith. A full-time sophomore at Southeast Missouri State University, Smith was hired in November to be the youth coordinator for Grace United Methodist Church. ...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Darrel Drumright has worked in the health care field for 15 years, but he doesn't trust immunizations. So for years, the Kansas City chiropractor and father of three has chosen not to vaccinate his children. His reason -- on paper anyway -- is religion. His family is Catholic, so they claim a religious exemption, which allows the kids to skip their shots...

FROHNA, Mo. -- Visitors to Saxon Lutheran Memorial in Frohna took a break from technology Saturday with demonstrations of how to make maple syrup, rope, kettle corn, bread and apple butter. Outdoor activities were handled by about 30 volunteers, most in period costume. Guided tours through the old structures were scheduled at two-hour intervals...

In 2007, the number of people in Cape Girardeau County who died due to drug overdoses doubled from the previous year. Since 1999, 43 people have died in the county as a result of an overdose. Thirteen of those fatalities occurred in 2007, according to Cape Girardeau County Coroner John Clifton...

Southeast Missourian PATTON, Mo. -- A 71-year-old Patton woman was seriously injured Saturday when her vehicle backed across a highway and struck a tree. Lilian E. Martin was taken to Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau after the 2:30 p.m. accident. It occurred on Route A, one-tenth of a mile west of state Highway 51 near Patton in Bollinger County...

Vandals have hurt Old Lorimier Cemetery the most during the 200 years of its existence. In 1992 a fence was erected to try to prevent almost weekly attacks on gravestones. Last year a motion-activated security system was installed to provide more protection to the cemetery's historical artifacts, which include the graves of Cape Girardeau founding father Louis Lorimier, railroad entrepreneur Louis Houck and George Washington's cousin George Lewis...

David and Vickie Howard and Butch and Sally Holyfield, all of Cape Girardeau, announce the engagement of their daughter, Alyssa Lee Holyfield, to Matthew John Groeteke, both of St. Peters, Mo. He is the son of John and Star Groeteke of St. Charles, Mo...

To the editor:Would Missouri House Speaker Rod Jetton take a job for $8 an hour and give up Section 8 housing, food stamps, unemployment benefits, Medicaid, WIC and other welfare incentives, all of which $8 an hour would even begin to replace? What has Jetton offered his constituents in Wayne County since 2004?...

NEW HAMBURG, Mo. -- Kristina Elaine Roslen and Justin Wade Vetter were married Sept. 8, 2007, at Chaumette Vineyards and Winery near Ste. Genevieve, Mo. Judge David Dolan of Sikeston, Mo., performed the ceremony. Reader was Lauren Heuring, Organist was Barbara Jones...

To the editor:I want to take this opportunity to thank the Cape County Private Ambulance Service and the Gordonville Fire Department for coming to my home and helping me. I fell down a flight of stairs. I was injured quite badly. I was taken to Saint Francis Medical Center. ...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Terry Duvall and Robyn Roy of Perryville announce the engagement of their daughter, Jennifer Duvall, to Adam Wachter, both of Northglenn, Colo. He is the son of Rodney and Barb Wachter of Altenburg, Mo. Duvall is a 2003 graduate of Perryville High School, and a 2007 graduate of Southeast Missouri State University. She is a business teacher at Brighton Collegiate High School in Brighton, Colo...

Speaking at the annual Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce dinner last night, Gov. Christopher S. Bond announced Tri-Con Corp., will hire about 120 workers here to produce automobile seat covers for the Chrysler Corporation; the company has leased space from the Ralph Edwards Sportswear Co...

Ronald Broshuis of Marble Hill, Mo., and Debbie Allen of Clubb, Mo., announce the engagement of their daughter, Misty Dawn Broshuis, to Alan Lynn Kesterson, both of Jackson. He is the son of Larry and Linda Kesterson of Oak Ridge. Broshuis attended Woodland High School...

BENTON, Mo. -- Vince and Carol Hulshof of Benton announce the engagement of their daughter, Natalie Carole Scherer, to Joshua Paul Statler, both of Chesterfield, Mo. He is the son of Ivan and Susan Statler of Jackson. Scherer is a 2003 graduate of Kelly High School, and received a degree in hotel and restaurant management from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She is meeting and event coordinator with Experint Inc...

Norman and Imogene VanGennip of Marble Hill, Mo., announce the engagement of their daughter, Cathy Vangennip Wills of Cape Girardeau, to Roger Prost of Perryville, Mo. He is the son of the late Harvey and Earlene Prost of Perryville. Wills is employed at Physician Associates in Cape Girardeau...

Proposed legislation in the Missouri Legislature would require all public officials in the state to receive Sunshine Law training within 90 days of taking office. At least three other states have either passed a similar law or are considering one. The aim of the Sunshine Law -- the Missouri Open Meetings, Open Records Act -- is to give the public access to government deliberations and documents. ...

Courtney Rae Crowden and Stuart Ellis Knowlan were married Aug. 11, 2007, at First Baptist Church in Jackson. T.J. Humphrey performed the ceremony. Pianist was Christy Shinn of Jackson, guitarists were Sam Gregg of Jackson and Eric Peterson of Wentzville, Mo. Peterson was also soloist...

BENTON, Mo. -- Brock and Amy Milam of Benton announce the engagement of their daughter, Lexie Brooke Milam, to Mitchell Wayne Holder. He is the son of Ed and Lisa Prellwitz of Morley, Mo., and Randy Holder and Carrie Phillips of Scott City. Milam attended Kelly High School and received a certificate of diploma in 2007...

Mark and Susan Koerber of Cape Girardeau announce the engagement of their daughter, Krystina Renee Koerber, to Jerry Dwayne Jackson Jr. He is the son of Jerry and Debbie Jackson Sr. of Scott City. Koerber is a 2005 graduate of Jackson High School, and is majoring in pre-pharmacy at Southeast Missouri State University. She is a pharmacy technician at Plaza Pharmacy...

Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Barrong of Camden, Ark., announce the engagement of their daughter, Kellie Spencer of Corpus Christi, Texas, to Jeff Fluegge of Schertz, Texas. He is the son of Carolyn Myer of Jackson and Mr. and Mrs. Milford Fluegge of Millersville...

Laziness is a fact; Need zoning, codes; Reaping the rewards; Punish developers; Help with limbs; Thanks for help; Using statistics; Buckley's death

Thirty local residents will be celebrating Thanksgiving this year far from home. Thirteen students, three teachers and 14 of their family members will board a plane and visit Singapore and Japan for a two-week stay. The students are pupils of Hays Hendricks (no relation to the author of this article), a Suzuki violin instructor based at the Southeast Missouri Music Academy. ...

PASCO, Wash. -- Sheriff's detectives in Franklin County, Wash., say a man had his friend shoot him in the shoulder so he wouldn't have to go to work. When he first spoke with deputies, Daniel Kuch told them he'd been the victim of a drive-by shooting while he was jogging Thursday. But detectives told KONA radio that Kuch later acknowledged that he asked his friend to shoot him so he could get some time off work and avoid a drug test...

JOPLIN, Mo. -- Some students at Missouri Southern State University are seeking to reverse a fee increase that will go toward a recreation center already under construction. They are circulating petitions seeking to eliminate the $150 per semester fee, which takes effect in the fall. For students taking six credit hours or less, the fee will be $75...

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistani police Saturday formally accused the top Taliban leader in the country and four others of planning the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. Police filed preliminary charges in court against Baitullah Mehsud, who had been named by the Pakistani government in the Dec. ...

WASHINGTON -- The number of Iraqi refugees admitted to the United States rose slightly for the second month in a row, although the Bush administration still will struggle to meet its target of 12,000 by the end of September. The State Department said Saturday that 444 Iraqi refugees entered the country in February. That puts total admissions for the current budget year, which began Oct. 1, at 1,876 and leaves the administration seven months to admit 10,124 to reach its goal...

Edna E. "Bess" Creibaum Nagel, 93, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, Feb. 29, 2008, at the Lutheran Home. She was born June 1, 1914, at Cape Girardeau, daughter of William and Leona Scherf Creibaum. She married Alvin H. Nagel. He died July 30, 1990. Nagel was a cafeteria manager at Trinity Lutheran School and Campus University School. She belonged to St. Andrew Lutheran Church and Lutheran Women's Missionary League, where she was a bereavement lunch member and kitchen member...

DWI; Assault

ADVANCE, Mo. -- Alva Richard Rodgers, 89, died Saturday, March 1, 2008, at Advance Nursing Center. Friends may call from 5 to 8 p.m. Monday at Morgan Funeral Home. Funeral is at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Bright Prospect General Baptist Church in McGee, Mo...

LONDON -- Prince Harry returned home to his relieved father and older brother Saturday after a 10-week Afghan tour of duty that security officials fear could now make him a top target for extremists. His body armor hanging loose off one shoulder, Harry, 23, descended the steps of a Royal Air Force troop carrier with about 170 other soldiers. ...

TITUSVILLE, Fla. -- A small airplane that may have had trouble landing struck another aircraft that was taxiing at an airfield and both burst into flames Saturday, killing two people, authorities said. Two other people were critically injured. Both planes were single-engine craft known as "experimental" or amateur-built, officials said. The Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 866 was hosting a pancake breakfast at the airport, the Arthur Dunn Airpark...

MOSCOW -- After eight years of rule that saw Russia's influence and wealth grow while its democratic freedoms shrank, voters in the Far East were the first in this vast nation to cast their ballots today for President Vladimir Putin's successor. When the election is over and the votes are counted, a path almost certainly will be open for Putin to take a new and powerful role in the government of the man he has endorsed to take his place...

TRENTON, N.J. -- For New Jersey drivers, the message is clear: Keep your thumbs on the wheel and off the keypad. As of Saturday, police can slap drivers with a $100 fine for talking or sending a text message on hand-held devices. New Jersey joins four other states, including neighboring New York, where talking on a hand-held cell phone is reason enough to get pulled over. ...

GENEVA -- Engineers Friday fitted the last major piece into what they say will be the world's largest scientific instrument -- a particle accelerator in a 17-mile tunnel under the Swiss-French border. The wheel-shaped piece of equipment, with a diameter of about 30 feet, was lowered down a 330-foot shaft and fitted with other equipment known as detectors in an underground room the size of a cathedral...

MALDEN, Mo. -- Helen Erma Ramsey Riley of Malden passed away Thursday, Feb. 28, 2008, at Missouri Southern Healthcare Hospital in Dexter, Mo., at the age of 91 years, 11 months. She was born March 28, 1916, to Vern C. and Minnie Geiser Ramsey at Chaffee, Scott County, Mo. She is a descendant of some of the original settlers of Cape Girardeau County...

WASHINGTON -- Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne says White House-brokered negotiations involving Alabama, Florida and Georgia have failed to produce a water-sharing deal. In lieu of such an agreement, federal agencies will move forward with developing their own solution, Kempthorne wrote the three governors...

CHICAGO -- A federal judge refused to allow enforcement of a state law requiring teenage girls to notify their parents before getting abortions, a legal body blow to the decades-old measure. Pro-choice groups Saturday hailed the ruling, saying it should be a last nail in the coffin for the law that was passed in 1984 and updated in 1995 but has never been enforced because of complex legal wrangling...

ALBA, Texas -- A mother and two children were killed in a predawn attack at their remote East Texas ranch, which burned to the ground, and four young people who knew the family will be charged with murder, authorities said. The father was in critical condition with a gunshot wound, Rains County Sheriff David Traylor said at a news conference...

NEW YORK -- When Rubina Husain's husband died aboard an airliner, she shielded her 10-year-old daughter's eyes so she wouldn't see her daddy's body carried through the cabin. Then, with the corpse covered up and tucked away in a rear galley, the passengers who had stood around and stared after the man collapsed returned to eating and chatting. The Athens-to-New York jetliner continued on to its destination for eight or nine more hours. And the in-flight movie was shown as planned...

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. -- Richard D. "Dick" Jones, 81, of Overland Park, Kan., passed away March 1, 2008, at the Kansas City Hospice House. He was born March 13, 1926, in Carthage, Mo., to Norman and Reba Jones. Jones graduated from Central High School in Springfield, Mo., Drury College in Springfield, and the University of Missouri, Columbia Law School with a J.D. degree. He was a member of Kappa Alpha fraternity, Seven Sages and Phi Delta Phi...

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- Israeli troops turned heavy firepower on rocket squads bombarding southern Israel Saturday, killing 54 Palestinians in the deadliest day in Gaza since the current round of fighting erupted in 2000. Two Israeli soldiers were killed and seven were wounded in the clashes, the military said...

LA CROSSE, Wis. -- It was the perfect gift for someone born on Feb. 29 -- a Leap Day grandchild. As Julie Austin of Galesville prepared to observe her Leap Year birthday Friday, she was hoping to share the special day with the latest addition to her family...

WASHINGTON -- The divorce rate in the armed forces held steady last year at 3.3 percent, a surprising finding given the stress that marriages are under during persistent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some veterans questioned whether the figure, reported by the Pentagon, presents an accurate picture. But defense officials credited efforts in recent years to support couples enduring uncommonly long separations and other hardships because of those wars...

HAVANA -- Once known as the "fist" of Cuba's revolution, 76-year-old Raul Castro may be showing a brush of the velvet glove since taking power. Just a week into his job as Cuba's new president, Castro discussed the island's prisoners with a visiting Vatican official and directed his government to sign two international human rights treaties that his older brother, Fidel, opposed...

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- A man on his way to anger management class became angry and struck a woman, authorities said. Justin John Boudin, 27, pleaded guilty Friday to fifth-degree assault in Ramsey County District Court and can expect to face a sentence for time served in jail, at least 120 days, and probation when he is sentenced May 5, the county attorney's office said...

WASHINGTON -- A year ago, Hillary Rodham Clinton was joshing about whether she could appoint her husband secretary of state when she became president, and Barack Obama was urging a throng to be realistic about his own chances. "Let's face it," he said. "The novelty's going to wear off."...

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Tuition and fees may be going up at Southern Illinois University. Officials have asked the school's trustees to vote on the increases in April. Students at the Edwardsville campus would pay $622 more per year. Students in Carbondale would pay $627 more annually...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- John A. Hager Sr., 66, of Perryville died Friday, Feb. 29, 2008, at Saint Francis Medical Center. He was born July 22, 1941, at Marquette, Mich. He and Ruth A. Myer were married April 11, 1965 at Perryville. Hager was the owner/operator of H&R Cab Service in Perryville and a cab driver for Cape Transfer. ...

BAGHDAD -- President Bush's last trip to Iraq was kept secret until he arrived at a U.S. military base. Eight hours later he left, after Iraq's leaders traveled to meet him there. In sharp contrast, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit -- the first ever by an Iranian leader to Iraq -- was announced in advance. He plans to spend the night here, and Iranian TV will broadcast his departure ceremony live...

BOGOTA, Colombia -- Troops killed a senior commander of Colombia's largest rebel army in an air-and-ground raid Saturday, as the U.S.-backed military dealt a stunning setback to the nation's leftist insurgency. Raul Reyes was the official spokesman for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and considered a possible successor to the leftist group's No. 1 spot. The United States had offered a $5 million reward for his capture...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Missouri: The meth capital of the United States. It's a label that has stuck. After all, Missouri has led the nation in meth lab seizures every year since 2001, and 2007 was no exception: 1,189 labs were seized last year, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency's Web site...

WASHINGTON -- House Democrats really didn't expect the Justice Department to present their contempt citations against two of President Bush's top aides to a federal grand jury for prosecution. But the effort and having a civil lawsuit at the ready as a backup in their fight against the White House over the 2006 firings of nine federal prosecutors has satisfied, for now, some liberals who for a year have wanted much more: Bush's impeachment...

n At 6:13 p.m., an electrical fire in the 2800 block of Whitener Street. n At 8:11 p.m., an illegal burn at Highway 74 and Osage Trail. n At 8:20 p.m., emergency medical service in the 1200 block of Brenda Kay Court. n At 11 p.m., emergency medical service in the 400 block of South Benton Street...

LAS VEGAS -- A motel patron hospitalized after possible exposure to the toxin ricin is "holding his own" in intensive care, his cousin said Saturday as investigators puzzled over why the strictly controlled poison was in the man's room. Thomas Tholen told The Associated Press he didn't immediately want to say more about Roger Von Bergendorff or the discovery Thursday of several vials of ricin at his extended-stay motel room...

AVONDALE, La. -- The USS New York, an amphibious assault ship built with scrap steel from the ruins of the World Trade Center, was christened Saturday as a source of strength and inspiration for the nation. Thousands of people, including friends and families of those who died in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, gathered near the gray ship, trimmed in red, white and blue banners...

Enough already. I've heard enough Fit witticisms to last a lifetime -- from "I Fit, so you will, too," and "It Fits like a glove" to "Skip the gym, get a Fit." Fit is Honda's smallest and least expensive car, with a starting manufacturer's suggested retail price, including destination charge, of $14,585 for a base model with 109-horsepower four cylinder and five-speed manual transmission and $15,385 for a base model with automatic transmission...

MOSCOW -- Russians were steeled for momentous change at the turn of the millennium. On Dec. 31, 1999, many feared the dreaded Y2K computer bug would hit especially hard at Russia's deteriorating military facilities or its Chernobyl-style nuclear power stations...

Oak Ridge FCE The Oak Ridge FCE Homemakers Club met Feb. 19 at the home of Betty Dellinger. Jean Rehak presided over the meeting. Members reported about buying clothes to be given away at Christmas at the Elks' Basket Giveaway. Members discussed those who would be getting FCE service pins for work years at All Clubs Day. Oak Ridge will have two members, and the club voted to pay for the pins as an honor to them...

NEW YORK -- Even giving away something for free can turn into a hassle in New York. A video-sharing Web site set out to observe Leap Day by handing out prizes worth up to $29 on Feb. 29 outside Union Square Park. As the clock neared the event's scheduled time -- 2:29 p.m. -- people shouting "Make it rain!" and "Give me my money!" trampled one another and mobbed the costumed representatives of CashTomato.com....

BELLEVILLE, Ill. -- Two weeks after he was killed, misidentified and buried by the wrong family, Kenny Thomas Stainback has now been officially laid to rest with the right name. The 37-year-old was buried Friday at the Sunset Garden of Memory cemetery in Belleville...

WASHINGTON -- President Bush on Saturday urged Congress to pass legislation aimed at ending illegal sales of highly addictive prescription drugs on the Internet, citing a growing number of fatal overdoses. Bush used his weekly radio address to highlight his administration's 2008 national drug control strategy, which the White House released Saturday. ...

YEREVAN, Armenia -- Armenia's president imposed a state of emergency Saturday after police used tear gas and fired shots into the air to disperse demonstrators protesting alleged fraud in last month's presidential election. The announcement from the office of President Robert Kocharian came shortly after police broke up the rally of about 15,000 demonstrators. ...

Area police departments vary widely when it comes to the number of investigative stops they make. In Chaffee, complaints of such stops led to threats of resignations by the mayor and police chief and a failed attempt to impeach Mayor Loretta Mohorc...

The Southeast Missouri State baseball team dropped a pair of games to Northern Colorado at Capaha Field on Saturday. The Redhawks allowed three eighth-inning runs in the first game to fall 4-2, then lost the nightcap 7-3. The losses dropped the Redhawks to 2-4 this season, and they will try to avoid the sweep today in a noon contest...

With little on the line, Southeast Missouri State and Jacksonville State played an entertaining men's basketball game Saturday night. But the result was all too familiar for the Redhawks over the past two months. Another loss. JSU finished strong and beat the host Redhawks 86-83 in the final game of the season for both teams...

FARMINGTON -- When Paul Hale was hired nearly four years ago to coach the Notre Dame boys basketball team, the school's principal, Brother David Migliorino, called it a grand slam. On Saturday night, Migliorino repeated, "We couldn't ask for anything more."...

It didn't take long for the Southeast Missouri State women's basketball team to bounce back. Two days after suffering a rare loss, the Redhawks ended their regular season in resounding fashion. Southeast used an early 17-0 run as the springboard to its 85-42 destruction of visiting Jacksonville State on Saturday night, punctuating its third straight Ohio Valley Conference regular-season championship...

FARMINGTON -- Notre Dame senior Austin Greer said when teammate Mark Himmelberg is shooting well from 3-point range, their team cannot be beat. "We will not lose," Greer said. "When he's hitting, the whole team is flowing right." Greer's theory held strong Saturday night...

Husband-and-wife journalists Bob Miller and Callie Clark Miller use this space to offer their views on everyday issues. HE SAID: In this week's column, we'll start with the punchline and work backward. I woke up Saturday morning in a drug-induced haze to discover two women dressed as nurses hovering over the top of me. And my pants were unbuttoned...

The Southeast Missouri State men's track and field team finished third at the Ohio Valley Conference meet Saturday. The Redhawks entered Saturday with the lead, but Eastern Kentucky and Eastern Illinois passed them. "We're struggling with some injury situations," Southeast coach Joey Haines said. "We didn't have [All-American] Miles [Smith] with us. It caused me to make some lineup changes because of that. We put some people in extra events, and we ran out of gas at the end."...

I don't have any answers to the question posed by the above headline. But a story in the New York Times -- "The War Endures, but Where's the Media" -- by Richard Perez-Pena, reports some interesting data...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- First, the Rev. Marek Bozek angered the archbishop. Now, some in Bozek's own parish would like to remove him. Bozek heads St. Stanislaus Kostka, the Polish-heritage church that has been at odds with Archbishop Raymond Burke, who has removed the parish's Catholic standing and declared Bozek and parish board members excommunicated...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Investigators are trying to find the cause of a fatal fire in a Kansas City house that is believed to have been vacant. Fire Department spokesman Joe Vitale said firefighters found a body in a hallway off a bedroom of the one-story house as they battled the fire first reported shortly after 4:30 a.m. Monday. He said the body was under debris that fell when the roof collapsed...

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -- The downtown nightclub where Missouri's leading scorer suffered a broken jaw in a scuffle with two restaurant workers has closed down, according to a letter the owner sent to city officials. In a letter dated Feb. 21, Athena Nightclub owner Rashid A. Kikhia said he "is no longer operating a nightclub" and is in the process of "reorganizing the business on all levels, including management, cooks, delivery drivers and servers."...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Eight students are taken to a hospital with minor injuries after a school bus accident in St. Louis. The accident happened Monday morning. Few details were available, but authorities say the students from Gateway Institute of Technology High School were taken to Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital and St. Louis Children's Hospital for evaluation...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Kansas City police have identified the man killed in a Clay County forklift mishap last weekend. Capt. Rich Lockhart said 60-year-old Angelo Cambiano was operating a forklift inside a commercial cave complex in Randolph Saturday when it overturned on him...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The state's business community is worried lawmakers' zeal to add new restrictions and penalties for illegal immigrants could spill to those who hire them. Of particular concern is a federal database that allows employers to check whether a prospective employee is allowed to work in the United States...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Missouri's state government is among the nation's highest-performing according to a national report card produced by the Pew Center on the States. Missouri finished with a B-plus, behind just three states that received A's. It was the highest score among the state's eight neighbors...

Several Missouri highways east of Springfield are flooded due to overly-wet conditions in west and central portions of Missouri. "Those are the 'usual suspects'. We've got quite a few closed this afternoon but I anticipate they're reopened in 24 hours," said Angela Eden, MoDOT spokeswoman. ...

The National Weather Service's latest short-term forecast, issued online at 8 p.m., says ice is starting to accumulate in the northern reaches of Southern Illinois near Sesser. By 9 p.m., the weather service forecasts ice to be falling in Marble Hill, Mo.

In remembrance of her death a year ago, the founder of the group Jackson Mothers of Preschoolers has been memorialized through the creation of a program called Bibles for Babies. Founder Danna Lape died Feb. 26, 2007, and after her death, memorials were sent to the group in Lape's name. ...

A Mass of Thanksgiving will be held Tuesday in honor of John J. Leibrecht, who is retiring as bishop of the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau this month. The Mass will be one of the last times Leibrecht visits Cape Girardeau as bishop. On March 31, the Rev. James Vann Johnston Jr. will be installed as bishop of the diocese...

Community and regional banks doing business in Southeast Missouri bucked at least one national trend during 2007 as 14 of 16 of such banks operating in Cape Girardeau, Perry, Scott and Bollinger counties reported increased profits for the year. As a whole, the U.S. banking industry had a bad year, according to a report from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Profits overall fell more than 80 percent, and only half the banks in the U.S. showed increased profits...

In the 1970s, rising fuel prices forced automakers to dramatically reduce the size of their cars, while motorists driving what teenagers then called "land yachts" traded gas-guzzling behemoths for vehicles that cost less to operate. Today, as gas prices climb again to record levels, area car dealers say that those sport utility vehicles that looked so cool just a few years ago are losing value fast while dealers have trouble keeping a good selection of smaller, more fuel efficient models on their lots.. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The people elected to make laws in Missouri are trying to make it more difficult for voters to make laws themselves. The General Assembly's quest to restrict ballot initiatives could cause a clash between the people's constitutional rights and the legislature's constitutional powers...

At an initial arraignment Monday, Steven R. Julian, a Missouri Department of Corrections officer accused of involuntary manslaughter, waived his right to a preliminary hearing. Julian allegedly shot and killed Zachary C. Snyder, 23, of Dexter, Mo., Feb. 14 at a Themis Street apartment complex while trying to arrest him for a parole violation...

Less than two weeks after a traffic stop for speeding led to Scott City police seizing nearly five pounds of marijuana, an illegal U-turn on the town's Main Street resulted in a bust of more than six times that amount. The mother lode came around 2:30 a.m. Monday, when an officer noticed the illegal turn on Main Street in front of McDonald's and pulled the car over, said police chief Don Cobb...

TINLEY PARK, Ill. -- There have been memorials and funerals and efforts to move on in the month since a gunman killed four shoppers and a store manager at a suburban Chicago strip mall. What there hasn't been is an arrest. Despite 1,400 tips and detailed sketches -- down to the colored beads in the suspect's braided hair -- it's not clear whether Tinley Park police are any closer to catching the man who shot the women Feb. 2 during a botched robbery at a Lane Bryant clothing store...

Twisted politics; Banks are benefiting; Time to sell the truck; Told you; Thanks to volunteers; Late-night power; No equal justice; Satellite tomfoolery; Comment resented; Community freezer; Emotional story; We'll do it our way; Agree with comment; High school refund; Working, and voting; Sensor lights; Leaves on street; Helpful driver; Appalling column; No to deer hunting; He's worth it; Good comments; Columnist is wrong; Proving a point; To much suffering; Leave deer alone; Truth hurts; Helpful neighbors; Thanks, Red Cross; Pickup plan

Cape Girardeau is rethinking the air show. Last year, the Cape Girardeau Regional Air Festival drew smaller crowds, due partly to extreme heat and its proximity to Libertyfest, the downtown Fourth of July celebration. Organizers say people didn't have time to recuperate from Libertyfest before the start of the air show, which lost more than $37,000. City officials had already considered holding the air show every other year...

LOS ANGELES -- The Navy must abide by limits on its sonar training off the Southern California because the exercises could harm dozens of species of whales and dolphins, a federal appeals court ruled. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday night rejected the Navy's appeal of restrictions that banned high-powered sonar within 12 miles of the coast and set other limits that could affect Navy training exercises to begin this month...

Broadway between Pacific and Lorimier streets is scheduled to revert to two-way traffic soon, but there are growing reservations about the change; C.A. Juden Jr. has presented a petition to the city council signed by more than 100 local residents who say they aren't convinced the change will be in the city's best interest...

Don Schuette, director of electric utilities for the city of Jackson, was so busy during February's ice storm and recovery, he let the mail pile up on his desk. On Tuesday he opened a letter from the American Public Power Association. It announced his department had won a gold-level Reliable Public Power Provider (RP3) award. ...

ST. LOUIS -- Boeing Co.'s loss of the $40 billion Air Force tanker contract highlights the company's changing relationship with the U.S. Air Force, and hints at troubles to come for the St. Louis military aerospace industry. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Sunday that the stunning loss resulted in part from the legacy of a procurement scandal that scuttled Boeing's last tanker deal...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Robert Wagner says he's tired of not being able to see the stars at night. In response to the thousands of yard lights, streelights and other signs that blot out the sky, Wagner has started a campaign to dim the lights at night, starting with state parks in Missouri and Kansas...

Welcome to the first presidential election in which nearly every state must have a list of every registered voter. Here's the catch: If your name isn't on it, you may have trouble casting a ballot in this historic race for the White House. The lists have already caused problems in New Mexico, Arizona and California, where people waited hours to choose a presidential nominee only to find they weren't listed as registered voters -- or they weren't listed in the party of their choice...

WESTERVILLE, Ohio -- Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton argued Sunday that her campaign is "about solutions," not feelings, as she swept through Ohio on an intense push two days before the state's presidential primary. She told more than 2,000 cheering backers that she wants to solve the economic troubles facing the industrial Midwest...

WESTERVILLE, Ohio -- Democrat Barack Obama worked to fend off an intensified attack on his foreign policy credentials from rival Hillary Rodham Clinton on Sunday as their paths crossed two days ahead of a potentially race-ending showdown in Ohio and Texas...

SPOKANE, Wash. -- The Western states' era of massive dam construction -- which tamed rivers, swallowed towns, and created irrigated agriculture, cheap hydropower and environmental problems -- effectively ended in 1966 with the completion of Glen Canyon Dam...

ADVANCE, Mo. -- Alva Richard Rodgers, 89, of Advance was born July 17, 1918, at McGee, Mo., son of Jessie and Leota Payne Rodgers, and passed away March 1, 2008, at the Advance Nursing Center. Alva retired after working for 60 years with the Carpenter Local 1770 in Cape Girardeau. He was a member of Bright Prospect General Baptist Church, where he had been a Sunday school superintendent and song leader for 40 years. He was also a member of the Stoddard County Genealogy Association...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Cleo Alberta Cleary, 89, of Chaffee died Saturday, March 1, 2008, at the Chaffee Nursing Center. She was born April 4, 1918, in Caruthersville, Mo., daughter of Joe and Eurice Shrum Green. She married Robert E. Cleary, and he preceded her in death...

Versie Florence Crider, 97, of Hagerstown, Md., formerly of Tamms, Ill., and Rockford, Ill., died Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2008, at Autumn Assistance Living in Hagerstown. She was born in 1910, daughter of George and Gertie Raines Stonecipher. Survivors include two daughters, Leta Doris Stouffer of Hagerstown, Barbara Sue Bly of Rockford; a son, John Marion Crider of Rockford; 14 grandchildren; and 26 great-grandchildren...

Ronald E. Farrow, 65, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, March 1, 2008, at Landmark Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Arrangements are incomplete at Ford and Sons Funeral Home.

Marion O. Foli, 85, of Jackson died Saturday, March 1, 2008, at his daughter's home in San Antonio. Arrangements are incomplete at Ford and Sons Funeral Home.

Paul David Simpson, 92, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, March 1, 2008, at Life Care Center of Cape Girardeau. He was born Oct. 2, 1915, in Lawton, Okla., the son of Claude Redmon and Maggie Ora Covington Simpson. He and Jean Mae Martin Simpson were married Dec. 31, 1942, in Corpus Christi, Texas...

Delmar L. Summers, 60, of Wappapello, Mo., and formerly of Zalma, Mo., died Saturday, March 1, 2008, at his residence. He was born Sept. 20, 1947, in Zalma, son of Lowell and Ivy Jackson Summers. He and Daisy L. Hancock were married on July 26, 1974, in Kennett, Mo. She died Sept. 8, 2003...

n Emergency medical service on Francis Drive. n Emergency medical service on Oak Street. n Emergency medical service on Elmwood Boulevard. n Emergency medical service on Highland Drive. n Motor vehicle collision on East Main Street...

Arrests; Jackson: Arrest

CLEVELAND -- Folks on Humphrey Hill Drive were still waking up on the icy Saturday morning the shark hunters came to town. They rounded the suburban traffic circle in a pair of rented school buses after a half-hour ride from far more modest neighborhoods, rumbling to a stop at the Garmone family's driveway. Forty-two caffeinated Clevelanders piled out, their leaders carrying bullhorns...

BARRE, Vt. -- When a fire killed a mother and four children here in 2005, there was something peculiar: As firetrucks arrived, the apartment was full of smoke and had a working smoke detector, but it wasn't sounding its alarm. Months later, fire chief Peter John found out why. The smoke detector was an ionization smoke detector -- like those in 90 percent of American homes -- that have been shown to react slowly in the presence of smoldering fires...

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- The hometown rested barely 30 miles from the big town. Hugh McFadin found something significant in those 30 miles. As a teenager, he'd hitchhike that distance from Excelsior Springs to Kansas City. The youngster had no mission, usually wandering about, browsing in sporting goods stores, seeing what could be seen...

Chief petty officer receives Navy award Senior chief petty officer Kevin D. Martin was the recipient of the U.S. Navy's John C. Stennis award in leadership for the senior enlisted division at the White House recently. President Bush was in attendance. ...

AARP program to be held at 1:30 p.m. today The Cape Girardeau County chapter of AARP 4041 will meet at 1:30 p.m. today at Grace United Methodist Church at Broadway and Caruthers Avenue. A program on trains, train lore and more will be presented by Don Reder and Paul Davis. There will be a drawing for a door prize...

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri, a child mentoring organization that works with more than 2,000 children annually, will hold its signature fundraising and awareness program, Bowl for Kids Sake, on March 29. Community members and businesses can take part in the fundraiser by attending one of two shifts: noon to 2 p.m. and 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. at Westpark Lanes in Cape Girardeau. Individuals in teams of six will collect pledges to raise money for BBBS of Eastern Missouri...

Chili day planned by Noon Optimists The Noon Optimists will hold a chili day from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Arena Building. Men's club to hold all-you-can-eat meal The St. Paul Lutheran Men's Club will hold an all-you-can-eat meal from 11 a.m. ...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- The Visiting Nurse Association Hospice is getting ready for its first annual mystery dinner and silent auction beginning at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, March 15, at the National Guard Armory in Sikeston. VNA Hospice staff and volunteers in the cast want to raise money for those in their care and thought this would be a successful fundraiser to hold while having fun. Doors will open at 5 p.m. for an opportunity to view and bid on silent auction items...

COLUMBIA, Miss. -- The Columbia Training School -- pleasant on the outside, austere on the inside -- has been home to 37 of the most troubled young women in Mississippi. If some of those girls and their advocates are to be believed, it is also a cruel and frightening place...

SALT LAKE CITY -- FBI agents on Sunday searched a Utah house and two storage units linked to a man whose hospitalization led to the discovery of deadly ricin in a motel room he had occupied on the Las Vegas Strip. The search of the home and units at a self-storage facility outside Salt Lake City was expected to be a long, tedious process as agents operated carefully at sites where they could find the dangerous substance, FBI spokesman Juan Becerra said...

Oil spill to cost ship's owners $2 million SAN FRANCISCO -- Agents for the owner of a cargo ship that dumped oil into San Francisco Bay have agreed to pay $2 million to the city of San Francisco. City Attorney Dennis Herrera said the agreement, announced Sunday, was an "initial payment" to cover some cleanup costs after the November crash, not a final settlement. ...

WASHINGTON -- The House Intelligence Committee chairman expects a compromise soon on renewal of an eavesdropping law that could provide legal protections for telecommunications companies as President Bush has insisted. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, in a television interview broadcast Sunday, did not specifically say whether the House proposal would mirror the Senate's version. ...

WASHINGTON -- The cascading fallout from the subprime loan crisis, barely a cloud on the horizon a year ago, is now viewed by experts as the economy's gravest threat. In a survey being released today, 34 percent of the members of the National Association for Business Economics ranked the financial market turmoil from those loan defaults as the No. 1 threat to the economy over the next two years...

TOKYO -- At a university lab in a Tokyo suburb, engineering students are wiring a rubbery robot face to simulate six basic expressions: anger, fear, sadness, happiness, surprise and disgust. Hooked up to a database of words clustered by association, the robot -- dubbed Kansei, or "sensibility" -- responds to the word "war" by quivering in what looks like disgust and fear. It hears "love," and its pink lips smile...

As the printed boxes zipped down the production line Friday at Signature Packaging in Jackson, rails on either side first bent the sides up, then folded the containers flat for stacking. One hundred and eighty-four times a minute. Every minute. For eight hours a day...

Small business sessions offered March 13 The Southeast Missouri State University Small Business Development Center will offer small business counseling March 13 at sessions in Cape Girardeau and Perryville, Mo. Gil Degenhardt will provide the help, which is by appointment only. ...

BAGHDAD -- Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived Sunday in Baghdad for the first-ever visit by an Iranian president to Iraq, waving as he stepped off his plane to be greeted by representatives of a nation that was once Iran's bitter enemy. The visit gives Ahmadinejad a chance to highlight the improved relationship his nation has with post-Saddam Hussein Iraq while also serving as an act of defiance toward the U.S., which accuses Iran of aiding Shiite extremists in Iraq...

BEIJING -- The no-tell motels in Beijing's university districts pulsate with sex. Every weekend, lusty college couples make a beeline past greasy spoon restaurants and bootleg video game shops for the dim hotel lobbies to book three-hour blocks of privacy. Students fill half the simple but tidy rooms at the Cheng Lin Ming Guang Hotel, a 10-minute walk from Beijing Normal University...

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- The Palestinian president suspended peace talks Sunday as Israel brushed off international criticism and vowed to press ahead with its Gaza offensive until militants halt rocket attacks. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said an even broader Gaza operation was possible, aimed at crushing militant rocket squads but also to "weaken the Hamas rule, in the right circumstances, even to bring it down."...

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Warning that Colombia could spark a war, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez sent tanks and thousands of troops to the countries' border Sunday and ordered his government's embassy in Bogota closed. The leftist leader warned Colombia's U.S.-allied government that Venezuela will not permit acts like Saturday's killing of top rebel leader Raul Reyes and 16 other Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia guerrillas at a camp across the border in Ecuador...

MOSCOW -- Dmitry Medvedev, the man Vladimir Putin hand-picked to be his successor, scored a crushing victory in Russia's presidential elections Sunday, a result that was long anticipated but that still raises questions about who will run this resurgent global power...

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Activist-actor Martin Sheen will be honored by the University of Notre Dame with its Laetare Medal for his humanitarian work, the school announced Sunday. Sheen, who starred as a U.S. president who was a Notre Dame graduate in NBC's "The West Wing," is to receive the medal at the school's May 18 commencement...

CARACAS, Venezuela -- President Hugo Chavez ordered tanks and thousands of troops to the border with Colombia on Sunday, accusing it of pushing South America to the brink of war by killing a top rebel leader on Ecuadorean soil. Denouncing Colombia's slaying of the rebel commander in a cross-border raid into Ecuador, Chavez said Venezuela will respond militarily if Colombia violates its border. He ordered Venezuela's embassy in Bogota closed...

JUPITER, Fla. -- St. Louis Cardinals pitching prospect Kyle McClellan gave a standout performance Sunday, even as the Cardinals lost 5-4 in a spring training matchup against the Florida Marlins. Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa said he was impressed with McClellan's performance. McClellan started and pitched three scoreless innings using just 32 pitches, only throwing 10 balls...

The Southeast Missouri State baseball team had to huff and puff in order to break its three-game losing streak. Southeast saw eight-run and six-run leads evaporate Sunday, but the Redhawks finally posted a 14-13 victory over visiting Northern Colorado...

LAS VEGAS -- Making his second visit in six days to Victory Lane, Carl Edwards triumphantly raised the glittering gold belt he earned at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. In a town known for title fights, Edwards emerged as a heavyweight contender Sunday. "We do this to win. Winning these races is the greatest," Edwards said. "Winning a championship would be the ultimate. What we're trying to do is win the championship this year. That's our No. 1 goal."...

The Southeast Missouri State men's basketball program has had plenty of down seasons over the years, including several recent campaigns. After all, that's why a new coach was hired before the 2006-07 season. The program was reeling. But it's hard to imagine a more epic collapse in the history of Southeast hoops than what transpired this year...

This time, Ernie Els could enjoy someone else's final-round misfortune. Ending nearly a four-year drought between PGA Tour victories, Els shot a 3-under 67 on Sunday to win The Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. He finished at 6 under, one shot better than Luke Donald (71) and two ahead of Nathan Green (67)...

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. -- Overwhelmed with regret and pained by a shortsighted decision he wishes he could take back, Tim Laker began moving away from his tainted past. Laker, a former major league catcher who admitted in the Mitchell Report that he injected himself with steroids to gain an edge, expressed sadness and deep remorse Sunday as he discussed cheating the game he loves...

The Southeast Missouri State softball team won both its games Sunday in the All-Missouri Strike Out Against Cancer Classic at the Southeast Softball Complex. Southeast posted a 3-1 victory over Missouri State, then blasted four home runs in a 7-3 win over Saint Louis University...

MONTVALE, Va. (AP) -- The Dodge pickup has rust on the tailgate and a Harley-Davidson sticker on its back windshield. Beside it sits a Honda Accord with a big, white butterfly on the windshield and American flag butterflies on each side of the trunk...

Japanese are more accepting of robots because the native Shinto religion often blurs boundaries between the animate and inanimate, experts say. To the Japanese psyche, the idea of a humanoid robot with feelings doesn't feel as creepy -- or as threatening -- as it might do in other cultures...

Former Cape city council member joins firm Prudential Bridgeport Inc. broker/owner Dave Dormeyer announced that Robert K. Herbst joined the firm as a sales associate. Herbst will be responsible for individual business development and sales, concentrating on residential sales in Cape Girardeau County and surrounding areas. Herbst was a member of the Cape Girardeau City Council for 10 years and was a member of the Planning and Zoning Commission for eight years...

A forecast issued late Monday afternoon increased the prediction for ice, sleet and snow in Cape Girardeau and surrounding areas and a forecast discussion released about 3:30 p.m. warned of possible "catastrophic icing." A flood watch is in effect through late tonight. A winter storm warning is in effect until 6 p.m. Tuesday...

NIANGUA, Mo. (AP) -- A small-town city clerk in southwest Missouri is charged with forgery and fraud for allegedly taking more than $8,000 from the town. Webster county prosecutors charged 58-year-old Joyce Thornhill with multiple felony counts of check and credit card fraud...

ROBERTSVILLE, Mo. (AP) -- Experts believe a black bear may be responsible for a series of attacks on dogs in eastern Missouri. Three dogs have been apparently attacked recently in Franklin County. One dog's injuries were so bad it had to be euthanized...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- A federal judge rules that the co-founder of Savvis Communications Corp. must remain jailed until his trial on charges of extortion and making threats. U.S. District Judge E. Richard Webber ruled Monday that Andrew Gladney poses a danger to the community. The Internet entrepreneur is accused of trying to extort $100,000 from a brother-in-law in Virginia...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A Kansas City man is sentenced to life in prison for beating his mother to death with a hammer. After pleading guilty to second-degree murder and armed criminal action Monday, Ward McDonald received the sentence for the Oct. 21, 2006, killing of his mother, Gwendolyn Fuller. McDonald told the judge that he was high on PCP at the time of the attack and remembers little about it...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) -- Snow snarled roads in the Springfield area and closed schools after an overnight storm dumped up to 8 inches in parts of southwest Missouri. The Tuesday morning commute was slowed to a crawl in the state's third-largest city...

LA PLATA, Mo. (AP) -- Developers are planning a resort in rural northeast Missouri with a railroad theme. Plans call for the Silver Rails Resort to break ground by late summer or early fall and open in 2011 at La Plata, a small community near Kirksville, not far from the Iowa border...

Three out of seven businesses sold alcohol to minors during an alcohol compliance check in Jackson last month. According to a news release sent out by the Jackson Police Department, clerks from "Kidd's II, Jackson BP and Rhodes 101" have been cited to municipal court for selling alcohol to an undercover youth...

CRESTWOOD, Mo. (AP) -- A 53-year-old man who tried to stop thieves at a St. Louis County Starbucks is in critical condition after being run over by the getaway car. The victim is hospitalized in critical condition. The incident happened Monday in Crestwood. Police tell STLtoday.com, the Web site for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, that a young man and woman walked into Starbucks. The woman bought a drink, then walked outside. The man grabbed the tip jar and ran...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Some city leaders, including the mayor, are suggesting that the city hand over financially troubled Liberty Memorial, the nation's World War I monument, to the federal government. "I would be thrilled to have the federal government take over Liberty Memorial, add it to the national park system," Mayor Mark Funkhouser said...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Former Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes files as a candidate for the congressional seat held by four-term Republican Sam Graves. Barnes filed official paperwork Tuesday at the Missouri Secretary of State's Office, nearly 10 months after announcing her candidacy. The Democrat is a St. Joseph native who served two terms as Kansas City's mayor...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Two days after Missourians played outdoors in shorts and flip-flops, much of the state on Tuesday was digging out after yet another winter storm brought up to 8 inches of snow. The latest batch of frigid, slippery weather hit first in southwest Missouri and made its way northeast through the St. Louis area. But just a few counties north of St. Louis, in places like Bowling Green and Hannibal, little or no snow was expected...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A state appeals court on Tuesday again sided with residents near Peculiar in their almost 3-year-old drive to get an Aquila Inc. power plant torn down. The Missouri Court of Appeals for the Western District upheld the decision of a Cass County Circuit Court judge, determining that the Missouri Public Service Commission exceeded its authority when it approved the plant almost a year after it had been built without local approval...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Senators are considering a bill that would let drug convicts get food stamps. The federal government currently bars food stamps from going to drug convicts but allows states to enact laws providing them benefits. The legislation by Democratic Sen. ...

CLAYTON, Mo. (AP) -- The mother of a 3-year-old boy who was left alone at the St. Louis Mills shopping mall has been sentenced to five years in prison for unrelated crimes. Authorities found the boy the night of Feb. 9 at the suburban mall. His aunt recognized him from news accounts as Cortez Bass the next day. But his mother, Shameka Taylor, didn't go to a police station to talk to authorities until three days after the boy was found...

HAYTI, Mo. -- What began as an investigation of the stabbing of a 42-year-old Homestown, Mo., woman ended in a case of homicide in which state prosecutor Mike Hazel formerly charged Christopher Smith, 31, of Hayti with one count of murder in the second degree and armed criminal action...

BENTON, Mo. -- Scott County Commissioners have set a budget for the courthouse security improvements they hope to implement, should they receive a grant. During Thursday's regular meeting, Presiding Commissioner Jamie Burger suggested a total budget of $30,000 for the improvements. If approved, $15,000 would come from a grant through the Circuit Court Budget Committee through the Office of State Court Administrator. The other half would come from other county funds...

At an initial arraignment Monday, Steven R. Julian, a Missouri Department of Corrections officer accused of involuntary manslaughter, waived his right to a preliminary hearing. Julian allegedly shot and killed Zachary C. Snyder, 23, of Dexter, Mo., Feb. 14 at a Themis Street apartment complex while trying to arrest him for a parole violation...

The effort to promote the $25 million parks and storm-water tax initiative is expanding. Starting March 17, a 15-minute video reviewing how the tax will fund projects will begin airing on Charter cable Channel 11. Voters will decide April 8 whether to approve a half-cent retail sales tax. Three-fourths of the tax would expire after 10 years. The one-fourth remainder would be used to pay for operating costs...

Less than two weeks after a traffic stop for speeding led to Scott City police seizing nearly five pounds of marijuana, an illegal U-turn on the town's Main Street resulted in a bust of more than six times that amount. The mother lode came around 2:30 a.m. Monday, when an officer noticed the illegal turn on Main Street and pulled the car over, police chief Don Cobb said...

Jackson residents are being asked to help clean ice storm debris from City Park. "This is simple limb removal," said Shane Anderson, director of Jackson's parks and recreation department. "We plan to move limbs to the side of the road and chip it later. We don't plan on running any type of heavy equipment. All the people running chainsaws are city employees volunteering their time."...

To the editor:Reading the Southeast Missourian this last weekend nearly caused my death. Saturday, David Limbaugh wrote a column faintly sympathetic to Hillary Clinton. The next day, Gene Lyons wrote a column faintly sympathetic to John McCain. I am going to lie down in a dark room with a cool, damp rag on my head until after the election. I just can't stand any more shock...

Missouri, like other states, is having trouble finding teachers in certain subjects. U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings says the shortage could be alleviated by allowing individuals who are trained in their professions but who lack teaching credentials to take over public-school classrooms...

To the editor:Hark, what is that? What is that sound? Could it be? Yes. Spring peepers. Spring has sprung. Praise the Lord. JOHN F. PRESTON, Patton, Mo.

To the editor:Congress has completed its investigation of Roger Clemens and the performance enhancing drug issue. Am I supposed to get a warm, fuzzy feeling and congratulate Congress on its diligence in such an important national issue? I think not...

Hunting trophy?; Paying for memorials; Earlier warning; Offensive comment; Price of gasoline; Thanks for help; County inspectors; Read, then vote; Need dress code; Deer and development; Lunch guidelines

AMHERST, Mass. -- They're not the "Mona Lisa" or "Whistler's Mother," but images such as the Cat in the Hat, the Very Hungry Caterpillar and other icons of illustrated children's books are gaining respect in highbrow art circles. Once seen as fun but forgettable, the genre is now being featured in mainstream museums and dissected in college art courses...

Construction of a multipurpose building at Sprigg and Bertling streets would create no greater traffic problems than would be the case if the Westborough Mall site were chosen, Mayor Howard C. Tooke tells the audience at the First Friday Coffee. With Jewell Crawford hitting a couple of key baskets and the Southeast Missouri State Indians putting down some clutch free throws, the Tribe sank the Rivermen of Missouri-St. Louis 84-72 last night in the first round of the MIAA postseason tournament...

Saturday's church calendar should have read that the Rev. Ron Watts will give the Lenten Message Wednesday at Zion Methodist church in Gordonville. The Southeast Missourian regrets the error.

Autism groups plan to recognize lawmakers Local and state autism groups will recognize lawmakers this week. At 9:30 a.m. Thursday, the Statewide Advisory Committee for the Missouri Autism Projects is sponsoring an autism rally in Jefferson City to express appreciation to lawmakers for helping bring more awareness to autism-related issues in Missouri. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The state's business community is worried lawmakers' zeal to add new restrictions and penalties for illegal immigrants could spill over to those who hire them. Of particular concern is a federal database that allows employers to check whether a prospective employee is allowed to work in the United States...

Appearances n Radio reporter and Cape Girardeau resident Vince Brown told the city council he looked forward to a long working relationship with city officials. n Cape Girardeau resident Don Howard told the city council he thought the public works department, during and after the ice storm, did a good job plowing streets and picking up limbs. He added that he thought the parks tax initiative was a luxury tax...

Anti-affirmative action measure draws protest ST. LOUIS -- Opponents of a proposal banning most affirmative action programs in Missouri are trying to discourage people from signing an initiative petition to get it on the 2008 ballot. The Missouri Civil Rights Initiative is collecting signatures to get a measure on the ballot that would "ban state and local government affirmative action programs that give preferential treatment in public contracting, employment or education based on race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin." Those opposed to the measure have organized in a group called Working to Empower Community Action Now, or We Can. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri government is among the nation's highest-performing states, according to a national report card released Monday by the Pew Center on the States. Missouri was one of five states that finished with a B-plus. It was the highest score among the state's eight neighbors and was behind only three states that earned A-minuses...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- A messy state budget picture and constant fighting at the state Capitol have earned Illinois poor marks for governmental management and performance from a public interest watchdog group. The Washington, D.C.-based Pew Center on the States put Illinois near the bottom of its rankings in the report released Monday covering how well the 50 states manage their money, people, information and infrastructure...

Pleaded guilty Age: 50 Address: Scott City, Mo. Charges: unlawful possession of firearms Summary: On Sept. 28, 2006, a report of a domestic dispute sent officers from Scott City to Fowler's residence, where witnesses informed them of a dispute over Fowler having two of his father's handguns. Fowler later admitted to having cleaned and loaded both guns. The loaded firearms were seized by police. Fowler's prior felony convictions prohibit him from possessing firearms...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Rising costs and an uncertain regulatory climate have combined to scuttle a proposed coal-fired power plant in rural Missouri. Although Associated Electric Cooperative Inc. of Springfield has received state approval to build a 780-megawatt coal-fired plant, the co-op's 12-member board voted Friday to delay the project indefinitely, board member Don McQuitty said...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Abortion opponents have revised a ballot proposal placing new requirements on doctors and nurses, prompting a renewed legal challenge from Planned Parenthood. A lawsuit Monday by a Planned Parenthood supporter contends the ballot summary prepared by the secretary of state understates the measure's "far-reaching legal changes" and "thus is likely to deceive and mislead voters."...

WASHINGTON -- Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton reached for the finish line of contentious Ohio and Texas primary campaigns Monday as senior Democrats expressed concern the party could suffer this fall if their struggle goes much longer. "I'm just getting warmed up," said Clinton, looking beyond this week's contests and shrugging off 11 straight primary and caucus defeats as well as a three-digit deficit in delegates...

WASHINGTON -- The price of oil gushed to a record high Monday, spreading to factories, groceries, gas stations and every citizen's pocketbook. Builders are building less, the government reported. Manufacturers are cutting back, another report said. General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. said they would cut second-quarter production...

NEW YORK -- You know that Sharper Image gift card you got for Christmas? Right now, it's worthless. And other gift cards in your wallet could lose their value, too. As more retailers file for bankruptcy or go out of business, more than $75 million in gift cards are at risk of becoming worthless pieces of plastic this year...

WASHINGTON -- Construction spending took its biggest nosedive in 14 years and manufacturing activity decreased, fresh trouble signs for a struggling economy. The Commerce Department reported Monday that construction spending plunged by 1.7 percent in January. Builders slashed spending on residential projects, but the weakness spread beyond that ailing sector. There were cutbacks in spending on, among other things, hotels and motels, highways and various projects by state and local governments...

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- A woman accused of using a missing person's identity to get into an Ivy League school made her first court appearance Monday, and the victim's relatives said they just want the theft suspect punished. When Esther Elizabeth Reed was indicted last year, Brooke Henson's relatives said they hoped Reed could tell authorities where to find her...

DWI

n At 9:05 p.m., emergency medical service in the 1000 block of South Ellis Street. n At 6:18 a.m., emergency medical service in the 1700 block of Cape Meadows Drive. n At 7:57 a.m., emergency medical service in the 3100 block of Independence Street...

Naeter; Simmons; Byrd; Crowden; Bomar; Mason; Cox

Edwin Earl Brunke, 86, of Scott City died Monday, March 3, 2008, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. He was born May 11, 1921, in Arriba, Colo., son of Herman Henry and Maggie McCallum Brunke. On April 4, 1948, in Paragould, Ark., he married Margie Marie Fornkohl. She passed away Jan. 18, 1968. He then married Marilyn Heidbreder July 14, 1979. She died Oct. 27, 1990...

Ronald E. Farrow, 65, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, March 1, 2008, at Landmark Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Jan. 12, 1943, in Cape Girardeau, son of Pearl and Mamie Gray Farrow. He and Glenda Wilkinson were married July 2, 1967, in Cape Girardeau...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Dennis R. Ponder, 68, of Sikeston died Sunday, Feb. 24, 2008, in Cape Girardeau. He was born Oct. 21, 1939, in St. Louis. Ponder previously lived in Kansas City, Mo., and Muncie, Kan. He worked 22 years as a credit manager, and 17 years in the cable business. He was a member of Stoney Point Christian Church in Muncie...

Jerry D. Williamson, 64, of Millersville died Monday, March 3, 2008, at his home. He was born July 10, 1943, in Essex, Mo., son of Jacob Ledford and Edna Grubbs Williamson Sr. He and Saundra Clark were married Sept. 3, 1966. Williamson was a sheet metal fabricator 17 years. He retired from the former Marquette Cement Co. in January 1999, after more than 20 years of service. He was a member of Jackson Excelsior Lodge No. 441...

ORAN, Mo. -- Thelma Berlene Cook, 83, of Oran died Monday, March 3, 2008, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston, Mo. Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Oran is in charge of arrangements.

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Virginia McConnell, 77, of Chaffee died Monday, March 3, 2008, at Fountainbleau Lodge in Cape Girardeau. Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Chaffee is in charge of arrangements.

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Irene B. Wingerter, 77, of Perryville died Monday, March 3, 2008, at Independence Care Center. She was born March 6, 1930, at Longtown, Mo., daughter of Leo J. and Adella Hennemann Buchheit. She and Elmer H. Wingerter were married May 20, 1950. He died Nov. 8, 1995...

Betty "Virginia" Woell, 99, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, March 3, 2008, at Chateau Girardeau. She was born Aug. 27, 1908, in Chicago, daughter of Marshall E. and Charlotte H. Horlock Hill. She and James L. Woell were married Nov. 23, 1929. He died Oct. 7, 1990...

WOODINVILLE, Wash. -- Three seven-figure dream homes went up in flames early Monday in a Seattle suburb, apparently set by eco-terrorists who left a sign mocking the builders' claims that the 4,000-plus-square-foot houses were environmentally friendly...

ATHENS, Greece -- NATO's chief voiced hope Monday that neighbors Greece and Macedonia can resolve a long-running dispute over Macedonia's name that is threatening to stall alliance plans to expand in the Balkans. NATO member Greece claims the name for one of its provinces and has vowed to block the Balkan nation's bid to join the alliance unless the country alters its name...

EMORY, Texas -- A high school couple forced to break up spent a month plotting to kill the girl's parents before her mother and two younger brothers were fatally shot and stabbed in a weekend ambush, according to records released Monday. Charlie James Wilkinson, who had been dating Penny and Terry Caffey's 16-year-old daughter, told police his girlfriend wanted her parents dead because they forbade their relationship, according to Rains County Sheriff Department investigators...

MOSCOW -- President Vladimir Putin fast-tracked the transfer of power to his newly elected protege Monday and signaled the Kremlin won't back down from its pull-no-punches anti-U.S. foreign policy or ease up on its critics at home. President-elect Dmitry Medvedev credited his overwhelming election victory Sunday to Putin's policies that have "so effectively been pursued in recent years."'...

BOGOTA, Colombia -- Venezuela and Ecuador sought Monday to make Colombia pay a high diplomatic and economic price for killing a leftist rebel leader in the Ecuadorean jungle -- expelling its diplomats, ordering troops to the border and largely halting trade at key points along the frontier...

You're overweight. They're words that some doctors have a hard time saying to their pregnant patients -- the ones, in fact, who need to hear it most. Women already overweight tend to gain too many pounds during pregnancy, increasing their risk of complications. But data from 2000 to 2006 in Utah shows that overweight and obese women were significantly less likely than normal-weight women to be counseled by their physician about weight gain during pregnancy...

We all know by now that exercise is good. But I have noticed that those who act on this fact fall into one of two camps: Those who love to exercise and those who drag their tired old butts to the gym just because they know they are supposed to. I fall squarely into the second camp...

Today Preparation for Childbirth Class: 5:30 to 9 p.m. at Saint Francis Medical Center. Comprehensive guide to expected bodily changes, labor signs and stages, pain control techniques and basic infant care. Tips on relaxing, positioning and breathing will also be discussed. Refreshments will be provided. Bring the "Pregnancy, Childbirth and Parenting Kit" provided by your physician's office. Free. Call 877-231-BABY to register...

JERUSALEM -- Israeli troops withdrew from northern Gaza on Monday, but Israel's leaders warned that a broad offensive against Islamic militants would continue as Israeli airstrikes and Palestinian rocket attacks persisted into the night. Hamas proclaimed the Israeli pullback a victory for its fighters. Yet, while defiant in public, the movement's leaders signaled they were trying to work out a truce after nearly a week of escalating combat...

CHICAGO -- Drew Barrymore said Monday she is donating $1 million to help fight hunger. She made the announcement on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," saying she would give the money to the World Food Program, a U.N. body that delivers millions of tons of food aid to more than 70 million people in about 80 countries...

Rivals Bell City and Scott County Central will meet today in a Class 1 sectional contest for the fifth straight year. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:45 p.m. at Poplar Bluff High School. The Cubs (25-3) have won all four previous sectional meetings against the Braves (23-2), and then have gone on to appear in the state final four each time...

Don't worry say members of the Southeast Missouri State women's basketball team. The Redhawks will have no problem taking Jacksonville State seriously, not even after beating the Gamecocks by 43 points at home three days ago. Not with so much at stake...

It hasn't taken Justin Wheeler and Tyrell Cummings long to make their mark with the Southeast Missouri State baseball team. The junior college transfers have been the Redhawks' top all-around hitters during the early part of the season, while also providing stellar defense at several positions...

BOSTON -- Randy Moss is staying with the New England Patriots. The defending AFC champions re-signed the All-Pro receiver to a three-year deal that's reportedly worth $27 million. The deal was confirmed by the team Monday shortly after Moss posted a message to fans on his Web site...

ST. LOUIS -- After 122 years in St. Louis, Sporting News magazine is heading south. The publication once known as the "Bible of Baseball" for its devotion to box scores and statistics is moving to Charlotte, N.C., home to its parent company, American City Business Journals. Last summer, online operations for SportingNews.com, previously housed in both New York and St. Louis, were consolidated in Charlotte...

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Rams filled a pressing offseason need Monday night, signing free agent guard Jacob Bell to a six-year contract. The 6-foot-4, 295-pound Bell played for the Titans the last four seasons after being a fourth-round draft pick of the Titans in 2004. He has started 31 games the last two seasons, settling in at left guard last season, and has made 46 career starts and played in 55 games in four seasons...

VIERA, Fla. -- Tim Redding doesn't feel old at all. "I turned 30 three weeks ago -- maybe 30 is the new 20," Redding said Monday after pitching three scoreless innings in the Washington Nationals' 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. "I feel really good. My arm feels good; there are no aches, no pains."...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Big 12 has an RPI rating that's second in the country, nine teams already boasting at least 16 wins, and the nation's best winning percentage against ranked outsiders. So what would be a realistic number of NCAA bids for the Big 12?...

The winter storm that continues to dump ice on the Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois region this morning has caused some power outages for AmerenUE customers, but so far the utility's outages aren't as widespread as those associated with the early February storm...

ROBERTSVILLE, Mo. (AP) -- Experts believe a black bear may be responsible for a series of attacks on dogs in eastern Missouri. Three dogs have been apparently attacked recently in Franklin County. One dog's injuries were so bad it had to be euthanized...

Nearly all Southeast Missouri schools were closed today for inclement weather, but so far roads are mostly just wet. As of 8:45 a.m., all Jackson public utility customers had power, city administrator Jim Roach said. Jackson police reported no car wrecks...

As new houses or subdivisions pop up around Cape Girardeau County, schools are feeling the benefit: Generally, tax revenue is increasing but enrollment is not. The assessed value of property in the Jackson School District, for example, increased 38.2 percent over the last five years. New construction accounted for 43 percent of the increase...

School closings Delta R5 schools are closed Perry County schools are closed

Snow is steadily falling, but at nowhere near the "catastrophic" level predicted by meteorologists Monday. With temperatures hovering at or above the freezing mark, roads are mostly wet, not icy, and the National Weather Service in Paducah, Ky., predicts little or no ice accumulation this afternoon...

Notre Dame senior Mark Himmelberg drew inspiration from a movie he went to see Friday night. After watching the latest Will Ferrell movie, "Semi-Pro," he felt an added boost as he and his Notre Dame teammates prepare to play in the Class 4 state final four basketball tournament...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The state would track the type and amounts of prescription drugs given to Missourians in a bill given first-round approval by the House. It's designed to cut down on doctor-shopping by making it easier to track a patient's prescriptions...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Barack Obama regained lost ground in the fierce competition for Democratic convention delegates on Wednesday based on results from the Texas caucuses, partially negating the impact of Hillary Rodham Clinton's string of comeback primary victories...

Jeremy Pierce joked Tuesday he thought he might have to head into his "apocalypse shelter" after hearing the Cape Girardeau forecast for the day. In addition to 2 to 4 inches of snow and sleet, meteorologists with the National Weather Service warned of the possibility of "catastrophic icing," issuing a flood watch and winter storm warning. Schools canceled class, and utility and public works crews prepared for the worst...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Hillary Rodham Clinton scored three victories in a night of revival that denied Barack Obama a ripe opportunity to drive her from the Democratic presidential race. Clarity came only to the Republican side, where John McCain made the nomination his own...

POPLAR BLUFF -- The frustration has finally ended for Scott County Central. After losing to rival Bell City in a Class 1 sectional game for four straight years, the Braves finally ended the Cubs' domination in the fifth meeting, beating them 80-58 on Tuesday night at Poplar Bluff High School...

City and county officials in Southeast Missouri are tweaking emergency plans after February's ice storms. Regardless of how airtight they become, people still need to be prepared, according to Jamie Koehler, emergency services director for the Cape Girardeau chapter of the American Red Cross...

Everything Sgt. 1st Class Michael L. Busby of Cape Girardeau knows about Kosovo is information he garnered from news media, he said. As one of around 1,000 soldiers training with the Missouri National Guard for deployment to Kosovo as part of a peacekeeping mission, Busby will soon have firsthand experience about the region...

More snow could be dumped on Southern illinois and parts of Southeast Missouri as soon as Thursday night. A storm system is expected to take shape across the Gulf Coast Thursday and move east by late Friday, dropping snow throughout the Ohio Valley region and mid south Thursday night, according to the National Weather Service in Paducah, Ky...

I want to thank everyone who's working their way through the redesigned Web site. With almost any technology transfer of this scale, some hiccups are expected. Literally, thousands of stories have transferred from the old system into the new. Unfortunately, some show up in our internal database, but are not showing on the Web site. We're working on that...

LOS ANGELES -- Times sure have changed in the 19 years since Harrison Ford last donned the signature fedora of thrill-seeking archaeologist Indiana Jones. The viral spread of the trailer for "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" is proof of that...

"Into the Wild" Sean Penn directs a film with a tragic end that still somehow comes off as a hopeful and inspiring story. Adapting Jon Krakauer's book, Penn chronicles the real-life story of Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch), a fiercely idealistic college graduate who turned his back on his family and privileged upbringing and hit the road on a spiritual quest that ended in disaster in Alaska...

A co-worker of mine once called Cape Girardeau "a music town." Right here in this space, in fact. I agreed with him then, and I still agree with that statement. Thursday through Sunday and sporadically throughout the weekdays, one can stroll down Main Street and hear drums or bass or something thumping through the display windows at local bars. The "Live Music" section of the SE Live calendars typically equals the total of all the other events...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The state would track the types and amounts of drugs prescribed in Missouri through separate bills given first-round approval Wednesday. The House and Senate approved their own versions of legislation cutting down on doctor-shopping by making it easier to track prescriptions for controlled substances. ...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Mark Zieman was named president and publisher of The Kansas City Star Thursday, said The McClatchy Company, the newspaper's owner. Zieman, the newspaper's editor and vice president, had served as publisher since Jan. 28, when former publisher Michael "Mac" Tully left to join MediaNews Group...

WARSAW, Poland -- During a doomed revolt against Nazi occupation in 1944, young insurgents organized their own postal service to help city residents get information to relatives cut off by street-to-street fighting in Warsaw. The Warsaw Uprising museum took possession Wednesday of some of the letters, which testify to the Poles' anguish and offer insight into one of the most painful moments of the country's history...

When the SHOW Mobile, a traveling health unit, hits the road Saturday, it will have some new staff. Through a partnership announced Wednesday, Southeast Missouri State University will team with Southeast Missouri Hospital to administer services. The university will continue to provide a driver and administrative support and pay for operational expenses. The hospital will provide staff...

Another winter storm watch issued for area A winter storm watch has been issued for Southeast Missouri and the southern tip of Illinois, in effect starting tonight and lasting until late Friday night, according to the National Weather Service in Paducah, Ky. ...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A Kansas City nonprofit's Meals On Wheels van is being replaced, just two days after armed carjackers stole it during a delivery run. Kansas City Transportation Group -- a cab, limo and shuttle company -- said it plans to give the Don Bosco Centers a a 2006 Ford Club Wagon van Thursday. Kansas City radio station KCMO raised at least $4,000 by raffling segments of air time, and the center itself received $600 in donations...

JERUSALEM -- Israeli officials said Wednesday they are testing four buses with blast-proof windows, specialized doors and other features designed to protect passengers from suicide bombers. The buses being tested in Jerusalem are equipped with a turnstile that allows the driver to inspect the passengers as they get on the bus and a back door designed for exit only. ...

What does success sound like? For Cape Girardeau native-gone-Hollywood Jeremy Ford it's a family member screaming at him over his cell phone. "My sister called me yelling, 'Your movie's on TV!'" Ford said from the set of a reality TV show where he is working. His sister, who lives in St. Louis, had stumbled across his movie "Road 2 Sturgis" on pay-per-view while flipping channels...

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A man suspected of a series of crimes, including stealing a car with a 5-year-old autistic boy inside, was arrested Thursday after allegedly shooting at police, stealing a squad car and crashing it into a house. The string of incidents began about 6:30 a.m. ...

MURPHYSBORO, Ill. -- Recreational users of the Shawnee National Forest in Southern Illinois are debating a plan to increase user fees. The proposed fees include a daily $5 per car charge at certain beach and picnic areas, and fees also would be increased by $5 or $6 at some campgrounds...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Foreclosures continue to rise, and the problem is getting worse in the St. Louis area. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports Thursday that foreclosures rose 52 percent in the city last year, to 2,593. They were up 32 percent in St. Louis County, to 3,760. The Public Policy Research Center at the University of Missouri-St. Louis figures show it was the second straight year of double-digit increases in both the city and the county...

Thomas Jenkins MALDEN, Mo. -- Thomas Lee "T.L." Jenkins, 60, of Malden died Sunday, March 2, 2008, at Missouri Southern Healthcare in Dexter. He was born Aug. 25, 1947, in St. Louis, son of Leroy and Willie Mae Graham Jenkins. Jenkins was a member of Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church...

@graphic_body_indent_bold leadin:Cape Girardeau The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. DWI n Kyle D. Watson, 26, 121 East Rodney Drive, Apt. G2, was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated and failure to maintain a single lane...

FRIDAY Visual arts First Friday receptions @ various times and locations Theater "Grease" 30 p.m. "RAIN" @ Fox Theatre, St. Louis, 8 p.m. Live music Classic Country Band 30 p.m. Country Touch Band @ Jackson Elks Lodge, Jackson,7 to 10 p.m...

THE ARTIST STUDIO The studio will be celebrating its third anniversary for artist/instructor Judy Barks-Westrich and will be open from 5 to 9 p.m. Calendar listings of spring workshops will be available. 38A N. Main St.; 651-4464. Edward Bernard GALLERY...

Motorists in Missouri are familiar with roadside memorials for victims of fatal mishaps. Current state law bans such memorials, but compassionate prudence has always prevailed. The Missouri Department of Transportation rarely removes the memorials out of respect for those who have lost loved one in highway accidents...

Members of a steering committee whittled down a list of priorities for Southeast Missouri State University on Wednesday, focusing on branding, communication and funding. Examining marketing practices was placed at the top of the list, as members agreed the university must develop an integrated plan...

MOSCOW -- Russia's state-controlled gas monopoly Gazprom said Wednesday it was resuming full deliveries of natural gas to Ukraine after presidents of the tense neighbors helped reach an agreement that will ease European supply concerns. But the agreement appeared to be little more than a stopgap deal that did not resolve divisive issues of pricing and the existence of middleman companies that Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has fiercely criticized...

Roger Thomas Roger L. Thomas, 55, of Jackson died Tuesday, March 4, 2008, at Jackson Manor. Arrangements are incomplete with Cracraft-Miller Funeral Home in Jackson.

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- DeMarre Carroll had a career-high 26 points and eight rebounds and scored six points in the second overtime of Missouri's 81-75 victory over Iowa State on Wednesday night. Leo Lyons added 19 points and nine rebounds for Missouri (16-14, 5-9), which won its home finale. Lyons missed a 15-foot fadeaway that would have ended it in regulation, and was benched for about eight minutes near the start of the second half, presumably for indifferent play...

CARACAS, Venezuela -- President Hugo Chavez said Wednesday that "we want peace," but that Colombia and its allies in Washington represent war -- and that perpetual conflict with the United States is inevitable. "It must be said: They, the empire and its lackeys, are war," Chavez said in a televised speech, his first since Colombia alleged that documents seized from a leftist rebel's computer prove the Venezuelan leader has been supporting the guerrillas for years...

CRESTWOOD, Mo. (AP) -- Three days after a Good Samaritan was run over and killed trying to stop two young people who stole a tip jar at a suburban St. Louis Starbucks, police now say they have two people in custody. Formal charges have not been filed and names were not released on Thursday. Tips led to the arrests of the suspects in St. Louis...

VISUAL ARTS Pattie Chalmers Art Exhibit opening reception Pattie Chalmers' ceramic work depicting the kind of collections people create in their homes will fill the space in the Seminary Building. When: Artist reception from 3 to 5 p.m. Friday. Exhibit hangs through March 28...

1. "A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose" by Eckhart Tolle 2. "Strangers in Death" by J.D. Robb 3. "The Appeal" by John Grisham 4. "Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia" by Elizabeth Gilbert...

The box score for the Scott County Central vs. Bell City boys basketball game on Page 4B of Wednesday's sports section inadvertently switched the players for both teams. The players listed under Bell City should have been listed under Scott County Central, and the players listed under Scott County Central should have been listed under Bell City. The Southeast Missourian regrets the error...

JUPITER, Fla. -- Washington's John Lannan had a second straight strong performance, pitching three scoreless innings Wednesday in a 6-5 spring training win over a split squad of the St. Louis Cardinals. Lannan is the reigning minor league pitcher of the year. He allowed three hits, walked two and struck out three, extending his scoreless streak for the spring to five innings...

FRONTENAC, Mo. (AP) — Republican presidential contender John McCain will be in suburban St. Louis Monday for a fundraiser at the Hilton St. Louis Frontenac. Tickets for the reception and photo opportunity are $2,300 per person. That's according to johnmccain.com, the candidate's Web site. Tickets for the reception alone are $1,000 per person...

The Carson Center, Paducah, Ky. The '20s come roaring back with a vengeance with the hit musical "Chicago" at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and a 2 p.m. matinee Sunday at the Carson Center. Tickets, ranging from $31 to $56, are on sale now and can be purchased through the Carson Center box office (270-450-4444) or at www.thecarsoncenter.org. Discounts are available for groups of 20 or more...

The World Day of Prayer service scheduled for 1:30 p.m., Friday has been rescheduled for 1:30 p.m. March 14 due to inclement weather.

Beatlemania isn't over. The British rock foursome spans generations of fans. Those who were too young to see them together in their prime can catch the remake with "RAIN -- The Beatles Experience" today through Sunday at the Fox Theatre in St. Louis...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- More than 40 officers from 13 law enforcement agencies gathered Monday at the Clinton building in Sikeston for a presentation on prescription drug abuse and investigations, according to the Scott County Sheriff's Department. The two-hour class was developed by Dr. ...

Who can resist a pleasant pastry? Whether it is a glazed or cake doughnut, cinnamon roll, cream-filled long john or a dough boy, customers at Houch's Doughnuts are likely to find a dough creation to their liking. Lance and Starla Miller have owned Houch's Donuts for five years. Lance, who has a degree in business management, decided to buy and manage the bakery...

VIENNA, Austria -- OPEC on Wednesday accused the U.S. of economic "mismanagement" that it said is pushing oil prices to record highs and rebuffed calls to boost output, laying the blame on the Bush administration. Oil prices surged for the first time past $104 a barrel after the OPEC announcement and the release of a U.S. government report showing a surprise drop in crude oil stockpiles...

Marquand-Zion alumni banquet set for March 22 Doors open at 6 p.m. March 22 for the Marquand-Zion alumni banquet. The meal will be at 7 p.m. This annual event will celebrate 80 years of graduates this year. This is the last year the old buildings will be standing. For reservations, call Connie Hall at 573-783-3165, Kathy Stroup at 573-783-5889 or 573-783-3388 or Katie Stephens at 573-783-3844...

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- A Pakistani court dropped five corruption cases Wednesday against a leader of the opposition party that won last month's parliamentary elections. Asif Ali Zardari, the party's co-chairman, is the widower of assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. He became known among Pakistanis by the nickname "Mr. Ten Percent" for allegedly pocketing kickbacks during the 1990s when his wife was in office...

ALTENBURG, Mo. -- Anita Hulda Koestering Fischer, 91, peacefully entered into eternal rest Thursday, Feb. 28, 2008. She was born Dec. 1, 1916, the last of five children of the Rev. Emanuel and Katie Tuegel Koestering in New Minden, Ill. All have preceded her in death...

Winery opens for spring HERMANN, Mo. — Spring Fever Days come before spring weather this year Saturday and Sunday at the Stone Hill Winery in Hermann. Crawl out of the cabin and restock your empty wine cellar. The winery has great deals on cases for the celebratory weekend...

DETROIT -- The Detroit Red Wings are getting healthier -- and it shows. Pavel Datsyuk scored twice to lift the Red Wings to a 4-1 win over the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday night, NHL-leading Detroit's second straight win after a 1-8-2 stretch. "It seems like we are getting the players back," Detroit goalie Dominik Hasek said. "There is more confidence in the locker room."...

March 6, 2008 Dear Julie, Cindy Tower's art defies conventional ideas about beauty. She goes to abandoned factories to paint the deteriorating remains of American industry, capturing the ugliness of that death and the engineered beauty of spaces that once hummed with life and hope...

Gladys Garland MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Gladys Marjorie Garland, 81, of Marble Hill died Tuesday, March 4, 2008, at Elder Care of Marble Hill. She was born Sept. 25, 1926, in Mayfield, Mo., daughter of Leslie Edward and Oleta Pernecie Williams Hueter. She and Ralph Garland were married Sept. 26, 1945. He died Oct. 9, 1983...

WASHINGTON -- Big industries are waging an intense lobbying effort to block new, tougher limits on air pollution that is blamed for hundreds of heart attacks, deaths and cases of asthma, bronchitis and other breathing problems. The Environmental Protection Agency is to decide within weeks whether to reduce the allowable amount of ozone -- commonly referred to as smog -- in the air...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Telephone companies would face less state regulation over things like billing in legislation approved by the House. Republican House member Ed Emery, of Lamar, says his bill shifts how phones and telecommunication are controlled to a more capitalistic system than current government regulations...

Government health officials have conceded that childhood vaccines worsened a rare, underlying disorder that ultimately led to autismlike symptoms in a Georgia girl, and that she should be paid from a federal vaccine-injury fund. Medical and legal experts say the narrow wording and circumstances probably make the case an exception -- not a precedent for thousands of other pending claims...

SANTA ANA, Calif. -- A 52-year-old man jumped to his death from a Southern California courthouse balcony hours after being convicted of child molestation, authorities said. Carlos Edward Tello was facing more than 20 years in prison when he jumped from a ninth-floor balcony of the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana on Tuesday afternoon. A suicide note was tucked into his clothing, authorities said...

WASHINGTON -- John McCain got a White House embrace from President Bush on Wednesday, along with the party perks that go with sewing up the Republican nomination. The endorsement has baggage, though, reminding voters of the drawn-out Iraq war and the nation's economic woes under an unpopular GOP president...

BAGHDAD -- The Iraqi government is refusing to execute the Saddam Hussein henchman and cousin known as "Chemical Ali" unless the death sentences of two other Saddam-era officials also are approved. The dispute pits the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki against the three-member presidential council, which moved last week to block the two other executions in what was seen as a possible attempt to appease minority Sunni Arabs...

25 years ago: March 6, 1983 The Southeast Missouri State University Indians yesterday cruised to an 83-69 victory over Central Missouri State in the MIAA postseason tournament championship at Houck Field House; Donnie McClinton led the winners with 18 points, followed closely by Terry Mead with 17 points...

Environment concerns THANKS TO Sam Blackwell for the report on water pollution and to Southeast Missouri State University's Center for Environmental Analysis for the study. When we elect Republicans to statewide or federal power, this is what we get. ...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Andrew Gladney's hard-charging personality led him to great heights as a technology entrepreneur in the mid-1990s, motivating the young trust-funder to abandon a life of leisure and co-found what is now called Savvis Inc. But now, Gladney, 45, sits in jail awaiting trial on extortion charges, denied bail this week because a federal judge ruled he is a danger to the community. ...

The Missouri Masonic Children's Foundation, sponsored by Harold O. Grauel Lodge No. 672, will hold a free child identification program from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Wehrenberg Cape West 14 Cine. Last year's program provided child identification kits for more than 400 children...

Two summers ago, Central High School librarian Julia Jorgensen was visiting her daughter Maggie in New York City when she noticed a familiar- looking young man on the subway. He was telling a story and cracking up everyone in his vicinity. The same effervescent glint had been in his eye as a student at Central High School a decade ago...

BAGHDAD (AP) -- The Iraqi parliament building is a former convention center, a place that might host a high school graduation or a health fair in the United States - if somebody cleared the barbed wire and sand bags from the gate. Walking recently into the dressed-up conference room where lawmakers debate the future of their embryonic democracy, you couldn't help but notice the cheap ceiling tiles in the hallway outside or the wires hanging through the spaces between them...

A local bridge group, Shuffle Up and Deal, held its end-of-the-year banquet recently at a member's home. Donations totaling $1,020 were collected for the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance. Secretary Candy Hahs announced the high score teams for the year: first place -- Joan Morgan and Linda Lummas; second place -- Mary Jane Eftink and Gail Kunz; third place -- Frankie Schott and Evelyn Riley; and fourth place -- Madge Ridings and Kitty Rueseler...

Soup supper to be held Friday in Marble Hill A soup supper including chili, grilled cheese, dessert, drinks and a baked potato bar will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday at Marble Hill United Methodist Church, Highway 34 in Marble Hill. Discounted meal available for children 6 to 12. Carryouts will be available...

Hanks Son to Brittany R. Hanks of Chaffee, Mo., Southeast Missouri Hospital, 5:48 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2008. Name, Gabriel Wyatt. Weight, 8 pounds, 8 ounces. Second child, first son. Ms. Hanks is the daughter of Denise and John Quick of Cape Girardeau and Steve Hanks of Phoenix, Ariz...

@graphic_body_indent_bold leadin:Cape Girardeau Firefighters responded to the following calls Tuesday: n At 2:27 p.m., emergency medical service at 2102 William St. n At 6:04 p.m., a motor vehicle accident at South Kingshighway and Independence Street...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Treasurer Sarah Steelman claimed Wednesday that Missouri is missing out on as much as $49 million a year from illegal immigrants not paying income taxes. But Steelman may have significantly overstated the impact. Steelman, a Republican gubernatorial candidate, based her projections on a Pew Hispanic Center estimate of up to 65,000 unauthorized immigrants in Missouri. Steelman assumed all of those are adults, 90 percent are working and none are paying income taxes...

@SL_body_copy_ragged:"Penelope" is a fairy tale that's not really for children and a bit silly for adults. Young female teens might find it of interest; they should like the love story. But because the conflict between the young lovers is based on the acceptance of a pig snout, I doubt they'll give it a thumbs up...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The state tourism commission has picked an interim director to replace Blaine Luetkemeyer who is running for Congress. The Missouri Tourism Commission plans a national search, but deputy director R.B. "Bob" Smith will fill in until then...

Missouri Mentoring Partnership will hold free, interactive events for young fathers from Saturday to May 17 for parenting fathers who meet age and residency requirements. The wrap up for Father's Day on June 15 will include a barbecue and family prize pack awards earned by attendance...

Jefferson city, Missouri -- Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan announced today that the Cape Girardeau Public Library received a Missouri State Library Summer Reading Grant in the amount of $7,401. The grant will be used for various community activities including Southeast Missourian Parks and Recreation Day at the Osage Center and the children's museum...

The next FREE MOCHIP event is set for this Saturday, March 8. On behalf of Wehrenberg Theatres and the Missouri Masonic Family, I ask once again for your help in getting the word out to local parents about this great event. Parents can bring their children to the Cape West 14 Cine in Cape Girardeau, MO from 11AM - 4 PM...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Missouri senators voted Thursday to outlaw a machine that lets people breath in their booze. Alcohol vaporizers made their American debut four years ago in New York, and quickly attracted the attention of concerned lawmakers nationwide. The machine allows liquor vapors to go straight to the lungs and into the bloodstream, instead of passing through the stomach and liver...

Police arrested a Cape Girardeau man Monday on suspicion of second-degree statutory rape, following an investigation into allegations that he was having sexual relations with a 15-year-old girl. According to a probable-cause statement written and signed by Lt. Rodney Barnes of the Jackson Police Department, Bryan A. Winsor, 25, of Cape Girardeau, allegedly began a sexual relationship with the victim in September...