Stories from Monday, June 22, 2015

Each year, social service organizations in Cape Girardeau County work to organize Project Homeless Connect. The eight-hour event is held the first Friday in October and brings together dozens of service providers in the fields of health, legal, family services and more in one location to help people in need...

A co-chairwoman of the President's Task Force for Diversity Education at Southeast Missouri State University on Friday presented preliminary recommendations to the university's board of regents for ways to improve diversity education at Southeast. University officials also gave a brief update on the first phase of a Greek housing project...

The city of Perryville, Missouri, will hold a meeting Friday to gather opinions on housing needs for senior citizens as part of a larger study on housing and economic development being conducted by the Southeast Missouri Regional Planning Commission...

Less than half of Missouri's farm acres predicted to grow soybeans this year have been planted, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported last week. Planting progress in several areas of the state, most notably northeast and Southeast Missouri, is behind because of excessive rainfall and flooding in some areas...

The rain-swollen Mississippi River continued to slowly rise Sunday in Southeast Missouri, inconveniencing travelers and inundating farmland. The Missouri Department of Transportation said floodwaters have closed roads in more than two dozen counties, with the largest concentration of closures in the east-central part of the state...

Trent Waltz has been nominated as a delegate representing Missouri at the Congress of Future Science and Technology Leaders to be held June 28, 29 and 30 in Boston, Massachusetts. Waltz, 17, was selected to participate in the Congress because of his academic achievements, leadership potential and desire to contribute to the fields of science and technology...

Today is Monday, June 22, the 173rd day of 2015. There are 192 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On June 22, 1945, the World War II battle for Okinawa ended with an Allied victory. On this date: In 1611, English explorer Henry Hudson, his son and several other people were set adrift in present-day Hudson Bay by mutineers aboard the Discovery; their fate remains unknown...

Shaun Smelser and his daughter, Lillianne, 4, enjoy Father's Day fishing Sunday at Cape Girardeau County Park North. Smelser said they got new fishing rods for Father's Day.

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration on Friday proposed tougher fuel-efficiency standards for medium and heavy-duty trucks, the latest move by President Barack Obama in his second-term drive to reduce pollution blamed for global warming. The Environmental Protection Agency issued new rules that would lower carbon dioxide emissions from trucks and vans by 24 percent by 2027. ...

BOISE, Idaho -- A federal judge has signed off on a $25 million settlement in a lawsuit between wholesale grocers and potato farming associations accused of forming a price-fixing cartel. Associated Wholesale Grocers filed the class-action lawsuit in 2010, contending potato growers in Idaho and elsewhere conspired to raise prices by restricting the number of acres planted and taking other steps to limit production...

NEW ORLEANS -- After an intense 24-hour manhunt, New Orleans police Sunday arrested a man believed to have shot and killed a police officer while wearing handcuffs as he was being taken to jail. But questions remain about where the gun he used to kill officer Daryle Holloway, 45, came from and how he hid from a police search that included canine, SWAT and helicopter teams...

CINCINNATI -- With a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage expected any day, gay couples in states with bans are making wedding plans, courthouse officials are getting ready for different scenarios, and foes are working on their strategies to keep up the opposition...

WASHINGTON -- Abortion is back before the Supreme Court, and the justices could signal by the end of June whether they will take up the biggest case on the hot-button subject in nearly a quarter-century. If the court steps in, the hearing and eventual ruling would come amid the 2016 presidential campaign...

DETROIT -- A wall of silence surrounds a shootout at a block party in Detroit that left a 19-year-old gunman dead and 11 other people wounded, police Chief James Craig said Sunday from the site where about 300 people had barbecued and celebrated hours earlier...

CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church opened its tall, wooden doors to the world Sunday, embracing strangers who walked in from the street or tuned in from home for the first worship service since a white gunman was accused of killing nine black church members...

NEW YORK -- The burger chain that put "supersize" into the American vernacular is slimming down: For the first time in more than 40 years and perhaps ever, McDonald's says the number of U.S. restaurants it has is shrinking. McDonald's plans to close more restaurants in the U.S. than it opens this year, according to the world's biggest hamburger chain. That hasn't happened since at least 1970, according to an Associated Press review of McDonald's regulatory filings...

STE. GENEVIEVE, Mo. -- Six sites across Missouri are participating in a new program that offers a year of free diapers to new mothers who agree to give up cigarettes. The program, called "Baby & Me: Tobacco Free," is gaining traction nationwide since a 2011 study showed its success in helping women not only quit during pregnancy, but stay smoke-free for months afterward...

SAN FRANCISCO -- The tech industry has been saying for years smartphones would make traditional wallets obsolete. But most people still use cash or plastic when they shop in stores. That could change later this year, when three leading tech companies are promising to give shoppers more reasons to use "digital wallets."...

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis police are investigating after gunfire struck a bus filled with people on a rolling birthday party. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports some of the occupants were struck by shards of glass from shattered windows, although no one was seriously hurt...

MINNEAPOLIS -- The remains of a St. Paul airman have returned to Minnesota, 46 years after his aircraft plunged into a Laotian jungle during the Vietnam War. A Delta Air Lines plane carrying the remains of Maj. Robert Olson arrived at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Saturday. Olson's widow, Mary Kay, and four of their five children watched an Air Force major carry Olson's remains from the plane, place the urn inside a hearse and give Olson -- known as Bob -- one more salute...

Rollin Hunsicker has been named manager of West Park Mall by May Centers Inc.; he succeeds Jack Higdon, who served as general manager of the mall almost five years. An initial state appropriation of $100,000 for a new business school at Southeast Missouri State University has made the project a reality, says provost Leslie Cochran; the $12.5 million building could be constructed and in operation within five years...

Construction of a $1.4 billion telescope on land considered sacred by some Native Hawaiians will resume Wednesday, according to the not-for-profit company behind the project. Henry Yang, chairman of the Thirty Meter Telescope Observatory Board, in a statement said the board decided to move forward after more than two months of consultations...

Myrtle E. Hood, 94, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, June 21, 2015, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. Arrangements are incomplete at Ford and Sons Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau.

SCOTT CITY The Scott City Fire Department responded to the following calls: June 18 n At 7:05 a.m., a call on State Street. n At 1:23 a.m., a call on South Lincoln Street. n At 4:15 p.m., a call on West Mar Elm Street. June 19 n At 1:46 a.m., a call on East Beech Street...

AMERICA, Ill. -- Otis Eugene Kelley, 80, of Villa Ridge, Illinois, passed away at 11:15 p.m. Saturday, June 20, 2015 at his residence. Eugene was born October 7, 1934, at Olive Branch, Illinois, son of William and Hazel (Hill) Kelley. Eugene was an Army veteran; a retired boiler maker for the Union Local 363; an active NRA member for more than 25 years; and a 51-year member of the Boilermakers Union. He was of the Baptist and Pentecostal faith...

LONDON -- Thousands of revelers, new-agers and self-styled Druids descended on the ancient stone circle at Stonehenge on Sunday, catching a brief glimpse of the sun as they marked the summer solstice -- the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere...

NEW DELHI -- Millions of yoga enthusiasts around the world bent and twisted their bodies in complex postures Sunday to mark the first International Yoga Day. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spread his mat among rows of people, including his Cabinet members and foreign diplomats, at New Delhi's main thoroughfare, which was transformed into a sprawling exercise ground...

WASHINGTON -- The federal government has been exploring a "Plan B" to deport a man who placed a bomb on a Hawaii-bound airplane in 1982 and who has remained in immigration custody since being released from prison two years ago. Mohammed Rashed pleaded guilty in 2002 to his role in the bombing of Pan Am 830, which killed a Japanese teenager and injured more than a dozen others...

Besides roll call votes, the House also took action on legislation by voice vote. The House passed the VBID for Better Care Act (H.R. 2570), to authorize a demonstration program for using value-based insurance design in Medicare. It also passed the Securing Seniors' Health Care Act (H.R. 2582), to improve risk adjustment under the Medicare Advantage program...

Cape Girardeau County Commission 1 Barton Square, Jackson 9 a.m. today Approval of minutes n Minutes of the June 18 meeting Communications/reports -- other elected officials n None at this time Public comments n Items listed on agenda Routine business...

Operation Payback, a program under the umbrella of Cape Girardeau County's Juvenile Department, has been a staple of the community for more than 30 years, and in its new location, it will expand its positive impact. A program designed to make juvenile offenders take responsibility for transgressing the law, it also serves to teach them valuable skills and the benefits of hard work. ...

Ian Soulter won a scorecard playoff to claim a Point Series event Saturday at Dalhousie Golf Club. Soulter, Phil Cantoni and Nick Cantoni each carded a 71 over 18 holes to force the playoff. Phil Cantoni finished second while Nick Cantoni placed third...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- A football player and a women's basketball player from the University of Missouri have been injured after their car flipped in Columbia. The Missouri State Highway Patrol says Harold Brantley, a defensive lineman, was seriously injured in the Sunday afternoon crash on U.S. 63. The patrol report says Madeleine Stock, a women's basketball player, sustained minor injuries...

PHILADELPHIA -- Michael Wacha had a rare poor outing. And the Cardinals hitters finally cooled off. Wacha gave up five runs and eight hits in five innings, suffering just his second road defeat of the season and St. Louis fell 9-2 to the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday...

Tyler Amos pitched six innings and allowed six hits and three runs to lead the Jackson Junior Legion baseball team to a 6-3 win over Harrisburg Junior Legion this weekend. Tyler Knight finished 2 for 3 with two RBIs and a double to lead Jackson at the plate...

Dozens of families came out Sunday to celebrate Father's Day at the Lazy L Safari Park in Cape Girardeau. Admission for fathers was half-price, and co-owner Vicki Lantz said seeing the animals offered an opportunity to spend time with fathers in a way outside the ordinary...

KINGMAN, Ariz. -- Detectives working at a free trash collection event June 6 in Kingman spotted a familiar vehicle in line. Authorities say they saw the same vehicle five days earlier at the home of 20-year-old Trenton Drake White, who is suspected of illegal dumping. They say White allegedly dumped 600 pounds of construction and household trash in the desert. Detectives said White admitted dumping the items. He was arrested...

LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles police say a man is expected to survive after being pulled off his bicycle and attacked by four suspects, one wielding a machete. Officer Lilliana Preciado says the suspects got out of a green sedan and assaulted the bicyclist early Sunday in the Pico-Union area. ...

Mike Skelton recently was named general manager of Auffenberg Hyundai of Cape Girardeau. Skelton has more than 13 years of automotive experience in Cape Girardeau, according to a news release, including previous roles as a salesman, new car sales manager, used-car manager, general sales manager and general manager...

POTOSI, Mo. -- Lynn Robert Barks, 60, formerly of Perryville, Missouri, died June 17, 2015 at Georgian Gardens in Potosi. Graveside service will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Home Cemetery with the Rev. Paul Winningham officiating. Young and Sons Funeral Home Inc. in Perryville provided the arrangements...

Cape Girardeau The Cape Girardeau Fire Department responded to the following calls Saturday: n Medical assist calls were made on East Cape Rock Road at 6:46 a.m.; on Grandview Drive at 12:35 p.m.; on Siemers Drive at 1:58 p.m.; on Marroseann Drive at 2:30 p.m.; on North Main Street at 4:54 p.m.; on South Lorimier Street at 5:26 p.m.; on Linden Street at 5:56 p.m.; on East Riverside Drive at 8:21 p.m.; and on Delwin Street at 8:53 p.m...

JACKSON The Jackson Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests n Jeffery D. Murry, 29, of Chaffee, Missouri, was arrested on a Jackson municipal warrant for failure to appear on original charges of failure to appear in court and stealing...

Missouri consumers and retailers should be aware of major changes that will occur this fall as tens of millions of credit and debit cards will be replaced in a national endeavor to provide more secure transactions. Banks that issue credit cards will replace the old cards that have a magnetic strip with cards that have embedded computer chips that store account data and provide additional security for consumer transactions...

O Lord, we praise you for you are the Great Physician. Amen.