Stories from Friday, March 2, 2018

Chaffee native Brandon Anderson -- "Barbwire" as the wrestling community knows him -- is one of the many faces you'll see representing at the next Cape Championship Wrestling event. He's always been interested in wrestling, and some of his earliest memories are watching wrestling with his uncle...

The Tiger Lilies at Central Middle School are clustered together at tables in the cafeteria, writing in their journals together at the start of their Thursday session. Guidance counselor and Tiger Lilies coordinator Becky Wright looks on, and explains that the students, all girls in either fifth or sixth grade at the school, have the option of getting her feedback on journal entries or keeping them personal...

The Frizel-Welling Home in Jackson is a two-story, historical reminder of the early 1800s in Jackson. Under the wing of owner Steve Ford, there is a restoration effort to return the building at 209 West Main St. to its original beauty. Former Jackson mayor Barbara Lohr said the property will be turned into a museum...

Today is Friday, March 2, the 61st day of 2018. There are 304 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On March 2, 1943, the three-day Battle of the Bismarck Sea began in the southwest Pacific during World War II; U.S. and Australian warplanes were able to inflict heavy damage on an Imperial Japanese convoy...

The new police station has been a long time coming. City officials have been talking about the need for a larger police facility for at least 15 years. At the Sprigg Street location, closets were turned into office space. Trailers parked in the parking lot. There was simply too little room for the officers to do their work...

I first heard evangelist Billy Graham in a large tent at the fairgrounds in Memphis in 1952. My businessman father was impressed with Graham's decision to establish an association whose board gave him a salary. From early 1950s on, the evangelist insisted he would not lead a crusade that was segregated. In the South where I grew up, his crusades were the first large integrated worship services...

Over the nearly 25 years my wife and I have lived in Cape Girardeau, we have explored nearly all of the county roads in this county as well as northern Scott County and across the bridge in the Shawnee National Forest. And a few byways in Bollinger County too...

Until mental health check-ups become just as standard as an annual physical, our society will continue to experience senseless violence, unbridled crime, broken marriages, self-destructive addictions, dysfunctional government, unproductive workplace -- the list could go on and on. Even some of our most common health problems are primarily rooted in our psychological/emotional well-being...

WASHINGTON -- The Trump administration told Congress on Thursday it plans to sell Ukraine 210 anti-tank missiles to help it defend its territory from Russia, in a major escalation of U.S. lethal assistance to Ukraine's military. The long-awaited move, which lawmakers of both parties have been urging for years, deepens America's involvement in the military conflict and may further strain relations with Moscow. ...

WASHINGTON -- Rattled by two weeks of muddled messages, departures and spitting matches between the president and his own top officials, Donald Trump is facing a shrinking circle of trusted advisers and a staff grim about any prospect of a reset. Even by the standards of Donald Trump's often chaotic administration, the announcement of Hope Hicks' imminent exodus spread new levels of anxiety across the West Wing and cracked open disputes building since the White House's botched handling of domestic violence allegations against a senior aide late last month.. ...

WASHINGTON -- Ordering combative action on foreign trade, President Donald Trump declared Thursday the U.S. will impose steep tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, escalating tensions with China and other trading partners and raising the prospect of higher prices for American consumers and companies...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Many West Virginia public school students were at loose ends again Friday, with their classrooms closed for a seventh straight class day as teachers fought for pay raises. The state Senate's Republican majority refused Thursday to take up legislation to give them a 5 percent pay raise after four years without one. The Republican-controlled House passed it 98-1 on Wednesday night...

AUSTIN, Texas -- The first primary of 2018 could offer a test of the re-energized gun-control movement, but the issue has not dominated races in gun-loving Texas, even though the state recently endured a massacre that was deadlier than the Florida high school shooting...

NEW YORK -- Kroger will no longer sell guns to anyone under 21 at the stores it owns, becoming the third major retailer this week to put restrictions in place stronger than federal laws. The move, following those by Dick's Sporting Goods and Walmart -- and retribution on Delta by lawmakers -- emphasizes the pressure companies are facing to take a stand...

ATLANTA -- Pro-gun Georgia lawmakers Thursday took revenge on Delta for crossing the National Rifle Association, killing a proposed tax break on jet fuel, costing the airline millions. A sweeping tax bill with the fuel exemption stripped out by the Republicans passed the GOP-controlled House and Senate by wide margins, just days after Delta reacted to the school massacre in Florida by announcing it would no longer offer discount fares to NRA members...

PARKLAND, Fla. -- Resuming classes two weeks after a mass shooting at a Florida high school has been a traumatic adjustment for some parents of children who survived the tragedy. Melissa Broccoli and Christine Dunhill were shaking as they reunited Thursday at their usual pick-up spot outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. They had not seen each other since Feb. 14, when they believe Nikolas Cruz drove past them in an Uber onto campus, where he fatally shot 17 people...

LA CONCEPCION, Mexico -- The brothers leading the nearly 15-year fight against a Mexico dam project have been hailed as environmental heroes, but after a confused gunfight between their vigilante forces and other townsfolk, they are now in jail facing homicide charges...

MOSCOW -- An underwater drone armed with a nuclear warhead powerful enough to sweep away coastal facilities and aircraft carriers. A hypersonic vehicle impossible to intercept as it flies in a cloud of plasma "like a meteorite." President Vladimir Putin said Russia has these new strategic weapons and many more, declaring Thursday: "No one has listened to us. You listen to us now."...

WENTZVILLE, Mo. -- A display of "In God We Trust" in an eastern Missouri city's council chambers is sparking debate from supporters and opponents of the motto's presence. The motto's been displayed in large letters on the Wentzville council dais since the building opened in November, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri House overwhelmingly authorized an investigation into Gov. Eric Greitens on Thursday as a widening group of defense attorneys confirmed several staff members in the governor's office have been served with grand jury subpoenas...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri has agreed to pay $21 million to blind state residents who were underpaid from a fund set up to provide a safety net. The state has agreed to settle a lawsuit filed in 2006 by the Missouri Council of the Blind, which contended that the Missouri Department of Social Services and the Family Support Division miscalculated the amount of monthly payments it sent to blind state residents. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens used an email address for a veterans charity he founded to arrange political meetings as he prepared to launch his first bid for public office, despite a federal ban on not-for-profits participating in political campaigns, according to records obtained by The Associated Press...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A Thursday report from Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley's office says it doesn't appear fellow Republican Gov. Eric Greitens' staff violated records laws while using a secretive messaging app. According to the report, the attorney general "has not identified any basis" to conclude Greitens' office broke state law by using the Confide app, although the office also discouraged use of the app to discuss public business...

BEIRUT -- The Russian military on Thursday accused Syria's rebels of shelling a humanitarian corridor Moscow set up with the Syrian government, offering residents of Damascus' besieged eastern suburbs a way out of the embattled enclave. Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered a five-hour daily humanitarian pause to allow civilians to exit the region. The daily pauses began Tuesday but so far, no humanitarian aid has gone in -- and no civilians have left the area, known as eastern Ghouta...

MUMBAI, India -- Lining up for hours and visibly grief-stricken, thousands of mourning fans paid their respects Wednesday to Sridevi, the iconic Bollywood actress who drowned accidentally in a Dubai hotel bathtub over the weekend. Sridevi's body was flown home late Tuesday night in a private plane owned by Anil Ambani, a Mumbai industrialist and entertainment baron...

Motorists should experience a much smoother ride once construction work wraps up on the Lexington Avenue improvement project, according to Cape Girardeau city officials. The City Council awarded a contract to Nip Kelley Equipment Co. last summer to perform the work. Construction on the more than $721,000 project began last fall with concrete patching on Lexington from Sherwood Drive to Cape Rock Drive, city engineer Casey Brunke said Thursday...

Wood and brick from floor to ceiling, Port Cape's Yacht Club is a venue frozen in time. Tall windows look out on Water Street below and the flood wall, layered with artistic depictions of this town's history. With a blues act on the bandstand and a freight train chugging by, the atmosphere is almost timeless. March 10, the Cross Rivers Roots and Blues Festival will transport the audience even further into the past...

The county commission yesterday appointed a committee to design a five-year capital improvements plan for roads and bridges in Cape Girardeau County; the 11-member group was recommended by new 1st District Associate Commissioner Larry Bock as a way of getting more input about maintenance and replacement of bridges and nearly 600 miles of county roads...

Son to Kevin Ray and Elizabeth Annette Hettenhouser of Marble Hill, Missouri, Saint Francis Medical Center, 7:56 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 18, 2018. Name, Isaac Roy Franklin. Weight, 4 pounds, 8 ounces. Seventh child, second son. Mrs. Hettenhouser is the former Elizabeth Welker, daughter of Bessie Welker of Marble Hill and the late Pete Welker. ...

1) "Black Panther: The Marvel superhero film blew past expectations, with $192 million in ticket sales in North America last weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. That makes "Black Panther" the fifth-biggest opening weekend ever, not accounting for inflation. ...

Tola Dale Nelson, 85, of Cape Girardeau passed away Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018. Of all of his accomplishments that could be listed, the greatest was his ability to make people he came in contact with smile. He was always upbeat and positive, quick with a joke or a funny comment. ...

** Lola Layton Lola Layton, 95, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, March 1, 2018, at Chateau Girardeau Health Center. Arrangements are incomplete at Ford and Sons Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau.

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Teresa Elaine Cureton, 54, of Marble Hill passed away Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2018, at her home. Born at Fort Ord, California, November 7, 1963, she was the daughter of William Lee and Iva Jane Stewart Hale. She had worked for the City of Chaffee Police Department as a dispatcher since 2009. She also worked part-time as a medical technician, resident assistant and certified nursing assistant at local nursing homes...

Jaycee Municipal Golf Course superintendent Randy Lueder pumps water out of a flooded ditch near the No. 3 teebox Thursday in Cape Girardeau.

A male inmate accidentally was placed in a Scott City Jail cell with a female inmate, jail co-administrator Sgt. Thomas Foster said Thursday. The incident occurred during a period of time between Sunday night and Monday morning, he said. "It did happen, unfortunately," he said...

We've got Grand Ole Opry legend John Conlee, art galore, honky-tonk and adult beverages on tap for the weekend. Southeast Missouri is quite eclectic. If you think you know everything there is to do, you are incorrect. Don't do the same thing you did last weekend. Follow this handy advice:...

Clinton Wren Jr., 92, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018, at his home. Visitation will be from 11 a.m. to noon Saturday at Greater Dimension Ministries in Cape Girardeau. Funeral will follow at noon, with the Rev. William Bird officiating. Burial will be at New Lorimier Cemetery in Cape Girardeau...

O Father God, we give you all glory and praise forevermore. Amen.

WASHINGTON -- Encrypted messages. Two-factor authentication. Real-time monitoring of social media for malicious internet bot activity. This is the new reality for candidates running in 2018, scared of email hacks and elaborate misinformation schemes like the ones Russia used to disrupt the 2016 campaign...

NEW YORK -- The Securities and Exchange Commission late last year dropped its inquiry into a financial company giving White House adviser Jared Kushner's family real estate firm a $180 million loan. While there's no evidence Kushner or any other Trump administration official had a role in the agency's decision to drop the inquiry into Apollo Global Management, the timing has once again raised potential conflict-of-interest questions about Kushner's family business and his role as an adviser to his father-in-law, President Donald Trump.. ...

CAPE GIRARDEAU The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests n Daryl Dunn, 26, of Caruthersville, Missouri, was arrested on a Pemiscot County (Missouri) warrant. n Randall Horne, 58, of Sikeston, Missouri, was arrested on a Cape Girardeau warrant for a probation violation...

Voices for Children/CASA Invites Community Members to Learn About to Adopting, Fostering and Advocating for Foster Children Informational meeting on March 6 will teach community members about opportunities to help foster kids Cape Girardeau, MO, March 6, 2018 - More than 19,400 children are currently in the custody of Missouri Children’s Division, and in the 32nd Judicial District alone, 590 children were brought into their custody in 2017. ...