Stories from Thursday, March 15, 2018

ST. LOUIS -- Trying to turn attention back to tax cuts and away from the staffing turmoil in his administration, President Donald Trump promised Wednesday more relief was on the way. Speaking at a Boeing factory in St. Louis with two fighter jets as his backdrop, Trump celebrated the impact of the tax cuts he signed into law last year and said he was working with Congress on a second package to deliver new benefits for companies and the middle class...

The public will have an opportunity to view Cape Girardeau's new police station at two open houses this month. Meanwhile, the location of a new, small police substation on the south side of the city was confirmed. It will be built at the Bi-State convenience store on South Sprigg Street, police chief Wes Blair said, adding the business is providing the space free of charge to the city...

Rebecca: I have to say that Faithfully Fed really impressed me. Living up to their name, they are true to their vision of clean eating. While vegetarian options abound, meat is not shunned here. The chicken is organic, the beef is grass-fed, and the flavor is deep and real. The plates were beautiful and colorful, obviously assembled with care. This is seriously good food that you can feel great about eating without emptying your wallet...

Students in schools across Southeast Missouri took part in National School Walkout Day by leaving class Wednesday under adult supervision and participating in a 17-minute peaceful protest, in response to the recent Florida school shooting incident that took the lives of 17 Parkland students and teachers...

Today is Thursday, March 15, the 74th day of 2018. There are 291 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On March 15, 1493, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus arrived back in the Spanish harbor of Palos de la Frontera, two months after concluding his first voyage to the Western Hemisphere...

By May, some 450 jobs will be added to the region, with potentially double that in the years to come. In a major announcement last week, officials laid out the particulars for the re-emergence of an aluminum smelter in New Madrid, Missouri, where the average annual wage will be $64,000...

In the March 11 Good Times section of the Southeast Missourian, an article about Senior Center meal deliveries stated that Southeast Hospital once had a home meal delivery program, but "it wasn't a success." The newspaper's archives from 1974 to 2011 and hundreds of Cape Girardeau citizens who delivered for Southeast's Meals on Wheels program would indicate otherwise...

According to an International Energy Agency (IEA) official, Dr. Faith Birol, "The U.S. is becoming the undisputed leader of oil and gas production worldwide" and credited the "remarkable ability of producers to unlock new resources cost-effectively" for "fueling major investments in petrochemicals and other energy-intensive industries". ...

The official U.S. Air Force description of the MQ-1B Predator drone is, "The MQ-1B Predator is an armed, multi-mission, medium-altitude, long-endurance remotely piloted aircraft that is employed primarily as an intelligence-collection asset and secondarily against dynamic execution targets." "The MQ-1's capabilities make it uniquely qualified to conduct irregular warfare operations in support of combatant commander objectives." Although the Predator has performed well and it has changed the conduct of warfare, but the Predator has been retired and replaced with drones with increased capabilities.. ...

The three military fathers sat at the commander's conference table on the U.S. Army base in Germany, pleading for help. They told the commander their daughters were among a half-dozen girls sexually assaulted by a boy in their first-grade class at the base school. The principal had known about the boy's behavior for months, they said, but the abuse continued...

BURLINGTON, Vt. -- The trials of Odysseus are really not that different from the struggles of those learning to readjust after wars of today, modern veterans are finding. A small group of military veterans has been meeting weekly in a classroom at the University of Vermont to discuss "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey" for college credit -- and to give meaning to their own experiences, equating the close-order discipline of men who fought with spears, swords and shields to men and women who do battle these days with laser-guided munitions.. ...

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan -- The top American commander in Afghanistan and other U.S. officials are talking up prospects for peace negotiations with the Taliban, arguing after 16 years of war the militants are weary of a stalemate on the battlefield...

LONDON -- Relations between Britain and Russia plunged Wednesday to a chill not seen since the Cold War as Prime Minister Theresa May expelled 23 diplomats, severed high-level contacts and vowed both open and covert action against Kremlin meddling after the poisoning of a former spy...

WASHINGTON -- The Senate passed bipartisan legislation Wednesday designed to ease bank rules enacted to prevent a relapse of the 2008 financial crisis causing millions of Americans to lose their jobs and homes. The Senate voted 67-31 for a bill from Republican Senator Mike Crapo of Idaho to dial back portions of the law known as Dodd-Frank...

WASHINGTON -- Back in 2017, the Senate gave quick confirmation to President Donald Trump's national security team and his first secretary of state. But it's not likely to go as smoothly for Trump's new nominees to run State and the CIA. Senate Democrats -- and some top Republicans -- are slow-walking the process amid fresh questions over the Trump administration's stance toward Russia and revived inquiries into the CIA's dark history of torture...

BEIRUT -- Turkish forces shelled the Kurdish-held northern Syrian town of Afrin on Wednesday killing at least seven people, Kurdish forces reported, as government shelling and airstrikes killed at least 20 civilians in the besieged eastern Ghouta enclave near the capital Damascus, activists said...

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump has chosen Larry Kudlow to be his top economic aide, elevating the influence of a longtime fixture on the CNBC business news network who previously served in the Reagan administration and has emerged as a leading evangelist for tax cuts and a smaller government...

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The former student charged with killing 17 people at a Florida high school last month remained silent in court Wednesday and had a not guilty plea entered on his behalf as police released more recordings that captured the terror of the Valentine's Day slayings...

JACKSON, Miss. -- An insurgent Mississippi Republican on Wednesday once again jumped into the race for a U.S. Senate seat he sought in 2014, catching flak anew from fellow party members even though the seat will be open this time with the retirement of U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran...

WASHINGTON -- The special counsel's office wants to talk to Donald Trump about the firings of James Comey and Michael Flynn, but as the president's lawyers negotiate the terms and scope of a possible interview, they're left with no easy options. Balking at an interview, even a narrowly tailored one focused on obstruction of justice questions, risks perpetuating the perception Trump has something to hide. ...

CANONSBURG, Pa. -- Republicans eyed a recount and a lawsuit over perceived irregularities in a closely watched U.S. House race in Pennsylvania where Democrat Conor Lamb clung to a slender lead Wednesday in the longtime GOP stronghold friendly to President Donald Trump...

They bowed their heads in honor of the dead. They carried signs with messages such as "Never again" and "Am I next?" They railed against the National Rifle Association and the politicians who support it. And over and over, they repeated the message: Enough is enough...

MURPHY, N.C. -- When Brian Hogan got a call his wife had suffered a massive heart attack, he knew he had to get to the hospital fast. So Hogan asked his neighbor to take care of his 10-year-old daughter, then headed 60 miles east to the intensive care unit in Asheville, North Carolina...

ST. LOUIS -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers should act immediately to make flood control the top priority on the Missouri River, an attorney for hundreds of farmers, landowners and business operators said Wednesday after a federal judge ruled the agency was responsible for recurring flooding...

DENVER -- It opens with a warning: This video contains footage from real police body cameras. Viewer discretion is advised. Then, an introduction: "I would like you to hear from me what happened," Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock says, facing the camera...

Officer changes were approved by the Drury Southwest Inc. board of directors at its March 13 meeting, according to a news release. Dennis Vollink, who joined Drury Southwest in 1981, will transition from his role as president to vice president and remain chairman of the board, according to the release. He will also continue his role as mechanical engineer and company pilot...

FROHNA, Mo. -- Carole A. Ruehling, 73, of Frohna died Tuesday, March 13, 2018, at Chateau Girardeau in Cape Girardeau. She was born Dec. 31, 1944, in Waterloo, Iowa, daughter of Edgar and Lucille Moeller Mueller. She and Erlis V. Ruehling married April 25, 1964. He preceded her in death Aug. 9, 2014...

Cape Girardeau County Commission 1 Barton Square, Jackson 9 a.m. today Approval of minutes n Minutes of March 12 meeting Communications/reports -- other elected officials n None at this time Public comments n Items listed on the agenda Routine business...

NEW YORK -- The Quarter Pounder is getting a fresh makeover. McDonald's said Tuesday that it is serving Quarter Pounders with fresh beef rather than frozen patties at about a quarter of its U.S. restaurants, a switch it first announced about a year ago as it works to appeal to customers who want fresher foods. It will roll out fresh beef Quarter Pounders to most of its 14,000 U.S. restaurants by May...

The Cape Girardeau Police Department will hire five new officers over the next few months, three to replace departing officers and two more if approved in the police budget by the city council. Circuit Judge William S. Syler forever bans a Caruthersville, Missouri, public defender from his courtroom, after the attorney fails to provide "competent" counsel for a client to which he was assigned...

O Lord Jesus, thank you that we have victory through you, our precious Savior. Amen.

The smelter reopens in the Bootheel and maybe 400 people get jobs, but who is paying for it? Ameren customers? Taxpayers? Someone other than the company probably. It is hard to understand when the city says it is the owners problem of cleaning out before water drainage ditch when they cleaned out the drainage ditch and put wire bound rock in the drainage ditch between two property owners in the 1100 block of Dorothy. This is where the drainage ditch starts. Why only there they will do anything?...

LONDON -- Stephen Hawking, whose brilliant mind ranged across time and space though his body was paralyzed by disease, died Wednesday. He was 76. Hawking died at his home in Cambridge, England, according to a statement by the University of Cambridge...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A 48-year-old Liberty, Missouri, attorney who stole funds intended for victim restitution was sentenced to three years and one month in federal prison without parole. Robert Young II was sentenced Wednesday for obstruction of justice...

Papa John's will open a new location in Cape Girardeau in mid-April, a franchise official said. RSTC, the franchise company opening the new location, has other Papa John's restaurants in Jackson, Cape Girardeau and Poplar Bluff, ,Missouri, Memphis and Carbondale, Illinois, said Eric Adams, director of operations with RSTC...

Meredith Caldwell cuts pancakes for Gus Holiman on Wednesday during the 80th annual Noon Lions Club Pancake Day at the A.C. Brase Arena Building in Cape Girardeau. More photos are in a gallery at semissourian.com.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Two years after a Wisconsin cheese captured top honors, the World Championship Cheese Contest is back for another round. Organizers say they have a record 3,402 entries for the event that started Tuesday in Madison. That's up 15 percent from 2016...

CAPE GIRARDEAU Cape Girardeau Fire Department responded to the following calls: Tuesday n Medical assists were made at 12:06 a.m. on South Kingshighway; 8:37 a.m. on Independence Street; 12:27 p.m. on South Mount Auburn Road; 2:06 p.m. on Perryville Road; 3:33 p.m. on Kinsgbury Road; and 4:42 p.m. on North Spring Street...

CAPE GIRARDEAU The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrest n Miguel Phillips, 50, of Cape Girardeau was arrested on a Cape Girardeau County warrant.

The Guardian Angel Redwings Varsity Girls Basketball team of Oran ended their season on a high note. The Christian League Varsity Tournament was held at St. Denis, Benton, on March 12 & 14. The Redwings won 1st place at the tournament, by defeating St. Augustine of Kelso, and 2nd place in the league play. Congratulations to the team and coaches for a wonderful season!!...

Over the past decade, Missouri has been near the center of one of the nation's most pressing issues -- the opioid epidemic. The St. Louis College of Pharmacy, which presented a program at Port Cape Girardeau on Tuesday, is looking to push back against bad prescribing practices...