Stories from Wednesday, April 8, 2020

Routine hasn’t changed that much at the Harper and Barks households. Not really. Every weekday morning, the kids get up, eat breakfast and go to school. The biggest difference is they usually don’t go any farther than the kitchen or living room to start their day...

The public school districts in Cape Girardeau and Jackson have announced schools will remain closed until May due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Both districts had planned to reopen their classrooms next week — Cape Girardeau on Tuesday and Jackson on Wednesday. However, Gov. Mike Parson’s “stay at home” order runs through April 24, which would have made reopening the schools next week problematic. ...

Twice a week, for 50 minutes at a time, 5-year-old Grayson Gantz is on a video conference call, answering questions, verbally navigating the sounds of certain letters and responding to “boom cards.” While he sounds out parts of speech, an instructor provides crucial feedback and monitors his progress...

COVID-19’s intrusion into life in Cape Girardeau and the surrounding area became more poignant Tuesday as officials with the county’s Public Health Center reported the first death because of the virus. The only detail released on Cape Girardeau County resident was the person was between 80 and 89 years old. No other information about the person was released because of medical privacy laws ...

Gov. Mike Parson on Friday announced a “Stay Home Missouri” order instructing Missourians to avoid leaving their homes or residences unless necessary. But local businesses, deemed essential or otherwise, aren’t being forced to close their doors. “He basically did not close any businesses,” Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce president John Mehner said of Parson’s order. “Other businesses can stay open, so long as they practice the less than 10 people and social distancing guidelines.” ...

Certain health care workers in Missouri’s coronavirus emergency have been given a bit greater latitude to work during the current COVID-19 pandemic. According to the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, AANP members may now, for the balance of the emergency, practice in a new setting without a collaborating physician continuously present for at least one month...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Bernie Sanders, who saw his once strong lead in the Democratic primary evaporate as the party’s establishment lined swiftly up behind rival Joe Biden, ended his presidential bid on Wednesday, an acknowledgment that the former vice president is too far ahead for him to have any reasonable hope of catching up...

Today is Wednesday, April 8, the 99th day of 2020. There are 267 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On April 8, 1864, the United States Senate passed, 38-6, the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution abolishing slavery. (The House of Representatives passed it in January 1865; the amendment was ratified and adopted in December 1865.)...

I am sure you are all overloaded on coronavirus information. However, since seniors are a high-risk group, I thought I would go over some basics. What exactly is the coronavirus is a question many people are asking right now. COVID-19 is a novel or new version of a coronavirus. ...

"What are you afraid of?" Pope Francis asked this question during his March 27 prayer service, just two Fridays before the strangest Good Friday of most contemporary Western Christians' lives. At a time of such uncertainty, it was a reminder to trust in more than we can clearly see, more than is of this world...

BROTHERSVALLEY TOWNSHIP, Pennsylvania -- Anyone who drives along the narrow, winding township road just off of U.S. Route 219 immediately finds themselves whisked back in time, if only for a moment, as their car enters the Burkholder Bridge. The 150-year-old structure has cherry-red shingles; a charming sign bearing its name across the arc of the roof; and alabaster white sidewalls, which are distinctive because their openness allows much of the structure to be exposed. ...

A country learns about itself in a crisis, and one revelation in the coronavirus emergency is that we can't make our own penicillin. The first patient successfully treated with the antibiotic was a woman suffering from sepsis in a Connecticut hospital in 1942. Her treatment took up half the country's supply. Yet in short order we figured out how to mass produce the medicine, saving the lives of countless soldiers in World War II. Once, factories throughout the country made the stuff...

Late last month, two dozen tornadoes wreaked havoc in northeast Arkansas. While there were more than 20 injuries, the storm did not claim any lives. Part of the reason for no fatalities can be traced to more people staying at home due to COVID-19 social distancing guidelines. That's the good news. But the tornadoes still caused significant destruction...

NEW YORK -- Oprah Winfrey's new book club pick is Robert Kolker's "Hidden Valley Road," an in-depth account of a 1950s family in which six of 12 children were diagnosed with schizophrenia. Winfrey says she will continue picking books during the coronavirus outbreak, and will seek new ways to engage readers...

LONDON -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was in stable condition Tuesday in a hospital intensive care unit with the coronavirus, and while he is not on a ventilator, he is receiving oxygen, his spokesman said. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has taken over many of Johnson's duties temporarily while he is being treated at St. Thomas' Hospital. Britain has no official post of deputy prime minister...

MADISON, Wis. -- Thousands of Wisconsin voters waited hours in line to cast ballots and the National Guard staffed overcrowded polling stations on Tuesday, straining the state's ability to hold a presidential primary election under the lash of an escalating pandemic...

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump shook up his communications team on Tuesday, replacing his press secretary and adding new staffers as he grapples with the coronavirus pandemic. Stephanie Grisham, who had held the titles of press secretary and White House communications director since last June, is out after never holding a formal press briefing. She will be rejoining the first lady's office in a new role as Melania Trumps's chief of staff...

WUHAN, China -- The lockdown that served as a model for countries battling the coronavirus around the world has ended after 11 weeks: Chinese authorities are allowing residents of Wuhan to once again travel in and out of the sprawling city where the pandemic began...

WASHINGTON -- Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly has submitted a letter of resignation to Defense Secretary Mark Esper. That's according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss the matter before an official announcement...

NEW YORK -- A big rally on Wall Street suddenly vanished Tuesday, undercut in part by another plunge in the price of oil. The S&P 500 dipped 0.2% after erasing a surge of 3.5% earlier in the day. The market's gains faded as the price of U.S. crude oil abruptly flipped from a gain to a steep loss of more than 9%...

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump has removed the inspector general tapped to chair a special oversight board for the $2.2 trillion economic relief package on the coronavirus, the latest in a series of steps Trump has taken to confront government watchdogs tasked with oversight of the executive branch...

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Even as most Americans are under orders from their governor to stay at home to slow the spread of the coronavirus, leaders in a handful of states have steadfastly refused to take that action, arguing it's unneeded and could be harmful...

NEW YORK -- New York City's death toll from the coronavirus rose past 3,200 Tuesday, eclipsing the number killed at the World Trade Center on 9/11. The development came even as the crisis seemed to be easing or at least stabilizing, by some measures, in New York and parts of Europe, though health officials warned people at nearly every turn not to let their guard down. After 76 days, China finally lifted the lockdown on Wuhan, the city of 11 million where the outbreak began...

John August Hudak, 73, of Cape Girardeau passed away Sunday, March 29, 2020, at his home. He was born Sept. 26, 1946, in Masontown, West Virginia, son of John and Eleanor DeProspero Hudak Jr. John was the executive director of Community Counseling Center in Cape Girardeau for the last 23 years and a member of Christ Episcopal Church. He graduated with a Master of Divinity from St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore and a Master of Science in Education from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh...

O'FALLON, Mo. -- Older people have been far more likely to die worldwide from the coronavirus, and statistics from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services show the state is no exception. The health department on Tuesday reported 53 fatalities from COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. The toll rose by 15 from Monday. The department also reported 3,037 confirmed cases, up 315, or 11.6%, from Monday...

Lord Jesus, we're thankful that you are the resurrection and the light. Amen.

The Heartland Writers Conference, an annual confab attracting 150 writers and would-be writers from across the Midwest and a number of editors and agents from New York, will move from Cape Girardeau to Sikeston, Missouri, this year; the conference, which has been held here the past five years, is scheduled for Aug. 3 to 5 at the Coach House Inn in Sikeston...

The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items. Assault n Assault was reported in the 1000 block of South Ellis Street. Thefts n Burglary and breaking and entering were reported in the 400 block of Cooper Street. n Motor vehicle theft was reported in the 100 block of Rand Street...

Daughter to Jesse and Alicia Gromer, Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, 4:51 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2020. Name, Hayden Cheyenne Gromer. Weight, 7 pounds, 1 ounce. First child. Mrs. Gromer is the daughter of Mona Rae of Cape Girardeau. She is a registered nurse at Saint Francis Medical Center. Gromer works in construction. Grandparents: Justin and Michelle Kennon of Champaign, Illinois, and Mona Rae of Cape Girardeau...