Stories from Monday, December 5, 2022

National Christmas Tree Association (NCTA) reports the 2022 supply of farm-grown trees remains "tight" in 2022. In 2021, nearly 21 million real holiday trees were purchased at a median price of $69.50 per tree. The average buyer last year, NCTA said, was 40 years old, was a homeowner and lived in a household of more than three people...

Every American motorist has noticed the steady fall in pump prices. The U.S. average for unleaded gasoline, as of Thursday, Dec. 1, was at $3.47 per gallon, having fallen 12 cents in one week. The drop represents the steepest one-week decline in price since August, four months ago...

Three people died Saturday, Dec. 3, after the vehicle in which they were riding swerved to miss an animal on northbound Interstate 55 in Scott County and struck a tree, according to a state Highway Patrol report. ...

A house fire in Cape Girardeau resulted in two firefighters sustaining minor injuries, according to a release from Cape Girardeau Fire Department. The release, sent by battalion chief Norman Baker, indicated crews responded to the fire in the 200 block of North Park Avenue shortly after 3 a.m. Sunday...

There were 17 deaths by suicide in Cape Girardeau County in 2018. That number may seem small to some and not constitute a crisis, but Derek Vaughn, a peer support specialist for Gibson Recovery Center for Behavioral Change in Cape Girardeau disagrees. After receiving training from the Zero Suicide Institute, Vaughn said he adopted its stance that the only acceptable death rate for suicide is 0%...

Roy’s Tire and Auto in Jackson has proudly served its customers since 2003. As a locally-owned business, owners Roy and Robin White and their daughter Amber believe it’s important to have a business built on honesty and integrity. Customers can depend on receiving an honest review of services recommended, along with fair pricing and quality work from Roy and his team...

Today in History Today is Monday, Dec. 5, the 339th day of 2022. There are 26 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Dec. 5, 2013, Nelson Mandela, the anti-apartheid leader who became South Africa's first Black president, died at age 95...

O Lord Jesus, may we guard our words and glorify you in all we say. Amen.

Democrats have lost the House of Representatives and, along with it, the chance to pass more of their preferred policies in 2023. This makes the "lame duck" period before the January arrival of the new Congress their last opportunity to fully control Capitol Hill for a while. ...

Love Trump or hate Trump. Whatever you think about him, you have to admit that the mainstream liberal news media have been doing a round-the-clock colonoscopy on him since the day he said he was running for the presidency. The New York Times, the Washington Post and the rest of the East Coast media complex have also done colonoscopies on his children...

Donald Trump's allies praised him for his discipline during his announcement speech, when he mostly stuck to the script as written by his staff. Then, within about a week, he was embroiled in an antisemitism controversy. Could anyone be surprised? Trump's brief bouts of care about what he says and does, usually involving reading from a Teleprompter, are always parentheses in an ongoing story of chaos, wackiness and unnecessary firestorms...

We're blessed in this country to have access to high quality medical care. You get a real understanding of hardship, however, when you go overseas. Many do not have the financial means to access care, and oftentimes care is simply not available. ...

Here's a collection curated by The Associated Press's entertainment journalists of what's arriving on TV, streaming services and music and video game platforms this week. ...

City of Cape Girardeau Community Development has received one new business license application from John Eric and Vanessa Klein of Cape Girardeau for Papa John's Restaurant, 820 N. Sprigg St. The Kleins already own 36 Restaurant & Bar, also in Cape Girardeau...

n Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce, in conjunction with Jackson School District, held a Job Opportunities in Business (JOB) event Wednesday, Nov. 30, in the high school's event center. According to the district's Facebook page, 35 businesses and 1,700 students participated...

Brandi Frazier has become lab manager of Saint Francis Laboratory-Poplar Bluff, after serving in the facility for more than 10 years, the health care system has announced. Frazier received her education from Three Rivers College.

Saint Francis Healthcare System announced last week a mobile wellness motorcoach will soon be traveling throughout Southeast Missouri. The 45-foot coach houses what is being termed a "state-of-the-art" 3D mammography unit, ensuring better access to potentially life-saving preventative breast cancer screenings...

First Midwest Bank of Cape Girardeau presents its sixth annual Living Nativity from 3 to 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 16, at 1820 N. Kingshighway. The free event features live actors and animals, plus a visit by Santa and hot cocoa for all attendees.

Edge Realty will move its Jackson office in January from 1202 Greenway to The Post Building, the city's historic former post office in uptown nearby to the former 1908-era county courthouse. The Cole family, owners of Edge, purchased the building originally built in 1938 by the federal Works Progress Administration...

Cheesecake Ninja is not technically a new business but is mentioned in this space because of Greg Franklin's compelling story. "My wife, Amy, and I used to concert promote for Christian artists and we stopped doing that and I found I needed a new hobby. ...

Cape Girardeau County Transit Authority (CTA) has reported it is still looking for drivers for its fixed route bus services and for on-demand taxis. Kelley Watson, CTA accounting manager, told Southeast Metropolitan Planning Organization (SEMPO) the agency has been offering a $500 hiring incentive...

U.S. Labor Department reported Friday, Dec. 2, a rosier-than-anticipated jobs report, with 263,000 non-farm positions added to payrolls in November, besting a 200,000 increase predicted by some economic forecasters. Wages, on an annualized basis, are up over 5.1%, and last month's U.S. unemployment rate held steady at 3.7%...

Frank Leta Auto Group has purchased the former Van Matre Buick GMC car dealership at 511 S. Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau. According to the company's website, Delbert Murphy is listed as sales manager. Leta has four other Missouri locations — Frank Leta Honda in O'Fallon, Frank Leta Mitsubishi in Bridgeton, Frank Leta Acura in south St. Louis County and Acura of Springfield...

A circuit judge has ordered Southeast Missouri State University to pay $600,000 to an AIDS-infected Cape Girardeau man fired by the school in 1996; Judge Fred Copeland of New Madrid, Missouri, awarded the man $500,000 in back pay, lost future wages, emotional and physical damage, and past and future medical expenses; the judge also ordered the university to pay $100,000 in punitive damages and attorneys' fees; in the judgment, Copeland said he would have ordered the university to pay more in punitive damages if it weren't a government institution.. ...

Verna Drum, 88, of Jackson died Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022, at her home. Visitation will be from noon to 2 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 6, at First Baptist Church in Jackson. The Rev. Troy Richardson will conduct the funeral service at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 6, at the church. Interment will follow at Russell Heights Cemetery in Jackson...

HONG KONG -- China on Sunday reported two additional deaths from COVID-19 as some cities move cautiously to ease anti-pandemic restrictions following increasingly vocal public frustrations. The National Health Commission said one death was reported each in the provinces of Shandong and Sichuan. No information was given about the ages of the victims or whether they had been fully vaccinated...

CAIRO -- An Iranian lawmaker said Sunday that Iran's government is "paying attention to the people's real demands," state media reported, a day after a top official suggested that the country's morality police whose conduct helped trigger months of protests has been shut down...

CARTHAGE, N.C. -- Two power substations in a North Carolina county were damaged by gunfire in what is being investigated as a criminal act, causing damage that could take days to repair and leaving tens of thousands of people without electricity, authorities said Sunday...

SMYRNA, Ga. -- The reception area of a metro Atlanta office suite is a veritable museum of Herschel Walker's football success for the University of Georgia Bulldogs and the NFL. The office is part of the Atlanta Braves' real estate development in the Major League Baseball franchise's new suburban home...

KYIV, Ukraine -- The head of U.S. intelligence says fighting in Russia's war in Ukraine is running at a "reduced tempo" and suggests Ukrainian forces could have brighter prospects in coming months. Avril Haines alluded to past allegations by some that Russian President Vladimir Putin's advisers could be shielding him from bad news -- for Russia -- about war developments, and said he "is becoming more informed of the challenges that the military faces in Russia."...

Now that he's back on Twitter, neo-Nazi Andrew Anglin wants somebody to explain the rules. Anglin, the founder of an infamous neo-Nazi website, was reinstated Thursday, one of many previously banned users to benefit from an amnesty granted by Twitter's new owner Elon Musk. The next day, Musk banished Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, after he posted a swastika with a Star of David in it...

WASHINGTON -- Former President Donald Trump faced rebuke Sunday from officials in both parties after calling for the "termination" of parts of the Constitution over his lie that the 2020 election was stolen. Trump, who announced last month that he is running again for president, made the claim over the weekend on his Truth Social media platform...

HILO, Hawaii -- Many people on the Big Island of Hawaii are bracing for major upheaval if lava from Mauna Loa volcano slides across a key highway and blocks the quickest route connecting two sides of the island. The molten rock could make the road impassable and force drivers to find alternate coastal routes in the north and south. That could add hours to commute times, doctor's visits and freight truck deliveries...

Associated Press A surge of anti-Jewish vitriol, spread by a world-famous rapper, an NBA star and other prominent people, is stoking fears that public figures are normalizing hate and ramping up the risk of violence in a country already experiencing a sharp increase in antisemitism...

WASHINGTON -- Calista Anderson was at a sleepover when the email from a friend arrived. She was 12 years old and had just experienced the worst moment of her life: Her mother had been killed while working overseas. The email offered a further jolt. It linked to a news article revealing that, contrary to what she had been told, her mother hadn't worked for the State Department. She was a CIA officer...

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court is being warned about the potentially dire consequences of a case next week involving a Christian graphic artist who objects to designing wedding websites for same-sex couples. Rule for the designer and the justices will expose not only same-sex couples but also Black people, immigrants, Jews, Muslims and others to discrimination, liberal groups say...

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court is about to confront a new elections case, a Republican-led challenge asking the justices for a novel ruling that could significantly increase the power of state lawmakers over elections for Congress and the presidency...

OMAHA, Neb. -- When BNSF railroad conductor Justin Schaaf needed to take time off from work this summer, he had to make a choice: go to the dentist to get a cavity in his molar filled or attend a party for his son's 7th birthday. He chose his son. "Ultimately I decided to take the day off for my kid's birthday party," Schaaf said. ...

When members of the small Pennsylvania chapter of Secular Democrats of America log on for their monthly meetings, they're not there for a virtual happy hour. "We don't sit around at our meetings patting ourselves on the back for not believing in God together," said David Brown, a founder from the Philadelphia suburb of Ardmore...

FRANKFURT, Germany -- The Saudi-led OPEC oil cartel and allied producers including Russia did not change their targets for shipping oil to the global economy amid uncertainty about the impact of new Western sanctions against Russia that could take significant amounts of oil off the market...

It's now a lot easier -- and cheaper -- for many hard-of-hearing Americans to get help. Hearing aids can now be sold without a prescription from a specialist. Over-the-counter, or OTC, hearing aids started hitting the market in October at prices that can be thousands of dollars lower than prescription hearing aids...

NEW YORK -- The U.S. flu season keeps getting worse. Health officials said Friday, Dec. 2, that 7.5% of outpatient medical visits Thanksgiving week were because of flu-like illnesses. That's as high as the peak of the 2017-2018 flu season and higher than any season since...

Twinkling lights hang in the windows, poinsettias grace the altars, angels abound and nativities of all sorts bring our attention to the reason for this season - Jesus’ birth. He’s no longer in the manger and he’s not on the cross but He comes to us in our hearts and His spirit fills us with joy. Join eight historic and beautifully decorated churches this weekend Dec 10, 4-8 and Dec 11, 1-4 as we all prepare our hearts to welcome the season...

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