Stories from Tuesday, December 20, 2022

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is temporarily blocking an order that would lift pandemic-era restrictions on asylum seekers but the brief order leaves open the prospect that the restrictions in place since the coronavirus pandemic began and have been used to turn back hundreds of thousands of prospective asylum seekers could still expire on Wednesday...

WASHINGTON — The House Jan. 6 committee urged the Justice Department on Monday to bring criminal charges against Donald Trump for the violent 2021 Capitol insurrection, calling for accountability for the former president and "a time of reflection and reckoning."...

The cost of a gallon of regular gasoline in Herculaneum, Jefferson County, Missouri, was $2.35 on Monday, Dec. 19. In the Northeast Missouri town of Hannibal, boyhood home of Mark Twain, the pump price was even lower: $2.32. In Cape Girardeau, the lowest price noted by gasbuddy.com, $2.69, was seen at a single cash-only service station...

Cape Girardeau City Council members voted unanimously to reappoint Councilman Robbie Guard to the not-for-profit Southeast Missouri Regional Economic Development Inc. — SE MO REDI — Board of Directors at their meeting Monday, Dec. 19. Mayor Stacy Kinder was absent from the meeting; mayor pro-tem Dan Presson presided in her absence...

Before you gather around the table this holiday season — and year-round — make sure these foods are not within your pets’ reach: 1. Bones. While dogs and cats have a natural inclination to chew, we do not recommend giving them leftover bones. Real bones can splinter, leading to choking, intestinal blockage or tears in your pet’s digestive system. ...

O Father God, thank you for the joy of the Lord, the Rock of our salvation. Amen.

Merry Christmas! It's the special time of year when we gather together with our treasured holiday traditions and celebrate the birth of Jesus. Many of us have fond childhood memories of decorating the Christmas tree, volunteering to help the needy, or baking grandma's secret Christmas cookie recipe. It truly is the most wonderful time of the year...

KATHRYN JEAN LOPEZ for 12-19-22 Getting to know people who are persecuted for their religious faith is life-changing. To meet people whose everyday life involves the real possibility that they might be kidnapped, tortured or killed simply because they are Christian, Yazidi or Uyghur Muslim gives you a whole new perspective...

Before the midterm November elections, Sam Bankman-Fried was a left-wing billionaire heartthrob. He properly grew up on the Stanford campus, where his parents were well-known left-wing activist law professors. He went to a tony prep school and on to MIT...

CAPE GIRARDEAU Cape Girardeau Police Department responded to the following calls. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests n A warrant arrest was reported. n A Perry County warrant arrest was reported on South Main Street. n A warrant arrest was reported...

This story has been altered to reflect new information about service times. Joyce Jean Zschille, 94, of Jackson passed away Friday, Dec. 16, 2022, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, surrounded by her loving family. One of five children, Joyce was born Dec. 11, 1928, in Morehouse, Missouri, to Austin and Alice Mae Stewart Page...

William E. Walker III of Cape Girardeau, born March 18, 1957, and known to his family and friends as Bill, passed away at his home Friday, Dec. 2, 2022. He was a longtime member of Cape Girardeau Country Club, where his parents introduced him to golf at a young age, thus igniting what would become one of his life's passions...

Dennis Wesley Ulrich, 71, of Waverly, Tennessee, passed away, Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, at his home. He was born Nov. 13, 1951, in Cape Girardeau, son of Nelson and Virginia Lee Winkler Ulrich. He and Sharon Watson were married May 25, 1974, at Christ Lutheran Church in Gordonville...

Patricia Ann "Patty" Spitzmiller, 73, of Cape Girardeau passed away Friday, Dec. 16, 2022, at Saint Francis Medical Center. She was born Oct. 7, 1949, in Cape Girardeau to Harold and Dorothy McGuire Voges. She and Tom Spitzmiller were married April 14, 1973, at Emanuel United Church of Christ in Jackson...

THEBES, Ill. — Luther "Jay" Smith, 79, of Thebes died Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022, at his home. Visitation will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 21, at Crain Funeral Home in Tamms, Illinois. Funeral will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 21, at the funeral home, with the Rev. Turner officiating. Interment will follow the service at Rose Hill Cemetery in Thebes...

Robert "Bob" William Miller of Cape Girardeau was born Jan. 18, 1941, and passed away Monday, Dec. 19, 2022, at Lutheran Home. Bob was the only child born to Barney Eilert and Sarah Emily Brunke Miller. He grew up in Mehlville, Missouri, where he graduated from Mehlville High School. He then attended Southeast Missouri State College, playing center on the basketball team...

Nancy Lynn Henson, 63, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, Dec. 10, 2022, at her home. She was born Dec. 10, 1959, in Englewood, New Jersey. Nancy enjoyed cooking, crafting, listening to oldies and spending time with her children. Survivors include her husband, Robert Neil Henson II; daughter, Brandy Martin; sons, David MacGruder and Robert Neil Henson III; brother, George McClennen; and sisters, Barbara Schwartz and Debra Throop...

CHAFFEE, Mo. — David Friga, son of the late Alfred Mike and Rita Mae Bollinger Friga, was born Aug. 31, 1956, in Cape Girardeau and departed his life Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022, at his home in Chaffee. He was of the Catholic faith. He was the owner and operator of David K. Friga Construction and a member of the Knights of Columbus...

The family and friends of Devin Fitzgerald-Patterson had 27 wonderful years with him before his passing Saturday, Dec. 10, 2022. He was a loving son, brother, father, partner, grandson, cousin, nephew and friend to all. He will always be remembered for his infectious smile and giving the best hugs ever! You never had to guess where you stood with him because he wore his heart on his sleeve, loving and feeling every emotion deeply...

Stanley D. Downs, 83, of Cape Girardeau went to be with his Lord, family members and friends Friday, Dec. 16, 2022, at Southeast Hospital. He was born June 1, 1939, to Morton B. "Flappy" Sr. and Rebecca Dawson Downs. After graduation from Owensboro (Kentucky) High School and two years at Brescia College in Owensboro, he joined the U.S. Army Reserve at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and was a very popular and busy cook...

Terry L. Dambach, 54, passed away Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022, at his home in Jackson, surrounded by his family. Terry was born Feb. 11, 1968, to Leonard and Dolly Massa Dambach in Cape Girardeau. He and Kelly Castulik were married April 12, 2008, at Emanuel United Church of Christ in Jackson...

Velma Crites, 92, passed away Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022, at her home in Cape Girardeau. She was born Jan. 10, 1930, in St. Louis to the late John and Naida Kistner Peek. She and John Crites were married Oct. 8, 1948, at Maple Avenue Methodist Church in Cape Girardeau...

Karen Altenthal, 64, of Jackson died Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022, at her home. Arrangements are incomplete at Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home.

Greyson Parisien's time on earth was short. But the boy with dark-rimmed eyeglasses who was enchanted by the music in "Frozen," the sound of ripping paper and his dad playing the guitar is having an outsized impact on his tribal community in the far reaches of North Dakota...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- California air regulators voted unanimously Thursday to approve an ambitious plan to drastically cut reliance on fossil fuels by changing practices in the energy, transportation and agriculture sectors, but critics say it doesn't go far enough to combat climate change...

The maker of the popular Fortnite video game will pay $520 million in penalties and refunds to settle complaints revolving around children's privacy and its payment methods that tricked players into making unintended purchases, U.S. federal regulators said Monday...

LOS ANGELES -- After a month-long trial and nine days of deliberations, Los Angeles jurors on Monday found Harvey Weinstein guilty of the rape and sexual assault of just one of the four accusers he was charged with abusing. But the three guilty counts involving an Italian actor and model known at the trial as Jane Doe 1 still struck a major blow against the disgraced movie mogul, and provided another #MeToo moment of reckoning, five years after he became a magnet for the movement...

Sam Bankman-Fried may be ready to come to the U.S. to face criminal charges related to the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX following a chaotic court appearance in the Bahamas. A lawyer for Bankman-Fried was quoted as saying Monday the disgraced FTX founder has agreed to be extradited to the United States. A court hearing was stopped earlier in the day when his attorneys said it was premature for him to stand before the court...

FORT MEADE, Md. -- Russia's war in Ukraine and anti-regime protests in Iran limited both Moscow and Tehran's ability to try to influence or interfere in the recent U.S. midterm elections, a senior American military official said Monday. U.S. agencies were on high alert before November's vote for potential cyberattacks or foreign influence operations, particularly after adversaries were judged by intelligence agencies to have meddled in the last two presidential elections. ...

WASHINGTON -- The FBI sounded the alarm Monday about an explosive increase in teenage boys being targeted online and extorted for money after being tricked into sending sexually explicit pictures. At least 3,000 children, mostly teenage boys, have been victims of the schemes that are connected to more than a dozen suicides this year, a scale that U.S. ...

Millions of Twitter users asked Elon Musk to step down as the head of Twitter in a poll the billionaire created and promised to abide by. But by Monday afternoon there was no word on whether Musk would step aside or who the new leader might be. Twitter has grown more chaotic and confusing under Musk's leadership with rapidly vacillating policies that are issued, then withdrawn or changed...

SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine -- For all the worries about inflation and the economy, Americans aren't scrimping on a centerpiece of many celebrations this holiday season: the Christmas tree. Retailers from Home Depot and Lowes to mom and pop operations raised their prices on trees -- but people are still buying them...

Caring for sick children has become extra stressful recently for many U.S. parents due to shortages of Children's Tylenol and other medicines. Doctors and other experts say the problem could persist through the winter cold-and-flu season but should not last as long as other recent shortages of baby formula or prescription drugs...

BEIJING -- China's health authorities on Monday announced two COVID-19 deaths -- the country's first reported fatalities in weeks -- amid an expected surge of illnesses after it eased its strict "zero-COVID" approach. Unofficial reports point to a widespread wave of new coronavirus cases, and relatives of victims and people who work in the funeral business said deaths tied to COVID-19 were increasing. Those people spoke on condition of not being identified for fear of retribution...

KYIV, Ukraine -- Russian President Vladimir Putin made a rare trip Monday to Moscow's ally Belarus as his forces pursued their campaign to bombard Ukraine from the air amid a broad battlefield stalemate almost 10 months into the war. Putin's visit to Minsk came hours after Russia's latest drone attack on Ukraine. Moscow has been targeting Ukraine's power grid since October as part of a strategy to deprive the country of heat and power during winter...

BANGKOK -- Thai navy ships and helicopters searched Monday for more than 30 sailors still missing 24 hours after their warship sank in rough seas in the Gulf of Thailand. Survivors described chaotic scenes as they struggled to survive while the ship went down, and the navy commander confirmed there were not enough life jackets for everyone on board...

UNITED NATIONS -- The head of the United Nations on Monday urged world leaders to take "credible" new action to curb climate change, warning that efforts so far fall short of what's needed to avert catastrophe. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the Paris climate accord's goal of capping global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) "is gasping for breath" as the gap between actual greenhouse gas emissions and the amount allowing the target to be met keeps growing...

BAGHDAD -- Baghdad-mediated diplomatic talks between regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia have come to a halt, largely because of Tehran claims the Sunni kingdom has played a role in alleged foreign incitement of the mass anti-government protests underway in Iran, multiple Iraqi officials said...

MONTREAL (AP) -- Negotiators reached a historic deal at a U.N. biodiversity conference early Monday that would represent the most significant effort to protect the world's lands and oceans and provide critical financing to save biodiversity in the developing world...

HONOLULU -- A flight from Phoenix to Honolulu carrying many people traveling for the holidays encountered severe turbulence shortly before landing, sending some unrestrained people and objects flying about the cabin and seriously injuring 11, officials and passengers said...

Even in an age of electronic mail and home computers, many children still write letters to Santa Claus, even though Santa's been online since 1994 at santaclaus.com; in Cape Girardeau, the post office receives about 400 letters addressed to Santa each year, says Mike Keefe, postmaster; but Santa doesn't just communicate by mail; about 300 children received phone calls from Santa this year; the Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department sponsors the annual phone calls...