Cape Girardeau County Commission 9 a.m. today 1 Barton Square, Jackson Approval of minutes n None at this time Communications/ reports -- other elected officials n COVID-19 Update: In an effort to keep Cape Girardeau County residents safe and aware regarding the status of the virus, Emergency Management Agency (EMA) director Mark Winkler will be issuing an update at County Commission meetings. ...

When mobs tore down a statue of Ulysses S. Grant and defaced a monument to African American veterans of the Civil War, many people wondered whether the protesters had ever learned anything in high school or college. Did any of these iconoclasts know the difference between Grant and Robert E. Lee? Could they recognize the name "Gettysburg?" Could they even identify the decade in which the Civil War was fought?...

Several area counties reported new coronavirus cases Thursday. From June 25 to July 1, Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center reported 57 new cases and observed a 46.7% increase in cases over the past week. Hospitalizations decreased by 8.9% this week...

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers added a substantial 4.8 million jobs in June, and the unemployment rate fell to 11.1%, as the job market improved for a second straight month, yet still remained far short of regaining the colossal losses it suffered this spring...

As we celebrate the Fourth of July weekend, there's several fun events coming up in the area. n On Monday, the SEMO Conference Senior Showcase will be held at Capaha Field. Senior baseball players, deprived of their final high school baseball season, will suit up one final time. Eight teams are scheduled to participate with the first game beginning at 1 p.m. Similar senior showcase events are also being held in the coming week for track and field, golf and tennis...

O'FALLON, Mo. -- Leaders of Missouri's largest metropolitan areas are now requiring face coverings in response to the surge in confirmed coronavirus cases, but many other places across the state are leaving it up to individuals to decide. Kansas City and Jackson County began requiring face coverings for residents in public earlier this week, and St. ...

A congressional committee criticized President Donald Trump's administration on Thursday for a series of problems in distributing personal protective and testing equipment during the coronavirus pandemic and called on the administration to come up with a better plan...

WASHINGTON -- U.S. unemployment fell to 11.1% in June as the economy added a solid 4.8 million jobs, the government reported Thursday. But the job-market recovery may already be faltering because of a new round of closings and layoffs triggered by a resurgence of the coronavirus...

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Homes in six states across the U.S. can expect to get knocks on their doors from census takers in two weeks as part of a soft launch of the next phase of the largest head count in U.S. history, Census Bureau officials said Wednesday...

NEW YORK -- The idea sounds almost un-American. The Fourth of July was always a time for communities to come together, daylong celebrations with patriotic parades in the morning and fireworks finales to cap it off. This year, people are being urged to stay home...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump's July Fourth celebration on the National Mall will feature one of the largest fireworks displays ever and as many as 300,000 face masks will be given away to those who want them -- but despite health concerns from D.C.'s mayor, no one apparently will be required to wear them...

NEW YORK -- Panic attacks, trouble breathing, relapses that have sent her to bed for 14 hours at a time: At 35, Marissa Oliver has been forced to deal with the specter of death on COVID-19's terms, yet conversations about her illness, fear and anxiety haven't been easy...

The story of David and Goliath is not a story of racism, white fragility or while privilege. Instead, it teaches us that, "it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord's." 1 Samuel 17:47. Youthful David trusted in the Lord when he went to fight against a powerful, seasoned warrior who defied and insulted the true and living God of Israel. ...