Stories from Wednesday, March 13, 2002

BOSTON -- In one of the biggest settlements on record, the Archdiocese of Boston has agreed to pay up to $30 million to 86 people who accused now-defrocked priest John J. Geoghan of child molestation. "Accepting this money is not going to end the turmoil in their lives," said plaintiffs' attorney Mitchell Garabedian, who announced the settlement Tuesday. "They are not going to be buying yachts and floating around the Bahamas. There's tremendous pain here."...

Woody Williams allowed three hits over five shutout innings while Albert Pujols and Mike Coolbaugh each homered, leading the Cardinals to a 5-2 victory over the Red Sox. Williams, who has pitched nine scoreless innings in his past two starts, struck out five with no walks for St. Louis...

JUPITER, Fla. -- Rick Ankiel won't pitch in a game again until at least next week, jeopardizing his chances of making the St. Louis Cardinals' opening-day roster. The 22-year-old left-hander, bothered by elbow tendinitis, has made just one start in spring training, giving up six runs in two innings on March 3. The following day he complained of elbow pain, and he hasn't appeared in a game since...

WASHINGTON -- Mike Tyson received a license to fight in Washington on a 3-0 vote Tuesday night by the D.C. Boxing and Wrestling Commission, setting the stage for a June 8 bout with Lennox Lewis at the MCI Center. "We looked at the application. That's what it is," vice chairman Michael Brown said. "It's an application for a boxing license, nothing more, nothing less...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Managers are fleeing a large Kansas City area animal shelter after the board of directors hired a $75,000-a-year president who has no experience working with animals. Since Ronnie Beach was hired as the first presidnet of Wayside Waifs, five of the shelter's managers have resigned -- four citing administrative changes -- one has been fired and another reassigned...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Around the country, gun-rights groups are waging what some portray as a deliberately gradual, one-step-at-a-time effort to ease state laws governing the carrying of a concealed weapon. Organizations such as the National Rife Association and Gun Owners of America say their efforts -- under way in more than half the states -- are no greater this year than before. But they say the Sept. 11 attacks may have provided some momentum...

ST. LOUIS -- Declaring "now it is time for action," Gov. Bob Holden on Tuesday said the Doe Run Co. should immediately move vulnerable residents of Herculaneum away from the town's lead smelter until cleanup efforts are complete. In a letter released Tuesday, Holden used some of the strongest words yet from officials trying to get contamination under control in the Mississippi River town of 2,800, home of the nation's largest lead smelter...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A Kansas City man sentenced to die Monday for kidnapping and killing a 10-year-old girl responded with profanity and criticism for the legal system and the girl's family. "People say, 'How can you kill a 10-year-old girl?'" Keith D. Nelson told the court. "It's not that hard."...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- An electrician who sucked air through electrical conduit while a fire burned at the Liberty Memorial on Tuesday says he knew he'd be rescued. "I knew I'd get out. I knew people knew about it," said Marvin Hammontree, minutes after firefighters helped him climb out of the Liberty Memorial tower...

TAMPA, Fla. -- A baseball player's locker is a sacred place -- the one private place in his very public world. Ruben Rivera learned that invading that sanctum can be a most serious offense. Once one of the most promising prospects in baseball, Rivera was placed on unconditional release waivers by the New York Yankees after being accused of taking a bat and glove from teammate Derek Jeter's locker...

NEW ORLEANS -- With a Friday deadline looming, Charlotte Hornets co-owner Ray Wooldridge is confident the team will sell 4,700 more season tickets and 14 luxury suites -- sales thresholds that are the key to the team moving to New Orleans. "I'm absolutely sure we'll meet the goal," Wooldridge said Monday. "We already have more season commitments here than Charlotte does."...

WASHINGTON -- Unveiling a color-coded terrorism warning system, domestic security chief Tom Ridge said Tuesday the nation is on yellow alert -- facing a "significant risk" of danger but not the highest stage. The five-level system is a response to public complaints that broad terror alerts issued by the government since the Sept. 11 attacks raised alarm without providing useful guidance...

WASHINGTON -- Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov carried the Kremlin's concerns about potential targeting of Russia with nuclear weapons to the Pentagon on Tuesday but skirted the issue in a meeting with President Bush. Instead, Ivanov said, he talked to the president about plans for U.S. and Russian nuclear weapons reductions and countering terrorism...

WASHINGTON -- One side sees improved auto fuel economy as key to the nation's energy security. The other side predicts an end to affordable and safe SUVs, minivans and pickup trucks. The debate over how best to cut the amount of gasoline consumed on U.S. highways took on an emotionally charged tone Tuesday as the Senate began a debate on boosting auto fuel efficiency by as much as 50 percent...

WASHINGTON -- A team of U.S. military officers is in Yemen laying plans to press the anti-terrorism war by training local troops to fight al-Qaida who may be hiding there. "Our mission is to destroy terrorism around the world," spokeswoman Victoria Clarke said Tuesday at the Pentagon. "We will equip and train and help friendly nations who are seeking to confront domestic terrorist threats."...

WASHINGTON -- The Florida flight school where two Sept. 11 hijackers had trained received belated, formal notification this week that the Immigration and Naturalization Service had approved the requests for student visas. Huffman Aviation received the paperwork acknowledging the INS approvals for Mohamed Atta, 33, of Egypt and Marwan Al-Shehhi, 23, of the United Arab Emirates...

WASHINGTON -- The building is cold, dim and vacant, except for 200 donkey and elephant figures in neat rows on the second floor. Soon this downtown store will be abuzz with activity. Artists are coming by the dozens -- palettes in hand, imaginations in overdrive -- to turn the ghostly gray figures into art...

WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department has repeatedly threatened accounting firm Arthur Andersen with indictment for destroying documents in the Enron case, according to people familiar with their negotiations over the past week to 10 days. One possible outcome of the negotiations would be for Andersen to plead guilty to obstruction of justice for the shredding of Enron-related documents at the accounting firm's Houston office last fall...

WASHINGTON -- America is on yellow alert, facing a "significant risk of terrorist attacks," homeland security chief Tom Ridge said Tuesday as he announced a color-coded system designed to end confusion over terror warnings. It will be years before the nation sees green -- the lowest threat level -- because terrorism may be "a permanent condition" in America, Ridge said...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The debate over Gov. Bob Holden's executive order authorizing collective bargaining for some state workers reached the Senate floor on Tuesday. The Republican-controlled Senate began debate on a bill that would keep state employees who did not vote for union representation from having to pay fees to support a union negotiator...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A bill to pay for education by raising casino taxes, closing tax loopholes and changing budgetary accounting practices received initial approval Tuesday in the House. The proposal would raise more than $150 million, which would provide funding increases for public elementary and secondary schools...

Remains of firefighters found at Trade Center NEW YORK -- Human remains belonging to 11 firefighters and two civilians were pulled from the rubble of the World Trade Center on Tuesday as workers continued in the last stages of the recovery effort, firefighters said...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Space shuttle Columbia and its crew of seven returned to Earth in triumph Tuesday after giving the Hubble Space Telescope awesome new ability to see practically to the edge of the universe. "I'm awe-struck when I look back at everything we were able to do," said Columbia's commander, Scott Altman...

Role as chopper pilot put Kinnear to the test NEW YORK -- Greg Kinnear, who plays a helicopter pilot in "We Were Soldiers," says flying in a chopper is "so unbelievably loud and disorienting ... that you come out and you're a little woozy." Kinnear plays Maj. Bruce Crandall in the film about Vietnam, which is based on the book "We Were Soldiers Once ... And Young." The film, now in theaters, also stars Mel Gibson and Sam Elliott...

Missouri Western coach David Slifer discussed his plans to boost the Southeast women's basketball program Tuesday as the interview process continued for the school's head coaching job. For more on this story, see Wednesday's Southeast Missourian.

Eds: REWRITES thruout to UPDATE with details from lawyer, victims' group comments, still no comment from archdiocese, edit to tighten. By JAY LINDSAY The Associated Press WriterBOSTON -- The Archdiocese of Boston agreed to a financial settlement with dozens of people who claimed they were molested by now-defrocked priest John J. Geoghan when they were children, the plaintiffs' lawyer said Tuesday. He said the settlement could cost the church as much as $30 million...

PHILADELPHIA -- President Bush joined homeless toddlers in singing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" on Tuesday before offering a bit of incentive to volunteers: a diary in which to log the hours and rewards of community service. "I can't think of anything more interesting than a mom or dad volunteering, recording his or her thoughts, giving it to a child, who gives it to a grandchild," said Bush...

LOS ANGELES -- A respiratory therapist who called himself the "Angel of Death" struck a deal to avoid the death penalty Tuesday, pleading guilty to murdering six elderly patients with drug injections. He also pleaded guilty to attempting to murder a seventh patient...

LYNBROOK, N.Y. -- A man suspected of fatally shooting a priest and an elderly worshipper at a Long Island church was arrested Tuesday after police stormed his home and ended a daylong standoff. The 34-year-old suspect was captured after he attempted to stab an officer with a small knife, Nassau County Police inspector Pete Matuza said...

FORT WORTH, Texas -- The county medical examiner said Tuesday that a homeless man who was struck by a car and lodged in the broken windshield likely only lived for a few hours with a nearly amputated leg -- not a few days as police have estimated. Police had said Gregory Glenn Biggs, 37, probably died two or three days after his head was trapped in the windshield during the hit-and-run accident...

HOUSTON -- Andrea Yates, the 37-year-old housewife who admitted she drowned her five children in the bathtub, was convicted of murder Tuesday by a jury that rejected her claim of insanity in just 3 1/2 hours. Yates was found guilty of two counts of capital murder covering the deaths of three of her children. She could be sentenced to death or to life in prison following the penalty phase that begins Thursday...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Senate gave initial approval Tuesday to a transportation bill that makes permanent a special 6-cent motor fuel tax. The tax on gas and diesel fuel was approved by lawmakers in 1992 and is scheduled to expire in 2008. It accounts for about two-thirds of Missouri's current 17 cent per gallon fuel tax and raises more than $240 million annually, said Sen. Morris Westfall, R-Halfway...

and Dafna Linzer ~ The Associated Press U.S. officials received a warning as early as 1995 that Islamic militants were plotting to attack an American nuclear site, but did not pass along the information to the agency that oversees nuclear facilities or to the plants themselves, The Associated Press has learned...

GARDEZ, Afghanistan -- Advancing U.S. and coalition forces fought with small groups of al-Qaida and Taliban holdouts Tuesday as allied troops worked their way through the warren of mountain caves in eastern Afghanistan -- their progress slowed by mines and booby traps...

AMMAN, Jordan -- Vice President Dick Cheney received a public warning Tuesday from Jordanian King Abdullah II that expanding the terrorism war to Iraq could destabilize the region and undermine gains in Afghan-istan. U.S. officials had hoped for a more muted message from the king, whose comments came as Cheney began a whirlwind tour of the Middle East. ...

RAMALLAH, West Bank -- Israeli tanks and troops thrust into Palestinian refugee camps and took command of the streets in this key West Bank city Tuesday, killing 31 Palestinians in one of Israel's largest military operations ever in the West Bank and Gaza Strip...

BERLIN -- Germany and the United States need to keep alive their dialogue as long-standing allies even though they differ over how to proceed in the war on terrorism, Germany's foreign minister said Tuesday. Marking 50 years since the two countries began exchanges of academics, scientists and journalists under the Fulbright grant program, Joschka Fischer said U.S.-German lines of communication were "especially important and valuable" after the Sept. 11 terror attacks...

CAIRO, Egypt -- A woman claiming to be a wife of Osama bin Laden is quoted by a Saudi magazine as saying he took tranquilizers and became enraged when she asked who was behind the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in East Africa. The woman -- identified in the Al-Majalla interview only as A.S., the initials of bin Laden's fourth and youngest wife, Amal al-Sadah -- also said she believes bin Laden is alive and in Afghanistan, but has no proof. Amal al-Sadah is thought be a 19-year-old Yemeni...

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba -- Two detainees pressed ahead with a two-week hunger strike Tuesday after one of the men begged journalists to publicize their plight, saying "nobody cares." "We are on a hunger strike. We've been on a hunger strike for 14 days and nobody cares," a male detainee shouted Monday night as a van carrying journalists circled the perimeter of Camp X-ray, the temporary detention camp on this remote outpost where 300 men are being held...

A forgotten pan on a lit stove resulted in about $20,000 in fire and smoke damage to a house on South Ellis Street Tuesday, firefighters said. No one was hurt in the blaze. Firefighters were called to the scene about 7 p.m. at 838 S. Ellis. According to reports from the Cape Girardeau Fire Department, tenant Rick Nunley left his home and returned to find his kitchen on fire...

JACKSON, Mo. -- State Auditor Claire McCaskill wants Missourians to speak out about the state's foster care program. McCaskill said the audit will begin in the next 30 days and could take a year to complete. The audit will look at the recruitment and retention of foster parents, what they are paid and how they are licensed, McCaskill said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon at the Cape Girardeau County Administration Building in Jackson. ...

LEOPOLD, Mo. -- It wasn't exactly The Big One, but a 3.6-magnitude earthquake early Tuesday morning was The Big Topic in parts of Bollinger and Stoddard counties. Many residents said they were awakened by a loud, thunderous noise and rattling windows at 2:30 a.m. when the quake hit...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Murder charges against a Scott City, Mo., man were dropped Tuesday after new evidence suggested his wife may have committed suicide after all. On Jan. 24, Jerry W. Kennedy was arrested and charged with the first-degree murder, seven years after the death of his estranged wife, Ruth Kennedy, was first ruled a suicide...

10 years ago: March 13, 1992 Southeast Missouri State University Provost Leslie Cochran is one of three finalists for position of president of Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio. Parents of children who attend Washington Elementary School are demanding that full-time principal be hired for coming school year; school is one of two in Cape Girardeau School District that may be forced to share principal next year as part of $1.2 million budget cut approved by Board of Education this week; May Greene is other school.. ...

Scott Son to Katreen M. Scott and Jason K. Hollowell of Jackson, Mo., Southeast Missouri Hospital, 7:22 p.m. Friday, March 1, 2002. Name, Alexzander Kyle. Weight, 7 pounds 3 ounces. Ms. Scott is the daughter of Mike and Mary Scott of Jackson. She is employed at Southeast Hospital. Hollowell is the son of Gaetanna and Don Meir and Mike Hollowell, all of Cape Girardeau...

Due to a source error, the Southeast Missourian incorrectly reported Adam Parker's status in the National Geographic Bee in Tuesday's People & Things. He has taken the written test and qualified for the state bee April 5.

ANNA, Ill. -- Funeral for Catherine Sherer of Anna will be held at 11 a.m. today at Lutz and Rendleman Funeral Home in Anna. The Rev. Robert Goins will officiate. Burial will be in Anna City Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home from 10 a.m. until time of service...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Ruby May Frazier, 94, of Sikeston died Monday, March 11, 2002, at Sikeston Convalescent Center. She was born March 10, 1908, in New Madrid County, daughter of John and Melvina Launius Wren. She first married Troy Clifton Carr, then Walter Laymon, and later Lee Frazier. All preceded her in death...

STURDIVANT, Mo. -- Dwight D. Stotts, 45, of Sturdivant died Monday, March 11, 2002, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Sept. 23, 1956, at Advance, Mo., son of Chester and Lottie Rogers Stotts. Survivors include his mother, Lottie Meese of Sturdivant; three sons, Dwight, John and James Stotts, all of Sturdivant; two brothers, Larry Stotts of Sturdivant, Jeff Rogers of Zalma, Mo.; five sisters, Karen Shirrell and Denise Cato of Zalma, Joan Wall of Brownwood, Mo., Debbie McCall of Sturdivant, and Kim Buehler of Gipsy, Mo.. ...

OAK RIDGE, Mo. -- W.E. "Wib" Smith, 79, died Tuesday, March 12, 2002, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. Born Feb. 17, 1923, in Marquand, Mo., he was the son of George and Lillie Newell Smith. On Sept. 19, 1942, he was married to Rose Marie Keller. In his early life, Smith drove a coal truck for Virgil Johnson of Leachville, Ark. In January 1943, he joined the U.S. Army and served in World War II. After his discharge in December 1945, he went to work in the timber industry until his retirement...

Daily American Republic POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- A Poplar Bluff man is in satisfactory condition at a Memphis, Tenn., hospital following a weekend accident that cost him his left arm. Dallas Scott, 24, underwent two surgeries and spent three days in the intensive care unit at Elvis Presley Trauma Center...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- For some state employees, the call to active military duty means not only potentially risking their lives but enduring a financial hardship with the loss of their state paychecks. A bill sponsored by state Rep. Denny Merideth, D-Caruthersville, would cover the gap between state and military pay for such workers pressed into service...

AP Economics WriterWASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, who last week said the recession has apparently ended, voiced further optimism about the economy Wednesday, noting that employment had increased in February. Speaking to a bankers meeting, Greenspan said that job layoffs diminished "noticeably in January and employment turned up last month."...

Associated Press WriterWEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- Pope John Paul II on Wednesday accepted the resignation of a Roman Catholic bishop who admitted molesting a teen-ager at a Missouri seminary more than 25 years ago. Bishop Anthony J. O'Connell, 63, of the Diocese of Palm Beach, announced his resignation last Friday after he admitted to the allegations first published by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch...

Associated Press WriterWASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush said Wednesday his administration has "all options on the table" as the Pentagon reworks its nuclear weapons policy to deter any attack on America -- including from non-nuclear states such as Iraq and Iran...

AP Business WriterNEW YORK (AP) -- Weaker-than-expected retail sales gave investors another reason to take profits Wednesday, sending stocks sharply lower and the Dow Jones industrials down 130 points. The selling spread across the market, with the technology sector hard hit by more downgrades based on worries the sector had become overvalued. Analysts said Wall Street was playing it safe, awaiting more indications that business is improving...

By Ken McManaman JACKSON, Mo. -- American leaders have re-learned, as in past conflicts, that we cannot put our complete trust in foreign fighters such as the northern alliance in Afghan-istan. For example, in Operation Anaconda now going on in the high mountains of eastern Afghanistan near Gardez, we have had to recently insert Rangers, SEALs, Green Berets and other special operations personnel into treacherous, mountainous terrain akin to battlefield conditions in Korea to flush out and kill Taliban and al-Qaida extremists who have regrouped there to again seize control of that war-ravaged country.. ...

Recently our daughter Lexie celebrated her fifth birthday. Turning 5 has many exciting events attached to it, starting kindergarten in the fall being the most exciting and getting the dreaded 5-year-old shots to start kindergarten being the least exciting...

LEOPOLD, Mo. -- It wasn't exactly The Big One, but a 3.6-magnitude earthquake early Tuesday morning was The Big Topic in parts of Bollinger and Stoddard counties. Many residents said they were awakened by a loud, thunderous noise and rattling windows at 2:30 a.m. when the quake hit...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- If Missouri's governor had proposed tapping the Rainy Day Fund two years ago, there is no doubt it would have provoked grousing by legislators opposed to using state savings to cover spending. However, it would have been significantly easier to do then than now...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Charles Wesley Bright, 86, passed away Monday, March 11, 2002, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. Friends may call from 4-8 p.m. today at McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson. Funeral service will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the funeral home. The Rev. Jeff Sippy will officiate. Burial will be in Cape County Memorial Park in Cape Girardeau...

Loss of state revenue I WAS not persuaded by state Sen. Peter Kinder's column in Sunday's paper. Economic development is in the eye of the beholder. In my eye, I see the stadium proposals as a giant giveaway to corporations. Furthermore, I am amazed that Kinder and Gov. ...

The Cape Girardeau Public Schools Foundation has a mission: to raise money for some amenities and final touches at the new Central High School under construction and scheduled to open this fall. And foundation organizers want you to help. It is a bold step, asking the community for $600,000 for things like an outdoor athletic complex with top-rate fields, comfortable restrooms and a concession stand...

When you plan a spot for visitors, pretend you are the guest. What would you need to feel comfortable? It's OK if you can't provide a separate space as a guest room. Put a futon, daybed or convertible sleeper sofa to work when guests visit you. It can be in your family room, den, library or home office. If space is really tight, look into the concept of a fold-down bed, based on the old idea called Murphy beds...

POUND RIDGE, N.Y. Mention of a rock garden evokes images of plants against a background of stones. But stones also have a dramatic mystique and beauty suited for solo performances of their own. Contrast the emphasis on the flower in Wordsworth's, "A violet by a mossy stone half-hidden from the eye," to James Merrill's perception that it was useless to try to name the many "forms numbed in one small rock."...

First it housed Shop 'n' Save. Then it housed Mr. K's Food Center. Now, if everything goes according to plan, it will be God's house. Church leaders at First Assembly of God are poised to close a deal that will make them the owners of the 60,000-square-foot building at 254 Silver Springs Road that just can't seem to make it as a grocery store...

The best Megan Barnard hoped to get at the annual regional science fair was third place in the senior zoology category. After all, it was her first science fair. So when the senior from South Pemiscot High School in Steele, Mo., heard her name read Tuesday as one of two overall winners she almost didn't believe the announcer...

Cape Girardeau Wednesday, March 13 DWIChristopher Justin Menteer, 99 S. Park, was arrested Monday for driving while intoxicated. ArrestsLynwood Orville Chadwick, 42, 315 S. Lorimier, was arrested for trespassing Monday. Tresa Ann Candle 11 S. Ellis, was arrested Monday on a Union County warrant...

Cape Girardeau Wednesday, March 13 Firefighters responded to the following calls Monday:At 3:49 p.m., a grass fire on the 500 block of Minnesota. At 4:29 p.m, emergency medical service at Lexington and North Kingshighway. At 7:41 p.m., emergency medical service at 205 Caruthers...

Category winners Junior Biochemistry Superior: Claire Bira, 7th, St Vincent de Paul, Cape Girardeau Outstanding: Lisa Abbott, Alexandra Lundy and Lauren Schumer, 8th, St Vincent, Perryville, Mo. Junior Botany Superior: Stacey Seabaugh, 8th, Leopold R-III, Leopold, Mo...

MOUNT VERNON, Mo. -- The number of reported tuberculosis cases has dropped to a record low in Missouri, but officials warn that the disease has yet to be eradicated. Missouri had 157 cases of TB in 2001, representing the lowest level since the state began keeping records in 1944. It also represents a 26 percent decrease from the 211 cases in 2000...

Parishioners in Fayette were "struggling to make sense of it all," a church official said Tuesday, after the Rev. Don Wallace stepped down amid reports of abuse involving children in 1997 in another mid-Missouri parish. Meanwhile, recent removals of priests in the St. Louis Archdiocese were expected to be discussed in a meeting of priests called by Archbishop Justin Rigali...

To the editor: Our parents, friends and neighbors are being affected by what is happening in Jefferson City. Whether elderly, disabled or low-income, we have become an expendable commodity that even monetary cuts can penetrate. I am hoping that everyone who reads this calls our state senators and representatives and the governor to let them know who is being affected by the cuts they feel are so necessary. ...

To the editor: A Speak Out caller asked, "Can you imagine the response of God when you say you couldn't care less what happens to children who are aborted by others?" Many pro-choicers say they are "personally opposed to abortion." But they also say " I can't impose my belief on others."...

To the editor: I suggest that all mail, excluding religious and church-related mail, pay the full first-class rate of 34 cents. That would bring a screeching halt to the junk mail. Why should I pay 34 cents to send a letter to my son across the state while some get-rich-quick scheme pays much less to mail dozens of items? The U.S. ...

AREA SOUTHEAST BASEBALL FINALLY RETURNS TO HOME FIELD TODAY Southeast Missouri State University's baseball team hopes to finally play its first home game at 2 p.m. today when Evansville visits Capaha Field...

LORETTO, Pa. -- St. Francis is the patron saint of animals. How unfair, then, that his basketball team should be fed to the wolves -- or the Huskies, as the case may be. After winning an automatic bid as the Northeast Conference champion, the St. Francis Red Flash won the right to face unbeaten and top-ranked Connecticut in the first round of the NCAA tournament...

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. -- They aren't fond of being known as the "other team" from Connecticut, or the "other Blue Devils" in the NCAA tournament. But the label Central Connecticut (27-4, No. 14 seed in the South Region) really hates is "Cinderella."...

After winning more than 300 games coaching women's basketball on lower levels, David Slifer said he's ready for NCAA Division I. "The time is right," he said Tuesday. Slifer was the second of three finalists to interview for Southeast Missouri State University's head coaching position vacated by Ed Arnzen, who retired after 19 seasons. Slifer spent most of the day on the Southeast campus meeting with school officials...

Friday at Hearnes Center, Columbia Class 2A boys Bishop LeBlond (27-2) vs. Lutheran North (23-7), 7:55 p.m. Elsberry (27-3) vs. Marionville (26-3), 9:30 p.m. Class 2A girls Stockton (29-1) vs. Notre Dame (27-2), 4:45 p.m. Elsberry (30-0) vs. Seymour (29-1), 6:20 p.m...

In the early 1990s, Missouri Department of Transportation officials started seriously knocking around the idea of four-laning Highway 34/72 all the way from the busy Highway 25 intersection to the western edge of Jackson. By 1992, MoDOT workers were conducting roadside surveys near Pioneer Orchards, asking drivers the best way to improve that stretch. There were more surveys in 1995...