Stories from Saturday, May 24, 2003

STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- The junk e-mail plaguing Europe has something decidedly in common with the American variety. Nearly all the spam messages are in English, originate in the United States and don't even bother to price their wares in Euros. "It's always some unbelievable business opportunity, which is what we get from America," said Olle Thylander of the Swedish University Computer Network, a Stockholm-based group that oversees Internet traffic for Swedish universities...

By Jason Crowell For the first time in almost 50 years, the Republican Party controlled both chambers of the Missouri General Assembly during the legislative session that ended recently. With the turn of power came innovative reforms and renewed attention to efficiency and accountability in state government...

DENVER -- Colorado judges can't use child neglect laws to protect fetuses, but they can issue contempt charges against pregnant women, an appeals court ruled. The court Thursday upheld a ruling by Fremont County District Judge Julie Marshall that dismissed the county's neglect proceeding against a pregnant woman who was using methamphetamine...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA could have launched another shuttle to rescue the Columbia astronauts if it had realized the severity of the wing damage early on and decided it was worth the extreme risk to the second ship and crew, the chief accident investigator said Friday...

LAFAYETTE, La. -- Investigators searching for the serial killer of five Louisiana women released a sketch Friday of a possible suspect, a man who tried to rape one woman and approached two others last year. "We think this is a significant development in this case," said Lafayette Parish Sheriff Mike Neu-strom...

BURLINGTON, Vt. -- Syllepsis, eudaemonic, smaragdine. Odontalgia, staphylococci, antipyretic. It's words like these that delight Jacques Bailly, a University of Vermont classics professor who will serve as official pronouncer at the annual Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee in Washington on Wednesday and Thursday...

HAVANA -- Cuba charged Friday that the U.S. government was stepping up radio and television broadcasts into the communist island, saying that the transmissions violate international law and the island's sovereignty. The Foreign Ministry said it had delivered a verbal protest to the top American diplomat here. The U.S. State Department in Washington denied that such broadcasts violated any laws or international norms...

BEIRUT, Lebanon -- A 3-D computer game is the militant Hezbollah group's latest weapon in its propaganda war on Israel. "Fight, resist, destroy your enemy in the game of force and victory," the game's slogan exhorts. Now on sale in Lebanon, "Special Force" pits a guerrilla armed with a knife, a pistol, hand grenades and a Kalashnikov assault rifle against Israeli soldiers operating from fortified positions in southern Lebanon protected by land mines, a Merkava tank and an Apache helicopter.. ...

MONTREAL -- A Moroccan man labeled a threat to Canada's national security has been arrested in Montreal, reportedly on suspicion he has ties to a convicted terrorist in the United States. Adil Charkaoui, who has lived in Canada since 1995, was detained on Wednesday, said Nicole Currier of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service...

TORONTO -- Investigators placed four more farms under quarantine Friday, including three involving feed production, in a widening search for the cause of North America's first case of mad cow disease in a decade. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said 13 farms were now under quarantine -- eight in Alberta, where the recent case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, was found; two in Saskatchewan to the east; and three in British Columbia to the west. ...

WHITTINGTON, Ill. -- A state audit of Rend Lake Conservancy District's finances appears more likely after the lawmaker who previously opposed the move pledged his support. Sen. Larry Woolard said he will introduce legislation into the Senate similar to a bill passed unanimously by the House on Thursday, calling for the state Auditor General's office to look into allegations of financial wrongdoing at the RLCD, one of Southern Illinois' largest lake resorts and water suppliers...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Hallmark Cards is entering the magazine market with a publication that features articles about relationships, home, crafts and food. Titled simply Hallmark, the test launch of the bimonthly publication comes just as the battered consumer magazine industry begins to see signs of hope...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- An explosion and fire destroyed a small home in the Waldo area on Kansas City's South Side early Friday, injuring a man and his 6-year-old son. Fire chief Smokey Dyer said the two were blown clear of the house by the force of the explosion, but that their injuries did not appear to be life-threatening. Both were taken to hospitals...

ST. LOUIS -- Amy Hancock may be getting her voice back soon. Hancock, 26, lost her larynx to cancer five years ago. Rare surgery Friday at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis aimed to restore her voice. The surgery lasted 10 hours and went well, Washington University School of Medicine spokeswoman Joni Westerhouse said Friday night. It will take three to five weeks to know whether the procedure will restore Hancock's voice, she said...

NORFOLK, Va. -- Rain-soaked, shivering but triumphant, sailors on the USS Harry S. Truman hoisted a banner reading "We gave 'em freedom!" Friday as the first East Coast aircraft carrier returned from the war in Iraq. The Truman, with 5,400 Marines and sailors on board, docked at Norfolk Naval Station as thousands of friends and relatives on the pier cheered and waved "welcome home " signs...

Robin Minner admits that it seems like only yesterday when he and co-coach Ray Craft were putting together Cape Girardeau's second summer baseball team for players who have completed their American Legion eligibility. But the Riverdogs are entering their fifth season and open today with a 1 p.m. road doubleheader against the Southern Illinois Merchants. The Riverdogs split their home games between Sikeston and Capaha Field, with the majority in Sikeston...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Jerrod Hull has made himself right at home in Auto Tire and Parts Racepark's sprint division this season. He's won twice in four starts, and he finished second the other two times. He leads defending track champion Robbie Standridge by 61 points in the standings at the dirt track near Benton, Mo...

WASHINGTON -- President Bush won Israel's acceptance of a blueprint for peacemaking with the Palestinians Friday, rejecting Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's appeal to revise the plan but assuring him that concerns about terror attacks would be addressed...

WASHINGTON -- By the narrowest of margins, Congress on Friday sent President Bush the third tax cut of his presidency -- a $330 billion package of rebates and lower rates for families and new breaks for businesses and investors. Republicans said it would put people back to work. Democrats derided it as a gift to the wealthy...

Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe. Microwave ovens and the interstate system. And New Year's Day, Jan. 1, 2000. "Think of all the pleasures, all the experiences today," says Dr. Frank Nickell, a Southeast Missouri State University history professor who will speak at Monday's Memorial Day service in Jackson. "We had 78 people from Cape Girardeau County who died in World War II and all of them had the potential of still being alive today."...

lot full of unlicensed cars could land a Cape Girardeau business owner behind bars. Lester Sample has a history of zoning violations dating back to 1988. But it's his chronic failure to remove several dozen junked cars from his lot at 212 S. Spanish St. that has put him at risk of punishment...

PITTSBURGH -- J.D. Drew tripled home the go-ahead run in the 10th inning and the Cardinals, down to their last strike before Scott Rolen hit a three-run homer in the ninth, rallied past the Pittsburgh Pirates 10-8 Friday night. Albert Pujols didn't homer for the first time in five games, but had a career-high five hits -- including an RBI single in the two-run 10th against reliever Brian Meadows (0-1)...

CONCORD, N.C. -- Ryan Newman won the pole for the Coca-Cola 600, giving owner Roger Penske cars on the front row in both of Sunday's races. Newman, last year's top rookie, ran a lap at 185.312 mph in his No. 12 Dodge on Friday to qualify first for NASCAR's longest race of the year. Halfway across the country, Helio Castroneves is on the pole for the Indianapolis 500...

FORT WORTH, Texas -- When her final putt fell for a par, Annika Sorenstam walked off the 18th green at the Colonial to a standing ovation unlike anything the winner will hear Sunday. Never mind that she shot a 4-over 74 Friday and missed the cut by four shots...

OTTAWA -- Jeff Friesen rescued the New Jersey Devils when it looked like they couldn't hold on any longer. Friesen got behind the Ottawa defense, took a brilliant pass from Grant Marshall and scored with 2:14 left Friday night, sending the Devils into the Stanley Cup finals with a 3-2 victory in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals...

INDIANAPOLIS -- For decades, they chugged beers from dirty couches on the backs of pickups parked in yards near the speedway. In the mornings, they nursed hangovers to the shrill cries of Indy cars. For those nomad fans known as "race rats" who follow the traveling carnival of motorsports, the month of May always meant camping outside the Indianapolis 500 in a gear-head's paradise...

Scott City's Loren Groves no longer has to worry about when -- and if -- her first state track and field championship will come. Groves, a junior, set the Class 2 state meet record on her second throw in the discus finals Friday in Jefferson City. Groves' throw of 143-11 delivered her first state title after several second-place finishes. The throw beat the old state meet mark of 137-0 set in 2001. Groves' throw also beat her nearest competitor by 18 feet...

DEXTER, Mo. -- Even after a final four appearance at the state baseball tournament last year in Class 2, few would have given Notre Dame a chance Friday in the Class 3, District 1 Tournament. Sikeston, 23-1 and the No. 1 team in the state, hadn't lost to a team from Missouri all season until the second-seeded Bulldogs -- behind a six-run second inning -- stunned the top seed with a district-winning 7-3 victory...

Without even leaving their cozy back yard, the Notre Dame girls soccer team has gone farther than any Bulldog team before them. As host of the Class 1, District 1 Tournament, Notre Dame lived up to its top seeding by winning its first district title this week...

PADUCAH, Ky. -- No Southeast Missouri State University baseball players were more frustrated by the Indians' showing in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament than Brian Hopkins and Zach Borowiak. Hopkins and Borowiak were Southeast's heaviest hitters all season, putting up numbers that ranked not only among the OVC's leaders but also high on the national list...

Briefly Basketball There are moments that can define not only a game, but an entire playoff series. Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks can only hope that one of them didn't happen early in the fourth quarter. Nowitzki went down with a sprained knee as Tim Duncan was leading San Antonio on a 12-0 run to open the fourth quarter, and the Spurs controlled the game the rest of the way to beat Dallas 96-83 and take a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference finals.. ...

Cape Girardeau Saturday, May 24 Firefighters responded Thursday to the following items: At 6:37 p.m., emergency medical service at 3829 Fawn. At 8:14 p.m., emergency medical service at 1 Arena Park. Firefighters responded Friday to the following items:...

Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department Saturday, May 24 The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests Joshua D. Hengst, 22, of Cape Girardeau was arrested May 17 on two Cape Girardeau County warrants for failure to appear...

With Gov. Bob Holden jetting around Missouri and vowing to veto most of the budget for the next fiscal year, it's easy to forget what an exceptionally smooth and productive legislative session Missouri enjoyed this year. That mostly had to do with the political makeup of both legislative chambers. For the first time since 1948, Republicans held majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate...

WASHINGTON -- The poverty rate for U.S. veterans is about half that of all Americans, the Census Bureau says in a Memorial Day report detailing the status of the nation's former military personnel. Almost 6 percent of the country's 26 million veterans lived in poverty in 2000, compared with 11 percent of all adults, according to the bureau...

NEW DELHI, India -- Indian leaders on Friday ruled out holding high-level talks soon with Pakistan, reflecting a chill in efforts to revive peace talks between the nuclear-armed South Asian rivals. Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihar Vajpayee said in a German newspaper interview published Friday that he has no plans to meet Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, though both will attend the G-8 summit in Evian, France next month...

CORSO, Algeria -- A wide-eyed Algerian toddler was tenderly lifted from the ruins of her family's home Friday, two days after a devastating earthquake killed more than 1,600 people -- a tiny survivor found by rescuers who heard her plaintive cries...

OHRID, Macedonia -- Balkan leaders agreed Friday to tighten border security in a crackdown on organized crime and rampant trafficking in drugs, weapons and people. The leaders -- closing a two-day meeting at Lake Ohrid, which divides southern Macedonia and Albania -- put forward an ambitious plan to more strictly control 3,100 miles of frontiers created by the breakup of the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s...

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Supporters and opponents of President Hugo Chavez have agreed on a plan for a referendum on the president's rule, officials on both sides said Friday. Opposition representative Juan Raffalli said the proposal also calls for votes on the mandates of other elected officials...

MIAMI -- The former chief of a jewelry company was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison Friday for a work-at-home Ponzi scheme that defrauded 16,000 people out of about $90 million. Enrique Pirela, former CEO of Unique Gems International Corp., said through tears that he was "truly repentant" about the scam, which operated from 1995 to 1997...

FINZEL, Md. -- Nearly 100 cars and trucks driving through heavy fog crashed Friday in a series of accidents on a western Maryland interstate, killing at least two people and injuring more than 60, authorities said. Cars, trucks and tractor-trailers jammed Interstate 68 and its shoulders, twisted up against guard rails. Some had crushed hoods, fenders and tailgates...

PHILADELPHIA -- Prosecutors once branded Marie Noe "as much a mass murderer as Ted Bundy." But they soon took pity on the retiree. While Bundy got the electric chair in Florida in 1989, Noe was given a plea bargain: For smothering eight of her infant children as a young mother, the Philadelphia woman got probation and five years under house arrest...

Southeast Missouri State University lobbyist Dr. Dale Nitzschke is well worth his $165,000 annual contract, school officials say. Don Dickerson, president of the board of regents, says Nitzschke has secured millions of dollars in federal grants for the Cape Girardeau university since stepping down as its president in 1999...

PADUCAH, Ky. -- Southeast Missouri State University handily swept a three-game series from Murray State to close the regular season last weekend. But in what has turned out to be a totally upside-down Ohio Valley Conference Tournament, the Thoroughbreds had the final say Friday...

STOCKTON, Mo. -- The night the tornado roared through, Jane Wykoff was standing in her kitchen and dove for cover. She survived. Her house didn't. On Friday, Wykoff became the first person displaced by Missouri's deadly May 4 tornadoes to move into government-backed free temporary housing: a 30-foot-by-8-foot travel trailer...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- The military that failed to protect Saddam Hussein's regime took its final fall Friday, as the American occupation force ordered the dismantling of the Iraqi army and the Republican Guard, to be replaced by a "New Iraqi Corps." The security services and paramilitary groups that formed the pillars of Saddam's Iraq also were abolished by the decree issued by L. Paul Bremer, the top civilian administrator...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Southeast Missouri State University officials expect to be able to weather a nearly half-million-dollar cut in state funding for the fiscal year ending June 30. Southeast president Ken Dobbins said he was bracing for a much larger hit than the $470,511 withholding Gov. Bob Holden announced Friday...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- An unprecedented special legislative session to reconsider portions of the state budget vetoed by Gov. Bob Holden will begin June 2. Republican lawmakers vowed to continue to hold the line against the new taxes the Democratic governor wants to expand state spending...

WASHINGTON -- An estimated 100,000 bottles labeled as the cholesterol-lowering medicine Lipitor are being recalled because they contain counterfeit pills, the Food and Drug Administration warned Friday. The FDA said the fake pills were discovered after some health complaints but would not elaborate because a criminal investigation is under way...

Supporting actor Tommy McGowan's name was misspelled in Thursday's edition in a story about the Central Junior High School play. Incorrect information was provided the Southeast Missourian.

Cape Girardeau Saturday, May 24 The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. DWI Terry L. Price, 31, of 243 N. Fountain, Apt. B, Cape Girardeau, was arrested Thursday on suspicion of driving while intoxicated...

The Cape Girardeau City Council is faced with a decision that would seem to be about public access to government affairs but really is more about a productive use of time. As it stands, the council generally meets on the first and third Mondays of each month. ...

To the editor: In response to Rhonda Roth of Malden, Mo., many people think along the lines of Jim Drury, who has pointed out the problems of the voting for the River Campus. I too am opposed to using city tax funds for the money pit at Southeast Missouri State University. Roth should ask the Malden City Council for $8.9 million to send to SEMO...

To the editor: This is in response to those upset at Central High School for not providing study hall time for their children. These parents claim their children are being cheated and it's not fair that they are busy from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and still have homework to do when they get home...

To the editor: U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson is right about the need to lower drug prices. Importing drugs from Canada gives vital relief to many patients who can't afford what the doctor prescribes. The drug industry flew its public relations expert into your area to blow smoke. They will say and do everything they can to keep their profits soaring...

DEXTER, Mo. -- Hilda Delores Bowerman, 75, of Dexter was born Nov. 13, 1927, at Zalma, Mo., the daughter of the late William and Rhoda Sitze Pape. She passed away Thursday, May 22, 2003, at Missouri Southern Health Care in Dexter. Hilda was a schoolteacher for over 55 years before retiring. She taught school at Zalma and Alton, Mo. Hilda was a wonderful music teacher. Hilda was a member of the Zalma Missionary Baptist Church...

Anna Mae Hahs of Cape Girardeau passed away Thursday, May 22, 2003, at Jackson Manor in Jackson. She was born July 26, 1917, at Allenville, daughter of Robert N. and Myrtle Byrne Amos. She and Ernest Lee Hahs were married Aug. 9, 1941. He died Sept. 13, 1991...

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- Francis Warren Denning, 82, of Charleston died Thursday, May 22, 2003, at Charleston Manor. He was born March 31, 1921, in East Prairie, Mo., son of James Orb and Hattie Lee McClanahan Denning. He and Ethel May Stokes were married April 16, 1938. She died Feb. 26, 1988...

ANNA, Ill. -- Marie D. Montgomery, 99, of Anna died Wednesday, May 21, 2003, at Union County Hospital. She was born March 22, 1904, in Dongola, Ill., daughter of Samuel and Susie Hargus Dillow. She and Olen Montgomery were married Dec. 13, 1924. He died Aug. 22, 1983...

Shirley Dean Fulton Jenkins Lemonds, 67, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, May 5, 2003, in Santa Ana, Calif. She was born Sept. 30, 1935, in Missouri. She married Don Jenkins, who preceded her in death. She later married Jackie Lemonds. Survivors include her husband; a son, Donald Jenkins II of Cape Girardeau; two daughters, Diana Sellars of Santa Ana, Stasha Morse of San Diego, Calif.; a sister, Marty King of Cape Girardeau; 14 grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren...

10 years ago: May 24, 1993 Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau is expected to drop below 32-foot flood stage this week; it has crested above flood stage here five times in last month and a half; falling river is welcome news to farmers and residents in water-logged East Cape Girardeau-Clear Creek Levee District and others living in four levee districts located in basin that extends from Big Muddy River levee southward to levee near Gale, Ill., in north Alexander County...

Part of William Street closed for construction William Street from Main Street to Sprigg Street will be closed from Tuesday through Friday for improvement. There will be a four-way stop sign at the intersection of William and Sprigg on Tuesday and will be completely closed one day between Wednesday and Friday for paving work on William...

Turnbow Son to Heather Michelle Turnbow of Jackson, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 6:05 p.m. Thursday, May 15, 2003. Name, Dominic Michael. Weight, 7 pounds 15 ounces. First child. Ms. Turnbow is the daughter of Sarah Turnbow and Michael and Liz Turnbow, all of Jackson. She is employed at D-Mart in Fruitland...

Start with a smile I GO to the Jackson Post Office every day for my place to pick up mail. I could not receive better service, even when they were out of electricity for a couple days due to the terrible tornado. If you want a smile, then give one. So many folks go through life with a chip on their shoulder. You need to count your blessings and stop complaining...

TORONTO -- U.S. health officials reinstated a travel alert for Toronto Friday as Canada announced a new cluster of about 20 possible SARS cases in Toronto. The alert came as a harsh blow for Canada's largest city, which was removed from the World Health Organization's list of SARS-affected areas last week after apparently snuffing out the biggest outbreak of the illness outside of Asia...