Stories from Thursday, July 10, 2003

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- French President Jacques Chirac allegedly guaranteed that Bosnian Serb Gen. Ratko Mladic would not be transferred to the U.N. war crimes tribunal in exchange for the release of two French hostages in 1995, according to evidence presented at Slobodan Milosevic's trial Wednesday...

SALT LAKE CITY -- A black bear tried to drag a teenager out of his sleeping bag as he and other campers slept under the stars in a remote canyon -- the first bear attack in Utah in 11 years, officials said. Nick Greeve, 18, of West Linn, Ore., was treated for puncture wounds and lacerations at a hospital in Price and released, officials said. The animal grabbed him by the head and neck, but the other campers chased the bear away after hearing Greeve's screams...

Scientists have developed a blood test that appears to be the first reliable way to predict whether patients with neurological problems such as tingling or blurred vision will soon develop the debilitating disease multiple sclerosis. Austrian researchers studying patients with possible MS symptoms found that those with two kinds of antibodies in their blood early on were 76 times more likely to develop the tough-to-diagnose disorder than those with neither antibody...

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Ark. -- The last time Terry Wallis was conscious of the world around him, Ronald Reagan was president, Bill Clinton was the governor, the Soviet Union was the enemy and the World Trade Center still stood. Thrown into a stupor after an auto accident in 1984, he recently spoke his first words in 19 years: "Mom. Pepsi. Milk."...

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. -- An elementary school assistant principal was arrested Wednesday in connection with the shooting deaths of his wife, mother-in-law and three young children in California. The FBI and law enforcement agencies across the country had been asked to help search for Vincent Brothers, 41, after police discovered the bodies Tuesday in a Bakersfield, Calif., home...

MERIDIAN, Miss. -- Doug Williams sat in a meeting with managers at his factory job, listening to them explain the importance of being honest and responsible in the workplace. Also on the agenda: getting along with co-workers, regardless of their sex or race...

Scientists could have written an R-rated, gender-bending plot twist to Disney's "Finding Nemo": Clownfish have a natural ability to change their sex. Clownfish, the aquarium pet of choice since the release of the animated movie, live in such a rigid social structure in the wild that if one of the dominant breeding adults is removed, the size, status and even sex of the other clownfish change rapidly to return the group to the status quo...

Contradicting nearly all the medical textbooks, doctors have proven for the first time that fraternal, or nonidentical, twins can share a placenta. Until now, doctors believed that only identical twins -- which come from a single, split embryo -- can share a placenta, the mass of tissue inside the uterus that delivers nourishment to the fetus via the umbilical cord...

Videotape could clear Knight of assaultLOS ANGELES -- A security videotape shows Marion "Suge" Knight didn't punch a parking attendant outside a Hollywood nightclub, the rap impresario's attorney said. Attorney Rose Kogeman said the tape and the unidentified victim refute accounts by police and state parole officials that the 37-year-old founder of Death Row Records punched the attendant in the face from behind last month. The label is now known as Tha Row...

Report: Rush to Baghdad, mistakes led to ambush WASHINGTON -- The unprecedented speed of the Army's drive to Baghdad contributed to mistakes that ended in the deaths of 11 U.S. troops and the capture of six, including Pfc. Jessica Lynch, an Army report says...

PThe Dow Jones industrial average fell after a two-day gain. By Hope Yen ~ The Associated Press NEW YORK -- Wall Street pulled back Wednesday as investors cashed in profits from the market's recent rally while they awaited second-quarter earnings reports. Fears of a potentially unfavorable legal ruling against Altria Group also weighed on shares...

JERUSALEM -- U.S. and Egyptian mediators met with Israeli and Palestinian leaders Wednesday amid an impasse over Palestinian prisoners held in Israel that threatens to torpedo the brittle, 11-day-old Mideast cease-fire. Top Israeli and Palestinian officials both expressed continued support for the cease-fire, but each side said the other must take further steps. ...

SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korea said Wednesday the communist North has reprocessed a small number of spent nuclear fuel rods, an important step in making weapons. The report came as North Korean envoys warned that the "black clouds of a nuclear war" are approaching...

LONDON -- Britain's hotly debated legislation to ban fox hunting cleared the House of Commons on Wednesday while hunt supporters protested noisily in front of the Houses of Parliament. Demonstrators with hundreds of hunt dogs assembled outside as legislators approved the Hunting Bill by a vote of 317 to 145. The bill now goes to the House of Lords...

Over 500 feared dead after ferry capsizes DHAKA, Bangladesh -- Emergency crews scoured a turbulent river Wednesday in search of more than 500 passengers missing and feared dead after an overcrowded ferry capsized in southern Bangladesh. Strong currents hampered the search for the triple-deck ferry, which sank Tuesday night with about 750 people on board at the meeting point of the Padma, Meghna and Dakatia rivers. ...

WADA, Japan -- Just as the sun's rays peek over the Pacific, blood and blubber begin pouring over the pier-side slaughterhouse floor as rubber-booted butchers chop up one of the summer season's first whales. Brandishing machetes like surgeons' scalpels, the dozen men first strip the waxy skin back like a banana peel, then carve out the coveted red meat. In 90 minutes, the 10-ton, 30-foot-long Baird's beaked whale is diced into hundreds of brick-sized chunks...

TOKYO -- It may have been inevitable. Now that cell phones with little digital cameras have spread throughout Asia, so have new brands of misbehavior. Some people are secretly taking photos up women's skirts and down into bathroom stalls. Others are avoiding buying books and magazines by snapping free shots of desired pages...

ATLANTA -- DaimlerChrysler AG has postponed plans for a van factory that would create 3,300 jobs in coastal Georgia, but state officials said they are confident it will get built -- eventually. Georgia officials had expected DaimlerChrysler's board of directors to meet Wednesday and approve the $754 million plant to be built on a 1,500-acre site in Pooler, 12 miles west of Savannah. It would manufacture Sprinter cargo vans...

CHICAGO -- Two key executives have left Kraft Foods Inc. in a shakeup that caused the company's stock to drop 4 percent Wednesday. The world's second-largest food company behind Nestle announced the departures of Irene Rosenfeld, president of Kraft Foods North America since just last October, and Michael Polk, president of the biscuit and snacks group...

DECATUR, Ind. -- Volunteers, National Guardsmen and a football team joined efforts Wednesday to protect homes surrounded by flooding caused by five days of thunderstorms. The St. Marys River in northeastern Indiana was at record levels, and several hundred homes around Decatur had been flooded or were threatened by high water...

Mike Skinner is the latest driver with Winston Cup ties to enter next weekend's Craftsman Truck Series event at Gateway International Raceway near St. Louis. Skinner will race the No. 15 Vokal Ford in the Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers Ram Tough 200 with a mission other than just winning: Skinner has been chosen to try to help team owner Billy Ballew turn around a struggling operation that's finished in the top 10 only twice. ...

Dusty Baker is nothing if not stubborn. With the Marlins in town, a gentle breeze blowing in off the lake and noontime showers cooling Wrigley Field to a near-perfect 72 degrees, the only controversy on the Cubs manager's schedule for Tuesday should have been his All-Star snub of Florida rookie pitcher Dontrelle Willis...

SINGAPORE -- A dozen women in black headscarves washed Ladan and Laleh Bijani's bodies and tenderly wrapped them in long strips of white cotton in preparation Wednesday for the flight home to Iran. The 29-year-olds, who were born joined at the head, knew no one in Singapore when they arrived more than seven months ago, chasing a dream of living separate lives -- one as a lawyer, the other a journalist...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- U.S. forces captured Iraq's swashbuckling former interior minister, while a top-level Baath party official surrendered, the latest arrests from a list of 55 most-wanted fugitives from Saddam Hussein's ousted regime. Thirty-four of those on the list have now been detained. But despite a huge bounty and a feverish search, the hunt is still missing its biggest quarry: Saddam and his two sons...

PRETORIA, South Africa -- President Bush suggested Wednesday that any U.S. military help in ending brutal civil unrest in Liberia might consist mostly of advisers and trainers to avoid stretching American forces too thinly around the globe. "We won't overextend our troops, period," Bush said at a joint news conference with South African President Thabo Mbeki, who had pressed him on what role the United States would play in the crisis...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Gov. Bob Holden vetoed 22 bills Wednesday, including measures on abortion and lawsuit reform that were priority issues for the Missouri Legislature's Republican majorities. GOP leaders vowed to attempt to override the Democratic governor on several of the bills during September's annual veto session...

Like many state-funded facilities, the Southeast Missouri Regional Crime Lab in Cape Girardeau is facing unwelcome budget cuts, which could eliminate jobs, delay test results and spark the retirement of its director. The crime lab handles about 4,000 cases a year for 21 counties. ...

Nobody likes pond scum. Unless they're starving, not even the 30 grass carp introduced into the Capaha Park Lagoon last week will eat the green filamentous algae floating atop the lagoon. Grass carp will eat the leafy pond weed currently covering 50 to 60 percent of the lagoon's bottom, and that's why they've been brought in...

A Little Rock, Ark., developer plans to build 19 duplexes bordering Missouri and Jefferson avenues for a project aimed at providing affordable, family housing. PDC Companies vice president Richard Pierce presented the project to the Cape Girardeau Planning and Zoning Commission on Wednesday. The commission approved a special use permit, but the city council will have the final say at its Aug. 4 meeting...

They grow it. You buy it. It's as simple as that. A farming family has established a weekly farmers market in Jackson, and Wednesday was the first day in business in front of Buchheit's store on Old Orchard Road near the city limits. Much like the farmers market that has been selling produce every Thursday for many years at the Plaza Galleria parking lot in Cape Girardeau, the new Jackson farmers market provides an old-school way of buying and selling food...

A pair of Cape Girardeau motocross racers are headed back into familiar territory for a shot at national titles. Max Friese, 16, and his brother Vince, 12, will compete for a full week early next month in the 20th annual AMA National Motocross Championship Finals near Hurricane Mills, Tenn. The event featuring more than 1,300 riders will be at Loretta Lynn's Ranch...

Traffic crossing the the Mississippi River bridge was backed up for about an hour Wednesday night after a pickup truck headed east was struck by the wide load hauled by a westbound semitrailer shortly before 6:30 p.m. The accident was investigated by trooper Greg Maln of the Illinois State Police. ...

July 10, 2003 Dear Terry Wallis, The newspaper stories about you waking from a coma 19 years after a car crash concentrate on your first words and all the sea changes you have missed since 1984: the end of the Cold War and the beginning on Sept. 11, 2001, of what could be a longer struggle. You missed the onset of the AIDS epidemic, two shuttle disasters, the election debacle of 2000. You don't know what a hanging chad is...

As the broiling sun beat down on Daytona International Speedway, Tony Stewart sprawled in an easy chair in his cool, darkened motorhome, a contented look on his face. A tennis match was flickering on the big TV screen in the corner, but the sound was turned down and the defending NASCAR Winston Cup champion wasn't watching. He pursed his lips, thought for a moment and said, "You know, I just got tired of being angry."...

SAINT-DIZIER, France -- Lance Armstrong and his teammates found another reason to raise their glasses for a toast at dinner. The U.S. Postal Service squad won a team time trial at the Tour de France for the first time Wednesday, leaving Armstrong in second place overall and in good position to win his fifth straight title as the punishing Alps loom...

ST. LOUIS -- Rookie David Ross and Cesar Izturis drove in two runs apiece as the Los Angeles Dodgers, enjoying another rare burst of offense, beat the Cardinals 6-5 Wednesday night. The Dodgers got to Brett Tomko for five runs in the fourth and scored six runs for the first time since June 25. They've totaled 11 runs the last two games, after scoring 20 in the previous 11. Los Angeles entered the game with an NL-low .240 average...

With his captivating smile and wholesomely hip persona that appeals to teens on the playground and millionaires in the front row, Kobe Bryant has established himself as one of the top marketable athletes of his era. That image, however, is in jeopardy following a 19-year-old woman's accusation that Bryant sexually assaulted her. He hasn't been charged, but the allegation alone raises questions about the NBA star's marketability -- for now and the future...

Ford &Sons wins in seven over Chaffee Cape Girardeau Ford and Sons Senior American Legion needed only seven innings to roll past district foe Chaffee 17-1 Wednesday at Capaha Park. Ford and Sons (20-11) finished with 18 hits, including six doubles. Sean Bard led the attack with a 4-for-5 performance. Bard had two doubles and three RBIs. Matt Wulfers added three hits for Cape. Seth Hudson, Chris Conrad, Josh Ford and Lee Essner had two hits apiece...

Senate President Pro Tem Peter Kinder and state Rep. Jason Crowell will be the featured speakers at First Friday Coffee this week. House Speaker Catherine Hanaway also plans to attend. Hanaway, a St. Louis County Republican, and Kinder and Crowell, both Republicans from Cape Girardeau, will speak about issues from the recent turbulent session of the Missouri Legislature...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Two Bourbon, Mo., men, Jerry W. Robison, 51, and Christopher P. Decker, 24, face multiple methamphetamine-related charges after a traffic stop in Perry County. Deputy Brandon Baker, was patrolling Highway 51 Tuesday at about 1:39 a.m. when he saw Robison drive a Ford F-150 pickup truck across the shoulder line of the road. The truck also had no license plate light. Baker submitted the following account in a written report:...

The Roswell (N.M.) Daily Record fired sports editor Gregory M. Jones last week, saying he fabricated part of a Father's Day golf tournament story. In short, Jones quoted Carl Spangler, a nonexistent groundskeeper at Roswell Country Club. The quotes just happened to be an exact match for those of Carl Spackler, the Bill Murray character in "Caddyshack" who invented a new hybrid of golf grass "that you can play 36 holes on it in the afternoon, take it home and just get stoned to the bejeezus-belt that night on the stuff.". ...

ST. LOUIS -- The hot, humid weather that has settled over Missouri for the past week was blamed in the deaths of two St. Louis area residents, the first heat-related deaths in Missouri this year, health officials said. The body of Robert A. Kimble, 54, of north St. Louis County, was found just after 4 a.m. Sunday outside of Busch Stadium by a stadium security guard, officials at the St. Louis medical examiner's office said...

The Heartland Fury, a Jackson fast-pitch girls softball team for players ages 18 and under, finished second at the NSA world qualifying tournament at Shawnee Sports Complex in Cape Girardeau. The team was among 40 teams entered from five states in the event held June 6 to 8...

Nancy M. Burnett, 85, of Cape Girardeau died Tuesday, July 8, 2003, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. She was born July 13, 1917, in Commerce, Texas, daughter of William Harvey and Fannie Leah Pritchard Mantooth. She and Melvin M. Burnett were married April 18, 1942, in Denver, Colo. He died in 1996...

Waste of money BEFORE YOU complain about the rich getting richer and whining about what you don't have, consider how much good money you throw away on fireworks. Using money wisely and getting a real bang for your buck is how you acquire assets. Spending money on bottle rockets and Roman candles wastes money and irritates your neighbors...

To the editor: After an almost two-year war on terrorism and in spite of a $25 million reward on his head, Osama bin Laden and most of the hierarchy of his terrorist network remain at large. Long after his government was toppled, Saddam Hussein, his sons and most of the upper echelon of the Iraqi government are not in custody...

To the editor: I grew up in Missouri and value the common sense I learned from my elders. I think our leaders could use some Show Me wisdom. If I look at the situation that might involve us militarily in Liberia, I consider the recent history that took us into Somalia. If I look at the huge military and human investment our country has made in Afghanistan and Iraq, I am not so sure we are making decisions that are completely well-considered for the long term...

To the editor: House Resolution 303 would eliminate the law that forces disabled military retirees to forfeit a dollar of their retirement pay for every dollar they receive in Veterans Administration disability compensation. About 670,000 veterans have their income cut in this way. HR 303, which has 326 co-sponsors, has been referred to the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee. The Republican leadership refuses to schedule a vote...

By Lauralee Ortiz ~ Knight Ridder Tribune You've heard the caveat at the end of a million ads: Before starting any diet or exercise program, talk to your doctor. But patients find that harder to do than advertised. Despite the fact that 120 million overweight and obese American adults face a wide range of medical risks, many physicians lack the nutrition training, the bedside manner or even the willingness to venture into the minefield of weight-control treatment...

Today Refresher childbirth class from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Harrison Room at Southeast Missouri Hospital. Call 651-5825. La Leche League (breast-feeding) Support Group meets from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in conference room A at St. Francis Medical Center. Contact Carol Stoverink at 334-2705...

The doctor walks into his examination room, where an overweight female patient waits. "Still fat," he says, shaking his head. The woman lets out a nervous chuckle, hoping a punch line is about to follow to ease the shame intensifying inside her. But the doctor says nothing more, and she is too humiliated to bring it up again...

James R. "Jim" Milam, 77, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, July 5, 2003, at his home. He was born March 13, 1926, in Milam, Tenn., son of Henry Clay and May Frances Dodson Milam. Milam moved to Cape Girardeau from Alabama, where he was a self-employed timber worker...

ADVANCE, Mo. -- Clara M. Pittman, 91, of Advance died Wednesday, July 9, 2003, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born March 7, 1912, at Arab, Mo., daughter of Joseph and May Bell Douglas Fish. She and Marion Pittman were married Nov. 15, 1956. He died April 16, 1995...

10 years ago: July 10, 1993 The Southeast Missourian publishes special edition detailing local flooding and efforts to cope with rising waters. Cape Girardeau County Commission, meeting in special session yesterday, approved order imposing curfew in flooded areas of county until further notice...

Bramlett Daughter to Kenneth Wayne and Rhonda Michelle Bramlett of Cape Girardeau, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 4:23 p.m. Monday, June 30, 2003. Name, Kiersten Marie. Weight, 7 pounds 7 ounces. Second child, first daughter. Mrs. Bramlett is the former Rhonda Dillow, daughter of Ron and Martha Dillow of Dongola, Ill. She is employed at Area Agency on Aging in Cape Girardeau. Bramlett is the son of Carolyn Bramlett of Cape Girardeau. He is employed at Bootheel Golf Club in Sikeston, Mo...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Allen E. Schumer, 56, of Perryville died Wednesday, July 9, 2003, at Perry County Memorial Hospital. He was born Feb. 18, 1947, at Perryville, son of Herman and Minnie Huber Schumer. He and Janice Scherer were married in April 1969...

Hazel Irene Clippard, 82, of Oak Ridge died Tuesday, July 8, 2003, at Monticello House in Jackson. She was born Nov. 24, 1920, in Jackson, daughter of Huey Lynn and Bertha Martha Froemsdorf Conley. She and John Pershing Clippard were married Dec. 6, 1941. He died Dec. 8, 1987...

OLMSTED, Ill. -- Joseph Hunter Beard, 93, died Sunday, July 6, 2003, at the Charleston Manor Nursing Home in Charleston, Mo. He was born Feb. 4, 1910, in Columbus, Miss., the son of Leroy and Caroline Moore Beard. He married Dorothy Key on Nov. 20, 1960. She survives...

Deborah Lea Garrett, 50, of Scott City died Tuesday, July 8, 2003, at Chaffee Nursing Center in Chaffee, Mo. She was born May 15, 1953, in Biddeford, Maine, daughter of Alfred and Margaret Skelton Chasse. She and Leo Roland Garrett were married May 8, 1984, in Biddeford...

ANNA, Ill. -- Tirzah B. Casper, 96, of Tucson, Ariz., formerly of Anna, died Tuesday, July 8, 2003, at Lifecare Center in Tucson. She was born Jan. 3, 1907, in Grayville, Ill., daughter of Posey M. and Stella Clark Blackford. She and Conrad R. Casper were married Nov. 1, 1925, in Anna. He died Feb. 7, 1976...

Robert Malahy, 87, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, July 9, 2003, at Ratliff Care Center. Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Vicki Wilson, 18 What is your favorite exercise/which exercise is the most effective? "I like to do squats for leg strength." How do you stay physically fit? "I do a mixture of weightlifting, running, plyometrics and take fitness class at school along with jumping rope."...

if you've paid any attention at all to the work that is going on at the new Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge, surely at some point you've seen one of the workers in what seems to be a pretty precarious situation. Sometimes, they look like they're leaning over the side of the bridge, just a strong gust of wind away from ending up in the Mississippi River and its mighty currents...

Greek legend recalls Icarus, who flew through the air but died when he soared too close to the sun. Chinese records document human attempts to glide through the air by attaching themselves to kites. Leonardo da Vinci envisioned key components of flight, including the structure of wings, landing gear and even devices for directional control...

WASHINGTON -- Think of it as an SAT prep for the body: Some young athletes are taking private lessons in physical education. One new fitness chain specializes in workouts for star athletes and would-be stars who hope the extra training will put them ahead of the competition. Other clubs include them as part of their general fitness facilities...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A state-of-the-art computer forensics lab funded by the USA Patriot Act opened Wednesday in Kansas City. The Kansas City lab is the third facility to become operational of the five planned across the nation. The other two are in Dallas and San Diego, and similar labs are planned in San Francisco and Chicago...

A piece of the King's smile is on the auction block, along with a lock of his hair and one of his gold records. The tooth, purportedly pulled from Elvis Presley's mouth at a dentist's office, has been on display at a hair salon in Plantation, near Fort Lauderdale, for about 10 years, along with the other items. Now they're on eBay, an Internet auction Web site...

ST. LOUIS -- Five-time Olympic medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee has a track record of educating about health issues. One of the great athletes of the 20th century, Joyner-Kersee has been outspoken about her own struggle with asthma and worked to raise awareness about the importance of fitness and nutrition. On Wednesday, she joined researchers at Saint Louis University to lend support to their efforts to eradicate genital herpes...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri has filed a lawsuit against the operator of an investment Web site for allegedly using images of Gov. Bob Holden and state symbols to deceive people into believing the state endorsed the business. Attorney General Jay Nixon said Wednesday the state has filed a lawsuit against a person who claims to be Bob Holden of Bigfork, Mont., for posting the Missouri images on the Web site www.egold-double.com...

Max Meek could only spare a moment; The real estate agent was scurrying Wednesday between a contract signing and a showing of property, all in once-sleepy Ozark, Mo. The Christian County town is sleepy no more. "Business is not just good, business is fantastic. Everyone wants to move to Ozark. My company had 12 Internet hits since last night, from California, Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin -- all looking to relocate to our area," Meek said by cell phone as he headed for his next appointment...

KEARNEY, Mo. -- The last time someone tried to prove that Jesse James' body was buried somewhere besides eastern Missouri, they dug up the wrong body. So folks at the Jesse James Farm and Museum in Kearney aren't exactly shaking in their boots over a new museum dedicated to the outlaw in Wichita, Kan. -- or the owner's claims that he can prove through DNA tests that James changed his name and died in Kansas in 1935...

LEE'S SUMMIT, Mo. -- The newspaper advertisement boasted an "auction of international merit and acclaim" at the palatial home of a "Major Real Estate Mogul." But Consuela Thomas is not a real estate mogul and the items up for auction at her home were not even hers...

WASHINGTON -- Cable television rates rose faster than inflation last year, the Federal Communication Commission said in its annual report on the industry's prices. The FCC said the average consumer's cable bill, including programming and equipment, rose by 8.2 percent during the 12 months ending last July, from $37.06 to $40.11. During the same period, the inflation rate was 1.5 percent...

WASHINGTON -- Americans on the move are seeking space and sun, turning once-sleepy suburbs in Arizona, Nevada and California into the fastest-growing cities in the country. The Phoenix suburb of Gilbert has grown by nearly 25 percent in a little over two years to lead the way, according to Census Bureau estimates being released Thursday. Communities around Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Diego also experienced population booms between April 2000 and July 2002...

Cape Girardeau Thursday, July 10 Firefighters responded Tuesday to the following items: At 5:26 p.m., motor vehicle accident at 1100 N. Kingshighway. At 7:59 p.m., service call at 1023 S. Kingshighway. Firefighters responded Wednesday to the following items: At 10 a.m., natural gas leak at the 400 block of South Mount Auburn...

Cape Girardeau Thursday, July 10 The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. DWI Marcus D. Turks, 23, of 447 N. Main, Apt. A, Cape Girardeau, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of driving while intoxicated and possession of a concealed weapon...

7 p.m. today 614 E. Adams St. On the agenda: Approval of math curriculum Approval of agreement with Cape Girardeau Career and Technology Center to operate an adult education and literacy satellite class Approval of summer school program evaluation...

Navy Airman Jeffrey Edmundson, a 2002 graduate of Central High School, decided to join the Navy after completing high school because he wanted to make something of his life, said his sister Pam Edmundson. When she visited him two weeks ago at Balboa Naval Hospital her reaction was one of shock. "That night he knew us. The next day when he went on the ventilator he did not."...

WASHINGTON -- Some of the longest-serving U.S. troops in Iraq will return home soon and more countries will be providing soldiers to ease the burden on American forces who are increasingly under attack, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told senators Wednesday...

WASHINGTON -- Defending the war against Iraq, the Bush administration said Wednesday that information on Saddam Hussein's alleged illicit weapons programs was solid even though one of President Bush's claims was based on a forgery. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the administration decided to use force in Iraq because intelligence about the threat of Saddam's rule was seen in a different perspective after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001...

WASHINGTON -- Senate Democrats on Wednesday killed legislation that would have restricted the rights of medical malpractice victims who seek monetary damages. The Democrats used a filibuster to thwart a bill that the Bush administration said was needed to halt frivolous lawsuits and ease a health care crisis...

WASHINGTON -- Lawmakers gave initial approval to increases for emergency agencies and the FBI on Wednesday as Congress stepped up its work on spending bills for next year. First responders across the nation would get about $4.4 billion -- nearly $900 million more than President Bush proposed -- from a $28.5 billion measure for the new Department of Homeland Security unanimously approved by a Senate Appropriations subcommittee...

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. -- An Independence man admitted Wednesday to killing his girlfriend's 3-year-old son last year, prosecutors said. Bryon Griffin, 35, pleaded guilty to 11 of the 16 felony charges he faced, including second-degree murder, abuse of a child resulting in death, forcible sodomy and first-degree assault. Griffin could face multiple life sentences...