Stories from Wednesday, January 11, 2017

CHARLESTON, S.C. -- An unrepentant Dylann Roof was sentenced to death Tuesday for fatally shooting nine black church members during a Bible study session, becoming the first person ordered executed for a federal hate crime. A jury deliberated for about three hours before returning with the decision, capping a trial in which the 22-year-old avowed white supremacist did not fight for his life or show remorse...

Four months and 113 tests into a random drug-testing program, one instance of inappropriate drug usage has been identified among Jackson high-schoolers. Jackson athletic director John Martin said during a school board meeting Tuesday night that the results so far bode well...

Russell Mayberry, of Zalma, Missouri, pleaded guilty Tuesday to second-degree murder in front of Judge Michael Gardner in Jackson. Mayberry, 32, agreed to a deal with Bollinger County Prosecuting Attorney Heath Robins, capping his potential sentence at 12 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections and dismissing armed criminal action, abandonment of a corpse and tampering with physical evidence charges...

State Sen. Wayne Wallingford calls it a matter of fairness. Opponents call it a tax increase. The Cape Girardeau Republican introduced legislation to make it easier to collect sales taxes from online sellers who have no physical presence in Missouri...

Today in History Today is Wednesday, Jan. 11, the 11th day of 2017. There are 354 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Jan. 11, 1927, the creation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was proposed during a dinner of Hollywood luminaries at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles...

Lord God, may we not solely seek to please others but instead live for you. Amen.

In just over a week, Donald J. Trump will be sworn in as the nation's 45th president and, by virtually any measure, America will take on a new direction. I can't think of any past comparison where an incoming administration is so starkly different from the current regime...

There is a need for unity across our country. A need for peace and compassion. Over the next week, we will celebrate a man who fought for the rights of many and who did so with peace, compassion and unity on his mind and in his heart. It would be appropriate to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by living our lives peacefully, with compassion and in hopes of a more united society...

Local school officials are applauding a judge's ruling that Gov. John Ashcroft can't cut an extra $34.5 million in public education funding to pay for federal court-ordered school desegregation costs in Kansas City; the state plans to appeal the ruling...

ORLAND PARK, Ill. -- Margaret Smith Wallis, 86, of Orland Park, formerly of Patton, Missouri, died Sunday, Jan. 8, 2017, at Silver Cross Hospital in Lenox, Illinois. Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Liley Funeral Home in Patton. The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Friday at Patton United Methodist Church. Burial will be in Patton Cemetery in Patton...

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Estelle Bess Ricketts, 98, of Greensboro, formerly of Cape Girardeau, passed away Thursday, Jan. 5, 2017, at her home in North Carolina. She was born June 26, 1918, in Portageville, Missouri, to the late William and Ollie Sitze Bess. Estelle and William A. Ricketts were married Nov. 25, 1938, in Cape Girardeau. He preceded her in death...

Lloyd Charles Masterson, 80, of Jackson passed away Monday, Jan. 9, 2017, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born Jan. 25, 1936, in St. Louis, son of Joe Wilbur and Charlotte Dahill Masterson. He and Inez E. Burgfeld were married Feb. 19, 1960, in Jackson. She preceded him in death May 19, 2010...

EAST PRAIRIE, Mo. -- Charles Robert Marshall, 90, of East Prairie died Monday, Jan. 9, 2017, at Southeast Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born March 11, 1926, in Kennett, Missouri, to the late Robert E. and Bessie A. Chailand Marshall. Charles served as a member of the U.S. Navy Seabees during World War II and was a member of the U.S. Navy during the Korean Conflict...

Michael James Huey, 54, of Cape Girardeau passed away Friday, Jan. 6, 2017, at Landmark Hospital. He was born Sept. 6, 1962, in Cape Girardeau to Michael Huey and Jackie Murphy (Huey) Green. He was a 1980 graduate of Cape Girardeau Central High School and attended Southwest Baptist College...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Lillie Mae Fleming, 99, of Cairo died Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017, at Life Care Center in La Center, Kentucky. Arrangements are incomplete at Crain Funeral Home in Cairo.

The Jackson Fire Department responded to the following calls: Monday n Emergency medical service on Russell Street. Tuesday n Canceled en route to Russell Street. n Emergency medical service on Highland Drive. n Emergency medical service on East Main Street...

The Jackson Police Department released the following items. Summonses n Carmolette R. Seabaugh, 43, of Oak Ridge was issued a summons for failure to stop at a posted stop sign. n Eddie R. Kerley, 33, of Puxico, Missouri, was issued summonses for failure to register a motor vehicle and displaying the plates of another...

The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items. Arrest does not imply guilt. Arrests n A 14-year-old boy was arrested at 1000 S. Silver Springs Road on suspicion of assault. Summonses n Jessica M. Wiley, 33, of Cape Girardeau was issued a summons for failure to maintain private property free of litter at 924 College St...

ST. LOUIS -- A passenger in a stolen SUV that crashed while fleeing from St. Louis police is charged with murder in the driver's death. The driver, 21-year-old Davion Henderson, was fatally shot by police Monday. But the circuit attorney's office Tuesday charged 23-year-old Javonn Nettles with second-degree murder, alleging that as a participant in the theft of the SUV he bears legal responsibility in Henderson's death. Nettles is jailed on $1 million cash-only bond...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Springfield has approved a new noise ordinance over the objections of an attorney for a street preacher who was arrested after delivering loud sermons downtown. Backers said the rules approved Monday won't restrict what people say, only their volume, The Springfield News-Leader reported. Mayor Bob Stephens described them as "content neutral."...

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday temporarily blocked a lower-court ruling ordering North Carolina legislators to redraw state legislative districts by March 15 and hold special elections within the altered districts this fall. Tuesday's court order granted the request of North Carolina Republican legislative leaders and state officials to delay November's ruling by a three-judge panel. ...

WASHINGTON -- Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions rejected "damnably false" accusations of past racist comments Tuesday as he challenged Democratic concerns about the civil-rights commitment he would bring as Donald Trump's attorney general. He vowed at his confirmation hearing to stay independent from the White House and stand up to Trump when necessary...

BISMARCK, N.D. -- The cost of policing the Dakota Access pipeline protests in North Dakota has surpassed $22 million -- an amount that would fund the state Treasury Department for two decades and $5 million more than the state set aside last year. Protest-related funding decisions will be made by state lawmakers during the 2017 session. Leaders of the House and Senate appropriation committees said more funding will be approved, though the amount and method aren't known...

WASHINGTON -- Top intelligence officials last week told President-elect Donald Trump about an unsubstantiated report Russia had compromising personal and financial information about him, a U.S. official said Tuesday. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the official was not allowed to discuss the matter publicly...

SEDALIA, Mo. -- Katy Trail users will experience a detour as they hike and bike through Sedalia along the recreation path of abandoned railroad land. The Sedalia Democrat reported the detour stems from efforts to refurbish a vacant industrial building. A rail spur on the property had been used as a section of the trail. But Pettis County Commissioner Brent Hampy said an agreement allows for it to go back to rail if it's needed for the property...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri lawmakers defeated a proposal Tuesday that would have banned smoking in all Capitol offices. Smoking already is prohibited in hallways and legislative chambers but not offices. A House rules committee heard testimony from three high-school students, the Jefferson City City Council and a representative from the American Heart Association. But the proposal didn't make it past the Republican panel, which defeated it in a 9-4 party-line vote...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- On his first full day in office, Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens put a temporary freeze on new government regulations, which he said Tuesday will help businesses. The executive order signed by the Republican bans state agencies from creating new regulations through the end of February. Any proposed new regulations now must first get approval from his office. The order also calls for a review of current regulations...

WASHINGTON -- In a devolving tit-for-tat, Republicans and Democrats tangled Tuesday over a high-school student's painting with the image of a pig in a police uniform that is part of a Capitol Hill art exhibit. Republican lawmakers kept taking it down, and Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-Mo., kept putting it back up...

PARIS -- Investigators in Paris focused Tuesday on the possibility the October robbery of more than $10 million worth of jewelry from Kim Kardashian West was an inside job after the arrests of a chauffeur and his brother. Three Paris officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the investigation, confirmed Kardashian West's driver the night of the robbery and his brother were among 17 people taken into custody Monday...

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Two large bombs -- one triggered by a suicide attacker -- exploded near government offices Tuesday, killing at least 38 people and wounding dozens of others in the deadliest Taliban violence in Kabul in months. The suicide bomber struck about 4 p.m. as workers left a compound of government and legislative offices, said Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi...

CHICAGO -- Conceding disappointments during his presidency, yet offering vigorous encouragement for the nation's future, Barack Obama issued an emotional defense Tuesday night of his vision to Americans facing a moment of anxiety and a dramatic change in leadership...

LOS ANGELES -- Carrie Fisher's death certificate confirms the actress died of a heart attack, but it states more investigation is needed to determine the underlying cause. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health issued the death certificate in the name of Carrie Frances Fisher. It was obtained Monday by The Associated Press...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Emboldened with new support from a Republican governor, Missouri lawmakers Tuesday took the first steps to fast-track passage of a contested right-to-work bill to ban mandatory union fees. House members, within days of the 2017 legislative session's start, held a hearing on the measure. Senators, meanwhile, were scheduled to vet a similar proposal today...

SKIEN, Norway -- Norwegian mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik made a Nazi salute as he walked into a courtroom at a high-security prison where judges Tuesday began reviewing a ruling his solitary confinement is inhumane. Dressed in a dark suit, the bearded Breivik stared briefly at reporters while making the salute but didn't speak...

DETROIT -- Chinese automaker Guangzhou Automobile Group aims to sell a well-equipped five-passenger SUV in the U.S. for about the price of a compact car by the end of this decade. Automakers from China have talked in the past about selling cars in the U.S. only to run into reality -- such as a lack of dealerships to sell them or subpar quality by U.S. standards. But a top Guangzhou official said Monday the company is already laying the groundwork to begin sales here no later than 2019...

Patrick Bono, representative for MIRMA, a risk-management organization for municipalities and their employees, recognized the Jackson Police Department for its 100-percent participation in online training programs. “We are pleased to see great response from our member law-enforcement agencies,” Bono said. “This is how we want to see public-safety officials operate.”...

Federal Judge Abbie Crites-Leoni on Tuesday found James Clay Waller II, 46, of Cape Girardeau mentally competent to stand trial and participate in his defense. Waller’s attorney John Lynch, who has an office in Clayton, Missouri, filed the motion Aug. 17 for a mental evaluation for Waller. Two psychiatric reports were filed with the court Dec. 6. Neither assistant U.S. Attorney Larry Ferrell nor Lynch had an objection to the reports...

Route N in Bollinger County from County Road 414 to County Road 416 will be closed as Missouri Department of Transportation crews replace pipe under roadway. Work will take place from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Jan. 19, according to a MoDOT news release...

AMHERST, Mass. -- Students and alumni at Amherst College soon could be rooting for the Hamsters. Hamsters was among the most popular nicknames given to a committee put together to come up with a new athletic mascot for the school. Trustees dropped Lord Jeffs last year partly because 18th-century British Gen. Jeffery Amherst suggested giving smallpox-infected blankets to Native Americans. The committee has winnowed a list of nearly 600 suggestions to 30 semifinalists...

The group “And Justice For All” will hold a march and assembly on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Sikeston, Missouri. The march will begin at 10:30 a.m. Monday at New Life New Beginning World Outreach Center, 508 E. Center St. The assembly will begin after the march at 11 a.m. at the outreach center. ...