Stories from Wednesday, July 24, 2019

BENTON, Mo. -- A Scott County jury returned a guilty verdict Tuesday in a murder case involving once-missing evidence. The jury, at the conclusion of a two-day trial, found Sikeston, Missouri, resident Antoine Harris, also known as Harris-Applewhite, guilty of second-degree murder, armed criminal action, unlawful use of a weapon and unlawful possession of a firearm as a previously convicted felon...

“Christmas Lights and Winter Nights” is the theme of this year’s Parade of Lights to be held Dec. 1, according to Old Town Cape. The parade is set to start at dusk in downtown Cape Girardeau. The route will begin at Capaha Park and continue east along Broadway, turn south on Main Street and end at Art Van Furniture...

Hackers descended upon the Southeast Missouri State University campus where more than $50,000 in cash prizes were awarded over the weekend at the 2019 Healthcare Hackathon. The event, hosted in partnership with Saint Francis Healthcare System and the Marquette Tech District Foundation, attracted 125 participants from eight states and aimed to encourage collaborative problem-solving using technology...

The Illinois Department of Transportation may be able to reopen parts of Illinois routes 3 and 146 by this weekend as floodwaters that have covered the roadways most of the month continue to recede. Meanwhile, the Alexander County Highway Department was able to reopen Grapevine Trail between McClure and Tamms, Illinois, on Monday afternoon...

Saturday’s pub crawl in honor of well-known bartender and bar manager Marcellus Jones will serve as a continuation of the many friendships between him and the community. Jones died unexpectedly in June 2018 of natural causes. He was 50 years old. ...

Travis Hollis, the deputy chief of the fire department in Rogers, Arkansas, has been named the new head of the Cape Girardeau Fire Department. Announcement of Hollis’ appointment was made Tuesday afternoon by Cape Girardeau city manager Scott Meyer, who said he has a “diverse skill set” and the “ability to guide the fire department” through both routine and emergency situations...

Today is Wednesday, July 24, the 205th day of 2019. There are 160 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On July 24, 1969, the Apollo 11 astronauts -- two of whom had been the first men to set foot on the moon -- splashed down safely in the Pacific...

Do you or the children in your life like the mysteries of space? Have you ever seen a social media post about a big moon, a close planet or some other oddity in the night sky? Riverside Library has telescopes available for checkout. The local library system has all sorts of things other than books to expand your knowledge...

This Sunday afternoon I was out push mowing my embankment and a wonderful young man and his son pulled into my driveway and offered to mow my bank for me. His name is Jason and lives in Jackson. He did this good deed in the heat of the day with no expectations. I offered to pay him and he declined. I was able to give him refreshments, but refused anything else and offered to come back next week...

Now is the time for a true Leader more important then any other time in the history of the United States of America. A true Leader who can end the current civil war between the Democrat and the Republican Parties and can stop the widening abyss occurring in the these great lands. ...

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- A Puerto Rico judge issued search warrants for the cellphones of government officials involved in a crude online chat whose leak has set off a political crisis threatening to bring down the U.S. territory's governor. One of the search warrants said government officials used the chat to transmit official and confidential information to private citizens in potential violation of ethics laws...

LONDON -- Boris Johnson aspires to be a modern-day Winston Churchill. Critics fear he's a British Donald Trump. Johnson won the contest to lead the governing Conservative Party on Tuesday, and is set to become Britain's prime minister today. Like revered World War II leader Churchill, Johnson aims to turn a national crisis -- in this case Brexit -- into a triumph. ...

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuela's opposition Tuesday sought to harness anger over a massive blackout deepening hardship nationwide, but a relatively modest turnout at a Caracas demonstration highlighted the weariness of Venezuelans who despair of an imminent solution to their plight...

SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korean air force jets fired 360 rounds of warning shots Tuesday after a Russian military plane twice violated South Korea's airspace off the country's eastern coast, Seoul officials said in an announcement quickly disputed by Russia...

WASHINGTON -- The Senate gave final legislative approval Tuesday to a bill ensuring a victims' compensation fund related to the Sept. 11 attacks never runs out of money. The 97-2 vote sends the bill to President Donald Trump, who is expected to sign it...

The U.S. Department of Justice opened a sweeping antitrust investigation of big technology companies and whether their online platforms have hurt competition, suppressed innovation or otherwise harmed consumers. It comes as a growing number of lawmakers have called for stricter regulation or even breaking up of the big tech companies, which have come under intense scrutiny following a series of scandals compromising users' privacy...

The president of a Pennsylvania school board whose district had warned parents behind on school lunch bills their children could end up in foster care has rejected a CEO's offer to cover the cost, the businessman said Tuesday. Todd Carmichael, chief executive and co-founder of Philadelphia-based La Colombe Coffee, said he offered to give Wyoming Valley West School District $22,000 to wipe out bills generating the recent warning letter to parents...

WASHINGTON -- It took seven months, but President Donald Trump finally has a Senate-confirmed secretary of defense. Mark Esper, an Army veteran and former defense industry lobbyist, won Senate confirmation Tuesday by a vote of 90-8. He was to be officially sworn in by the end of the day, ending the longest period the Pentagon has gone without a confirmed leader in its history...

LOS ANGELES -- In just 2 1/2 years, the Trump administration has put its stamp on the nation's immigration court system, appointing more than 4 in 10 judges while dramatically expanding the bench and issuing new rules making it it harder for migrants to win their cases and stay in the country...

WASHINGTON -- About 3.1 million people would lose food stamp benefits under the Trump administration's proposal to tighten automatic eligibility requirements for the food stamp program. The Agriculture Department said Tuesday the rule would close "a loophole" enabling people receiving only minimal benefits from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program to be eligible automatically for food stamps without undergoing further checks on their income or assets...

Joan Virginia Mason, 92, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, July 21, 2019, at Chateau Girardeau Health Center. She was born Dec. 7, 1926, in Hastings, North Dakota, to Arthur L. and Henrietta Olson Froemke. She and Alfred LaVern Mason were married Feb. 26, 1949, at Valley City, North Dakota...

WASHINGTON -- Democrats are pretty sure America didn't read the Mueller report. Today, they're hoping the nation will be glued to the TV version. Former Trump-Russia special counsel Robert Mueller's appearance before two House committees promises to be the TV event of the year in the U.S. House, where lawmakers will question him for roughly five hours about the book-length report he released in April...

ST. LOUIS -- Ferguson activist Bruce Franks Jr. will officially resign from Missouri's largely conservative Legislature at the end of July. The Democrat submitted his letter of resignation from the state House on Tuesday. Franks first announced plans to leave office in May, in part citing struggles with anxiety and depression. He also recently lost his best friend and godson to gun violence...

We praise your name, O Lord Jesus, that through you there is healing. Amen.

CAPE GIRARDEAU The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests n Deshone Bailey, 38, of Cape Girardeau was arrested on a Cape Girardeau County warrant. n James Noland, 58, of Cape Girardeau was arrested on a Cape Girardeau County warrant...

U.S. 61 in Scott County from Highway 77 in Morley, Missouri, to Greer Street near Scott City will be reduced with a 10-foot width restriction as contractor crews overlay the roadway and add rumble strips. According to a Missouri Department of Transportation news release, the work will take place from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily Monday through Aug. 10...

Republican claims of a "fantastic" economy seem to missing Missouri -- and especially Southeast Missouri. Zero inflation? What planet? Lots of debt -- business, consumer, student and government debt rising daily! If everyone is so well off, why are they in debt up to their eyeballs?...

Melvin "Spankee" Rogers, co-star of the new "Saved by the Bell: The New Class" television series, signed autographs and promoted Cape Girardeau's Black Family Reunion yesterday at West Park Mall; in addition, dancer John Guilliam and duet Brothers With Flav were at the mall offering a boost to the reunion, planned for Aug. 12 to 14 at Arena Park...

Kettle Beef is a delicacy for many locals in Southeast Missouri and a dish never heard of in other parts of the country. Sedgewickville United Methodist Church has their Kettle Beef and Chicken & Dumpling dinner on the first Saturday of August each year. Aug. 3, 2019 3 to 7 p.m. is the date and time for the all you can eat dinner featuring sides of mashed potatoes, green beans, slaw, garden tomatoes and cucumbers (if available), fruit salad, cake and drinks...

Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells hosted a Confirmation Reunion on Sunday, June 23. Approximately 110 guests attended with confirmands spanning the years of 1938 through 2015. Pastor DeVon Lark, SMP associate pastor of Word of Life Lutheran Church in Lincoln, Nebraska, was the guest speaker for the morning worship service. ...