Stories from Monday, January 13, 2003

Scorsese recreated New York in Rome for film ROME -- An unabashed admiration of Italy prompted Martin Scorsese to use a Rome studio to recreate New York City of the 1860s for his immigrant epic "Gangs of New York." "I cannot express in words the impact and the appreciation I have for Italian cinema and Italian culture, and so it only seemed natural to ... work here in Rome," he told reporters Saturday...

ST. LOUIS -- Investing may lose its appeal in a bear market, but drinking doesn't. So while the nation's economy sputters and Wall Street suffers, the producer of "The King of Beers" is enjoying the kind of healthy profits that most companies can only wish they had: 16 straight quarters of earnings-per-share growth...

LAS VEGAS -- Download your favorite TV show and take it on the road for viewing. Or wirelessly stream music from your computer hard drive to the living room stereo. Too lazy to fetch those peanuts from the kitchen? Send your personal robot. The gadgets were smarter, cheaper and smaller than ever this year at the trendsetting International Consumer Electronics Show...

As Cape Girardeau County's new auditor, David Ludwig must manage spending when revenue has been flat. But he's not preaching doom and gloom. Far from it. He expects the economy to improve, generating more sales tax revenue for county government. Sales tax revenue declined in Cape Girardeau County last year for the first time in 22 years. ...

It's no surprise that the report recently received from the engineering firm hired to study's Jackson's traffic problems contains no surprises. Crawford, Bunte, Brammeir has apprised the city of its findings and recommendations all through the process that began a year ago...

KENNETT, Mo. -- The next time you seek to avail yourself of some service offered by the state of Missouri, perhaps you would be well-advised to make certain that service still exists. In the months ahead, Jefferson City will be challenged in its attempts to maintain current programs and provide them to a growing population trying to make ends meet in a downward national economy...

When Richard and Jane Daume decided to sell Kwik Kopy printing after 18 years in business, they didn't want to sell it to just anybody. So they sold it to a competitor. Richard and Jane, who are about to retire to Phoenix, sold Kwik Kopy to Ted and Jason Coalter, the father-and-son owners of the smaller but just-as-scrappy Cape Girardeau Printing Co. The deal closed a week or so ago, and the signs have already been changed...

LOS ANGELES -- Audiences ignored the critics and propelled the Brittany Murphy and Ashton Kutcher comedy "Just Married" to the top of the weekend box office. "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," which had been No. 1 for three straight weekends, slipped to second place with $15 million in receipts, but that pushed its total domestic gross to $283.6 million, according to studio estimates Sunday...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- It's the first U.S. espionage trial in nearly 50 years that could end in a death sentence: A retired Air Force master sergeant, deeply in debt, is accused of offering satellite secrets to Saddam Hussein and others for more than $13 million in Swiss currency...

MINT HILL, N.C. -- A man drowned Saturday after he and his wife fell into a pond at a golf course when he tried to rescue a stray dog in the water, authorities said. Charlotte Fire Department divers found Glen Doherty, 49, about 15 feet from the shore in the pond on the course in the Olde Sycamore community in Mint Hill, authorities said...

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. -- Maurice Gibb, who with his brothers built the Bee Gees into a disco sensation that ruled the charts in the late '70s with hits like "Stayin' Alive" and "More Than a Woman," died Sunday at the age of 53. The bass and keyboard player had been admitted to Mount Sinai Medical Center four days earlier to have emergency surgery for an intestinal blockage. He suffered cardiac arrest before the operation...

NEW YORK -- Replacing the fallen World Trade Center towers with the world's tallest building would demonstrate courage. Or would it be hubris? Five of the nine designs for a rebuilt trade center propose structures that would surpass Malaysia's 1,483-foot Petronas Twin Towers as the tallest in the world. The trade center towers themselves were once the world's tallest at 110 stories each, or 1,350 feet...

Inside a threadbare home in Nevada's desolate high desert, Bill Hibbs, 46, collects disability payments for his heavily sedated wife and yearns for a final victory over the state he says stole his future. Four vehicles, his horses and a $140,000 house are gone. He has no medical insurance, and his wife, Diane, is a shell of her former self, depending on medication to lessen pain lingering from a 1996 car crash...

HONOLULU -- A century ago, Ronald Moon's grandfathers arrived here from Korea facing a future of working in Hawaii's sugar cane fields. Like others in those first waves of Korean immigrants to America, they carried little more than their culture, their values and a strong work ethic, qualities that descendants like Moon, the chief justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court, credit for helping shape their lives today...

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- Four of the seven Virginia-based Navy ships that have received deployment orders in the past week headed out to sea Sunday as a military buildup continued ahead of a possible war with Iraq. The amphibious dock landing ships Portland and Ashland set sail from the Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base, and the amphibious assault ships Kearsarge and Bataan left Norfolk Naval Station...

New Jersey teen unlikely to be charged in killing NEWARK, N.J. -- The teenager who allegedly admitted striking a 7-year-old cousin whose body was found in a plastic container is unlikely to face a homicide charge, a law enforcement source says. Wesley Murphy, 16, whose mother, Sherry, was entrusted to care for Faheem Williams and his two brothers, is charged with assault and child endangerment. ...

The AssociatedPress SAN DIEGO -- An Australian doctor plans to build a new machine for people to kill themselves with carbon monoxide after his prototype was seized as he left his native country, he told a euthanasia conference Sunday. Dr. Philip Nitschke also said he intended to challenge the Australian law banning the exportation of any device that could be used to assist in suicide. ...

Each week, more troops ship out to the Middle East for a possible war in Iraq. They leave behind families and friends who must deal not only with concerns about their loved ones, but also with managing their money while they're away. In many ways, the financial steps a military family should take are similar to those any family needs to consider when there's an unexpected event such as the loss of a job, experts say...

After dominating the desktop, burrowing into the Internet and bursting into the video game market, Microsoft Corp. is making progress at getting firmly into the palm of your hand. Already a force in software for personal digital assistants, Microsoft is ramping up efforts to provide the operating systems for those devices' close relative: the next generation of "smart" cell phones that can handle e-mail, digital photos and other data...

Teachers cite close relationship with parents for school's success By Callie Clark ~ Southeast Missourian A close-knit relationship between staff members and parents at North Elementary in Fruitland has raised the bar on student performance...

KAPALUA, Hawaii -- Ernie Els could not have asked for a better start. He set a PGA Tour scoring record, won the season-opening Mercedes Championships by eight shots, and Tiger Woods is nowhere to be found. Not that it would have mattered Sunday. In a record-setting start to the season, the Big Easy crushed his competition at Kapalua with five birdies on the final seven holes for an 6-under 67, shattering the tour record in relation to par at 31-under...

TAMPA, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers proved their offense can be just as dangerous as their league-leading defense. Brad Johnson returned from a monthlong layoff to throw for 196 yards and two touchdowns, and Tampa Bay shut down Jeff Garcia and Terrell Owens to beat the San Francisco 49ers 31-6 on Sunday...

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The Anaheim Mighty Ducks did something to the Blues that no other team has accomplished this season -- beat them in regulation after trailing through two periods. Jason Krog and Niclas Havelid scored 6 1/2 minutes apart in the third for the Ducks en route to a 2-1 victory Sunday night. The Blues, who entered with the second-most goals per game in the NHL, were held to just 19 shots -- and just five over the final 20 minutes...

DENVER -- U.S. Olympic Committee chief executive Lloyd Ward says he did nothing wrong in trying to steer Olympic business to a company with ties to his brother. Now the USOC will decide. The USOC's executive committee meets today to consider Ward's case, and he could be cleared, censured or fired...

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The playoffs have been unkind to the Oakland Raiders for almost two decades. So they took out 19 years of frustration on the New York Jets. League MVP Rich Gannon and the Raiders showed why this season might be different from all the others since 1983 with a 30-10 playoff rout Sunday. They knew the surest road to the AFC championship game was to stay at home and avoid tuck rules and snowy night games in New England...

DURHAM, N.C. -- Mike Krzyzewski keeps saying he's got a very different Duke team than in years past. The results sure look strikingly similar. Dahntay Jones shook off a miserable start to score 15 of his 16 points in the opening 8 1/2 minutes of the second half as the top-ranked Blue Devils rolled over No. 17 Wake Forest 74-55 in a matchup of the last two Division I unbeatens Sunday night...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Arthur Johnson has always been an intriguing mix of force and finesse at Missouri, a 6-9, 265-pound space eater who loves to throw his weight around yet is armed with a feathery shooting touch. Now, midway through his junior season, the Tigers' center is putting his formidable tools together. ...

STORRS, Conn. -- Diana Taurasi had plenty of help Sunday as Connecticut extended its winning streak to 53 games. The junior All-American, who has carried the offensive load for UConn this season, scored 18 points in a 69-57 win over Virginia Tech. Three other Huskies, including two freshmen, also finished in double figures in one of the most balanced offensive performances of the season...

While Rams fans sit at home and drum their fingers through the playoffs and await next season, Kurt Warner is just trying to keep his fingers healthy while doing the same thing. Warner went through a battery of tests on his throwing shoulder last week. The Rams' medical staff thought he had rotator cuff damage, although the tests revealed nothing. It's just one more item on the list of reasons why Warner could be on his way out...

There are times when steady beats spectacular, when being a leader means doing just enough instead of trying to do it all. "You saw Donovan do it tonight," Atlanta coach Dan Reeves said at the end of a very chilly night in Philly. Donovan McNabb vs. Michael Vick was hyped as the first real quarterbacking duel of the decade, the Role Model against the Next Model, two 20-somethings who could still be vying for NFL hardware when "Rocky IX" hits the box office...

If age can be measured in spirit, Jerry Rice was the youngest player on the field. He looked like a giddy rookie at the start, leaping and slapping hands with teammates as if this were his first playoff game rather than what seemed like his millionth...

SHREVEPORT, La. -- Southeast Missouri State University's gymnastics team opened its season with a win at Centenary on Sunday. Southeast finished with 188.575 points to Centenary's 187.925. The Otahkians outscored Centenary in two of the first four events, winning in vault by 0.425 points and in floor competition by 1.25 points...

B.J. Smith, Southeast Missouri State University's first-year women's basketball coach, believes the Otahkians might have made a statement Saturday night. But Smith said he won't know for sure until tonight. After rolling past host Morehead State 83-63 Saturday, the Otahkians (8-4, 2-0 Ohio Valley Conference) remain on the road to play Eastern Kentucky (11-4, 3-0) at 6:30 p.m. today...

NEW YORK -- AOL Time Warner Inc. chairman Steve Case will resign his post in May, the company said Sunday, two years after Case presided over one of history's most stunning corporate coups -- and then one of its most spectacular nosedives. The announcement came after months of pressure on Case from shareholders disappointed in the results of the 2001 mega-merger of America Online and Time Warner. ...

SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea insisted Sunday that it never admitted having a secret nuclear program, sending another conflicting signal in the escalating crisis over its alleged plans to build nuclear weapons as a U.S. envoy began talks in South Korea on the standoff...

VIENNA, Austria -- OPEC members agreed Sunday to boost the cartel's oil production target by 6.5 percent to stabilize a world market jittery over a crisis in Venezuela and the possibility of war in Iraq. The increase of 1.5 million barrels a day -- to 24.5 million barrels -- would take effect Feb. 1, OPEC President Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah told a news conference at the group's headquarters in Vienna...

LOS ANGELES -- Executives at UPN, the struggling network known for smackdowns, vampire slayers and minority sitcoms, said Sunday they hope to bring projects from Will Smith, Mel Gibson and the rap star Eve to television. The sixth-ranked broadcast network had difficulty solidifying its disparate viewer base and hopes to do that with high-profile names, said Les Moonves, president of CBS, which oversees UPN...

PASADENA, Calif. -- With its sequel doing healthy business at the box office, "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" captured two top honors Sunday during the 29th annual People's Choice Awards. The "Fellowship of the Ring" shared the favorite motion picture award with co-nominee "Spider-Man" and also won in the best dramatic motion picture category...

Two U.S. Marines injured in Kuwait accidents KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait -- Two U.S. Marines were injured in separate accidents in Kuwait, where thousands of American troops are deploying in the biggest buildup since the Gulf War, military officials said Sunday...

Library aims to help students survive school The Survivors Group of the Cape Girardeau Public Library will meet at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday. This group, made up of children in third through sixth grade, meets each month to explore ways to make the school year a little easier as participants share books, snacks and educational tips....

Programming for Cable Access Channel 5 this week includes the following: TUESDAY 6:30 p.m.: Tony Heckemeyer Show. 7 p.m.: Public Forum. Topic is Rust Communications. 7:30 p.m.: Independently Speaking with guest Adrian Hunter-Wells. Topic is the Fair Housing Initiative...

Cape Girardeau Monday, Jan. 13 Firefighters responded Saturday to the following calls: At 2:28 p.m., an emergency medical service at 2121 William. At 4:40 p.m., an emergency medical service at 3018 Melrose. At 5:35 p.m., an emergency medical service at William and Interstate 55...

Cape Girardeau Monday, Jan. 13 The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. DWI Ernest Munhollon, 44, of 55 N. Pindwood, Apt. B was issued a summons for driving while intoxicated at 12:25 a.m. Sunday at the intersection of Sprigg and Good Hope...

BELL CITY, Mo. -- A Marble Hill, Mo., man and his passenger were unharmed after a Union Pacific train struck his stalled vehicle early Saturday morning. Shane Morgan, 27, was westbound in a 1991 Chevrolet when his vehicle stalled on train tracks on Stoddard County Road 331, eight miles south of Bell City, Mo...

Finley completes service training seminar Bud Finley, a member of the service staff at Schaefer Water Centers in Cape Girardeau, has completed the professional service seminar at Kinetico's Service Academy. Finley, who lives in Chaffee, Mo., participated in an intensive service training seminar conducted by Kinetico, a manufacturer of nonelectric, metered, demand-operated, twin tank water-softening equipment...

Business center offers guide on CD-ROM A new resource is available through the Missouri Business Center for anyone planning to start a business. The Missouri Small Business Resource Guide is now being offered on a CD-ROM and contains all the information needed to begin planning a small business in Missouri...

SAN FRANCISCO -- Microsoft has reached a $1.1 billion settlement with consumers in California who accused the software giant of violating the state's antitrust and unfair competition laws. Under the agreement announced Friday, proceeds of the settlement will be distributed in the form of vouchers redeemable for computers and software products...

After months of behind-the-scenes negotiating, it appears the issue of a tax increment financing district for a 900-acre residential subdivision around Cape Girardeau's newest golf course is moving forward. To recap, TIFs are economic development tools that allow increased tax revenue from a development to be used to pay off bonds sold to raise money for infrastructure for that development. ...

It might have been entertaining for some folks to watch West Cape Rock Drive's recent neighborhood attempt to rid itself of starlings. But probably not to residents of the neighborhood. Cape Girardeau's animal control officer, Aaron Baughn, manned the propane cannons at dusk, firing off loud booms. Residents were directed to run around in their yards pushing lawnmowers, yelling, banging pots and pans or doing anything else to startle the birds...

Scare tactics WHEN YOU read about that potential $1 billion revenue shortage for Missouri, you can get a pretty good idea of the extent of waste, duplicate programs, corruption and mismanagement that has taken place. Then some officials use scare tactics to try to get voters to approve a tax increase to cover the scam. This is typical Democrat tactics...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Esther Florence Johnson, 87, of Perryville died Saturday, Jan. 11, 2003, at St. Francis Medical Center. She was born Aug. 8, 1915, in Yount, Mo., daughter of Leo and Cora White Hutson. She and Orville Earl Johnson were married Feb. 26, 1930. He died April 16, 1994...

ADVANCE, Mo. -- Wilma N. Smith of Morley, Mo., died Sunday, Jan. 12, 2003, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Arrangements are pending with Morgan Funeral Home in Advance.

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Dale A. Head, 68, of Perryville died Friday, Jan. 10, 2003, in Winfield, Mo. He was born Jan. 25, 1934, in Yount, Mo., son of late Charles McKinley and Pearl Jewel Johnson Head. He was a Navy veteran of the Korean War, a member of River Hills Eagles Lodge 4034 and AmVets Post 94...

ANNA, Ill. -- Marcella Dillow Claxton Cain, 81, of Anna died Saturday, Jan. 11, 2003, at Union County Nursing Home. She was born Aug. 2, 1921, in Centralia, Ill., daughter of Otis and Gertrude E. Bigler Dillow. She and Eugene Cain were married Aug. 4, 1954. He died Dec. 14, 1999...

10 years ago: Jan. 13, 1993 Twenty-one buildings, most of them homes, will soon be razed as first phase of demolition work gets under way on new Mississippi River bridge route project; Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission has awarded nearly $26,000 demolition contract to Amy's Trucking Service of Cape Girardeau...

Ten flowering trees will be given to each person who joins the National Arbor Day Foundation this month. These free trees are part of the nonprofit foundation's Trees for America campaign. The 10 trees include two white flowering dogwoods, two flowering crabapples, two goldenrain trees, two Washington hawthorns and two American redbuds...

Representatives from nearly 200 country music radio stations, including three people from Zimmer Radio Group in Cape Girardeau, will join some of country music's biggest names this Thursday, Friday and Saturday for the 14th annual Country Cares for St. Jude Kids training seminar...

Cape Girardeau County has been chosen to receive $28,371 to supplement emergency food and shelter programs in the area for 2003. This selection was made by a national board that is chaired by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and consists of representatives from the Salvation Army; American Red Cross; Council of Jewish Federations; Catholic Charities, USA; National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.; and United Way of America...

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- Israeli forces killed four Palestinians in military strikes Sunday in the Gaza Strip, including two teenage boys hit in a botched missile attack on Islamic militants. In the north, two Palestinian infiltrators killed an Israeli in a village next to the West Bank, as both rhetoric and violence intensified in the approach to Israel's Jan. 28 election...

TEHRAN, Iran -- Protesters in bloodstained shrouds clogged streets in Iran's holy city. Authorities closed a popular newspaper and arrested several of its employees. A torrent of outrage from Muslim hard-liners is swelling over an unexpected provocation:...

VLADIKAVKAZ, Russia -- Four Russian servicemen were killed in clashes, while four soldiers died when their vehicles struck land mines in the breakaway republic of Chechnya, an official said Sunday. Also, federal forces killed six rebels during sweeps in Chechnya, the Interfax news agency said Sunday...

ANKARA, Turkey -- As tensions grow with the United States, Turkey finally has agreed to allow the American military to inspect its bases for use in a possible war with Iraq. But the decision to allow inspections to start Monday leaves open whether Turkey will give in to pressure from its most crucial ally to allow tens of thousands of American soldiers to invade Iraq from Turkish soil -- a move that U.S. and Turkish generals agree would likely shorten any war...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraq shrugged off the U.S. and British military buildup in the Persian Gulf as the leaders of Egypt, Jordan and Turkey urged President Saddam Hussein on Sunday to cooperate with the United Nations and avert a war they said would be disastrous for the region...

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Soldiers in riot gear blocked the entrance to a park outside a military base Sunday as opponents of President Hugo Chavez prepared to march on the site, where rioting left two dead and dozens injured two weeks ago. The march is aimed at persuading the military to support a 42-day-old strike that has paralyzed the world's No. 5 oil exporter but hasn't rattled Chavez's resolve to stay in power...

MEXICO CITY -- Mexican police have arrested a suspected smuggler for the deaths of 11 migrants who were trapped inside a grain car in Iowa last year, law authorities said Sunday. Lorenzo Cuellar de Lira is part of an international smuggling gang responsible for helping the migrants board the train on the fatal trip, the attorney general's office said in a statement...

HONG KONG -- At a groundbreaking ceremony for Hong Kong Disneyland, top executives of Walt Disney Co. said Sunday they were confident their first theme park on Chinese soil will draw millions of visitors a year despite the global economic downturn. "The world economy may be going through a relatively challenging time, but the prospects for this park and the prospects for the economy are looking very strong," Disney president Robert Iger told The Associated Press...

WASHINGTON -- A private foundation is giving $14 million to National Public Radio, $10 million of which will support news and public affairs programs at the network's 714 stations. The other $4 million from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation of Chicago will go to an endowment for NPR's long-term financial stability and innovations...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- An outspoken opponent of the bistate sales tax has filed a bill in the Kansas Senate that would guarantee the state at least 45 percent of the proceeds if the tax is approved again. Not only would Sen. Kay O'Connor's bill change the way the money is allocated, it also would put the entire bistate process on hold until the Missouri General Assembly enacted the same provision...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A western Missouri man was charged with murder in a 1987 homicide after the Kansas City crime lab used current technology to test old DNA evidence. Charles Locke, 43, of Amoret, was charged Friday with first-degree murder and rape in the slaying of Evelyn Keith in Kansas City. He was being held without bond...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Like other zoos across the nation, the Kansas City Zoo is increasingly caring for an aging population of exotic animals. The animals are living longer. But that longevity has made for a bleak time recently at the zoo, which reported the death of a valued orangutan and two California sea lions during December...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Lou Tedeschi remembers when visitors to Jefferson City could walk freely into the Statehouse. But as Tedeschi ends his 24 years with the Capitol Police -- the last two as chief -- he knows that times have changed. There are metal detectors at entrances to the Capitol, a response to the Sept. 11 attacks. A guard shack and concrete barriers were installed after Oklahoma City's federal building was bombed in 1995...

MARSHFIELD, Mo. -- Nicholas Inman has his sights set on being president of the United States someday. "How better to change the world than have the highest office in the land?" the 20-year-old Marshfield man asks over his usual lunch of a bacon cheeseburger with extra pickles at Sheila's Place, a local restaurant...

The National 4-H Council has awarded the Southeast Missouri Chapter of the American Red Cross $5,000 to fund a program focusing on school violence awareness. Funded by the Center for Mental Health Services and the Department of Health and Human Services, objectives of this program include: educating youth to identify warning signs of potential youth violence, reducing the risk of becoming a victim to youth violence, classifying forms of youth violence and training students response mechanisms for when violence occurs.. ...

Private landowners, farmers, sportsmen, outdoor enthusiasts can learning more about wildlife biology in course scheduled for Feb. 4 to March 18 at the Cape Girardeau County Extension office in Jackson. The 2003 Master Wildlifer shortcourse is designed to provide information about managing wildlife resources on private lands. The program features regional and national experts...

CHICAGO -- As Illinois begins emptying its death row by order of the governor, opponents of capital punishment are setting their sights on wider reforms, while death penalty supporters are questioning Gov. George Ryan's motives. On Saturday, Ryan commuted the sentences of all 167 condemned inmates -- most to life in prison without parole -- saying he felt a moral obligation to act because the system is "haunted by the demon of error."...