Stories from Thursday, March 20, 2003

The Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS -- Missouri's Rickey Paulding drove the lane for a chance to hit a game-winning shot. He did, but not the way he planned. Paulding was fouled on the drive and hit one of two free throws with 4.1 seconds left and as the sixth-seeded Tigers survived an upset scare Thursday with a 72-71 victory over Southern Illinois in the Midwest Regional...

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A package labeled as containing the West Nile virus exploded at a Federal Express facility, and about 50 workers were evacuated. Fire officials said dry ice used to preserve tissue samples containing live virus may have caused the shoebox-sized package to burst late Tuesday at the FedEx office near Port Columbus International Airport...

SALT LAKE CITY -- Charged with felonies that could send them to prison for life, the suspects in the Elizabeth Smart abduction stood expressionless Wednesday during their first court appearance by video from the county jail. Brian David Mitchell, 49, and his wife, Wanda Barzee, 57, were ordered held on $10 million bail each and were appointed public defenders in a hearing that lasted only a few minutes...

BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. -- Investigators may never find a single definitive cause for the destruction of the space shuttle Columbia, NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe said Wednesday. Contributing factors could include hardware failure, failures of processes and procedures during the flight or bad judgment calls, O'Keefe told the NASA Advisory Council at Stennis Space Flight Center. He did not elaborate on those factors...

DENVER -- Denver's worst blizzard in at least two decades paralyzed parts of Colorado and Wyoming for a second day Wednesday, closing the city's biggest airport, stranding thousands of travelers and leaving as much as 6 feet of snow in the mountains...

Americans are little influenced by sermons and religious pronouncements about war but few resent clergy activism, a poll released Wednesday found. The Washington-based Pew Research Center for the People and the Press found only 10 percent of Americans said religious beliefs were the strongest influence on their thinking, though that increased to 17 percent among people who attend worship at least monthly (54 percent of respondents)...

BOSTON -- Binge-eaters who say they can't help it may be right. A study suggests a weak gene, not feeble willpower, may be the cause for some people. The research may point the way to a future pill to tame their appetites. The joint Swiss-German-American study makes the strongest case yet that genetic mistakes can cause an eating disorder, researchers say. Traditionally, eating behavior has been viewed as complex and cultural in its causes...

The Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department will hold its 14th annual Easter Egg Hunt at Capaha Park April 12. The day's events will take place at 10 a.m. for 1- to 2-year-olds and 3- to 4-year-olds, and 11 a.m. for 5- to 8-year-olds. Groups will have 30 to 45 minutes to hunt...

China's new leaders promise to help poor BEIJING -- Helping to kick off a new era of communist rule, China's state media on Wednesday trumpeted promises by President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao to close the widening gap in wealth between its booming east and the impoverished countryside...

By Donna Bryson ~ The Associated Press CAIRO, Egypt -- Across the Arab world, citizens have long been too weak, divided and fearful to push their autocratic leaders for democracy. Now some Arabs are saying U.S. plans to force regime change in Iraq may offer hope...

JERUSALEM -- Pragmatist and moderate Mahmoud Abbas accepted the position of Palestinian prime minister Wednesday in the first real promise of ending the bloody Israeli-Palestinian deadlock of 30 months. Abbas, known as Abu Mazen, accepted the position a day after the parliament approved creating the post, said Nabil Abu Rdeneh, an aide to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat...

HAVANA -- Cuba said it will try dozens of dissidents it has rounded up and accused of being traitors for allegedly working with the top American diplomat on the island. The biggest crackdown on the internal opposition in recent years came as Fidel Castro's government confirmed that it was restricting U.S. diplomats from traveling freely around the island...

ROME -- It was a few months after the Sept. 11 attacks, and police were spying on Rome's Al Harmini Mosque, cameras pointed at the door, bugs inside the temple. Then one day, listening to a recorded conversation among three Iraqis, they heard something terrifying...

BRUSSELS, Belgium -- Electronic bugging devices were found in offices used by several countries, including France and Germany, in a building where a European Union summit will open today, EU officials said. The EU is investigating the bugging in a headquarters building but does not yet know who was behind it, EU spokesman Dominique-George Marro said Wednesday...

TEL AVIV, Israel -- Hundreds of Israelis fled this seaside city Wednesday, fearing a repeat of the first Gulf War, when Saddam Hussein hurled 39 Scud missiles at Israel. Some of the less concerned chose to sun themselves and sip cocktails, saying nearly 30 months of suicide bombings and other violence have prepared them for the worst...

ABOARD THE USS KITTY HAWK -- The commander of the huge naval armada massed against Iraq promised Wednesday that a U.S.-led air campaign against Iraq would be the fastest and most powerful ever unleashed. "The campaign will be unlike any we have seen in the history of warfare, with breathtaking precision, almost eyewatering speed, persistence, agility and lethality," Vice Adm. Timothy Keating said...

They get in the way of bombs and bullets, stumble over mines, flee homes, clog roads, get sick, go hungry and generally outnumber combatants when it comes to dying. Civilians are one of the wildest wild cards in the campaign to dislodge Saddam Hussein. ...

March 20, 2003 Dear Ken, A gnome garden DC made resides on our coffee table. It enchants me. The plants I recognize are a tiny jade tree and two cactuses. I do not recognize the gnomes, but all three look happy in their small world made of earth and the clay pot the garden occupies...

By Ann Clwyd ~ For The Times of London "There was a machine designed for shredding plastic. Men were dropped into it and we were again made to watch. Sometimes they went in head first and died quickly. Sometimes they went in feet first and died screaming. ...

CHICAGO -- A top aide to former Gov. George Ryan was found guilty on all counts by a federal court jury Wednesday of corruption charges stemming from the eight-year period when Ryan was Illinois secretary of state. Scott Fawell, 45, is the top official charged thus far in the five-year federal investigation of events that took place while Ryan was secretary of state before his election as governor in 1998...

Maguire prepares for 'Spider-Man' sequel LOS ANGELES -- Tobey Maguire is doing yoga and lifting weights -- and maybe looking over his shoulder a bit -- as he prepares to reprise his role as Peter Parker in the "Spider-Man" sequel. The Hollywood heartthrob is expected to put his Spidey costume back on beginning April 12 to shoot "The Amazing Spider-Man."...

INDIANAPOLIS -- After seeing his team among those in the field of 65 during Sunday's NCAA tournament selection show, Southern Illinois coach Bruce Weber celebrated for a moment with his players. Then reality set in. He had only three days to prepare for Missouri...

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- All around the city there are piles of broken branches from winter's last brutal ice storm. The rolling bluegrass pastures in the horse country are pale green, weeks away from their spring luster. There are mares in foal, colts just born, and a run for the roses coming up...

Steffan Troxel discovered competitive swimming by accident, and now he's making opponents wish it was an accident that never happened. Troxell, a student at Jackson High School, broke his arm in first grade while running track. "I was running and jumping over hurdles," Troxel said. "Then I hit one and kind of fell over and broke my arm, and that ended that."...

JUPITER, Fla. -- Fernando Vina's salary drive has already begun. The Cardinals have a $4 million option for next year on their leadoff hitter, and they're in no hurry to pick it up. Vina was criticized for a poor on-base percentage (.333) last year, the team shopped him during the offseason, and he and manager Tony La Russa exchanged barbs...

DELTA, Mo. -- Flip through a phone book for a full variety of last names. And when first names are randomly coupled with last names, the list of possibilities is endless. It provides an even greater appreciation for the conciseness of the starting lineup for the state-bound Delta girls basketball team. Long on talent, the Bobcats are precariously short on names...

There was no talking in class Wednesday afternoon -- at least not on a phone. Phone lines at Cape Girardeau public schools stopped functioning at about 2:15 p.m., leaving the campuses unable to receive incoming or make outgoing calls for nearly two hours. Calls could still be made within the school's Plexar phone system...

NEAR THE IRAQI DESERT, Kuwait -- Capt. Philip Wolford's men leaped into the air and waved empty rifles in an impromptu desert war dance. Troops of the 101st Airborne Division ate a special pre-combat meal of lobster and steak. Soldiers sent e-mails to loved ones and savored what could be a last good shower for a long while...

The United States launched the opening salvo Wednesday night of a war to topple Saddam Hussein, firing cruise missiles and precision-guided bombs against selected targets in Baghdad. "This will not be a campaign of half-measures and we will accept no outcome but victory," President Bush said in an Oval Office address shortly after explosions ricocheted through the pre-dawn light of the Iraqi capital...

The process of clearing out a path for a wider western highway entrance into Jackson has begun. The Missouri Department of Transportation has successfully negotiated with several property owners along the first phase of the Highway 34/72 widening, which runs from Hope Street to Main Street. The overall project will be done in three stages and will be completed some time after 2005. It will add two more lanes from Hope Street to the point where 34 and 72 split...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Supporters of the State Employees' Protection Act say that two of the bill's three provisions are unlikely to stir controversy. The third, they admit, is certain to rile organized labor. That provision would bar labor unions from unilaterally imposing so-called fair-share fees on employees who are not union members but whom such organizations are legally obligated to represent. ...

The Jackson School District will hold the second in a series of community meetings at 7 p.m. tonight at Jackson Middle School with topics to include renovating the high school. According to superintendent Dr. Ron Anderson, the meeting will be a continuation of topics discussed at their first meeting on Jan. 30...

Awaiting word of war, a worried mother hugged her daughter and prayed in a soft, shaky voice. In a back pew, a younger man and woman sat silently and somber with their eyes open and their heads bowed. Friends of a couple who has a son in the military overseas huddled around them -- hugging, crying, pronouncing their faith...

CAIRO, Egypt -- Saddam Hussein has taken an advanced and powerful nation and plunged it into a dark era of two devastating wars and 12 years of misery under U.N. sanctions. Saddam's brinksmanship cost Iraq dearly in its 1980-88 war with Iran and the 1991 Gulf War that all but wiped out his once-formidable army. Now he faces yet another war, in which the United States aims to oust him once and for all. Even Arab governments least enthusiastic about a war quietly wish he'd go...

UNITED NATIONS -- With war imminent, the most outspoken opponents of military action against Iraq -- France, Russia and Germany -- insisted Wednesday the United States will be acting illegally if it attacks Iraq and overthrows Saddam Hussein. Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov told the U.N. Security Council that no U.N. resolution authorized military action or "the violent overthrow of the leadership of a sovereign state."...

VIENNA, Austria -- Just like in 1991, the mighty U.S. and British militaries have partners as they mobilize against Iraq. But this time the coalition is far weaker -- filled with allies with limited firepower and uncertain backing at home. Many of the countries that make up the Bush administration's coalition were part of the 34-member alliance that drove Saddam Hussein's forces from Kuwait 12 years ago...

ANKARA, Turkey -- The government asked parliament Wednesday to grant the U.S. military permission to use Turkish airspace in an Iraq war, a delayed decision that falls short of Washington's initial hopes to station ground troops in Turkey. The proposal would not allow U.S. planes to use Turkish air bases or refuel in Turkey...

To the editor: In regard to the Speak Out comments "Tough on crimes" and "They made a choice": I held a job 20 years before going to prison, where I worked in the library and control center. Every inmate doesn't lie down in air conditioning all day watching TV. I had no TV...

To the editor: I'd like to address the alteration of Snake Hill. Why, after all these years, is it necessary to alter those familiar old curves? I fondly remember going up and down Snake Hill on hay rides back in the 1950s when life was simpler and cruising down the hill in my 1937 Plymouth and praying the brakes would hold so I could safely reach the bottom where I would give the car a bath in the creek near the mattress factory...

To the editor: Today we mourn the passing of an old friend, Common Sense, who lived a long life but died recently in the United States. Common Sense selflessly devoted his life to service in schools, hospitals, homes and factories by getting jobs done without fanfare or foolishness. ...

Congress must say no THIS NEW policy of pre-emptive military aggression against a sovereign nation that is suspected of having the potential to attack the United States is taking the country down an isolationist road where we will be the pariah of the world -- and rightly so. When is Congress going to stand up to Bush and tell him no? We want our democracy back...

Irene Maria Concordia Niermann Kuebler entered her heavenly home Tuesday, March 18, 2003, at the age of 93 years. She was born Oct. 1, 1909, in New Orleans, La., daughter of the Rev. Karl and Cora Alice Georg Niermann. Her holy baptism was Oct. 10, 1909, at the Ev. ...

DONGOLA, Ill. -- Everett R. "Chief" RedCloud Jr., 73, of Dongola died Wednesday, March 19, 2003, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Feb. 8, 1930, in Union County, son of Everett and Alice Jenkins RedCloud. He and Naomi Ruth Sullens were married Aug. 2, 1952...

FROHNA, Mo. -- Sindy K. Pohlman, 41, of Frohna died Tuesday, March 18, 2003, at her home. She was born Aug. 29, 1961, in Perryville, Mo., daughter of Kenneth and Barbara Braun Buchheit. She and Roger D. Pohlman were married May 19, 1990. Pohlman was business manager for Pohlman Trucking Firm. She was a member of Brazeau Presbyterian Church, where she taught Sunday School, and was an advocate for the fight against breast cancer, participating in Relay for Life and other events...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Dorothy McClatchey, 85, of Cairo died Wednesday, March 19, 2003, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at Barkett Funeral Home in Cairo.

Marjorie Jean Frazier, 66, of Jackson died Tuesday, March 18, 2003, at her home. She was born May 29, 1936, in Ann Arbor, Mich., daughter of Mark and Violet Hutchinson Mitchell. She and George Frazier were married Aug. 8, 1955. He died June 8, 1972...

Evelyn Katherine Rowland, 85, formerly of Ironton, Mo., died Tuesday, March 18, 2003, in Cape Girardeau. She was born Aug. 25, 1917, in St. Louis, daughter of Albert and Flora Ritterbush Mall. She and Lilburn Keith Rowland were married Jan. 27, 1940. He died Sept. 5, 1991...

Mary Lou Ramsey, 48, of Jackson died Tuesday, March 18, 2003, at her home. McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson is in charge of arrangements.

The Rev. Perry Lynn Clark, 64, of Parma, Mo., died Monday, March 17, 2003, in an automobile accident between Gideon and Malden, Mo. He was born May 2, 1938, at Steele, Mo., son of Perry Earl and Irene Adams Clark. He and Beatrice L. Trout were married Nov. 14, 1958, at Tallapoosa, Mo...

ANNA, Ill. -- Delphia Morgan, 90, of Anna died Tuesday, March 18, 2003, at Union County Hospital. She was born July 15, 1912, in Jonesboro, Ill., daughter of Charles P. and Lela Frick Morgan. Morgan retired from Elgin State Hospital. Survivors include two brothers, Paul and Winstead Morgan of Jonesboro; and a sister, Hazel Proveaux of Cape Girardeau...

Daniels Daughter to Matthew Charles and Breanna Elizabeth Daniels of Cape Girardeau, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 9:25 a.m. Monday, March 3, 2003. Name, McKenzie Elizabeth. Weight, 8 pounds 6 ounces. Mrs. Daniels is the former Breanna Tolbert, daughter of Mary Tolbert of Cape Girardeau. Daniels is the son of Clark and Vicki Daniels of Cape Girardeau and Laura and Kenny Teardo of Jensen Beach, Fla...

10 years ago: March 20, 1993 Cape Girardeau County Salary Commission will hold its first meeting in several years Monday to discuss request from public administrator for pay increase and to consider possible pay increases for county elected officials; Public Administrator John Ferguson is requesting that his basic salary be increased from $4,000 to $10,000, in accordance with legislation passed recently...

Family-style dinner planned for March 30The Cape Girardeau Senior Center, 921 N. Clark, will hold a dinner from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 30 at the center. The menu includes chicken and dumplings, ham, slaw, green beans, mashed potatoes, dessert and drinks. Carryouts available...

To the editor: I was pleased to see the article in the March 17 Southeast Missourian about 35 years of service of the Cape County Private Ambulance. I felt acknowledgment should have been given to the founder, George Rouse, whose tireless efforts resulted in the first professional ambulance service in Missouri...

Briefly Baseball Outfielder Rondell White has a place to play following his trade from the New York Yankees to the San Diego Padres for outfielder Bubba Trammell and minor league left-hander Mark Phillips on Wednesday. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Investment brokerage Merrill Lynch will pay more than $900,000 in fines to two state funds as part of a settlement reached with Missouri Secretary of State Matt Blunt. Blunt's office was investigating the firm for alleged conflicts of interest between its investment banking and investment rating arms...

WASHINGTON -- The farmer who drove his tractor into a pond near the National Mall and threatened to set off explosives surrendered Wednesday after a 48-hour standoff that snarled rush-hour commutes and kept some monuments off limits to tourists. Dwight Watson, who was protesting farm policies he said were forcing him out of his family's tobacco-farming business, was taken into custody at about midday. ...

WASHINGTON -- The Senate narrowly rejected oil drilling in an Alaska wildlife refuge Wednesday as eight Republicans defied party leaders and the White House on an issue at the core of President Bush's energy agenda. Drilling advocates said the plan was probably dead for this Congress...

WASHINGTON -- Americans knew the Gulf War was won when U.S. troops saw a liberated Kuwait in the rearview mirrors of their Humvees. This time around, victory might be harder to define. Would seeing U.S.-led coalition forces rolling down the streets of Baghdad mean they had won? Must Iraqi President Saddam Hussein be captured? Or just ousted and his weapons padlocked?...

WASHINGTON -- Anti-war protests drew noisy chants and quiet prayers across the country Wednesday as the United States moved closer to invading Iraq. Demonstrators were arrested after sitting down on the street in front of the White House and blocking entrances to government buildings in other cities...

WASHINGTON -- Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is intensifying his efforts to hide in Baghdad before the onset of war, U.S. officials said. Saddam went on television Tuesday, appearing in military fatigues for the first time in years. After that, American officials said, he took steps to lower his profile in the city to an even greater degree than normal...

A Dudley, Mo., farmer made his first appearance in federal court Tuesday after he was indicted on charges related to the manufacture of methamphetamine. John David Jackson, 48, made his initial appearance in Cape Girardeau before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lewis Blanton on the two-count indictment, according to Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Abbie Crites-Leoni...

Daily Dunklin Democrat SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- Tenet Healthcare Corporation announced Tuesday it plans to sell or consolidate 14 hospitals, including those in Kennett, Mo., Poplar Bluff, Mo., and Jonesboro, Ark. The plans are part of several initiatives Tenet said are designed to sharpen its strategic focus, reduce operating expenses and accelerate its repurchase of shares...

Top aide to George Ryan found guilty of corruption CHICAGO -- A top aide to former Gov. George Ryan was found guilty on all counts by a federal court jury Wednesday of corruption charges stemming from the eight-year period when Ryan was Illinois secretary of state...

Morton completes basic training program Navy Seaman Apprentice Andrew R. Morton, son of Melody L. and Gregory A. Morton of Jackson, recently completed U.S. Navy basic training at Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes, Ill. He is a 2002 graduate of Jackson High School...

Name: Paul W. Sander Lives in: Lifelong resident of Jackson. Family: Wife, Pam (21 years); two sons, Sam, 14 is a freshman at Jackson Jr. High and Spencer, 10 is a fourth-grader at South Elementary in Jackson. Most of my other family members are long time Jackson-area residents...

The Jackson Noon Optimist Oratorical Contest was held Tuesday, Feb. 25 at Delmonico's. Nine bright ladies expressed their thoughts on this year's topic: "United We Stand in Optimism." Judi Owens, club president, left, stands beside winners of the oratorical contest: Sara Sutterer, second place, Erica Michelson, first place and Audrey Stanfield, third place. Sue Wunderlich, co-chair stands far right...

Cape Girardeau Thursday, March 20 Firefighters responded Tuesday to the following items: At 5:39 p.m., emergency medical service at 211 Mason. At 5:49 p.m., citizen assist at 611 S. West End Boulevard. At 6:55 p.m., emergency medical service at 555 N. Spring, Apt. 11...

Cape Girardeau Thursday, March 20 The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests Robin R. Sides, 23, of 420 S. Sprigg, Cape Girardeau, was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of hindering prosecution...

A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling upheld California's three-strikes law for repeat criminals, which is considered the toughest in the nation. Petty criminals should take heed. The ruling means even people committing minor crimes -- stealing video tapes and golf clubs, for example -- could go to prison for life...

Today Woman to Woman Luncheon. Lunch begins at noon and the program begins at 12:10 p.m. with the wrap up at 12:45 p.m. You will be on your way at 12:50. $6 advanced registration fee. Payment at the door is $10. Limited seating is available. To register for this program, please call 331-5107...

GENEVA Doctors focused their search for the cause of a mysterious flu-like illness Wednesday on a family of common respiratory viruses and raised the possibility that some early victims caught the disease in a Hong Kong hotel. Meanwhile, officials said more people had died from the disease, bringing the total to 14 and for the first time listed 11 suspected cases in the United States...