Stories from Saturday, July 5, 2003

PARIS -- Lance Armstrong's bid for a record-tying fifth straight win in the Tour de France, a punishing cross-country slog of more than 2,100 miles, begins with a quick dash. The 4.03-mile sprint through Paris today is only a blip compared to the grind awaiting the 198 riders the next three weeks. But it offers Armstrong a chance to immediately stamp his authority over his rivals...

QUETTA, Pakistan -- A suicide attack on a mosque packed with worshippers Friday killed more than 30 people and sent enraged Shiite Muslims on a rampage through this southwestern Pakistani city, officials said. The death toll varied with some reports putting it as high as 47. There were scores more wounded in the attack, one of the bloodiest in a long series of assaults on the country's Shiite Muslim minority...

Davis recall backers say they can make ballot LOS ANGELES -- A majority of voters believe Gov. Gray Davis should be recalled in a special election, according to a poll published Friday, hours after recall leaders claimed they had enough support to put the question on the ballot...

SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Il told aides in 1996 that his country had nuclear weapons, a prominent North Korean defector said Friday. Hwang Jang Yop, who defected to Seoul in 1997, made the remarks as the United States tries to muster international pressure on North Korea to drop its suspected nuclear program. Washington believes North Korea already has one or two bombs...

JERUSALEM -- Palestinians could have general elections by October if Israel withdraws from major population centers, with Yasser Arafat likely to be the only major candidate for president, the Palestinian foreign minister said Friday. Arafat's re-election would likely frustrate Washington's moves to sideline him and nurture an alternative Palestinian leadership. It remains unclear what would happen to the post of prime minister, created under intense U.S. pressure to reduce Arafat's role...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- At least three of the five men wounded in Tuesday night's shooting at a Jefferson City manufacturing plant have been released from mid-Missouri hospitals. Police said the five men were wounded when 25-year-old Jonathon Russell arrived for the third shift at the Modine Manufacturing Co. plant around 10:30 p.m. and began shooting, killing three. Russell later drove to Jefferson City police headquarters, and after a confrontation with officers, killed himself...

WASHINGTON -- The Navy has punished more than 40 chaplains over the last decade for offenses ranging from sexual abuse to fraud -- a misconduct rate much higher than for other officers, according to documents that detail the Navy's alarm at the problem...

WASHINGTON -- President Bush designated six prisoners to become the first people who could be tried before military tribunals, drawing renewed criticism from defense lawyers of the secretive special courts. Officials refused to identify the six suspects being held in U.S. custody and suggested their identities might be kept secret during trial...

First-, second- and third-place awards were given in three categories. Winners were: BEST OF SHOW Hercules the dog and Susanne Vanderfeen 9 YEARS AND UNDER Jacqueline Kiefner, third place Tiffany Diamond, second place...

Cape Girardeau Saturday, July 5 Firefighter responded Tuesday to the following item: At 2:29 p.m., medical assist at 1702 N. Kingshighway. Firefighters responded Wednesday to the following items: At 1:50 a.m., medical assist at 1400 N. Sprigg, Apt. 8...

Cape Girardeau County Saturday, July 5 The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. DWIs Shelly N. Finnegan, 21, of Cape Girardeau, was arrested June 27 on suspicion of driving while intoxicated...

Imagine enjoying a vacation with your family, a trip built around enjoying sports and time with family. And then you get a phone call. Your house has been severely damaged by a fire. Upon returning home, you find it wasn't an overloaded extension cord or a stove burner left on or anything you could have controlled...

Following the scandal over New York Times reporter Jayson Blair's fabrications, San Francisco Chronicle culture critic Steven Winn offered a pessimistic view of the state of the union on truthfulness. The Blair affair exposed "an open secret: America's epidemic of lying," Winn asserted...

Kidz Blitz set for Mount Auburn Christian Church Mount Auburn Christian Church will host a "Kidz Blitz" program from 9 to 11:45 a.m. July 28 to 30. The theme is "SCUBA: Super Cool Undersea Bible Adventure" and is open to children age 4 through sixth grade...

ATLANTA -- Health officials on alert for the return of West Nile virus are concerned about the re-emergence of another mosquito-borne disease in the Southeast: eastern equine encephalitis. A Georgia man died June 21 in the nation's first human case of the disease this year...

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- President Bush is sending military experts to Africa to assess whether U.S. troops should help enforce a fragile cease-fire in war-torn Liberia. He was also considering a conditional offer by the country's leader to step down...

Few people make it through life without suffering at least one heartache that wrenches at the gut like nothing ever felt before. But Jennifer Noble of Cape Girardeau and her three children have felt pain and anguish that still tear at their souls. Noble and her family lived as missionaries in New Zealand until a decade ago. But coming back to the states wasn't an easy adjustment -- and one that would ultimately split their world apart...

WIMBLEDON, England -- Andy Roddick's run at Wimbledon was stopped by the closest thing there is to Pete Sampras right now: Roger Federer. With brilliant serving and returning, plus shotmaking so good even Roddick was moved to shout praise, Federer won their semifinal 7-6 (6), 6-3, 6-3 Friday to become the first Swiss man to reach a Grand Slam title match...

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- It doesn't take any inside info to know Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Michael Waltrip are the favorites for tonight's Pepsi 400. The Dale Earnhardt Inc., teammates -- one or the other, or both -- have been dominating the races at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway since 2001...

Capahas drop opener in Illinois tournament VALMEYER, Ill. -- The Craftsman Union Capahas gave two ninth-inning runs and lost 11-10 to Alton (Ill.) in the opening day of the eight-team Valmeyer Tournament. The Capahas took a 10-9 lead going into the ninth inning, but Alton tied it on a lead-off home run. After Matt Stroup struck out the next batter, Alton put a runner on first with a single, then scored from third two batters later...

In Andy Roddick's Grand Slam delusion, one inch on one shot stopped him one match short of his first Wimbledon final. If he truly believes that, the only person he's fooling is himself. It wasn't that one shot in the first-set heartbreaker or the 7-minute lapse that followed, as his coach, Brad Gilbert, suggested, that made all the difference between victory and a 7-6 (6), 6-3, 6-3 semifinal loss Friday to Switzerland's Roger Federer...

Just a few homes on North High Street near Jackson City Park lost power around 1:15 p.m. Friday when a vehicle struck a utility pole. Mark Baker, a lineman with the city of Jackson, said workers would have to bring in a new power pole and a new transformer. The outage was so minor because of the pole that was hit...

When Steve Stanley met a potential tenant Monday at the vacant Albertsons building on Monday, he wasn't exactly shocked to see more than 20 cars on the huge lot that had "for sale" signs on them. "I really didn't care at first, to be honest," said Stanley, director of leasing for South Star, the Memphis-based company that bought the building after the grocery store closed in March 2002...

There might not be anything more American than baseball, but it wasn't just his commitment to the game and coaching youth sports that earned John "Doc" Yallaly special recognition as an American hero. It was his patriotism and commitment to helping people in the community that made Yallaly stand out as one of many nominees for the first Spirit of America Award...

A Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force officer was robbed Tuesday night during an investigation in a southside Cape Girardeau neighborhood. Brandon D. Tipler, 22, of New Madrid, Mo., and Shawn M. Young, 26, of Howardsville, Mo., were later charged with first-degree robbery. ...

Standing in front of a day-glo yellow decontamination tent and flanked by masked SWAT team officers and blue-suited hazardous materials technicians, Missouri Homeland Security adviser Tim Daniel announced a financial boon to Southeast Missouri's homeland security response teams at a news conference Thursday morning in Jackson...

Even while people went on picnics, laid in the shade or swam on the Fourth of July, their thoughts didn't stray far from the red, white and blue. "You have to think about the soldiers still in Iraq," said Diane Cook of Chaffee, Mo. Her son was put on alert last year with his Air National Guard unit out of St. Louis...

PHILADELPHIA -- America celebrated its 227th birthday by opening a new museum for the Constitution in its birthplace, marking the centennial of aviation and giving a red-white-and-blue welcome to troops returning home to Kansas from Iraq. In Dayton, Ohio, President Bush climbed a flag-draped stage flanked by military jets to praise the work of U.S. troops and celebrate the 100th anniversary of flight in the hometown of the Wright brothers...

LOS ANGELES -- Velvet-voiced R&B crooner Barry White, whose lush baritone and throbbing musical compositions oozed sex appeal on songs like "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe," died Friday. He was 58. White, who had kidney failure from years of high blood pressure, had been undergoing dialysis and had been hospitalized since a September stroke. He died about 9:30 a.m. at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, said his manager, Ned Shankman...

Just weeks after First Baptist Church approved the sale of its buildings to Southeast Missouri State University, the congregation made another historic move. Pamela Knight Pratt was ordained as a minister during worship services June 22. She was the first woman to be ordained into the ministry by the 169-year-old church...

Have you ever craved more time to be left alone to do whatever you chose? Believed people sometimes interfered with attaining goals you would like to accomplish? Felt victimized by excessive demands from others? Although I always felt privileged to be included in people's experiences, I yearned for respite from constant intrusions on my time. However, I recently heard a comment in a television movie that changed my perspective on giving and sharing time with others...

ANNA, Ill. -- Mary Sowers, 92, of Anna died Thursday, July 3, 2003, at Methodist Medical Center in Peoria. Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Sunday and on Monday until time of service at Crain Funeral Home in Anna. Funeral will be at 1 p.m. Monday at the funeral home. Burial will be in St. John's Cemetery...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Claude "Ed" Wulfert, 69, of Perryville died Thursday, July 3, 2003, at Perry Oaks Manor. He was born Dec. 16, 1933, at Fredericktown, Mo., son of Oscar Claude and Maydeen Bennett Wulfert. He and Joan Dicus were married. She survives...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Marie M. Stephens, 88, of Glenallen, Mo., died Thursday, July 3, 2003, at St. Francis Medical Center. She was born July 14, 1914, near Lutesville, Mo., daughter of Monroe and Julie E. Shell James. She and Milford Ross Stephens were married Feb. 19, 1932. He died Nov. 6, 1981...

10 years ago: July 5, 1993 Rain continues to fall in parts of northern and central Missouri and Iowa and Illinois, but National Weather Service is sticking with its earlier prediction of 43-foot flood crest on Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau late Friday; some residents who live near river in unprotected areas outside floodwall and levee in Red Star and South Cape Girardeau are preparing to flee rising floodwaters...

To fight the spread of chronic wasting disease, Wisconsin officials said Tuesday they want to create a special zone in and near Beloit, where hunters and sharpshooters will try to wipe out the deer population. Covering 25 square miles, the new zone includes the east side of Beloit and portions of the towns of Turtle and Clinton, which are east of the city...

ST. LOUIS -- Opened nine years before the better-known Brooklyn Bridge, St. Louis' Eads Bridge for more than a century did yeoman's work -- until age caught up with the span that ranks among the oldest Mississippi River crossings. More than 11 years after it was closed for repairs, the 3,563-foot national landmark that once transfixed poet Walt Whitman turned 129 on Friday as America celebrated its own birthday...

ANGKOK, Thailand -- Screaming "die! "die!" a drunken mob of about 3,000 people -- some dressed as monks -- quickly surrounded activist Aung San Suu Kyi's convoy, stripping the clothes off supporters and beating them mercilessly with bats, rods and spears, Myanmar dissidents testified Friday...

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast -- Ivory Coast's government and rebel officials declared an official end to this West African nation's civil war on Friday, nine months after fighting erupted following a failed attempt to oust President Laurent Gbagbo. Army and rebel representatives addressed the nation together on national television, and were followed in their remarks by Gbagbo, who praised the return of peace to the country...

SRINAGAR, India -- Suspected Islamic guerrillas tossed a grenade and opened fire at a meeting between a minister and health officials in Indian-controlled Kashmir Friday, killing two people and wounding 28, police said. Two Islamic militant groups claimed responsibility...

TOKYO -- An accident at a shuttered nuclear power plant sent smoke billowing into the air Friday, but there were no immediate reports of radiation leaks or injuries. It wasn't immediately clear what happened inside the experimental plant, near the town of Tsuruga in central Japan. City spokesman Yoshihiro Kadono said the accident occurred at an incinerator in the nuclear complex...

'Terminator 3' star visits U.S troops BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Arnold Schwarzenegger joined U.S. troops in a former Saddam Hussein palace at Baghdad International Airport on Friday for the screening of his latest movie, "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines."...

CHICAGO -- Kerry Wood wanted to give the Cubs' bullpen a little rest. Instead, St. Louis hitters gave Wood extra time off. Tim Edmonds and Albert Pujols hit consecutive homers in the first inning, and Tino Martinez tied a season high with four RBIs as the Cardinals the Chicago Cubs 11-8 Friday...

BALAD, Iraq -- As many as 50 resistance fighters ambushed a U.S. military patrol early Friday morning, while another band of Iraqis wounded at least 17 soldiers in a mortar strike on an American base near here, in bold attacks that demonstrated new organizational and weapons capabilities, soldiers and military officials said...

Lucy Louise Robinson, 75, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, July 2, 2003, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. She was born Oct. 25, 1927, in Arkansas. She and Lee Robinson were married in 1956 in Mississippi. Robinson had been a cook. She was a member of New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, its choir, mission board, and was an usher...

Robert F. McCullough, 86, of Mississippi died Wednesday, July 2, 2003. He was born March 29, 1917, at McComb, Miss. Graveside service will be at 9 a.m. today at Cape County Memorial Park. Ford and Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Missouri Department of Conservation Although the word origins of the fish known as carp and the word carping (a verb meaning "to complain") are different, as far as anglers and biologists are concerned, the two often go hand in hand. Why do carp draw the ire of biologists and the disdain of so many anglers? To answer this question, we first need to know a little about the fish. ...

To the editor: A Speak Out caller states that Central Middle School's building is being enlarged. CMS is doing no such thing. An addition is being built to enlarge the cafeteria at Central Junior High School, and regular readers of the paper have seen articles describing the need for the enlargement...

To the editor: David Limbaugh bemoans the loss of moral absolutes, which he says are embedded in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. He directs his outrage at activist Supreme Court justices who make decisions contrary to his concept of moral absolutes...

Get cats spayed I HAVE just read the "free for the taking" classifieds in the paper. There are 16 offerings for kittens. When will people learn to get female cats spayed? Time to limit fireworks WE HAVE lost one home in Jackson because of fireworks. I think it's time to ban all fireworks unless a group shoots them off at the park or riverfront. And if you're going to shoot them off at your home, step across the street and shoot them back at your house so you can clean up the mess...

Paul William Martin, 79, passed away Wednesday, July 2, 2003, at his home in Cape Girardeau. He was born March 12, 1924, at Cameron, W.Va., the son of William H. and Lenore Kinney Martin. On May 13, 1949, he and Marcella Schmitke were married. She survives...

Donald Edward Vance, 71, died Thursday, July 3, 2003, at his home in Cape Girardeau. He was born Feb. 16, 1932, at Grenada, Miss., son of William Lee Vance and Lottie Thomas Vance. He and Kathryn Keller were married Nov. 10, 1955, at Marshfield, Mo...

Sidney L. McCarty, 69, of Cape Girardeau, formerly of Patton, Mo., died Wednesday, July 2, 2003, at St. Francis Medical Center. She was born Jan. 19, 1934, in Stafford, Va., daughter of Thomas Lloyd and Teresa Noel Loving. She and Robert Emmett McCarty Jr. were married April 7, 1951, in Fredericksburg, Va. He died Nov. 16, 1987...

DITTMER, Mo. -- Wanda L. Sample, 74, of Dittmer and formerly of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, July 2, 2003, at St. Anthony Medical Center in St. Louis. She was born Sept. 7, 1928, at Madisonville, Ky., daughter of Lonnie Allen and Bertha Curry Merritt. She and Jack D. Sample were married Jan. 30, 1949, in Piggott, Ark. He died Feb. 27, 1999...

FROHNA, Mo. -- Edgar W. Roth Sr., 84, of Frohna died Wednesday, July 2, 2003, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born June 21, 1919, at Frohna, son of Herman and Frieda Fritsche Roth. He and Evelyn Schuessler were married Jan. 31, 1943...

Henrietta Carolina Alvina Monteith, 94, of Jackson died Wednesday, July 2, 2003, at her home. She was born Feb. 15, 1909, in Scott City, daughter of William and Anna Roth Diebold. She and Cecil E. Monteith were married Oct. 9, 1926, in St. Louis. He died March 14, 1999...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Joan C. Brown, 67, of Perryville died Thursday, July 3, 2003, at her home. She was born March 13, 1936, at St. Louis, daughter of Salvatore Pona and Rosa Fantauzzo Pona. She and Charles M. Brown were married Nov. 28, 1964, at St. Louis. He survives...

ANNA, Ill. -- Leonard D. Clutts Jr., 80, of Mount Vernon, Ill., died Wednesday, July 2, 2003, at his home. He was born Oct. 3, 1922, in Alto Pass, Ill., son of Leonard and Gussie Hardin Clutts Sr. He and Amanda Julie Clutts were married April 2, 1954, in Cape Girardeau. She died Feb. 28, 1988...

Sandra Kay Nussbaum, 50, of Jackson died Thursday, July 3, 2003, at her home. McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson is in charge of arrangements.

Bombing suspect escapes Philippine jail MANILA, Philippines -- An Indonesian man who allegedly confessed to involvement in bombings in Manila that killed 22 people escaped from jail early Monday along with two other suspected Muslim extremists, police said...