Stories from Monday, September 20, 2004

By Julia Metelski ~ Southeast Missourian A mercury-based preservative in vaccines was a key topic at a forum on autism at Drury Lodge Sunday, the last day of the annual meeting of the Mentally Retarded Citizens of Missouri...

By Linda Redeffer ~ Southeast Missourian Law enforcement officers, counselors and members of the court system are finding that a team effort works best when it comes to helping victims of child abuse. A team effort is being promoted on a statewide and national level, and it already is building in Cape Girardeau County and some surrounding counties...

As state employees settle into their newly christened surroundings in the Marquette Tower, their old haunts in Cape Girardeau are searching for new tenants. That is, all but one. Air filtration company Edge Enterprises Inc. recently announced that it will open an operations facility in the former home of the Workforce Investment Board of Southeast Missouri at the Eagle Peak building...

By Mark Bliss ~ Southeast Missourian Kiwanis Park would get a major upgrade if Cape Girardeau secures a $148,500 National Park Service grant. The money would help construct picnic shelters, playground structures, new restrooms and a gravel road that would connect to the main park road...

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- A Saudi court sentenced a university professor to five years in prison Sunday on charges of sowing dissent after he compared U.S. killings of Iraqi civilians to Osama bin Laden's terror attacks. Saeed bin Mubarak al-Zaeer, a 57-year-old university professor, was sentenced by the court in the capital Riyadh. ...

GONAIVES, Haiti -- Tropical Storm Jeanne killed at least 50 people in Haiti after battering the neighboring Dominican Republic with its lashing winds and deadly storm surge before it pushed off into the open sea on Sunday, officials said. Floods tore through the northwestern coastal town of Gonaives and surrounding areas Saturday night, covering crops but not fully engulfing homes. ...

BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro -- A pro-Western reformist and a hard-line nationalist loyal to Slobodan Milosevic led the race for Belgrade mayor on Sunday, preliminary results showed. The returns also indicated a close battle between the two rival groups elsewhere in Serbia in key local elections. ...

By Alexandra Zavis ~ The Associated Press BAGHDAD, Iraq -- The Iraqi prime minister insisted Sunday that the raging insurgency -- which has claimed 300 lives in the last week alone and resulted in a wave of kidnappings -- will not delay January elections, promising the vote will strike a "major blow" against the violent opposition...

TEL AVIV, Israel -- Pop star Madonna called for world peace Sunday at a conference on Jewish mysticism, a highlight of her five-day pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Israel hopes the star -- the biggest pop celebrity to visit in years -- will revive tourism battered by four years of Mideast violence, and government officials were on hand at a Tel Aviv hotel to share the spotlight, the glory and the photographs. ...

BEIJING -- Hu Jintao became the undisputed leader of China as the country completed its first orderly transfer of power in the communist era on Sunday with the departure of former President Jiang Zemin from his top military post -- giving a new generation a freer hand to run the world's most populous nation. ...

TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran on Sunday denounced as "illegal" demands from the U.N. atomic watchdog agency that it freeze all work on uranium enrichment -- a technology that can be used for nuclear weapons -- and threatened to limit cooperation with the agency if it moves toward sanctions. But Iran's top nuclear negotiator, stopped short of outright rejection of the International Atomic Energy Agency's demands and held out the possibility of negotiations on the issue...

By Bill Kaczor ~ The Associated Press ALLENTOWN, Fla. -- Thousands of sea oats, so vital for preventing coastal erosion, are being raised in this rural Florida Panhandle community more than 30 miles from the nearest beach and without a speck of sand...

By Alonzo Weston ~ St. Joseph News-Press ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- Jon Carr remembered a time growing up when it seemed everyone in St. Joseph raised pigeons. It was practically a way of life. "When I was a kid, a lot of East Side people had pigeons," Carr said. "We used to ride all over town and look at all the pigeons people had."...

Red Star River Access was damaged late Sunday morning and the boat docks were not expected to be open until later today. The damage was discovered at about 12:30 p.m. by fishermen who had gone out earlier in the morning, said Tom Holshouser, member of the Hooker Boat Club, which maintains the dock. Witnesses said a pleasure boat appeared out of control and could have rammed into the bank, although no one reported witnessing the accident...

The Southeast Missouri Alliance for Disability Independence 2004 Barrier Freedom Awards Banquet took place at Drury Lodge recently. Robert Wardron, recipient of the volunteer of the year award, was selected for his "investment of valuable time, energy and commitment to helping SADI with various projects" including the most recent annual yard sale...

By William C. Mann ~ The Associated Press WASHINGTON -- Senators from both parties urged the Bush administration on Sunday to make a realistic assessment of the situation in Iraq and adjust its policies aimed at pacifying the country...

By Pauline Jelinek ~ The Associated Press WASHINGTON -- Playing on the fear factor, Vice President Dick Cheney suggested in a campaign speech there might be another terrorist attack on the United States if John Kerry were in the White House...

Colts 31, Titans 17 Peyton Manning threw for 254 yards and two touchdowns to win the first game between the NFL's defending co-MVP quarterbacks. Steve McNair was 25-of-39 for 273 yards and ran for a TD, but was intercepted in the end zone, sacked three times...

By Tim Dahlberg ~ The Associated Press LAS VEGAS -- Oscar De La Hoya thought he could trade punches with a bigger and stronger fighter. Bernard Hopkins made him pay for his mistake with two body shots that left De La Hoya pounding his gloves on the canvas in bitter frustration at a career opportunity lost...

By Burt Herman ~ The Associated Press MOSCOW -- He is Russia's homegrown version of Osama bin Laden, but with a trademark all his own: dramatic mass hostage-takings that have often turned to bloodbaths. Like bin Laden, Shamil Basayev is an elusive target who has evaded capture for years...

JAKARTA, Indoesia -- Indonesian voters hungry for change are expected today to do something that was unthinkable during the country's three decades of authoritarian rule -- toss out an incumbent president and vote in a political newcomer who has promised to crack down on corruption and revive the battered economy. ...

By Lynn Elber ~ The Associated Press LOS ANGELES -- "The Sopranos" became the first cable show to win the Emmy for best drama series Sunday and fellow HBO entry "Angels in America" received a record 11 awards as Fox's surprise comedy winner "Arrested Development" proved a rare bright spot for broadcast TV...

LOS ANGELES -- The debut flight of "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" landed the No. 1 weekend box office spot with an estimated $16.2 million amid an overall lackluster turnout at theaters. The $70 million, film-noir-styled fantasy starring Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie cast its live actors against digitally animated giant robots on a backdrop of 1930s New York...

By Mike Harris ~ The Associated Press LOUDON, N.H. -- Kurt Busch was seventh among the title contenders heading into Sunday's first race of NASCAR's new 10-man, 10-race Nextel Cup championship format. In the days leading up to the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway, whenever Busch was asked what the first race of the championship showdown would be like, he smiled and said, "Who knows, we could be the points leader come the end of Sunday.". ...

The left-hander made his first Busch Stadium appearance in over three years in Sunday's 3-2 loss to Arizona. By R.B. Fallstrom ~ The Associated Press ST. LOUIS -- Tony La Russa tried to pretend the Cardinals had not already clinched the NL Central. The manager's psych job didn't work Sunday...

By Doug Ferguson ~ The Associated Press BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. -- Over here, over there, it no longer matters. Europe again proved to be the best in the Ryder Cup with its biggest romp over the Americans...

Atlanta's Michael Vick rushed for over 100 yards and completed 14 of 19 passes. By Charles Odum ~ The Associated Press ATLANTA -- Standing in his end zone, looking for a receiver, Marc Bulger had big plans...

Southeast netted three first-half goals in a 4-0 victory. By Mark Unterreiner ~ Southeast Missourian Southeast Missouri State women's soccer team had no trouble putting away the Arkansas State Indians in a 4-0 rout Sunday afternoon at Houck Stadium...

By David A. Lieb ~ The Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Propose, rebut. Attack, counterattack. In the coming weeks, voters are likely to become weary of this pattern of political campaigns. Yet, in all likelihood, many will end up basing their votes -- at least partially -- on the candidates' proposals and criticisms...

By Julia Metelski ~ Southeast Missourian Robert Pecaut Sr. can hardly bear the thought of ever parting with his teal green 1954 Chevrolet pickup. Every crevice and curve has been lovingly restored to near-perfect condition, and vital parts have been painstakingly modified to yield a sleeker, glossier version of the once dull and rusted farming truck...

By Laura Johnston ~ Southeast Missourian U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson can passionately argue for importing prescription drugs from Canada or seek aid for programs that offer hunger relief at home and abroad, but she's not quite comfortable talking about politics in church...

By May Wong ~ The Associated Press SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Call it the kitty's third life. Roxio Inc. bought the Napster brand name and feline logo at a bankruptcy auction two years ago and with the acquisition of another music service, pressplay, relaunched the once-renegade file-swapping pioneer as a legal music service last October...

By Andrea Almond ~ The Associated Press BAKERSFIELD, Calif. On a slip of flat yellow earth dotted with sagebrush and foxtail lies the rusting legacy of three generations of drilling: a graveyard of toppled oil derricks -- and Bruce Holmes' solitary moneymaker...

If you have a question, e-mail factorfiction@semissourian.com or call Speak Out (334-5111) and identify your call as a question for "Fact or fiction?" Q: Why do people walk in the middle of the street rather than on the sidewalks?...

By MARK SCOLFORO The Associated Press HERNDON, Pa. -- The storm that was once Hurricane Ivan was long gone, but its aftereffects pounded parts of the East like a hangover Sunday, as rivers and small streams swollen beyond their banks by earlier torrential rain forced new evacuations in five states...

By Bill Kaczor ~ The Associated Press PENSACOLA, Fla. -- In storm-battered Florida, the Rev. Russell Levenson of Christ Episcopal Church gave his congregation "permission slips" Sunday to grieve for their lost possessions. Then he urged them to look for hope...

NEW YORK -- Eddie Adams, a photojournalist whose half-century of arresting work was defined by a single frame -- a Pulitzer Prize-winning Associated Press photo of a communist guerrilla being executed in a Saigon street during the Vietnam War -- died Sunday. He was 71...

By David Hammer ~ The Associated Press LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Forty years later, Carrie Mae Snapp is still aglow over her brush with The Beatles. Sunday marked the 40th anniversary of the Beatles' improbable, clandestine arrival in Walnut Ridge, population 4,925, and today marks 40 years since a throng -- including a teenage Snapp -- got wind of their visit and surrounded the British megastars as they left for a concert in New York...

7 p.m. today City hall, 401 Independence St. Study session at 5 p.m. Public Hearings <li> A public hearing to consider vacating the city's interest in a portion of the 200 block of North Spanish Street...