Stories from Monday, August 4, 2008

WASHINGTON -- The different paths John McCain and Barack Obama have taken to support expanded offshore drilling for oil demonstrate how each would govern as president, their supporters said Sunday. McCain surrogates contended on the Sunday news programs that the Arizona Republican's turn toward drilling, which he had once opposed, showed how McCain would respond decisively to a crisis. ...

SAN FRANCISCO -- When Abbott Laboratories Inc. raised the price of a popular AIDS drug by 400 percent in 2003, executives prepared for the inevitable public relations hit, but assured themselves the backlash would be brief. Nearly five years later, the accusations against Abbott are still flying...

Limbaugh joins St. Louis law firm as senior counsel Stephen N. Limbaugh Sr., former United States District Court judge for the Eastern District of Missouri, has joined Armstrong Teasdale LLP law firm as senior counsel. Limbaugh will be a member of the firm's litigation practice in St. ...

Lindle O. Crites, 84, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, Aug. 2, 2008, at Saint Francis Medical Center. He was born May 29, 1924, in Cape Girardeau County, son of Kergious and Ella Seabaugh Crites. He and Juanita (Holshouser) Crites were married June 5, 1948, in Cape Girardeau County...

Dorothy Henson Young, 84, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, Aug. 3, 2008, in Cape Girardeau. She was born Oct. 31, 1923, in Portageville, Mo., to Benjamin and Myrtle Mae Crites Henson. She and Cletis Baldwin Young were married Oct. 15, 1946, in Portageville. He died March 16, 1979...

ADVANCE, Mo — William "Bill" Holland, 79, of Advance was born Feb. 14, 1929, in Mississippi, son of Romie and Edna Holland. He passed away Aug. 2, 2008, at his home. Bill was a retired maintenance worker for McDonalds. He was also a firefighter and an avid guitar player. He played with The McAtee's and Harold and the Boys...

Memories of my first evening as a resident of Cape Girardeau will forever be associated with Drury Hotels and Suites. Instead of spending the night in a near-empty apartment, my wife and I opted for one of their hotels with the comforts of home. While there are other fine hotels in Cape Girardeau and the surrounding area, I was impressed with Drury's rooms, free amenities and service. Apparently, I'm not alone...

Under a federal mandate, Missouri's Department of Natural Resources has been monitoring ozone pollution around the state. It must report to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency by next March which counties should be designated as "nonattainment" counties, meeting they have exceeded federal pollution standards. ...

ST. LOUIS -- Rick Ankiel missed his eighth straight start with an abdominal strain Sunday night, and wasn't sure when he'd be ready to return to the Cardinals lineup. Batting .281 with 22 home runs and 59 RBIs, Ankiel has been limited to pinch-hit appearances since he was injured. ...

Cape Girardeau Firefighters responded to the following calls Saturday: n At 6:11 p.m., emergency medical service at 13 Doctors Park. n At 7:26 p.m., emergency medical service in the 1000 block of Caufield Drive. n At 9:35 p.m., emergency medical service in the 1600 block of North Spanish Street...

Cape County AARP chapter meets today The Cape Girardeau County chapter of AARP will meet at 1:30 p.m. today at Grace United Methodist Church in Cape Girardeau. The program, presented by Bollinger County librarian and historian Eva Dunn, will be "Bollinger County Museum Artifacts and History." There will be a door prize...

NEW ORLEANS -- Tropical Storm Edouard churned west in the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday night and was expected to strengthen to a near-hurricane before making landfall Tueadsy somewhere in Texas. The National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane watch for the coasts of western Louisiana and eastern Texas late Sunday, meaning hurricane conditions were possible the next 24 hours from Intracoastal City to Port O'Connor, Texas...

25 years ago: Aug. 4, 1983 The Cape Girardeau City Council yesterday gave initial approval to an ordinance establishing a downtown special business district, a move that Main Street merchants and Chamber of Commerce officials say will aid downtown redevelopment...

Dickey Son to Justin Levi Dickey and Token R. Bierschwal of Cape Girardeau, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 10:35 p.m. Wednesday, July 23, 2008. Name, Gauge Michael. Weight, 7 pounds, 9 ounces. Second child, first son. Ms. Bierschwal is the daughter of Jan Bierschwal and Rocky Bierschwal of Cape Girardeau. Dickey is the son of Michael Dickey and Linda Dickey of Cape Girardeau. He is employed at Cheekwood Studio...

A recent article in the Baltimore Sun had some flattering words for Southeast Missouri State product Edgar Jones, who is in his second season as a linebacker with the Baltimore Ravens. Jones saw limited action as an NFL rookie last season after he made the Ravens as an undrafted free agent, but he has been getting plenty of front-line work so far in training camp as Pro Bowler Terrell Suggs will likely sit out the preseason because of his franchise-player designation...

WASHINGTON -- Alaska is young. Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia have growing populations and many black voters. Montana has seen recent Democratic inroads, and North Dakota has sent only Democrats to Congress since 1986. Indiana borders Barack Obama's home state...

WINFIELD, Mo. -- More than a month after the Mississippi River inundated this northeast Missouri town, volunteers have begun removing the hundreds of thousands of sandbags used to keep the floodwaters at bay. Residents and others frantically built a 4-foot tall sandbag wall between the river and the city of about 750 five weeks ago. In total, the half-mile wall contained about 500,000 sandbags...

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- It was 6:15 on a Monday evening as Karen Foley took the stage. The auditorium at the Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art was filled to capacity with people standing outside the door and along the walls. "Who ever heard of announcing an event and never sending out invitations?" Foley asked the group...

AKRON, Ohio -- Vijay Singh raised both hands over his head when he saw his 3-foot par putt swirl into the cup for a one-shot victory, a familiar sight for someone who has won 32 times on the PGA Tour. This was more relief than celebration at the Bridgestone Invitational...

Jerry Waddle is a recognized name in the education field in Southeast Missouri. Over the last four decades, Waddle has been a teacher, a principal and the superintendent of the Delta, Kelly and Dexter school districts; worked for the state education department; taught educational leadership at Southeast Missouri State University and been director of the Regional Professional Development Center...

TAMMS, Ill. — Perry Arnold, 64, of Booneville, Mo., died Saturday, Aug. 2, 2008, at University Hospital in Columbia, Mo. Visitation will be today from 5 to 8 p.m. at Crain Funeral Home in Tamms. The funeral will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the funeral home. Interment will be in the Olive Branch Cemetery...

FANCY FARM, Ky. -- First there was the obligatory handshake between Sen. Mitch McConnell and Democratic challenger Bruce Lunsford, followed by the coin toss for their speaking order. As it turned out, that was the last time the Senate minority leader acknowledged his opponent in their showdown at the annual Fancy Farm Picnic on Saturday, signaling the start of the fall campaign...

Cape Girardeau The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. DWI n Craig A. Stevens, 41, 401 Lou Ann Drive, Herrin, Ill., was issued a summons for driving while intoxicated and speeding....

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Voters take your pick: health care or welfare? One sounds like something everyone should have. The other sounds like something demeaning to need. Missouri's 2008 general elections figure to be a linguistic battleground as politicians describe efforts to cut, restore and expand Missouri's Medicaid program...

Swingle, Shupert among junior tennis champs Veronica Swingle defeated Susanna Hayward 8-4 in all-Cape Girardeau final for the 14-and-under girls division Saturday at the Jammin' Juniors Outdoor Tennis Tournament. The tournament was played at Central High School's tennis courts...

As part of a continuing effort to make the Riverside Regional Library more accessible to the families in Southeast Missouri, the library board of trustees unanimously approved eliminating the annual user fee required of certain residents. Anyone who lives in Cape Girardeau, Perry or Scott counties, or any adjacent Missouri county, may get a Riverside Regional Library card at no charge. ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Pam Fleenor paints pictures and makes music. One feeds her soul; the other satiates her thirst for fellowship. The 39-year-old, who once considered a career in medicine, can't imagine a better life "The financial security is something I think about from time to time," Fleenor said. "But I don't think" a career in medicine "would have been right for me."...

WASHINGTON — DNA taken from the bodies of people killed in the 2001 anthrax attacks helped lead investigators to Bruce Ivins, who oversaw the highly specific type of germ in an Army lab, a government scientist said Sunday. Using new genome technology to identify the type of Ames strain anthrax used in the attacks, the FBI began to focus on Ivins as its top suspect more than a year ago, according to the scientist who is close to the investigation...

NEW DELHI -- Thousands of panicked pilgrims stampeded Sunday at a remote mountaintop temple in northern India during celebrations to honor a Hindu goddess, sending dozens of people plummeting to their deaths and trampling scores more. Police said 145 people were killed...

Savor the heat DO YOU remember last winter when we had all that ice and no heat? Everybody is griping about this summer heat. I'd rather have heat than freeze to death. You can always find someplace to get cool, but when you're cold, you're cold...

MARSHALL, Mo. — As the last person born in the historic black enclave of Pennytown, Virginia Huston has spent much of her life working to preserve the history of a community founded in 1871 by a freed slave. Time is running out for the 63-year-old Huston, a retired bank teller recently diagnosed with renal failure and in need of a kidney transplant. She hopes to pass the torch to the next generation of Penny¿town descendants, who came of age amid integration, not segregation...

ST. LOUIS -- Brad Lidge looked nothing like an untouchable closer. Somehow, he got the job done. Shane Victorino's three-run home run capped a four-run eighth inning against a vulnerable St. Louis Cardinals bullpen, and Lidge survived a shaky ninth and preserved the Philadelphia Phillies' 5-4 victory on Sunday night...

RAMALLAH, West Bank -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday refused to grant West Bank asylum to forces who fled weekend faction fighting in Hamas-ruled Gaza, despite fears for their safety. Abbas ordered nearly 200 fighters back to Gaza from Israel, insisting a Fatah presence must be retained in the territory, which has been controlled by Hamas since a violent takeover in June 2007. ...

EDITOR'S NOTE — Nine years ago, the world learned of a hidden chapter of the Korean War — the killing of refugees at a place called No Gun Ri. Now investigators are shedding light on what one calls 215 "other No Gun Ris." ...

LONG POND, Pa. -- Carl Edwards won Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Pocono Raceway, gambling with a pit strategy that he thought would cost him the victory. Edwards pitted from the lead just before a rain shower that caused a 41-minute red flag and had the driver arguing with crew chief Bob Osborne over the decision. But the plan worked perfectly as the race wound up going to completion. Edwards stretched his last tank of fuel to earn his fourth victory of the season...

MEQUON, Wis. -- Given a day off and an opportunity to frolic in Lake Michigan, Rams receiver Torry Holt wasn't willing to search for the light at the end of the training camp tunnel. "There is drudgery all the way through camp," Holt said. "Camp is camp. We will not be over that drudgery until we move on to the regular season."...

SIKESTON, Mo. — Robert E. "Pie" Bradbury, 55, of Sikeston died Friday, Aug. 1, 2008, at the Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. He was born March 21, 1953, in Sullivan, Ind., to Fay and Roseland Dauksch Bradbury. He is survived by three sons, Jason Bradbury of Paducah, Ky., Eric Bradbury of Russellville, Ark., and Robert Bradbury Jr. ...

ST. LOUIS -- Fewer clothes and lots of skin have made a political point in a public park in St. Louis. Hundreds of mostly nude bicyclists joined curious spectators in the city's Tower Grove Park on Saturday night for a 10-mile "World Naked Bike Ride."...

CAIRO, Egypt -- Al-Qaida confirmed in a Web statement Sunday the death of a senior commander known as a top explosives and poisons expert, who is believed to have been killed in a U.S. airstrike in Pakistan last week. The statement said Abu Khabab al-Masri and three other commanders were killed. It did not give details on when or how they were killed, but Pakistani authorities have said they believe al-Masri died in an American airstrike July 28 on a compound near the Afghan border...

Veronica Ann Rutledge died Friday, Aug. 1, 2008, at St. John's Mercy Medical Center in Washington, Mo. She was born Aug. 1, 2008, and lived for 27 minutes. She was the daughter of Joseph A. and Amy S. Wilson Rutledge. Survivors include her parents; a brother, Christian Bollinger of Union, Mo.; a sister, Lorraine Rutledge of Booneville, Miss.; a paternal grandmother, Gayle Akin of Houston; a paternal grandfather, Buddy Rutledge of Westville, Okla.; and a maternal grandmother, Marian A. ...

NEW YORK -- Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, struggling to hold together the troubled world Anglican family, urged church leaders gathered Sunday in England not to consecrate another gay bishop, saying the fellowship will be in "grave peril" without a moratorium...

A kickoff ceremony held recently at the Little Country Store, near Procter & Gamble at 7742 Highway 177 in Jackson, made Can-Power '08 an official food drive site that will collect any nonperishable food goods from now until Dec. 31. A goal of 15,000 cans has been set. There is also a collection box at the sponsor's location, Cape Manpower Branch Office, 909 Beavercreek Drive, Cape Girardeau, off Mount Auburn Road...

BAGHDAD -- Despite intense U.S. pressure, Iraqi leaders failed Sunday to resolve differences over how to govern the oil-rich city of Kirkuk -- a dispute that is blocking provincial elections and stoking tension in the volatile north. Parliament had called a special session Sunday to try to reach agreement on a bill authorizing elections in all 18 Iraqi provinces -- a move the United States considers essential to reconciling Iraq's rival ethnic and religious communities...

BEIJING -- Like everything else done for the Olympics, China's quest to clear up notoriously polluted skies in time for opening ceremonies this week has been marked by gargantuan effort. In what scientists are calling the single largest attempt ever made to improve air quality, scores of heavily polluting factories were shut down and some 2 million vehicles were pulled off roads across Beijing and a huge swath of northern China -- an area roughly the size of Alaska. ...

For those who have any spare time this evening, it's a good chance to visit city hall. Cape Girardeau's city council meets for a study session at 5 p.m.; Jackson's board of aldermen meets at 7:30 p.m.; the Scott City council meets at 7 p.m. Scott City councilman Norman Brant said he'll be talking about a proposal to reopen a quarry near Rock Levee Road...

PRINCETON, Ky. -- Volunteers armed with paintbrushes have transformed the heart of a small western Kentucky town once littered with vacant buildings. A city official's simple idea to revitalize Princeton's long-dead downtown has attracted new business and accolades from the state...

The Cape Girardeau area River Heritage Quilters Guild, founded in 1989 and 125 members strong, has been selected as a semifinalist in the upcoming international American Quilter's Society Quilt Expo and contest at Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville, Tenn. The event is Aug. 20 to 23 and usually attracts 25,000 people each year...

Cape Girardeau's Habitat for Humanity volunteers hope to achieve in five years what previously took 25 years to do. Their mission may seem impossible, but Cape Area Habitat for Humanity believes a goal of building 25 homes in Cape Girardeau and other nearby communities by 2011 is achievable. Before 2007, the organization had built an average of one house per year...

David Fiedler, son of Leonard and Janet Lorberg Fiedler of Shawneetown, will present a lecture on his first book, "The Enemy Among Us: POWS in Missouri During World War II" at 7 p.m. Aug. 13 at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells. Fiedler has written for the Associated Press, The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times Syndicate...

DEXTER, Mo. — A Dexter man was severely injured Friday when a lawn tractor he was driving pulled into the path of a pickup truck on Route AD near Dexter, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.The driver of the tractor, 34-year-old Michael L. ...

For nearly 20 years, Cape Girardeau County's recorder of deeds, Janet Robert, hesitated to take a vacation. She said she couldn't find a state law that explained how much, if any, time off was appropriate for elected county officials. Robert, now in her 31st year on the job, said she has in recent years used her best judgment. More likely than not, she's at her office in the county administration building...

The National Weather Service issued a heat advisory this morning for all of Southeast Missouri and the surrounding region.The advisory is in effect until 6 p.m. today, as temperatures in the mid- to high 90s will combine with high humidity to push the heat index, a measurement of what the temperature feels like outside, near or over 105 degrees in most areas.Tuesday's conditions will be similar, which might lead to another heat advisory.At 10:53 a.m., the temperature at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport was 85 degrees, with a heat index of 90, according to National Weather Service measurements. ...

Tickets are now on sale for national recording artist Rick Springfield's solo acoustic benefit concert Oct. 4 at Buckner Brewing Company in Cape Girardeau. All proceeds from the event will go to Mississippi Valley Therapeutic Horsemanship, an organization providing horse-related opportunities for people with disabilities in Southeast Missouri...

Cape Girardeau County's deputy auditors are in a position to file a lawsuit against their employer. But the women, Virgie Koeppel and Beth Biri, say they won't file one. During the Cape Girardeau County Commission meeting Monday morning Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle and a consulting attorney, Diane Howard -- considered a specialist in sexual harassment cases -- told commissioners that the women could have a valid complaint...

PERRY COUNTY, Mo. — Missouri Department of Transportation crews will conduct routine inspection on the Highway 51 bridge from Missouri to Chester, Ill., resulting in one-lane traffic for motorists through most of August. Crews will work 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Aug. 29...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Two Missouri Lotto players will share a jackpot worth $4.9 million. The Missouri Lottery says one ticket was sold at Apple Market in Kansas City, the other at Amvets 48, in De Soto. Neither prize has been claimed. The tickets were for Saturday's jackpot...

HANNIBAL, Mo. (AP) -- Boaters will soon be returning to Mark Twain Lake. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said it plans to reopen the lake to boaters Monday afternoon with some restrictions. For example, boating will be restricted to daylight hours and prohibited within 1,000 feet of the front of Clarence Cannon Dam...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Pentagon officials say a soldier from Steelville, Mo., has died in Iraq. Killed Saturday was 21-year-old Specialist Kevin R. Dickson. He was with the Army's 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) out of Fort Carson, Colo. The Army is investigating the incident, which occurred in Balad, Iraq...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — At cattle yards and courthouses, Republican gubernatorial candidates Sarah Steelman and Kenny Hulshof sprang from the southwest corner across the rest of the state in a final push toward Tuesday’s primary election...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Republican gubernatorial candidates Kenny Hulshof and Sarah Steelman both are springing from southwest Missouri in their final campaign push. Steelman and Hulshof both were beginning Monday with events in Springfield before heading over to the Joplin area...

WARRENTON, Mo. (AP) — For the second time in two days, a worker at an exotic animal facility in Missouri is injured in a tiger attack. The latest incident happened Monday at Predator World in Branson West. Stone County Sheriff Richard Hill says the attack happened after the 16-year-old worker entered a cage to take a photo for a customer and was attacked by three tigers. The teen is in critical condition...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- A St. Louis man is dead and a teenager is in custody after a shooting over a cheeseburger. The victim is 26-year-old Carl Sharp. The name of the 16-year-old suspect has not been released. Police say Sharp returned home around 12:30 a.m. Sunday after purchasing three cheeseburgers at a Rally's restaurant. The suspect apparently became angry because he had requested two burgers, not three, and an argument began...

CAMPBELL, Mo. -- Authorities continue to investigate a two-vehicle collision that shut down Highway 53 for seven hours Thursday evening. The crash happened about 5:30 p.m. on Highway 53, about four miles north of Campbell, when Jonathon Bartholomew, 22, of Kennett, Mo., and his estranged wife, Crystal Bartholomew, 22, were southbound on Highway 53, said Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Dale Moreland...

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -- A central Missouri funeral home accused of mishandling bodies has a recent history of financial trouble that includes an attempt to declare bankruptcy. Court records show that the Warren Funeral Home filed for federal bankruptcy protection in 2006 before the case was voluntarily dismissed one year later...

Rockland D. Gleason, 60, of Whitewater, faces a charge of first-degree statutory sodomy after allegedly molesting a girl under the age of 14. The sexual assault was reported by the victim's parents on Friday, after the child told another family member about the incident involving Gleason, according to a probable cause statement signed by detective Jamie Malugen of the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department...

The formula is pretty familiar by now in these Judd Apatow-produced comedies. A couple of buddies get into trouble, and as they try to bumble their way out of it, their friendship only grows stronger. Some clever linguistics guru somewhere even came up with a word for this pop-culture phenomenon: the "Bromance."...

REPUBLIC, Mo. (AP) -- Police are investigating the fatal shooting of a former Republic alderman at a city park. Police Chief Mark F. Lowe says 28-year-old Joshua Morris died in a Springfield hospital Sunday after suffering a single gunshot wound at J.R. Martin Park in Republic...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A Cole County judge has decided to hear testimony from witnesses in the case of Joshua C. Kezer, a man serving a 60-year sentence for the second-degree murder of Angela Mischelle Lawless. Cole County Circuit Judge Richard G. Callahan granted an evidentiary hearing, essentially a court trial, in the habeus motion Kezer's attorneys filed in April alleging that Kezer, 33, was wrongly convicted, Charles Weiss, attorney for Kezer, said Monday...

WARRENTON, Mo. (AP) -- An investigation continues after a tiger attacked a volunteer at a Missouri exotic animal farm. The incident happened Sunday at the Wesa-A-Geh-Ya (WAY'-suh ah GEE'-yah) farm in Warren County. Authorities believe the 800-pound tiger jumped a fence before it mauled a volunteer. The 26-year-old victim had surgery on his lower leg and is expected to recover...

Her life came down to a choice: Die or change. For the last six years, Susan Smithhad left her job as a cosmetologist each night, gone to her dope man and handed over $200 to $300 to feed the monster. That beast threatening to consume her life, the one she thought she'd vanquished 18 years earlier. Change of circumstances, one small temptation, and the monster had reared more powerful, and cast its massive shadow over her life...