Stories from Friday, August 7, 2015

CENTENNIAL, Colo. -- Colorado theater shooter James Holmes will be sentenced to life in prison without parole after a jury failed to agree Friday on whether he should get the death penalty for his murderous attack on a packed movie premiere. The nine women and three men said they could not reach a unanimous verdict on each of the murder counts. That automatically eliminates the death penalty for the failed neuroscientist, who blamed his calculated murders of 12 people on mental illness...

Fans of the band Journey will have the opportunity to hear many of its greatest hits at the Absolute Journey Tribute show Aug. 15 at Isle Casino Cape Girardeau. Absolute Journey will perform two shows, at 6 and 8 p.m. The Tribute's lead singer, Riccardo Curzi, is a dead ringer for Journey's lead singer, Steve Perry, in his younger days...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A man prosecutors say admitted while applying for a Missouri State Highway Patrol job he had sexual contact with several underage girls was sentenced Thursday to 20 years in prison. Cedric Lovejoy, 29, of Plato, Missouri, was undergoing a polygraph test in November 2012 when he was asked if he had ever committed any criminal offense...

Mega Millions ticket worth $25M sold in Missouri NOEL, Mo. -- A 60-year-old southwest Missouri man has come forward with a Mega Millions lottery ticket worth $25 million before taxes. The Missouri Lottery announced Thursday that Raul Ahumada of Noel took what he thought was a $25,000 winner to the Lottery's Springfield office Tuesday and learned he was an even bigger winner...

OSAGE BEACH, Mo. -- Authorities say they don't know yet what caused a heavy fire that killed four children in a central Missouri condo earlier this week. The fire swept through the condominium building in Osage Beach late Tuesday, killing four children...

FERGUSON, Mo. -- As the anniversary of Michael Brown's death nears, a Ferguson city councilman says the U.S. Justice Department's proposal to reform policing and municipal courts in Ferguson could bankrupt the St. Louis suburb. Councilman Brian Fletcher didn't say exactly what parts of the plan he and others on the council find unacceptable. ...

A stabbing Wednesday left a Cape Girardeau man with minor injuries. Cape Girardeau police were dispatched to a local hospital about 4 p.m. Wednesday for a report of a stabbing, Sgt. Adam Glueck of the Cape Girardeau Police Department said. Police made contact with the victim, a 29-year-old Cape Girardeau resident who said he was attempting to break up a fight outside of a Cape Girardeau residence when one of the subjects cut him with a knife...

A Sparta, Illinois, man charged with forgery and theft in Missouri has been sentenced after a plea deal. Judge Benjamin Lewis in July placed John C. Jeffers, 37, on five years' probation with a suspended imposition of sentence on two counts of felony forgery, and ordered him to pay restitution in the amount of $35,827.07, court documents show. Jeffers also must maintain care with a mental-health provider and pay court costs...

The Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission and Missouri Department of Public Safety will be updating the law-enforcement training standards in Missouri, thanks to a directive from Gov. Jay Nixon. Nixon directed them to set forth new rules improving access to effective and ongoing tactical training and training in fair and impartial policing and the health and well-being of officers, according to a news release from Nixon's office. The new standards are due Dec. 1...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A Missouri agency has no plans to recover what a state audit described as more than $1.5 million in overpayments for an early childhood development program, according to a follow-up review released Thursday. A state fund for support services for young children received the lowest possible rating in a February audit. Of four changes recommended in that report, none has been fully implemented, a follow-up review noted...

The conclusion of Cape Splash's fifth season represents one of the Cape Girardeau water park's most successful summers. Although the opening was delayed, the completion of the new speed slides and mat racer was the main driver behind the uptick in visitors this year...

CLEVELAND -- A combative Donald Trump, the billionaire businessman-turned-presidential candidate, jolted the first Republican debate of the 2016 campaign by warning he might run as an independent if denied the GOP nomination. His startling declaration left his onstage rivals scrambling to compete for attention the rest of the night...

The Robinsons of Pinhook, Missouri, gathered for lunch Thursday afternoon at their regular spot, Vine's Custom Meats near East Prairie, Missouri. Aretha Robinson sat quietly at the head of one table with her daughters LaToya Robinson-Tate and Debra Tarver, both grown now and compulsive huggers. Brothers David and Reginald sat at another table, laughing with some other locals...

Junior transfer Tay Bender and senior Alex Niznak are battling to replace former starting quarterback Kyle Snyder.

U.S. Rep. Jason Smith's visit earlier this week to view flood damage in the Bootheel left the congressman no doubt a controversial project designed to stop the Mississippi River from inundating Southeast Missouri's St. Johns Bayou and farmland in the New Madrid Floodway needs to go forward, despite some recent pushback from environmental groups and lawmakers in neighboring states...

Cape Girardeau Roller Girls to Take on Roughneck Roller Derby August 15th! Saturday, August 15th, come check out live roller derby action at the A.C. Brase Arena as the Cape Girardeau Roller Girls hit the track to take on Roughneck Roller Derby from Tulsa, OK...for the very first time ever! Count on an exciting game full of hard hits and fast action as these two teams fight for the win. ...

Today is Friday, August 7, the 219th day of 2015. There are 146 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On August 7, 1782, Gen. George Washington created the Order of the Purple Heart, a decoration to recognize merit in enlisted men and noncommissioned officers...

This will be a busy weekend for shopping in Missouri. It's the last weekend before school starts, and also the annual back-to-school shopping sales tax holiday. According to a recent article by Erin Ragan, most area cities, including Jackson and Sikeston, have opted to participate in the holiday, meaning city sales taxes will be dropped for school-relaed purchases. ...

Columnist Mona Charen recently asked in her column if Jewish Democrats will sink the nuclear deal with Iran. No. I like distinguished author and columnist David Limbaugh. However, Mr. Limbaugh recently endorsed a book by a man by the name of Mark Levin, one who is often referred to (probably by himself) as The Great One. ...

ST. LOUIS -- Just when he was starting to fully appreciate football, St. Louis Rams wide receiver Brian Quick almost had it taken away from him. Quick was sidelined after seven games last season with a broken collarbone. The injury was so severe that Quick's future was in doubt...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Missouri has a few weeks to cultivate pass catching options for Maty Mauk. The junior senior quarterback completed just 53 percent of his passes last year for the two-time defending SEC East champions. In the Tigers' drive for a three-peat, which began with the first fall practice on Thursday, a lack of experience at wide receiver is perhaps the biggest question...

Dr. M. Marguerite Fuller of Cape Girardeau, 88, a prominent physician here 58 years and the first woman to receive the Golden Deeds Award, died yesterday at the Lutheran Home; after graduating from the Kirksville (Missouri) College of Osteopathic Medicine, Fuller came to Cape Girardeau in 1924 as an associate with the late Dr. Anita Bohnsack...

The Jackson Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. n Jeffery D. Murry, 30, 426 East Lane, No. 1, was arrested on a Cape Girardeau County warrant. n Thefts were reported in the 700 block of West Washington Street, the 100 block of North Shawnee Boulevard and the 900 block of Gerald Street...

The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. n Michael S. Bowman, 34, 204 Sioux Lane, was arrested on a Jackson warrant for failure to appear for a traffic violation. n Meaghan R. Tate, 24, 230 Good Hope St., No. 3, was arrested on a Jackson warrant for failure to appear for driving while revoked/suspended...

Richard Clark Patterson, 65, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, Aug. 3, 2015, at Saint Francis Medical Center. Visitation will be from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home. A graveside service will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at Lorimier Cemetery, with Elder Athisha King officiating...

NEW YORK -- Jon Stewart said an emotional goodbye Thursday after 16 years on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" that established him as America's foremost satirist of politicians and the media. Those who scored a ticket to the 6 p.m. taping said they were sworn to secrecy about the details of Stewart's final show, which brought together "Daily Show" alumni and staff. Stephen Colbert was there. Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band played a set...

An exhibit of artwork completed by students of the Summer Art Academy at Southeast Missouri State University will be featured. Students range in age from 6 to adult, and their artwork incorporates many different media, techniques and experiences. More than 120 students participated in the workshops...

The Southeast Missouri Modelers Association will host Cape Fly Hi from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday in Galaxy Park, 441 Gizmo Lane in Cape Girardeau. The public is invited to fly radio-controlled aircraft with association members. The free event is weather permitting. More information is available by calling (573) 334-4706 or (573) 803-8490...

The Arts Council of Southeast Missouri, 32 N. Main St. in Cape Girardeau, will host the third annual Member's Exhibit in September. The show is open to all members of the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri age 18 years and older. Three cash awards will be selected Sept. 4 by Angela Walleman, vice president of Best of Missouri Hands. To read about the exhibit's details, visit capearts.org/MembersShow.aspx. To become a member of the Arts Council, click on capearts.org/BecomeAMember.aspx...

Jewels Norman of East Prairie, Missouri, submitted this photo of her tattoo by artist Erin Thurman. "It reminds me that God is with me no matter what, and reminds me to think over before I do things," she said. (Photo submitted by Jewels Norman) To submit a tattoo, visit www.semissourian.com/forms/tattoo...

The Arts Council of Southeast Missouri is kicking off a new speaker series, and it's one that is sure to catch the attention of people interested in controversial subjects pertaining to art. The point of the series is to offer the community something different and provocative, said Joni Hand, who participated in planning the series with members of the Arts Council...

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- The Malaysian government was certain: The airplane part found on an Indian Ocean island came from Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. Investigators in France weren't so sure quite yet. Those differing approaches created confusion and anguish Thursday for the families of those aboard the ill-fated flight...

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Puerto Ricans are learning to live without water on an island that already was suffering an economic crisis. A severe drought is forcing businesses to close temporarily, public schools to cancel breakfast service and people to find creative ways to stay clean amid sweltering temperatures...

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- An allegedly new Islamic State affiliate in Saudi Arabia claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing Thursday at a mosque inside a police compound in the country's southwest that killed at least 15 people, most of them members and recruits of the kingdom's special forces...

ISMAILIA, Egypt -- In a defining moment of his young presidency, Egypt's Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi presided Thursday over the unveiling of a major extension of the Suez Canal he hailed as a historic feat needed to revive the country's ailing economy after years of unrest...

DETROIT -- When researchers at two West Coast universities took control of a General Motors car through cellular and Bluetooth connections in 2010, they startled the auto industry by exposing a glaring security gap. Five years later, two friendly hackers sitting on a living-room couch used a laptop computer to commandeer a Jeep from afar over the Internet, demonstrating an even scarier vulnerability...

BOSTON -- Muslim groups and civil-rights activists across the nation on Thursday called for greater transparency in a program by President Barack Obama's administration that is aimed at countering homegrown terrorism. Organizers, including representatives from the American Civil Liberties Union and the Council on American-Islamic Relations, spoke out at events in Boston, Los Angeles and Minneapolis, the three cities where the Countering Violent Extremism program is being piloted...

CENTENNIAL, Colo. -- Marcus Weaver spent nearly three years talking openly about forgiving the man who shot him, killed his friend and caused untold suffering. As a Christian opposed to capital punishment, he considered forgiveness "a no-brainer" and didn't want to see the gunman executed...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The homeless man who attacked a movie theater with a pellet gun, an ax and pepper spray also had a propane tank and lighter fluid and may have been planning to set off an explosion, authorities said Thursday. Vincente David Montano, 29, was shot to death by a SWAT unit Wednesday during the matinee showing of "Mad Max: Fury Road" at a Nashville-area multiplex...

WASHINGTON -- Marking the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, President Barack Obama remembered the African-American men and women across the South who won their rights through persistence and courage, and he urged citizens today not to give up that hard-earned power of the ballot...

SANTA ANA, Calif. -- A man who claimed to be Tarzan has been arrested after he allegedly climbed a tree and tried to get into the monkey exhibit at a Southern California zoo. A zookeeper called 911 Tuesday morning to report a shirtless man plastered in mud had climbed about 20 feet into a tree at the bird exhibit at the Santa Ana Zoo. Police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said the man, who apparently was high on methamphetamine, claimed he was Tarzan and tried to crawl into a monkey exhibit...

BALTIMORE -- Investigations launched by three agencies into a psychological firm tasked with assessing the mental health of Baltimore's police, including an officer charged in the death of Freddie Gray, are raising questions about whether officers are screened adequately for psychological issues before being placed on active duty...

HIROSHIMA, Japan -- Japan marked the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on Thursday, with Mayor Kazumi Matsui renewing calls for U.S. President Barack Obama and other world leaders to step up efforts toward making a nuclear-weapons-free world...

CINCINNATI -- The mound was slippery, the rain was steady, the bullpen was exhausted. Michael Wacha overcame all of it for another win. Wacha gave St. Louis' tired bullpen a respite by throwing seven innings in the rain Thursday, and the Cardinals pulled away to a 3-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds, taking yet another series from their NL Central rival...

O Lord, we seek your face and ask for your divine blessing on our lives. Amen.