Stories from Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Southeast Missourian newspaper reporter Marybeth Niederkorn has released her first book — “Times Knew Roamin’” — encompassing more than 35 eclectic pieces of original freeform poetry. “I wanted it to be conversational, to connect with the reader,” Niederkorn said...

The new International Village at Southeast Missouri State University opened its doors recently and offers a space to build community among international students and branch out into the wider community, officials said. Kevin Timlin, executive director of International Education and Services at Southeast, said he is excited to have all of the resources for international students in one place, with room to bring more people together than was previously possible...

Missouri’s rural license offices risk being tagged with financial losses under contracts with the state that could lead to increasing closures of such offices. Without a change in state law, more and more communities could find themselves without a license bureau, state Rep. Rick Francis, R-Perryville, said...

Sue Stanfill never imagined she would write a historical book about murders in Bollinger County. It’s not like it was on her bucket list. “I am an avid genealogy researcher and have been researching for well over 30 years,” said Stanfill, who recently finished “Bollinger County Missouri Murders: 1855-1955” with the help of her cousin, the late Bob Fulton of Patton, Missouri, who died last summer...

Today is Wednesday, Jan. 30, the 30th day of 2019. There are 335 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Jan. 30, 1948, Indian political and spiritual leader Mohandas K. Gandhi, 78, was shot and killed in New Delhi by Nathuram Godse, a Hindu extremist. (Godse and a co-conspirator were later executed.)...

Perhaps it's simplistic to say, but the political struggle currently embroiling our nation is less about policy than it is about differing visions on America's future. It's easy to create heated debate over a border wall or a plan for universal Medicare or radical climate change regulations...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Republican Gov. Mike Parson's proposal to offer scholarships for adults to study high-demand fields received bipartisan pushback from state senators Tuesday. Members of the Senate Education Committee questioned whether a new scholarship is needed, why the state should pay for job training and which programs would be covered...

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- A Mississippi County sheriff's deputy has been elected the new sheriff of the county. Britton Ferrell, who ran on the Republican ticket, defeated his challengers, Brent Douglas, Democrat, and Keith Moore, independent, in the bid for sheriff during Tuesday's special election...

BEIJING -- U.S. criminal charges against Chinese electronics giant Huawei have sparked a fresh round of trans-Pacific recriminations, with Beijing demanding Tuesday that Washington back off what it called an "unreasonable crackdown" on the maker of smartphones and telecom gear...

ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan's top court Tuesday upheld its acquittal of a Christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy, paving the way for Aasia Bibi to leave the country in a blow to radical Islamists who had demanded her execution. Following the landmark decision, Bibi will finally be able to join her daughters, who earlier fled to Canada, where they have been given asylum...

LONDON -- British Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday won a few weeks to salvage a Brexit deal but headed toward a clash with the European Union by promising to overhaul the divorce agreement she spent a year and a half negotiating with the bloc. Trying to break the U.K.'s Brexit deadlock, May got Parliament's backing for a bid to rework an Irish border guarantee in the withdrawal deal -- a provision May and the EU both approved, and which the bloc insists cannot be changed...

NEW YORK -- "VH1 Trailblazer Honors" will pay tribute to Academy Award-nominated director Ava DuVernay to kick off Women's History Month. The 46-year-old's credits includes the films "Selma," "13TH" and "A Wrinkle In Time." The 2018 fantasy movie made her the highest-grossing female black director in domestic box office history...

WASHINGTON -- Roger Stone, a longtime adviser and confidant of President Donald Trump, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to felony charges in the Russia investigation after a publicity-filled few days spent slamming the probe as politically motivated. The political operative and self-described dirty trickster faces charges he lied to lawmakers, engaged in witness tampering and obstructed a congressional investigation into possible coordination between Russia and Trump's 2016 presidential campaign...

WASHINGTON -- A senior Republican lawmaker said Tuesday he plans to investigate price spikes in the cost of insulin for people with diabetes as Congress opened hearings on the high cost of prescription drugs. "I have heard stories about people reducing their life-saving medicines, like insulin, to save money," said Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. "This is unacceptable, and I intend to specifically get to the bottom of the insulin price increase."...

SEATTLE -- The online travel company Expedia and one of its subsidiaries are being sued over an alleged failure to pay overtime to hundreds of customer service representatives across the country. The complaint was filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle on Monday by Laurie Krause of Melbourne, Florida, who has worked for the subsidiary, Egencia LLC, since 2014...

NEW YORK -- The tweet from a group financing development in Latin America was direct: Sodas do not offer beauty or joy, just a lot of sugar. There was one problem for the organization. Coca-Cola was a funder. The Inter-American Development Bank's management told Coke it hadn't been aware of the tweet, and subsequently invited the company to write a blog post explaining how the beverage giant was helping address obesity, according to an email by a Coke executive obtained by The Associated Press through a public records request.. ...

LAS VEGAS -- A high-stakes gambler who rained a hail of gunfire down on a crowd of country music fans, killing 58, took to his grave any specific motive for the 2017 attack, the FBI said Tuesday as it concluded the investigation into the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history...

SAN FRANCISCO -- Faced with potentially ruinous lawsuits over California's recent wildfires, Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. filed for bankruptcy protection Tuesday in a move maybe leading to higher bills for customers of the nation's biggest utility and reduce the size of any payouts to fire victims...

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuela's chief prosecutor Tuesday asked the country's top court to ban opposition leader Juan Guaido from leaving the country, launching a criminal probe into his anti-government activities while international pressure builds against President Nicolas Maduro...

WASHINGTON -- U.S. consumer confidence tumbled this month to its lowest reading in a year and a half, tested by the partial government shutdown and roiling financial markets. Still, consumer spirits remain robust by historic standards. The Conference Board, a business research group, said Tuesday its consumer confidence index fell to 120.2 in January, down from 126.6 in December and the lowest level since July 2017...

Southeast Missouri State University students can graduate without ever taking American history; that concerns some of the university's history professors; but Southeast officials say while it's possible to graduate without having taken American history as a course, all students are exposed to various aspects of American history in the school's University Studies or general education curriculum...

SAN DIEGO -- The Trump administration Tuesday quietly launched an effort to make asylum seekers wait in Mexico while their cases wind through U.S. immigration courts, despite clear reservations and conflicting messages from the Mexican government. The U.S. ...

George Glenn Keeler Jr., 82, of Gordonville passed away Monday, Jan. 28, 2019, at Southeast Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Nov. 13, 1936, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, son of George Glenn and Emma K. Rasberry Keeler Sr. He and Shirley Ryburn were married June 22, 1957. She survives...

ST. CHARLES, Mo. -- Dennis Christian Kassel, 65, passed away Monday, Jan. 28, 2019, in his home, surrounded by his loving family. He was the husband of Diane D. Dye Kassel. They were married July 7, 1979, and were set to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary this coming July...

WASHINGTON -- Wary of reigniting a clash that proved damaging to Republicans, congressional GOP leaders signaled Tuesday they want to de-escalate the battle over President Donald Trump's border wall and suggested they could be flexible as bargainers seek a bipartisan agreement...

BISMARCK, N.D. -- Winter's sharpest bite in years moved past painful into life-threatening territory Tuesday, prompting officials throughout the Midwest to take extraordinary measures to protect the homeless and other vulnerable people from the bitter cold, including turning some city buses into mobile warming shelters in Chicago...

Speak Out has recently received several long comments, including one that was 308 words. Speak Out does not print comments of that length -- or near it. Letters to the editor are limited to 250 words, and we encourage you to submit your more in-depth comments there. Readers also tend to take signed letters more seriously. Thank you...

Lord Jesus, may we share with the world the hope we have through you. Amen.

Son to Thomas and Brittany Thorpe of Cape Girardeau, Southeast Hospital, 4:48 a.m. Friday, Jan. 18, 2019. Name, Thomas Dewey IV. Weight, 7 pounds, 3.6 ounces. First child. Mrs. Thorpe is the daughter of Rita Todd and Geno Baugher of Cape Girardeau and Geraldine and Billy Todd of Cape Girardeau. She works for Comfort Care. Thorpe is the son of Stephanie and Bobby Browner of Piggott, Arkansas, and Thomas and Sherry Thorpe of Gulfport, Mississippi. He is employed by Plaza Tire Service...

Are you an activist? It's a term some embrace; others resist. To me, someone who takes action for social or political change is an activist. Activism is about doing something yourself when you see a need, and not just watching -- or criticizing -- from the sidelines. Some of the people I admire the most are activists: people who seek to change the world for the better through personal commitment and love...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Velda M. Unterreiner, 72, of Perryville died Sunday, Jan. 27, 2019, at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. Visitation will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Young and Sons Funeral Home. Funeral will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at the funeral home, with Deacon Joe Brindley officiating...

The picture spans the sunrise to Adler Planetarium with the Chicago River lock in the foreground. The ice looks like it's on fire from the relative warmth of the underlying water. The lake is frozen and the wind chill is -50 this morning. The wind chill is much lower on the 55th floor from where this picture was taken. The windows are frozen on the inside and the wind is making the building creak...