Stories from Thursday, December 29, 2022

Ringing in the new year holds something different for many people. A large gathering of family or friends, or maybe a quiet evening of a couple of friends and playing games or playing cards, or a big supper then off to bed to enjoy black-eyed peas the next day. Whatever your tradition is, I'm sure it will involve some great food...

An ongoing investigation yielded three arrests and the recovery of dangerous narcotics Sunday, Dec. 25, at a convenience store in Scott City. Taylor Pierce and Amanda Birdwell are each charged with two count of first-degree trafficking drugs and felony possession of a controlled substance. Amanda Leimbach is charged with one count of felony first-degree trafficking drugs...

In case you haven't noticed, baby, it's cold outside. Winter is a great excuse to stay cozy indoors. Being averse to temperatures below 60 degrees, I don't need to be told twice. Unfortunately, a book at Barnes & Noble was calling my name, and I figured if I was going outside, I would make the trip worth my while...

Josh McKinney, lead communicator with Cape Girardeau Police Department, was named Employee of the Year during the department's annual Christmas luncheon. ...

A fire early Wednesday, Dec. 28, at Jackson Bowling Lanes prompted numerous area fire departments to respond, getting the blaze under control before sunlight. No one was in the building at the time of the fire. According to a Facebook post from Jackson Fire Rescue, units responded to the scene at 1:30 a.m. ...

DALLAS — Travelers who counted on Southwest Airlines to get them home suffered another wave of canceled flights Wednesday, and pressure grew on the federal government to help customers get reimbursed for unexpected expenses they incurred because of the airline's meltdown...

A Cape Girardeau native, Mike Van de Ven, is among top management of Southwest Airlines — the world's largest low-cost carrier — now under federal government scrutiny because of an estimated 15,700 company flights canceled since wintry weather began to interrupt U.S. air travel one week ago...

Michael Seaman had no intention of becoming an entrepreneur. “That wasn’t in the plan,” he said in a recent interview for B Magazine. “I don’t really like the word ‘entrepreneur’ anyway.” But like it or not, Seaman found entrepreneurial success in 2018 when he and his brother, Stephen, created Swipesum, a service that negotiates contracts between businesses and credit card processors. ...

Today is Thursday, Dec. 29, the 363rd day of 2022. There are two days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Dec. 29, 1845, Texas was admitted as the 28th state. On this date: In 1170, Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was slain in Canterbury Cathedral by knights loyal to King Henry II...

Lead us, O Lord Jesus, in your righteousness that we may glorify you. Amen.

The U.S. teeters on the brink of a complete meltdown at the border, and yet the Biden administration is still consumed with blame-shifting and evasions. Whatever happens at the border must be the fault of the prior administration, Joe Biden's critics, or circumstances beyond anyone's control. And no matter how bad things get, it is definitely not in any way a "crisis at the border" — a phrase as taboo at the Biden White House as "black sheep" or "ladies and gentlemen" at Stanford University...

Rick Vandeven's letter (Dec. 22) described Sen. Thompson-Rehder's and Rep Burger's proposal as "a coordinated attack on our children" and "a shameless attempt to use the law to force archaic religious beliefs on all of us without any concern for the consequences."...

CAPE GIRARDEAU Cape Girardeau Fire Department responded to the following calls. Dec. 27 n Medical assist was made at 8:30 a.m. on North Silver Springs Road. n At 1:02 a.m., fire alarm on North Sprigg Street. n At 7:57 a.m., mutual aid on Rushing Road in Scott City.

Carolyn Joan Warren, 81, of Jackson, formerly of Poplar Bluff, Missouri, passed away Sunday, Dec. 25, 2022, at Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. Carolyn was born March 31, 1941, to Donald and Geneva Johnson Lawson in Neelyville, Missouri. She married Bert Lee Warren Sr. on March 7, 1959, in Poplar Bluff...

Yvonne Wagner, 86, of Cape Girardeau passed away at 6:06 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022, at Poplar Bluff (Missouri) Regional Medical Center. She was born July 9, 1936, to Vero Roy and Elva Hale Guthrie in Alto Pass, Illinois. She worked in child care most of her life, most notably at Kindercare in Cape Girardeau and also Just Kids Childcare in Cape Girardeau. She enjoyed gardening, reading and bird watching...

Scott Tankersley, son of the late, Bobby Gene Tankersley and Wanda Lee Sullivan Tankersley, was born Aug. 27, 1964, and departed his life Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau at the age of 58 years. He was a graduate of Chaffee (Missouri) High School, former chief gun mechanic at Fairfield Industries and a resident of Chaffee...

John Charles Monroe, 73, of Millersville died Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born Sept. 4, 1949, in Cape Girardeau to Esther Stein and John Richard Monroe. He and Debra Propst Monroe were married March 25, 2000, in Millersville...

CARROLLTON, Texas — Jerry Lloyd Matthews, 85, of Carrollton passed away Friday, Dec. 23, 2022. He was born April 19, 1937, to Jewell Womack and Lloyd Matthews in Sikeston, Missouri. He played basketball in high school, graduating from College High School in 1955, and attended Southeast Missouri State University...

Cheryl Lynn Kinder, 58, lost her long battle with autoimmune disease Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born to William Eli Jr. and Jannette Pogue on June 28, 1964, in Jonesboro, Arkansas. She and David Kinder were married Oct. 10, 1987...

LAWNDALE, N.C. — Florence "Kitty" Harris, 77, of Lawndale passed away Sunday, Dec. 25, 2022, at Atrium Health in Shelby, North Carolina. Born Aug. 7, 1945, in Cape Girardeau County, Kitty was the daughter of the late Clarence and Alma Rose Jackson...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Nicholas Alexander Baranovic left this world Sunday, Dec. 11, 2022, in Alexandria. He was 38 years old. Nick grew up in Missouri. He graduated from Jackson High School and Wentworth Military Academy in Lexington, Missouri. Nick joined the U.S. ...

Son to Caleb and Victoria Dienstbach of Cape Girardeau, Southeast Hospital, 11:26 a.m. Monday, Dec. 5, 2022. Name, Carter Gene. Weight, 6 pounds, 11 ounces. Second son. Mrs. Dienstbach is the daughter of David and Annette Schabbing of Cape Girardeau. She is a farmhand at Ramsey Creek Farms. Dienstbach is the son of David and Anna Dienstbach of Cape Girardeau. He is co-owner of Royal Lawns Landscape Management...

NEW YORK -- Long Island prosecutors have launched an investigation into U.S. Rep.-elect George Santos of New York, after revelations surfaced that the now-embattled Republican lied about his heritage, education and professional pedigree as he campaigned for office...

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The National Guard went door to door in parts of Buffalo on Wednesday to check on people who lost power during the area's deadliest winter storm in decades, and authorities faced the tragic possibility of finding more victims amid melting snow...

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- A Delaware trucker described as an architect of the conspiracy to kidnap Michigan's governor was sentenced Wednesday to more than 19 years in prison -- the longest term yet given to anyone convicted in the plot. Prosecutors had sought a life sentence for Barry Croft Jr., 47, who was the fourth and final federal defendant to learn his fate. ...

JERUSALEM -- Benjamin Netanyahu's incoming hard-line Israeli government put West Bank settlement expansion at the top of its priority list on Wednesday, vowing to legalize dozens of illegally built outposts and annex the occupied territory as part of its coalition deal with ultranationalist allies...

KYIV, Ukraine -- France's defense minister on Wednesday pledged further military support for Ukraine, insisting his government's backing is unflagging while efforts are also being made with Moscow to reach an eventual negotiated end to Russia's invasion...

SAN FRANCISCO -- The man who allegedly broke into U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's home and beat her 82-year-old husband in October pleaded not guilty Wednesday to six charges, including attempted murder, prosecutors said. The suspect, David DePape, had planned to kidnap the speaker -- who was in Washington at the time of the attack -- when he broke into the couple's San Francisco home on Oct. ...

The U.S. announced new COVID-19 testing requirements Wednesday for all travelers from China, joining other nations imposing restrictions because of a surge of infections. The increase in cases across China follows the rollback of the nation's strict anti-virus controls. China's "zero COVID" policies had kept the country's infection rate low but fueled public frustration and crushed economic growth...

COTONOU, Benin -- It's been more than a year since jihadis first stormed Igor Kassah's town in northern Benin but the priest still lives in fear. His once peaceful life is now marked by threatening phone calls and Islamic extremist diatribes tacked on church doors demanding that people leave. He is haunted by the bodies he has seen of those killed in the attacks...

WASHINGTON -- A jury convicted Dayonta McClinton of robbing a CVS pharmacy but acquitted him of murder. A judge gave McClinton an extra 13 years in prison for the killing anyway. In courtrooms across America, defendants get additional prison time for crimes that juries found they didn't commit...

KYIV, Ukraine -- Ukraine has bought some 1,400 drones, mostly for reconnaissance, and plans to develop combat models that can attack the exploding drones Russia has used during its invasion of the country, according to the Ukrainian government minister in charge of technology...

TIJUANA, Mexico -- Albert Rivera knows well how dangerous Mexico can be: He sometimes wears a bulletproof vest around the compound of bright yellow buildings that he built into one of the nation's largest migrant shelters. His phone stores more evidence in the form of stomach-churning videos that gangs sent migrants to warn of consequences for disobeying demands. ...

WASHINGTON -- Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot will be asking voters for a second term leading one of the nation's biggest cities. Republicans will try to take full control of the Virginia Legislature. Governors' mansions are up for election in Louisiana and Mississippi, and a Democratic governor in red-state Kentucky will try to hang on for another term...

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI 's health has worsened over the past hours due to advanced age and doctors are constantly monitoring his condition, the Vatican said Wednesday, as Pope Francis appealed to the faithful to pray for his "very ill" predecessor "until the end."...

Local bird watchers were out in the wild this weekend taking part in the annual Christmas Bird Count, a tradition almost a century old; local Christmas bird counters are among more than 45,000 volunteers participating in the National Audubon Society 98th Christmas Bird Count; members of the local Four Seasons Audubon Society will be counting birds over the next three weeks...

For some people, the holiday season is a wonderful time spent with family and friends. It's a time when kids of all ages anticipate the surprises that await them and a celebration of faith for many. For others, it can be a time of increased stress, loneliness and isolation. Many people who start out excited for the season often say they can’t wait for it to be over...

Lead us, O Lord Jesus, in your righteousness that we may glorify you. Amen.

Transgender agenda a threat to Title IX Rick Vandeven's letter (Dec. 22) described Sen. Thompson-Rehder's and Rep Burger's proposal as "a coordinated attack on our children" and "a shameless attempt to use the law to force archaic religious beliefs on all of us without any concern for the consequences."...

The U.S. teeters on the brink of a complete meltdown at the border, and yet the Biden administration is still consumed with blame-shifting and evasions. Whatever happens at the border must be the fault of the prior administration, Joe Biden's critics, or circumstances beyond anyone's control. ...