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BREAKING - Charges filed against MasseyCharges were filed this morning against Donald Massey for involuntary manslaughter in connection with the Jan. 18 shooting death of Eugene Koester. He has not yet been served with the warrant. A coroner’s jury on Friday found the death was a felony act.
Police seize cash, drugs while executing search warrants
FARMINGTON — A drug case which started with a traffic stop has resulted in three search warrants being served and thousands of dollars in cash and illegal drugs being confiscated.
Central adopts random drug testing policyPARK HILLS — The Central School District now has a drug testing policy in place for students. The school board voted on Monday to adopt a new policy that calls for random drug testing of high school and middle school students.
VarVera withdraws name from electionSt. Francois County Clerk Mark Hedrick announced at 10 a.m. today that County Commissioner Ron VarVera has withdrawn as a candidate.
Police seek drive-off thiefFARMINGTON — Forget bank robberies, jewelry store heists or siphoning off anhydrous ammonia from farm tanks for making methamphetamine. These days it’s gasoline and diesel fuel that thieves want.
Challenger baseball hits a home runJoshua Johnson, Ste. Genevieve, traded his white cane for a baseball bat Saturday and the chance to hear the roar of the crowd.
Board approves bid for soccer fieldDESLOGE — The Desloge Board of Aldermen took a step forward Monday to get a new soccer field. The board reviewed five bids for the preparation of the field. A bid for $71,580 from King’s Construction was approved.
More Local Headlines...State & Regional
Man accused of using iron to beat another man
BELLEVILLE, Ill. (AP) -- A Belleville man is being jailed on $75,000 bond on charges that he beat another man with an iron....
Violent day in St. Louis leaves 5 dead
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Five people are dead after a day of violence in St. Louis....
Mo. House votes to block Revenue Dept. fee increases
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- House members have voted overwhelmingly to block a large state fee increase charged to businesses seeking vehicle and driver's license records....
Blues sign top picks from 2007, 2005
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- The St. Louis Blues on Tuesday signed a pair of first-round picks from recent drafts, forwards T.J. Oshie and Lars Eller....
KC crash kills mother, daughter
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Kansas City police have identified a mother and her daughter who were killed Monday when their car apparently was struck by a sport utility vehicle that was fleeing officers....
Top AP News
Death toll in China earthquake exceeds 12,000
MIANYANG, China (AP) -- The toll of the dead and missing soared as rescue workers dug through flattened schools and homes on Tuesday in a desperate attempt to find survivors of China's worst earthquake in three decades....
Now the underdog, Clinton looks for win in W.Va.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- Hillary Rodham Clinton collided with Barack Obama in the West Virginia primary on Tuesday, persisting in the Democratic presidential race despite dwindling odds and a lengthening delegate deficit....
Senate votes to halt oil reserve shipments
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Senate, in a direct challenge to President Bush, voted Tuesday to temporarily halt the shipment of thousands of barrels of oil a day into the government's emergency reserve. Both Democrats and Republicans said such shipments make no sense when oil is costing more than $120 a barrel and could better be used to add supplies to a tight market and possibly lower prices....
Bombs kill 60 and wound 150 in western India
JAIPUR, India (AP) -- Bombs ripped through crowded parts of this ancient city in western India on Tuesday, killing 60 people and wounding 150, police said. The seven explosions in Jaipur took place in markets and several other areas of the city in Rajasthan, a region dotted with palaces and temples that draws hundreds of thousands of tourists every year, said A.S. Gill, the state's police chief....
Pastor Hagee apologizes for anti-Catholic remarks
WASHINGTON (AP) -- John Hagee, an influential Texas televangelist who endorsed John McCain, apologized to Catholics Tuesday for his stinging criticism of the Roman Catholic Church and for having "emphasized the darkest chapters in the history of Catholic and Protestant relations with the Jews."...
US National
Officials say no to rebuilding in tornado-ravaged Okla. town
PICHER, Okla. (AP) -- No government money will be awarded for rebuilding any of the 100 homes leveled by a deadly tornado that tore through one of the nation's most polluted areas, state and federal officials said Tuesday on a tour of the region....
Anonymous rape tests are going nationwide
ELKTON, Md. (AP) -- Starting next year across the country, rape victims too afraid or too ashamed to go to police can undergo an emergency-room forensic rape exam, and the evidence gathered will be kept on file in a sealed envelope in case they decide to press charges....
Detroit City Council moves toward ousting mayor
DETROIT (AP) -- The City Council narrowly approved taking the first step Tuesday toward removing Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who is charged with perjury over explicit text messages sent to a former aide....
Sect mother of newborn not a minor, Texas concedes
SAN ANGELO, Texas (AP) -- Texas child welfare officials say the member of a polygamist sect who gave birth last month is not a minor as they had said previously....
Fla. wildfires hit 100 homes; arsonists sought
PALM BAY, Fla. (AP) -- Investigators searched Tuesday for one or more arsonists behind a string of stubborn wildfires that have destroyed or damaged about 100 homes on Florida's Atlantic coast....
World
US military deaths in Iraq war at 4,076
As of Monday, May 12, 2008, at least 4,076 members of the U.S. military have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count....
US military orders court-martial for contractor in Iraq
BAGHDAD (AP) -- The U.S. military on Sunday ordered a court-martial for a civilian contractor charged with aggravated assault while working as an Army translator in Iraq - the first such military prosecution since the Vietnam War....
US says 4 killed in anti-al-Qaida attack in Iraq
BAGHDAD (AP) -- Four people, including a woman and a child, have been killed in an operation against al-Qaida near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, the U.S. military said Sunday....
Iraq: US soldier dies
BAGHDAD (AP) -- The U.S. military says an American soldier has died in a vehicle accident near al-Asad....
Cleric's aide says Shiites agree to cease-fire in Sadr City
BAGHDAD (AP) -- An aide to a radical Shiite cleric says extremists have agreed to a cease-fire in Sadr City....
Washington
Glance: A cost breakdown of farm bill programs
Domestic nutrition programs make up the largest portion of the estimated $300 billion farm bill. Crop subsidies make up roughly 14 percent, foreign food aid less than one percent....
Senate: Let first responders unionize
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Senate on Tuesday gave preliminary approval to a bill that would give police officers, firefighters and other first responders the right to unionize but take away their ability to go on strike....
Farm bill has little aid for needy children abroad
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A five-year farm bill in Congress this week does little to address the growing global food crisis. Instead, it diverts money that could be spent feeding poor children abroad to give more subsidies for U.S. farmers now enjoying record high crop prices and incomes....
US slashes reward for al-Qaida Iraq leader
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Bush administration has slashed its reward for the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq from $5 million to $100,000 because it feels he's lost effectiveness and is no longer worth such a steep price, officials said Tuesday....
Senate votes to halt oil reserve shipments
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Senate, in a direct challenge to President Bush, voted Tuesday to temporarily halt the shipment of thousands of barrels of oil a day into the government's emergency reserve. Both Democrats and Republicans said such shipments make no sense when oil is costing more than $120 a barrel and could better be used to add supplies to a tight market and possibly lower prices....
Business & Finance
Bush administration rules limit lawsuits
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Faced with an unfriendly Congress, the Bush administration has found another, quieter way to make it more difficult for consumers to sue businesses over faulty products. It's rewriting the bureaucratic rulebook....
Fewer fliers for summer, but packed planes persist
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Fewer Americans are expected to fly this summer, but don't expect more empty seats as carriers park planes to help offset surging fuel costs....
Iran report pushes oil to new record, gas jumps above $3.73
NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil prices shot to a new record near $127 a barrel Tuesday on concerns that Iran may consider cutting crude oil production. Gas prices, meanwhile, rose to a new record over $3.73 a gallon Tuesday, and their advance shows little sign of slowing with Memorial Day weekend, the traditional start of the summer driving season, just 10 days away....
Gold futures drop after dollar gains against euro
NEW YORK (AP) -- Gold prices fell sharply Tuesday after the dollar gained some muscle against the euro, weakening the appeal of precious metals as an inflation hedge....
Shorter men finding new options in suits, clothing
NEW YORK (AP) -- Finding a suit that fits is getting easier for the shorter man....
Health
Study: Older brains don't benefit from painkillers
CHICAGO (AP) -- Results from a large government experiment are dimming hopes that two common painkillers can prevent Alzheimer's disease or slow mental decline in older people....
Nagging via text messages to help teens remember meds
WASHINGTON (AP) -- 4gt yr meds? Getting kids to remember their medicine may be a text message away. Cincinnati doctors are experimenting with texting to tackle a big problem: Tweens and teens too often do a lousy job of controlling chronic illnesses like asthma, diabetes or kidney disease....
Exercise may protect girls from future breast cancer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Get your daughters off the couch: New research shows exercise during the teen years - starting as young as age 12 - can help protect girls from breast cancer when they're grown....
All poultry in Seoul killed after bird flu outbreak
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- South Korean officials said Monday they have killed all poultry in Seoul, the capital, to curb the spread of bird flu following a new outbreak of the disease in the city....
Families make case for vaccine link to autism
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Parents claiming that childhood vaccines cause autism should not be rewarded by the courts when the scientific community has already rejected any link, government lawyers argued Monday on the first day of a hearing in federal court....
Science
Israel Museum puts Dead Sea scroll on rare display
JERUSALEM (AP) -- One of the most important Dead Sea scrolls is going on display in Jerusalem this week - more than four decades after it was last seen by the public. The 24-foot scroll with the text of the Bible's Book of Isaiah had been in a dark, temperature-controlled room at the Israel Museum since 1967. It went on display two years earlier, but curators replaced it with a facsimile after noticing new cracks in the calfskin parchment....
Vatican: It's OK to believe in aliens
VATICAN CITY (AP) -- Believing that the universe may contain alien life does not contradict a faith in God, the Vatican's chief astronomer said in an interview published Tuesday....
NOAA chief urges creating National Climate Service
WASHINGTON (AP) -- With concerns about global warming rising along with the planet's temperature, the head of the federal agency in change of weather research and forecasting is proposing creation of a new National Climate Service....
Use of wind energy expected to grow dramatically
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Two decades from now Americans could get as much electricity from windmills as from nuclear power plants, according to a government report that lays out a possible plan for wind energy growth....
Genetically modified human embryo stirs criticism
NEW YORK (AP) -- News that scientists have for the first time genetically altered a human embryo is drawing fire from some watchdog groups that say it's a step toward creating "designer babies."...
Strange
Man says JetBlue made him sit on toilet
NEW YORK (AP) -- A New York City man is suing JetBlue Airways Corp. for more than $2 million because he says a pilot made him give up his seat to a flight attendant and sit on the toilet for more than three hours on a flight from California....
'Darth Vader' spared jail in Jedi church attacks
HOLYHEAD, Wales (AP) -- A man who dressed up as Darth Vader, wearing a garbage bag for a cape, and assaulted the founders of a group calling itself the Jedi church was given a suspended sentence Tuesday....
Australian fined for buckling in beer, not child
DARWIN, Australia (AP) -- An Australian man has been fined after buckling in a case of beer with a seat belt but leaving a 5-year-old child to sit on the car's floor, police said Tuesday....
Man accused of handing pot to court security
CLEVELAND, Tenn. (AP) -- A man was arrested after pulling marijuana from his pocket at a security check at a court. The man was visiting the courts section of the Bradley County Justice Center on Monday when he was asked to empty his pockets into a plastic bowl, a standard procedure....
Cape parishioners subdue would-be church robber
BARNSTABLE, Mass. (AP) -- Police in Massachusetts say churchgoers in a Cape Cod town tackled a would-be robber who tried to steal a collection box during a service....
Technology
Sale to HP will end EDS independence
PLANO, Texas (AP) -- Eight months into his tenure as CEO of Electronic Data Systems Corp., Ronald Rittenmeyer is overseeing the sale of the company, something he says he never planned....
Apple now sells HBO shows on iTunes store
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Apple Inc. has scooped up Time Warner Inc.'s HBO to feed television shows to its online iTunes store, reeling in one of the last holdouts among major channels and agreeing to a rare pricing concession to land hit shows like "The Sopranos," "Sex and the City" and "The Wire."...
Craigslist countersues eBay, saying it's competing illegally
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- Craigslist is countersuing its minority owner, eBay Inc., alleging it is competing illegally, infringing on their trademark and breaching its duty to shareholders....
Circuit City wants out of digital TV fines
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Federal regulators should throw out fines imposed against Circuit City Stores Inc. for violating rules regarding next year's switch from analog to digital television, the consumer electronics retailer said in a filing Tuesday....
Wireless patient devices at risk from proposed Internet use
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Losing the audio feed during "Monday Night Football" may seem like a crisis for some sports fan, but it's nothing compared to losing the signal that monitors a critically ill hospital patient....
Weather
Rebuilding unlikely in tornado-ravaged Okla. town
PICHER, Okla. (AP) -- No government money will be awarded for rebuilding any of the 100 homes leveled by a deadly tornado that tore through one of the nation's most polluted areas, state and federal officials said Tuesday on a tour of the region....
Hannah Storm will join ESPN in August
NEW YORK (AP) -- ESPN will add Hannah Storm to its "SportsCenter" lineup in August when it will supplant nine hours of taped programming in favor of live sports news....
Dangers of reporting on Myanmar's cyclone
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- "I can't talk now, I think I'm in danger," a reporter in Myanmar whispered into the phone. Click....
FEMA, EPA visit tornado-ravaged Oklahoma town
PICHER, Okla. (AP) -- The reason most residents of Picher won't be able to rebuild their homes following a massive tornado is plainly visible from most parts of town....
UN chief slams Myanmar junta for slow response
UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon criticized Myanmar's military junta Monday for what he called its "unacceptably slow response" to helping cyclone victims....
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