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A.M. Edition
FRONT PAGE
POPE RESIGNS-LOCAL REAX: Dave Cawthon's reaction was similar to many local Catholics when hearing Monday that Pope Benedict XVI was stepping down. "I don't think anyone expected it," Cawthon said. "I had a feeling of shock, sadness ... and excitement. I'm excited about what changes the new pope might have (in mind)." The 85-year-old German-born pope said he will leave his position Feb. 28. A new pope is expected to be chosen by the end of March. Benedict was the first leader of the 1.2-billion member Roman Catholic Church to abdicate since Celestine V resigned 719 years ago in 1294.
FARM OVERVIEW: When it comes to Midwest weather, there's some truth in the old saying. If you don't like it, just wait five minutes and it will change. Heading into spring planting season, area farmers are more than ready for a change over 2012's hot, dry conditions that hurt both crop and livestock production and continue into this year.
STATE OF UNION: The American public will get a competing mix of rhetoric and imagery in President Barack Obama's State of the Union address, a speech that offers a heavy dose on the economy even as it plays out against a visual backdrop dominated by the current national debate over guns. With the millions still out of work, Obama will make a case for measures and proposals he says will boost job creation and put the economy on a more upward trajectory. Obama's emphasis underscores a White House recognition that while the president seeks to expand his agenda and build a second-term legacy, the economy remains a major public preoccupation.
THE SCOOP
O'BRIEN COLUMN: Today and tomorrow, mailboxes across the nation will be stuffed with the latest edition of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition. After seeing the cover for this year's edition over the weekend, I have to wonder if it won't be delivered with a some kind of protective packaging so that young eyes don't get a full look at what's on the outside. The same thing goes when they hit the news stands. These might have to get the same treatment as Playboy gets.
WORLD/NATION
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT: The Senate is heading toward a strong vote on broadening the reach of the Violence Against Women Act, putting pressure on the GOP-led House to come up with its own version that would be acceptable both to Senate Democrats and to female voters who abandoned Republicans in the November election.
LAPD-REVENGE KILLINGS-ONLY IN HOLLYWOOD: It wounds like the plotline to a movie: He's a former LA cop on a violent, rage-filled rampage who will stop at nothing for revenge. Instead, police say, it's the latest real-life crime story to grip Southern California, a place where fiction frequently blurs with reality and pop culture often plays larger than the truth. It's where fugitive murder suspect Christopher Dorner has gained more than 70 Facebook fan pages and even Charlie Sheen has asked the ex-police officer to give him a call.
COURTHOUSE-SHOTS FIRED: Bill Heriot says he was waiting to enter the New Castle County Courthouse on Monday morning when he saw a heavyset, middle-aged man pull out a semiautomatic pistol and fire a single shot each at two women. Heriot said the shooter then exchanged gunfire with police before falling to the floor. Authorities have not identified the victims, but say the gunman had spent years in custody battles prior to the shooting just as the courthouse was opening to the public.
BUDGET FIGHT: Just about everyone in official Washington is in agreement that big across-the-board spending cuts at the Pentagon and throughout domestic federal programs on March 1 are a bad idea. So far, however, the warring tribes in the nation's capital seem more interested in finger-pointing than problem-solving.
BRIEFLY: North Korea says it successfully detonated a miniaturized nuclear device, defying U.N. Security Council orders to shut down atomic activity or face more sanctions and international isolation; Chuck Hagel -- Republican, twice-wounded Vietnam combat veteran and former Nebraska senator -- faces his first major hurdle in his bid to become the nation's defense secretary as a bitterly divided Senate Armed Services Committee pushes toward a vote on his nomination; Snow-weary Northeasterners still digging out driveways and clearing roads from a weekend storm were hit with potential danger coming from above as well -- roofs collapsing from the weight of snow and ice along with recent rainfall; Rain and thunderstorms are likely to complicate work to clean up the debris strewn across southern Mississippi by a tornado, which left residents marveling that no one died despite the severity of the destruction; Passengers aboard a cruise vessel stranded in the Gulf of Mexico after a weekend engine fire have limited access to bathrooms, food and hot coffee, and a brand new destination: Mobile, Ala.; An ex-Navy SEAL sniper slain earlier this month at a Texas gun range will be buried; US shark attacks hit highest level since 2000, with Florida leading the way.
LOCAL
TRAFFIC COMMISSION: Quincy University has agreed to pay for two flashing pedestrian crossing signs on Chestnut between 18th and 20th Street to warn motorists of pedestrians after a student was hit by a car crossing the street last month. The signs would be similar to ones recently installed by city crews near 10th and Broadway, which Blessing Hospital bought for $3,200.
CITY COUNCIL: The Quincy City Council approved an ordinance Monday night that increased the line item for health insurance offered to aldermen by $14,147. The city now expects to spend $85,647 on health insurance for the City Council this fiscal year. City Comptroller Ann Scott said when she was putting the budget together for the fiscal year, she did not take into account additional family members who were added.
KOSTER PRELIM: A Kalamazoo, Mich., man charged with reckless homicide in the September ATV death of a Quincy woman will stand trial in August after probable cause was found during a preliminary hearing on Monday. Andrew J. Koster, 30, is charged with reckless homicide, aggravated driving under the influence and aggravated reckless driving in connection with the Sept. 14 death of 25-year-old Sarah Birsic near Clayton. He's scheduled to have a pretrial hearing Aug. 2, with the trial beginning Aug. 12 before Judge Alesia McMillen.
CURRICULUM COMMITTEE: The Seven Habits leadership curriculum being used in 28 Adams County schools continues to produce good results, the Quincy School Board's Curriculum Committee heard Monday. George Meyer, a former Quincy school superintendent who played a key role in launching the curriculum in Quincy schools, provided an update on the initiative, saying it is helping to improve test scores and causing fewer disciplinary referrals in schools where the curriculum is taken to heart.
CITY FINANCE: The Quincy Finance Committee recommended that the City Council approve a plan to refinance one bond and one loan in order to save the city more than $210,000.
COUNTY BOARD: Adams County Board members approved bids worth more than $1.2 million for aggregate, bituminous materials and other items for use in building roads.
REGION
AMBULANCE BOARD: Adams County ambulance officials are continuing to prepare for the department to take over billing operations on April 1. Paul Davis, director of the Adams County Ambulance Service, told the Ambulance Board Monday morning that the department's billing service, Intermedix, will provide the county with outstanding account and other data once the contract expires.
CANTON SIDEWALKS: The Missouri Department of Transportation announced on Monday that Canton will receive the funding through the federal Safe Routes to School program. The new ADA accessible sidewalks will begin at Seventh and Nesmith and run along Seventh, White, Sixth and Washington streets and end at the Canton R-V School campus. W.A. Anderson, Canton R-V School superintendent, estimated that a fourth of Canton's students walk to school.
PIKE COUNTY LINCOLN DAY: Sen. Kirk Dillard, R-Hinsdale, will be the keynote speaker at the Lincoln Day event coming to Pittsfield on Monday, Feb. 18.
MEDICAID-CREDIT RATING: Some Missouri lawmakers already hesitant to expand Medicaid now have a new reason to object: the potential effect on the state's debt. Republican members of the Senate Appropriations Committee raised concerns Monday that an expanded Medicaid health care program could hurt the state's stellar credit rating, making it more expensive for Missouri to issue bonds.
WORKPLACE DISCRIMINATION: Republicans are hoping the third time is a charm for a measure a Missouri House committee considered Monday that would make it harder for employees to win lawsuits alleging workplace discrimination. Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon has vetoed similar legislation each of the last two years. But with a veto-proof Republican majority in both legislative chambers, the bill could have a different fate this year.
RENEWABLE ENERGY: Some Missouri environmental groups say the state's major utilities are not following renewable energy requirements. The Columbia Missourian reports that eight environmental advocacy organizations filed complaints with the Missouri Public Service Commission in late January against Ameren Missouri, Empire District Electric Co. and KCP&L.
BRIEFLY: Keokuk Area Hospital has cut almost 8 percent of its full-time jobs. Fitch Healthcare, of Oak Brook, Ill., was hired by the hospital board to help turn around the hospital's finances; A suburban St. Louis couple's $5 million donation to the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine will go toward improving research for drugs used to fight cancer in both animals and people; Former Illinois Congressman Joe Walsh wants to stop making child support payments because he is unemployed; Financial difficulties are leading an eastern Illinois school district, Neoga, to consider firing about a fifth of its teachers; The St. Louis Zoo was a popular spot last year, so attendance figures are up; The lone U.S. adoption agency accredited in Kyrgyzstan is shutting down due to financial troubles, a sudden new setback for about 15 American families battling since 2008 to complete adoptions there.
BUSINESS
FTC-CREDIT REPORT ERRORS: A government study says 20 percent of consumers had an error in a credit report issued by a major agency. The Federal Trade Commission study also says 5 percent of the consumers identified errors in their reports that could lead to them paying more for mortgages, auto loans or other financial products.
CASINO-TV GAMBLING: A New Jersey casino says it will become the first casino in the United States to let hotel guests gamble from their rooms over the TV set. Atlantic City's Borgata will offer its E-Casino to hotel guests starting Feb. 18.
DELL-ACQUISITION: Dell is trying to reassure shareholders about its proposed $24.4 billion acquisition by a group led by its founder, saying it considered a number of strategic options before agreeing to the deal.
BRIEFCASE: Insurer CNA Financial reported a loss for its fourth quarter as it dealt with claims related to Superstorm Sandy; Premium pay TV channel Starz has renewed its agreement to carry movies from Sony Pictures through films hitting theaters in 2021; U.N. agency moves to prevent aircraft batteries like one that caught fire on a Boeing 787 last month from being shipped as cargo on passenger planes; Caterpillar Inc. and police say an explosion at one of the company's southern Illinois sites where mining equipment is repaired left one worker hospitalized and heavily damaged a building.
POLICE
LOTTERY WINNER POISONED: The brother of a Chicago man poisoned with cyanide shortly after winning the lottery said he is the family member who asked authorities to reconsider the initial finding that his sibling had died of natural causes. Imtiaz Kahn said he had nightmares about his brother before his death and that his suspicions about the death lead him to push coroner's officials to conduct more test. Urooj Khan, 46, died July 20 as he was about to collect his $425,000 in Illinois State Lottery winnings.
CHICAGO VIOLENCE: Chicago Police officials say they expected to file murder charges Monday against two young men in the shooting death of a 15-year-old high school student whose death late last month just about a mile from President Barack Obama's home on the city's South Side made national headlines and thrust Chicago to the very center over the debate over gun control.
INTRUDER SHOT: A St. Louis-area woman says she shot and critically wounded an intruder because she thought he would kill her sister.
2009 MURDER-CHARGE: The estranged husband of a woman who was killed in 2009 is charged in her death.
MURDER CHARGE: A report of a northwest Missouri woman committing suicide led to a second-degree murder charge against her husband.
ST LOUIS KILLING-CHARGES: Sentencing will be in May for two men who have admitted to roles in the St. Louis shooting death of a man allegedly lured to Missouri from Texas.
ILLINOIS-CHILDREN DEAD: A judge has ordered a suburban Chicago woman accused of stabbing to death her young son and a girl she was babysitting to provide hair and saliva for DNA testing.
SHAM MARRIAGES-ARRESTS: Two Chicago-area residents have been charged in an alleged scam to arrange fake marriages to thwart immigration laws.
YOUR TOWN
MILLIONTH DONUT: Daybreak Donuts and Diner served its millionth donut on Jan. 30. Since the bakery opened on July 4, 2006, Ross has kept detailed records of how many donuts he cuts each day and what time he sells out each morning. The books shows which town events have boosted his sales. The pages notes the day-to-day weather for nearly seven years and tallies the storms and sunshine that alter his sales.
SPORTS
C-SE MARCHES ON: Big defensive stops help Central-Southeastern upset Pleasant Plains in the sectional semifinals and reach the sectional title game.
UNITY'S RUN ENDS: The Unity girls basketball team ran out of gas in the second half and couldn't make a run at a comeback in losing to Illini Bluffs in the Class 1A sectional semifinals.
GLVC NOTEBOOK: Wisconsin-Parkside is impressing everyone around the GLVC with its solid play.
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