Articles

MORZINE, France — Written off as hopeless just a day earlier, Floyd Landis needed a once-in-a-lifetime ride Thursday to revive his sagging chances of victory in the Tour de France.

KANSAS CITY — The Kansas City Royals took advantage of three errors by the Los Angeles Angels in the sixth inning to score the tie-breaking run and went on to a 9-4 victory Thursday night.

ZURICH, Switzerland — Zinedine Zidane will perform community service as penance for his infamous head butt on Marco Materazzi in the World Cup final.

ST. LOUIS — The governor sent in the National Guard to evacuate people from their sweltering homes Thursday after storms knocked out power to nearly half a million St. Louis-area households and businesses in the middle of a searing heat wave that killed at least 17 people across the country.

As Columbia’s electric system hit a record high of power usage this week, residential and industrial utility customers began reducing their electric consumption to lighten the utility’s load and control power costs.

Describing the University of Missouri System as complex and disjointed but also successful and focused, the system’s curators identified problems to address at the beginning of their retreat Thursday in Kansas City, including the need for a stronger public relations effort.

It’s a symbolic gesture.

JERUSALEM — Israel has decided air power alone will not be enough to drive Hezbollah back from the Israeli-Lebanon border and a ground force will be needed to establish a buffer zone that is at least 20 miles deep, senior military officials said Thursday.

A proposal for a central city grocery store to be located at the corner of Garth Avenue and Sexton Road isn’t dead, but the Planning and Zoning Commission didn’t do it any favors Thursday night.

The Columbia Parks and Recreation Commission made a decision to unleash the hounds at a meeting Thursday night.

INDEPENDENCE — A 92-year-old Independence man may have died from heat-related causes as temperatures soared to triple-digits this week, police said Thursday.

In its first large-scale fundraiser since it opened in September, the Hindu Temple and Community Center of Mid-Missouri will host a morning concert of classical Indian music by singer Sandhya Pandurangi.

JEFFERSON CITY — The Department of Revenue is gearing up to begin trips around the state to help the elderly and disabled obtain state identification cards to vote, as required under a new state law.

There were still puddles from a power washer on the floor of a Douglass Park pavilion where Mary Tyson sat on a picnic bench with four of her grandchildren — Jamika, Jackie, Darnell Jr. and Alexis Fuller, ranging in age from 8 to 13. As soon as the children finished their lunches, they ran off to several activities arranged around the shelter, including crafts with the Girl Scouts.

A teenager in a convenience store asks her father to buy cigarettes for her. The father approaches the cashier, who has overheard the exchange. “I’ve got gas, some soda and I’ll take a pack of Salem’s,” Dad says.

Days before there was a single carnival truck in the vicinity, 9-year-old Ben Wesselmann joined rows of children and parents in line at the Boone County Fairgrounds. But instead of getting ready for the first crack at dizzying rides, they were waiting their chance to compete for ribbons. All of the 13 4-H clubs in the county were represented at the Youth Arts competition Thursday night.