Rose's Blog

(Jefferson City, MO) -- The Missouri Health Department says a man in the state has died from rabies.  It has been more than four decades since a similar case was recorded.

The Department of Health and Senior Services says a 55-year old man from southern missouri was bitten on the ear by a bat in mid-October. 

The man's name and hometown were not made public for privacy reasons.

According to the department, the man did not seek treatment until he started showing symptoms in November. He died on November 30.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Mayor Mark Funkhouser and his wife, Gloria Squitiro, were recently interviewed by ABC's "Good Morning America."

 

Funkhouser and his wife invited the GMA crew to their home and sat down for an interview on Monday.

 

The controversy surrounding the mayor is well known in Kansas City, but is just starting to get national attention. Last week, there was an article on Funkhouser and his wife in the Wall Street Journal. National Public Radio has also broadcast the story.

 

The issue came to light when a former mayoral aide sued Funkhouser, Squitiro and the city, claiming racial and sexual harassment. The aide, Ruth Bates, who is black, claimed that Squitiro, who is white, called her "mammy."

 

After the lawsuit was filed, the City Council passed an ordinance banning volunteers from working for relatives in City Hall. Funkhouser vetoed the ordinance, claiming it was directed solely at his wife. The City Council overrode the veto, and Funkhouser has asked the circuit court to rule the anti-family provision is invalid.

 

In the interview with GMA, Squitiro addressed the controversy over her role in the mayor's office.

 

"We're just at the ugly part of the change. And Kansas Citians are tough. And we're going to pull through," Squitiro said.

 

Funkhouser showed the ABC news crew Squitiro's desk outside his office in City Hall.

 

"This is the booth. This is the chair she will be sitting in again, when she comes back," Funkhouser said.

 

There is a picture of President-Elect Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama. And a caption reads, "The First Lady will not be going home either."

 

Squitiro said she's not doing anything that other political spouses don't do.

 

"I'm not willing to be in the closest about this. I am serving my husband, and I'm not ashamed of that," Squitiro said.

 

Funkhouser called his wife his "personal assistant."

 

"We worked hand-in-glove, intensely for months, while campaigning for the job. What was I supposed to do after I got elected? Just dump her? Say, 'See ya, honey?'" Funkhouser said.

 

"He's more than capable of doing this job. I'm more than capable of sitting in my tiny little corner being out of the limelight, which I very much like to be -- out of the limelight. This is not affecting anybody but us, really," Squitiro said. "He's a working mayor. That's all he can think about. If I wasn't with him, doing this, we would lose everything in our family."

 

In the GMA interview, Funkhouser and his wife portray their situation as a couple under siege at the top of City Hall.

 

But City Councilman Ed Ford said there is more to it.

 

"It's bizarre to have the mayor sue his own city. It's bizarre when the mayor puts the happiness of his wife and her ability to volunteer at City Hall above all the other priorities and issues we have at the city," Ford said.

 

Funkhouser said he believes he doesn't fear a recall.

 

"That requires 17,000 signatures in about 60 days. And Clay Chastain, who was like the champion petition getter here, could only get 9,000 in his best shot. It ain't happing here. So why should I worry about it," Funkhouser said.

 

KMBC's Micheal Mahoney reported that Squitiro spent much of Tuesday talking about the so-called Mammygate case. Squitiro was questioned by attorneys involved in the lawsuit.

 

Squitiro's insurance company has offered a settlement to former staffer Ruth Bates, but the deal has not been signed.

 

The interview aired on "Good Morning America" on Monday. 

A Huntsville, Arkansas man called 911 on Thanksgiving to report shooting his wife. Kenneth Hissom called police and informed them he had shot his wife Carla Hissom in the face. Police arrived at 845 Edgewood Place, Lot 1 at 6:47 p.m. Hissom refused to come out of the mobile home without his gun. It took almost 2 hours before police managed to convince him to give himself up.

When police were finally able to enter the home, they found Carla Hissom on the floor unconscious and unresponsive. Carla Hissom was taken to the hospital where she was pronounced dead at 4AM.

Hunstville police say they have had calls from the Hissom household in the past in relation to domestic abuse. According to reports, Kenneth Hissom has told police he shot is wife because she had been “nagging him all day”.

Hissom has not yet been formally charged yet. He is currently sitting in the Madison County Jail awaiting a bond hearing.

(St. Louis)  --  Laclede Gas is warning the public about a scam in the St. Louis area.

   The company has received  reports of individuals representing themselves as Laclede Gas employees going door-to-door soliciting gas reconnections for a nominal fee.

   Laclede officials say restoration of natural gas service is always scheduled in advance once the past due account has been paid in full and their employees don't solicit service reconnections.

 Customers should contact Laclede Gas Company Corporate Security at 314-342-0515 if they are confronted with this scam.

(Washington, DC)  --  An acid-based household cleaner as well as some potentially hazardous baby clothes are being recalled by order of the the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

   The cleaning solution was made by DuPont and sold in Lowe's home improvement stores.

   The "Heavy Duty Acidic Cleaner" for tile and grout has bottle caps that could leak, causing skin irritation upon contact.
   There have been two reports of minor injuries.

   The cleaner was sold between March and October.

   Consumers should contact DuPont for a free non-leaking bottle cap.

   Other products being recalled are "Arizona" brand denim pants for newborns and infants.

   According to the commission, the clothing poses a choking hazard because a snap at the waist can come loose and fall off.
   The pants were made in Bangladesh and were sold in JCPenney stores from July through last month.

   Similar clothing made in China is not subject to the recall, according to the government agency.

'Twas the night before Thanksgiving and all through the kitchen;
I was cooking and baking and moanin' and gripin'.
I've been here for hours, I can't stop to rest,
This place is a disaster, just look at this mess!
Tomorrow I've got thirty people to feed,
They expect all the trimmings, who cares what I need!
My feet are both blistered, I've got cramps in my legs,
The dog just knocked over a bowl full of eggs,
There's a knock at the door and the telephone's ringing;
Frosting drips on the counter as the microwave's dinging,
Two pies in the oven, dessert's almost done;
My cookbook is soiled with butter and crumbs.
I've had all I can stand, I can't take anymore;
Then in walks my husband, spilling rum on the floor.
He heaves and he wobbles, his balance unsteady;
Then grins as he chuckles "The eggnog is ready!"
He looks all around and with total regret,
Say's "What's takin' so long? aren't you through in here yet?"
As quick as a flash I reach for a knife;
He loses an earlobe; I wanted his life!
He flees from the room in terror and pain,
and screams "MY GOSH WOMAN, YOU'RE GOING INSANE!"
Now what was I doing, and what is that smell?
Oh, GOSH, it's the pies! They're all black right down to the shell!
I hate to admit when I make a mistake,
But I put them on BROIL instead of on BAKE.
What else can go wrong? Is there still more ahead?
If this is good living, I'd rather be dead.
Lord, don't get me wrong, I love holidays;
They just leave me exhausted, all shaky and dazed.
But I promise you one thing, if I live 'til next year,
You won't find me pulling my hair out in here.
I'll hire a maid, a cook, and a waiter;
And if that doesn't work, I'LL HAVE IT ALL CATERED!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING! 

Is the Christmas season starting too early?
     
Whether you think it's too early or right on time, the Christmas season is here!

"After Halloween start they just jump straight to Christmas," says one shopper. "What happened to Thanksgiving? Cause I'm not gonna be waiting for that turkey."

It's the most wonderful time of the year. From music on the radio to bargain basement sales and the early lighting of the Christmas tree in Boston, the sounds of the season have been all around us for weeks now.

But according to our exclusive Rasmussen poll, 72 percent of Americans say it comes too early, especially this year. 22 percent do not.

So what gives? Why are retailers starting earlier and why do radio stations feel the need to play Christmas music weeks before Thanksgiving?

"I think the music goes hand in hand with making people feel like there's hope and there's promise," says radio host Rich Kaminski.

One radio station in New York City had their first all-Christmas weekend, the weekend of November 14th.
They normally don't start playing Christmas music until the weekend before Thanksgiving.

"We found that this year the way the times are, especially with the economy, and there was along drawn out presidential election, people just wanted something happy and cheerful in their lives," Kaminski adds.

It seems that retailers also want to make people happy and cheerful. Sales are being dangled out there like carrots.
But have consumers been biting?

No one wants to buy a thing so retailers are killing themselves to get people in the stores

So we asked, in light of the sales and the music, do you think Thanksgiving has been lost in translation?
A Rasmussen poll found that 67 percent of American agree. Only 26 percent do not.

When I heard this on the news I thought it was one of the most ridiculous thing I've heard of.

A US couple is suing McDonald's for $3m (£2m) after nude photos of the woman, which were on her husband's mobile phone, ended up on the internet.

Phillip Sherman says he accidentally left his phone, with the photos, at a McDonald's in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

He says staff promised to secure the phone until he could retrieve it.

The Shermans claim they had to move to a new home after the woman's name, address, and phone number appeared online along with the photos.

Tina Sherman says she began receiving offensive calls and text messages about the pictures from her husband's mobile phone after he left it at the McDonald's on 5 July.

The couple then discovered that the nude pictures she had sent to her husband's phone had been posted online.

The Shermans are suing McDonald's Corporation, the owner of the franchise involved and the restaurant's manager, saying they have suffered emotional distress, embarrassment and damage to their reputations.

They also allege loss of earnings and want to recover the cost of moving to a new home.

McDonald's Corp, the franchise owner and the manager have so far refused to comment on the case.

The nude pictures have been removed from the website that had posted them.

 

OMG!

---

(Springfield)  A lawn-and-garden business in Neosho will pay $200,000 in fines for improperly marketing chemical insect and rodent killers.

  The penalty was imposed after Greenleaf LLC owner Tom Smith admitted in federal court to removing or defacing labels on bags of discarded pesticides and rodenticides that his Neosho operation bought from a Wal-Mart distribution center in Arkansas.

  Smith conceded that his company sold upward of two million pounds of the chemicals in altered packaging.

   Prosecutors claimed that messing with labels raises the risk for improper use - creating a public-health and environmental threat. Greenleaf has agreed to pay the fine on or before a sentencing hearing set for late June.

(Jefferson City, MO) -- Weak auto sales are having an impact on the Missouri Department of Transportation.

On Wednesday, MoDOT director Pete Rahn presented the agency's annual accountability report at the state capitol, saying there's a tremendous lack of funding for the state's transportation needs.
    
Rahn says revenues are down almost five percent through the first four months of the fiscal year.  That's a more than $18 million decline.  He says if that continues, there could be a $73 million shortfall this fiscal year in revenues from fuel taxes, motor vehicles sales taxes and license fees.
    
He says auto sales are responsible for the biggest decline, which were at eleven percent.

"If that trend continues, you could see as large as a $360 million hole within our five-year construction program." says Rahn.

Rahn says MoDOT depends on motor vehicle sales tax revenues to repay bonds that refinance road improvements

(Washington, DC)  --  The number of U.S. workers filing first-time claims for unemployment benefits has jumped to the highest level in 16 years.

The latest figures from the Labor Department showed 542,000 people filed unemployment benefit paperwork for the first time last week.
That's an increase of 27,000 from the previous week.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate in the week ending November 8th was three percent.

The largest increase in initial claims for that week was seen in California, which had an additional 15,000.
The numbers have also forced the Bush administration to make an about-face on its policy on extending benefits. 

Mr. Bush had threatened to veto a bill extending jobless benefits. Now, he says, he's ready to sign.And lawmakers are getting ready to send him a bill.
"Unless we do something quickly and appropriately, we can anticipate continuing job losses," said Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI).

Without help from Congress -- more than a million people would see their jobless benefits disappear -- by the end of the year."

The bill lawmakers are talking about would give a 7-week extension to people who have exhausted their jobless benefits.  In states where unemployment is  very high the extension will be for thirteen weeks. The total cost -- about $6-billion.

Lawmakers have just 48-hours to get the bill passed -- before this session of Congress ends for the year.

(Independence)  --  The Independence school teacher accused of drinking at school might want to start looking for a new job.

   District officials sent a letter to Kathy Moegle notifying her of their intent to terminate her job.

   Last week, the principal at Blackburn Elementary told the school resource officer that Mogele may have been drinking, after alcohol was found in her classroom.

   Police pulled Mogele over at 291 Highway and Hidden Valley, where her blood alcohol level tested at more than twice the legal limit.

   Mogele has ten days to request a hearing before the Independence Board of Education.

(Texarkana, AR) -- Arkansas authorities have seized nearly two dozen children who were staying at the Tony Alamo compound.

On Tuesday, the kids were taken into protective custody after allegations surfaced of abuse and neglect.

Several children were taken from the courthouse in Texarkana where hearings were being held for the six girls who were seized during a raid back in September.

State police discovered 18 other kids after searching two vans during a traffic stop.  All of the children are believed to be at least 17 years of age or younger.

Oh well! Deserves him right for getting caught.

(Springfield, MO) -- The owner of a business in Ozark has admitted he tried to avoid paying millions of dollars he owed in taxes.

The U.S. Attorney's office says Kyle Thompson, 46, pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal tax evasion charges.

Thompson is the owner of Branson Trailer Manufacturing.

As part of the plea agreement, Thompson admitted not filing taxes for himself or his business from 1997 through 2006.

Federal prosecutors say Thompson avoided paying between $2.5 and $7 million in income and employment taxes during that time.