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PINEVILLE, Mo. — Gregg Sweeten had difficulty last week putting his reaction into words. When he learned that funding for the long-sought Bella Vista Bypass had been found, Sweeten, the Pineville mayor and McDonald County emergency manager, was stunned. Then he was elated. "That is amazing," Sweeten said. "That is going to be so great. I think it’s going to lead to all kinds of opportunities not only for Pineville but for McDonald County. I mean, it’s just — I just can’t say how happy I am. Wow. That is ... that’s wild. That’s amazing. That’s a Christmas present right...

A preliminary investigation has found that a gasket failure caused a chemical gas leak that forced the temporary closure of a heavily used bridge connecting Delaware and New Jersey on one of the busiest travel days of the year. Officials with Croda Inc. said Tuesday that initial findings show that an incorrect gasket fitted on a pipe during construction of its Delaware ethylene oxide production plant failed Sunday. The company is sending the gasket to independent experts for analysis and confirmation.

<p>After a decade in dock, the historic 1920s-era Delta Queen riverboat will cruise again.</p> <p>President Donald Trump signed legislation on Tuesday authorizing the 285-foot-long riverboat immortalized in poems and songs to cruise again along the Mississippi and several other rivers.</p>

WINCHESTER — The Frederick County Transportation Committee on Monday expressed concerns that the county may not get the Interstate 81 improvements it needs to reduce traffic congestion and accidents. The Office of Intermodal Planning and Investment, the Virginia Department of Transportation and the Department of Rail and Public Transportation are studying the entire length of the I-81 corridor in the Virginia, as directed by the General Assembly, to identify changes that will reduce traffic backups and crashes as well as find the funding to make those changes. The I-81 study team identified 105 projects — valued at $4.25 billion —...

SAN DIEGO (AFP) - San Diego State University psychology professor Jean Twenge sees smartphones and social media as raising an unhappy, compliant "iGen." QUESTION: What is the iGen? ANSWER: The iGen is the generation born in 1995 and later, and they're the first generation to spend their entire adolescence in the age of the smartphone. They spend a lot more time online, on social media and playing games, and they spend less time on non-screen activities like reading books, sleeping or seeing their friends in face-to-face interactions. Those children are growing up more slowly. By the age of 18, they...

Either way, Michigan voters face a monumental decision in less than two weeks – will they defend their neighborhoods or will they allow progressive politics to sacrifice their communities on the altar of open borders? The midterms in Michigan. A choice between safety or sanctuary. Cities and counties that have had a large influx of illegal aliens, also see an increase in crimes ranging from identity theft to human trafficking. The FBI, for instance, has rated San Diego, California, which borders Mexico, as one of the 13 highest child sex trafficking areas in the nation. A joint study conducted by...

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD…” (Psalm 33:12, NIV) Kind of makes me wonder why we export more bombs than bibles. Seems to me that if we were dropping bibles over lands in which multitudes are held in bondage by terrorists, tyrants and false religions, we’d be more likely to see effective national defense while making new brothers and sisters who have an interest in living peacefully along with us even if half a world away. Also, bibles have got to be much less expensive than bombs and I think God approves only bombs He approves, while...

LAPORTE — Law enforcement in LaPorte County is preparing for the possibility of an already-congested and dangerous U.S. 20 being overrun with more semi-trucks as drivers avoid the 35 percent cost increase of traveling the Indiana Toll Road. Much of that stretch of highway being down to one lane in each direction for resurfacing adds to the concerns. LaPorte County Sheriff John Boyd said he’s reached out to Indiana State Police to help patrol U.S. 20 if an increase in truck traffic becomes too much for his staff to handle alone. “We’re going to prepare for it,” Boyd said. “We’re...

Even though I started writing this column days ago, apparently Wednesday was National Situational Awareness Day. So much for my digital self-awareness. But the timing couldn’t be better: The US Concealed Carry Association (USCCA) dropped a hypothetical restaurant layout on their Facebook page a few days ago, asking their readers to pick their preferred seat and why. The idea may be overly simplistic, but anything that helps people literally open their eyes is probably worthy of a discussion. So, looking at the above floor plan, what seat would you pick and why? ( graphic of restaurant seating arraingement at blog...

Not that we needed more evidence of the immense risk that women take when they speak out against powerful men, but the California professor who accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault when the two were in high school is now facing a bombardment of death threats—and that will likely continue for the foreseeable future. Yesterday, lawyers for Christine Blasey Ford were hesitant to commit a public hearing with the Senate Judiciary Committee that would subject her to more trauma, and raise her profile even higher with critics who would seek to do her harm. Instead, they said...

There have been three crashes in about one month on the newly opened Interstate 11, resulting in four deaths and causing concern with transportation officials. Representing the first new portion of highway added in the United States in 25 years, I-11 is a 15-mile stretch linking motorists between the Mike O’Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge near the Hoover Dam and Henderson, bypassing Boulder City. The celebration of the newly opened road on Aug. 9 was short-lived. On Aug. 14, a two-vehicle crash left two men dead. On Aug. 28, a two-vehicle crash left two dead and three injured. On Sept. 6,...

In a published statement he said he would never personally stop his campaign against Islam but the risk to innocents, and of attacks on the Netherlands, stemming from the proposed contest were too great. “My point about the intolerant nature of Islam has been proved again by this,” he said. Earlier this week, Dutch police arrested a 26-year-old man suspected of threatening to attack Wilders over his plan. … In 2005, Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published cartoons of Prophet Mohammad that sparked a wave of protest across the Muslim world and several attempts to kill either its editor or cartoonist Kurt...

Tamar Braxton Responds to Delta Airlines’ Statement Rebuking Her ‘Unusual Behavior’ Wednesday, August 1, 2018 Tamar Braxton has responded to a Delta Airlines statement blaming her “unusual behavior” and her refusal to follow a flight attendant’s instructions during a recent flight. Tamar’s sister Towanda accused a Delta pilot of ridiculing Tamar after the pilot left the safety of the reinforced cockpit to deal with the part-time singer’s unruly behavior. “@tamarbraxton got ridiculed by a pilot for flying while black on Delta,” Towanda wrote in an Instagram post dated July 28. “Wow! I guess being a diamond and double million miler...

MIAMI - Federal officials said a construction company did not do enough to protect its workers before a concrete barrier collapsed and killed two men along Interstate 95 in February. "This tragedy could have been prevented if the employer had ensured that adjoining structures were shored, braced or underpinned to avoid a collapse," said Condell Eastmond, with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Atlanta-based Archer Western Construction Inc. faces up to $33,000 in fines. OSHA officials also said the work site was not properly inspected for hazards. The Florida Highway Patrol said Abel Orlando Zuniga-Fajardo, 37,...

Once again, the oh-so progressive, oh-so enlightened Seattle City Council is showing the rest of the country what not to do. The idealistic leftists who control the Council are wasting millions of hard-earned taxpayer dollars in failed attempts to solve problems the Council members created. All this is turning Seattle into the poster city for the failure of Big Government. The city best known for fish markets, coffee stores, rain and flannel-wearing musicians is now becoming legendary for its incompetent leadership and its financial boondoggles. The latest example of Seattle senselessness is the Council’s costly and deeply flawed efforts to...

Idaho was great! It is so beautiful there the scenery looks like a painting. The people were great. The only people who were rude were from California, Oregon, Washington and Canada. Idaho residents were uncommonly courteous and friendly. My daughter and I were by ourselves but we felt very safe everywhere we went and slept well for being away from home. We actually felt safer in a strange place than we did at home. Never heard one siren in a whole week. We were mostly passing through small towns that had an openly God oriented atmosphere. Lots of pro life...

On Aug. 18, 2016, the Lakewood location of Mi Cocina, a popular upscale Tex-Mex chain, faced one particularly unhappy visitor: a Dallas health inspector. The food safety report filed that day graded Mi Cocina at 60 points out of 100. The details weren’t pretty. Flies in the kitchen. No hot water for washing dishes. Cooked chicken sitting out at room temperature. In summary, the report concluded, Mi Cocina “fails to meet City of Dallas Food Protection and Education sanitation standards. 10 day follow-up inspection required.” That follow-up inspection never took place. Mi Cocina’s next health inspection came 221 days later,...

MEMPHIS, Tenn (localmemphis.com) - Local 24 is your local election headquarters and with the August primary inching closer, Tennessee's gubernatorial candidates are pounding the pavement, shaking hands and working for votes. Monday, Republican Randy Boyd's bus tour made stops in west Tennessee and he unveiled his public- school safety plan. video TN Gubernatorial Candidate Randy Boyd In the Fayette County courthouse shade Monday, Boyd brought new ideas into the light. "Every school, every kid needs to be protected by the absolute best person that we can have on the front line," Boyd said. The school safety plan would put resource...

The safety of America's airline passengers is being compromised for the sake of diversity in hiring air traffic controllers, an attorney suing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) told "Tucker Carlson Tonight" host Tucker Carlson on Friday. During the Obama administration, the FAA replaced the previous hiring standards with rules designed to increase diversity among air traffic controllers, attorney Michael Pearson said. “A group within the FAA, including the human resources function within the FAA -- the National Black Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees -- determined that the workforce was too white,” Pearson told Carlson. “They had a concerted effort through...

A tractor-trailer traveling southbound on Interstate 15 slammed into the back of another tractor-trailer and Chevrolet pickup Tuesday night near Stoddard Wells Road after failing to yield to stopped traffic, according to a CHP news release. At the time of the collision, which authorities say occurred at approximately 11:57 p.m., traffic was at a standstill due to a full-freeway closure for construction of the D Street Bridge. As traffic was being routed off the freeway at Stoddard Wells Road, 52-year-old Mariano Valle, of Montclair, approached the stopped vehicles in a 2014 Freightliner tractor-trailer traveling at 60 mph. For unknown reasons,...