Every once in a while one of the local news stories from our area will be picked up by national television, radio or newspaper outlets. Sometimes the stories are horrible, other times they're just fun. Here are a few local news stories that made national headlines.

Zachary Meeks story from NBC
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In 2007, five children were killed in a house fire in Quincy. Zachary Meeks, the cousin of the homeowner, plead guilty to setting the fire and was sentenced to five consecutive life terms without the chance of parole. Rodney Hart of the Quincy Herald-Whig wrote a very thorough piece reviewing the case on its five-year anniversary.

 

GOP Presidential Candidate Rick Santorum Campaigns
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What's In This? - Fox News

Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum came through Hannibal during his 2012 campaign. As part of his stop in America's Hometown, Santorum made a visit to the Mark Twain Dinette, where, according to reports, he was amazed by the size of the omelette he was served.

This is a serious omelet. What's in this?' he asked a nearby scrum of reporters. A waitress informed him that the steaming, football-sized meal was made of eggs, onions, green peppers, cheese and more, with hash browns folded into the omelet. 'It's like a cake,' Santorum said, shaking his head. He asked for extra plates and began cutting it up and doling out the pieces to table mates."

 

Four-year-old Alisa Maier of Louisiana was playing in her front lawn with her brother, when a stranger approached and abducted the little girl. An Amber Alert was issued and authorities began a frantic search to find Alisa. Amazingly, the story had a happy ending; Maier was found in the St. Louis area the next day. The suspected kidnapper committed suicide.

 

Manuel Cazares
Manuel Cazares
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Hannibal was shocked by a double homicide in 2009. Amanda Thomas and Carl Patrick Eply were stabbed to death by Manuel Cazares, who walked into the Hannibal Police Department following the murders and confessed to the crimes. Cazares, an illegal immigrant who had been in a relationship with Thomas, was convicted of two counts of second degree murder and was denied an appeal by the Missouri Eastern Appellate Court.

 

It didn't take long for this incident from a couple weekends ago to go viral. Hannibal Cavemen shortstop Mattingly Romanin ended up in a collision with a skydiver during pregame activities on July 21. Romanin suffered a concussion and is out for the season.

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