Region briefs 11/12/03

Teenager accused after colliding with police car

ST. LOUIS -- An 18-year-old St. Louis man was arrested after the car he was driving collided with a police cruiser.

Pursuit of Jerome Johnson, 18, of St. Louis, began after reports that someone was firing shots at several locations around the city's north side.

The suspect and an officer both suffered minor injuries in the collision. Inside the suspect's car, police said they found several boxes of ammunition, a semiautomatic pistol, and a bulletproof vest.

Bush appropriates money for KC statue of Truman

Efforts to erect a statue of Harry S. Truman at Union Station in Kansas City got a $50,000 boost Monday from President Bush.

Truman's likeness would stand atop a 20-foot limestone pedestal originally designed to support the likeness of a city father, or perhaps a reflection of the city's spirit. It has stood empty since 1914.

Few other statues of the nation's 33rd president exist. One is in front of the Jackson County, Mo., courthouse, one in Seoul, Korea, and one at the Truman Library in Independence. There is also one in Athens, Greece, a country revived by the Marshall Plan for rebuilding Europe during Truman's presidency.

-- From wire reports