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The officials' message was unity.

CHICAGO — A Chicago man has been federally charged with obstruction of justice in connection to the alleged plot to attack the UFC event at the White House. Alexander Iniguez Mercado, 20, of Chicago, is accused of being an administrator and member of Signal messaging groups. The indictment states the group included members who appeared [...]

Accident Reconstruction and District 6 Detectives are investigating a fatal hit-and-run accident that occurred on June 26, 2026 in the Near North Riverfront neighborhood.

The post Unknown Man Killed in Near North Riverfront Hit-and Run appeared first on St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.

Just a couple weeks ago, the European Commission put out its plan for “European tech sovereignty.” It’s not surprising that Europeans are looking at their internet platform options and seeing a choice between US companies and Chinese companies as something that isn’t that appealing. Of course, Europe has mostly itself to blame for this mess. […]

Dive into Godot – a rising star in the game engine world – with the 2026 Complete Godot Stack Development Bundle. You’ll learn to create platformers, RPGs, strategy games, FPS games, and more as you master this free and open-source engine with easily expandable systems. Plus, you’ll also explore techniques for game design and game […]

As of Friday afternoon, the St. Louis Blues hold four first-round picks ahead of the 2026 NHL Draft, the most they have ever had entering a daft day. They also have 13 total selections, their highest number of picks in any draft since 2003.

ALTON/SWANSEA - The monthly Block Party for Good will pause in June and resume in July. Soulcial Kitchen and other community partners host monthly Block Parties for Good on the last Friday of each month in Alton and Swansea. Community members can pick up free groceries and hot meals while also engaging with rotating services like the OSF OnCall Connect On the Go van and free haircuts. Because the St. Louis Area Foodbank is completing annual inventory and maintenance on June 26, 2026, there

GODFREY - Beverly Farm Foundation said tonight’s fireworks display and the scheduled appearance of the Quick Bite Frozen Treats ice cream truck on its campus were postponed because of forecasted ongoing thunderstorms and extremely wet lawn conditions. The foundation announced that the fireworks display has been rescheduled for Friday, July 10, 2026, with fireworks planned to begin at approximately 9:30 p.m. The postponement applies to the event on the Beverly Farm campus.

Billy Joel is celebrating another song joining the Spotify Billions Club.A post on the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer's Instagram account reveals that "Vienna" is now his third song to reach the milestone.Already in…

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BJC approved Angie Salvador's financial assistance request days after the Post-Dispatch highlighted her struggle with medical bills. The system has been provided less assistance in 2024 than the year prior.

Dear Friend of Press Freedom:

A Texas man was sentenced to decades in prison for transporting political publications. We break down what his case means for press freedom. Plus, more on Brendan Carr’s latest attack on the media and journalist Catherine Herridge’s fight to protect her confidential sources.

Can’t punish reporting it? Punish transporting it

We’ve often written about the bipartisan trend of criminalizing mere possession or transporting of information. This week it became more real than ever.

Texas artist Daniel “Des” Sanchez Estrada was sentenced to 30 years in prison for transporting a box of leftist political pamphlets, allegedly to prevent them from being used as evidence against his wife, who attended a protest where a police officer was shot. She was sentenced to 70 years.

But the pamphlets said nothing about the protest or the shooting, which his wife was not alleged to have been involved with anyway. In fact, they aren’t far off from the pro-Revolution writings the framers had in mind when they wrote the First Amendment’s press clause.

We said in a statement, “Sanchez’s case is the latest example of the Trump administration grasping at any legal straws it can to criminalize disfavored ideologies and writings.” Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) Chief of Advocacy Seth Stern and columnist Jeremy Busby also wrote about the draconian sentence and what it means for journalists in The Intercept.

• Read The Intercept article

Tell Trump’s censorship czar to stop retaliating against ABC

Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr is going after ABC again, this time over the decades-old “bona fide news” exemption that protects its daytime talk show, “The View,” from the regulator’s equal-time rules.

Everyone with a smidgen of common sense knows what Carr’s up to: Retaliation for ABC’s exercise of First Amendment rights. President Donald Trump has a long-standing grudge against ABC, and Carr publicly endorses Trump’s campaign to silence his critics and reshape the media — and ABC specifically — to be more gentle to his fragile ego.

ABC is urging the public to file comments with the FCC reminding it of the Constitution. You can use our action center to do so quickly and easily.

• File a comment with the FCC

Judge to journalist: Burn your source or pay $800 per day

The government flouts court orders constantly and faces no meaningful consequence. At worst, it gets scolded by a judge.

But when an independent journalist like Catherine Herridge seeks to keep her word to confidential sources who relied on her to protect their identities? That’ll cost $800 a day, even though she’s seeking Supreme Court review of the anti-press ruling holding her in contempt.

As we said in a statement, “The prospect of crippling fines will especially impact independent journalists like Herridge, at a time when corporate outlets are increasingly compromised. Congress needs to provide clear statutory protection against compelled disclosure of journalists’ sources by passing a strong shield law like the PRESS Act.”

• Read our statement about the fine

Government agencies: Repeal gag policies before you get sued and lose

The Coconut Grove Spotlight, a small nonprofit newsroom in Miami, is the latest outlet to challenge a policy funnelling press inquiries through a public information office. These PIO policies are unconstitutional, but government agencies across the country still maintain them.

And they normalize even worse abuses by the feds. The Trump administration recently pushed to have government employees sign corporate-style nondisclosure agreements, and the Defense Department shut off access to journalists who wouldn’t promise to only report what the Pentagon authorizes.

FPF Executive Director Trevor Timm explains why any agency that still has one of these policies needs to drop it before they’re next to get sued and lose.

• Watch Timm’s video

California schemin’ to erode transparency

Our friends in Sacramento must have whiplash after a series of extreme changes to a proposed public records law that would have severely undermined transparency. Ultimately, a coalition of press freedom advocates salvaged an important victory, as lawmakers backed down and removed the problematic additions to the bill.

Prior to the retreat, FPF Deputy Director of Advocacy Adam Rose explained why the legislation was one of the most anti-transparency bills in recent memory. It would have even allowed the government to sue people for daring to request public records. Yikes! Successfully gutting such awful provisions is a reminder of the work it takes to ensure state capitals preserve the public’s right to know.

• Watch Rose’s video

What we're reading Leaked Kanye West tape prosecution stalls as DOJ weighs appeal Bloomberg Law

“There are far better uses of prosecutorial resources than going after a journalist who used publicly available information” to expose antisemitism, FPF’s Stern said about the case against Tim Burke.

CBS News’ independent watchdog stays quiet amid ‘60 Minutes’ turmoil The New York Times

Who would have thought that an “ombudsman” handpicked to appease Donald Trump and his lapdog Brendan Carr would have nothing to say about “60 Minutes” being gutted to ... appease Donald Trump and Brendan Carr.

Al Jazeera cameraman Ahmed Wishah killed in Israeli strike on Gaza The Guardian

The shameful killings of journalists in Gaza by the Israeli military continue. Targeting journalists is wrong, and it must stop.

Free-speech fraud Bari Weiss would rather deport than debate The Nation

It’s shameful for a news outlet to call on the government to deport people it doesn’t like. Nobody who values the First Amendment would encourage kicking people out of the country for their speech.

Why reporters don’t belong in front of grand juries The Washington Post

If whistleblowers can’t speak to reporters in confidence, government corruption, abuse, and wrongdoing will never see the light of day.

Some senators want more grandstanding at the Supreme Court The Washington Post

This is an outrageous take by the Post editorial board. Transparency, including cameras in the court, is how power is held to account.

Tennessee Supreme Court raises bar for secrecy, unseals docs on former judge The Tennessean

Judicial records can’t be kept secret without a compelling interest, says the Tennessee Supreme Court. This is a major win for public access.

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ST. LOUIS - The weather this weekend in St. Louis will bring a bit of everything: showers, sun, and heat. And there will also be something for everyone to do around the city with plenty of festivals, firework shows, and more. PrideFest 2026 Saturday 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.Sunday 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. Soldiers [...]

COLLINSVILLE – Rebuild Illinois is continuing to improve mobility, safety and quality of life in the Metro East, with the Illinois Department of Transportation delivering multiple major projects this construction season. Made possible by Gov. JB Pritzker’s historic capital program, 23 projects combined represent a total investment of nearly $960 million, creating and maintaining good-paying jobs throughout the region. “The historic Rebuild Illinois program continues to transform

Two people accused in 50 car burglaries across St. Louis County last month are now facing felony charges.

CHICAGO – Attorney General Kwame Raoul scored two separate legal victories permanently blocking the implementation of key provisions in President Trump’s unlawful executive orders that attempted to interfere with states’ constitutional authority to administer elections. “These rulings are a win for democracy. They acknowledge that Congress and individual states – not the president – have the authority to oversee the elections process,” Raoul said. “Nothin

Exploration staff at Bridal Cave in Camdenton discovered claw marks believed to be made by an extinct species of bear from over 12,000 years ago, preserved by a rare natural process.

ALTON - Alton’s 250 on the Mississippi celebration promises three days of fun. An Alton-Godfrey Rotary Club member shared more about the July 2, 2026, event at Rotary Park. From July 1–3, 2026, downtown Alton will celebrate Independence Day with events at Haskell Park, Rotary Park, and the Alton Amphitheater. You can read more about the plans in this article on RiverBender.com . John Hopkins, a longtime Rotarian, noted that the July 2 event at Rotary Park will be fun for