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Six St. Louis-area chefs and one restaurant have been named semifinalists for the 2022 James Beard Foundation Awards, the culinary world's top prize.

ST. LOUIS---With the St. Louis region poised to enter a Winter Storm Warning from the National Weather Service starting at noon Wednesday, dozens of school districts in the FOX2 viewing area have decided to dismiss students early. You can find the complete list of closings here. Most of the districts are in the southern part [...]

With the launch of Donald Trump's ridiculous Truth Social offering, we've already noted that he's so heavily relying on Section 230's protections to moderate that he's written Section 230 directly into his terms of service. However, at the same time, Trump is still fighting his monstrously stupid lawsuits against Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube for banning him in the wake of January 6th.

Not surprisingly (after getting the cases transferred to California), the internet companies are pointing the courts to Section 230 as to why the cases should be dismissed. And, also not surprisingly (but somewhat hilariously), Trump is making galaxy brain stupid claims in response. That's the filing in the case against YouTube which somehow has eight different lawyers signed onto a brief so bad that all eight of those lawyers should be laughed out of court.

The argument as to why Section 230 doesn't apply is broken down into three sections, each dumber than the others. First up, it claims that "Section 230 Does Not Immunize Unfair Discrimination," which claims (falsely) that YouTube is a "common carrier" (it is not, has never been, and does not resemble one in any manner). The argument is not even particularly well argued here. It's three ridiculous paragraphs, starting with Packingham (which is not relevant to a private company choosing to moderate), then claiming (without any support, since there is none) that YouTube is a common carrier, and then saying that YouTube's terms of service mean that it "must carry content, irrespective of any desire or external compulsion to discriminate against Plaintiff."

Literally all of that is wrong. It took EIGHT lawyers to be this wrong.

The second section claims -- incorrectly -- that Section 230 "does not apply to political speech." They do this by totally misrepresenting the "findings" part of Section 230 and then ignoring basically all the case law that says, of course Section 230 applies to political speech. As for the findings, while they do say that Congress wants "interactive computers services" to create "a true diversity of political discourse" as the authors of the bill themselves have explained, this has always been about allowing every individual website to moderate as they see fit. It was never designed so that every website must carry all speech, but rather by allowing websites to curate the community and content they want, there will be many different places for different kinds of speech.

Again. Eight lawyers to be totally and completely wrong.

Finally, they argue that "Section 230(c) Violates the First Amendment as Applied to This Matter." It does not. Indeed, should Trump win this lawsuit (he won't) that would violate the 1st Amendment in compelling speech on someone else's private property who does not wish to be associated with it. And this section goes off the rails completely:

The U.S. contends that Section 230(c) does not implicate the First Amendment because “it “does not regulate Plaintiff’s speech,” but only “establishes a content- and viewpoint-neutral rule prohibiting liability” for certain companies that ban others’ speech. (U.S. Mot. at 2). Defendants’ egregious conduct in restraining Plaintiff’s political speech belies its claims of a neutral standard.

I mean, the mental gymnastics necessary to make this claim are pretty impressive, so I'll give them that. But this is mixing apples and orangutans in making an argument that, even if it did make sense, still doesn't make any sense. Section 230 does not regulate speech. That's why it's content neutral. The fact that the defendant, YouTube, does moderate its content -- egregiously or not -- is totally unrelated to the question of whether or not Section 230 is content neutral. Indeed, YouTube's ability to kick Trump off its platform is itself protected by the 1st Amendment.

The lawyers seem to be shifting back and forth between the government "The U.S." and the private entity, YouTube, here, to make an argument that might make sense if it were only talking about one entity, but doesn't make any sense at all when you switch back and forth between the two.

Honestly, this filing should become a case study in law schools about how not to law.

The Ohio Valley Conference is crossing the Missouri River and expanding west, with Wednesday's announcement that Lindenwood University will petition the NCAA to move up to Division I and join the conference starting in the 2022-2023 academic year.

Foo Fighters are branching out into film: The superstar rock band's new horror comedy Studio 666 hits theaters February 25. But in-between the decapitations, electrocutions, stabbings, chainsaw murders and one…

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Paul McCartney has contributed his 1970 acoustic song "Junk" to The Man/Kind Initiative for use in a video promoting the charity's campaign to aid the homeless in the Los Angeles…

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It’s throwing the three Republican members of Congress from southern Illinois for a loop.   

Speaking at a panel discussion on race Tuesday featuring executives from the footwear giant, the city's top prosecutor urged the company to put "as much money that consumers consume with Nike" back into the community to combat systemic racism.

JERSEYVILLE - In this day and age, this doesn't happen often, but on Wednesday, Bill and Kathryn Schimpf of Jerseyville are celebrating their 70th anniversary. The two were married on February 23, 1952, in Piggott, Arkansas. Bill was 21 when they were married and Kathyrn was 16. Today, Bill is 91 and Kathryn is 86. The two were open with how they made it 70 years in marriage. The key response both said is they have always loved each other with all their hearts and that remains the same 70 years after they said "I do" to each other. Kathyrn said if she had to say just a few words why their marriage has been so successful, she said: "We do a lot together. We have always played golf together, and we both have a strong sense of family." Bill said the two have always worked together to accomplish their goals. "We are always open to the others' suggestions and ideas," he said. "We adjust as things go along and work together." Bill is a well-known area principal, serving 27 years at Carrollton

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Bill approved 4-3 along party lines.

The hope is that the grants help businesses stay open and allow them to grow through the next phase of the pandemic.

EDWARDSVILLE - Not all who teach students are in the classroom. School counselors, such as Edwardsville High School’s Chung Baker, are among those school personnel who are making a difference in the lives of students outside of instruction. Baker is in her 28th year with District 7 after first beginning her career in education as a physical education teacher at what is now Lincoln Middle School, when it was originally the high school. “When I thought about what else I could do to extend my career in education without teaching, and knowing I didn’t want to go into administration, counseling seemed like an easy transition.” Baker always knew she wanted to go into education. Having been afforded the opportunity to have an education in the U.S. as a first-generation immigrant at age five and having to learn English, she said it is education that has made her who she is. “Education is priceless. And in my own way, I just wanted to pay it forward.” Bake

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Foo Fighters are headed back to Austin City Limits. The long-running PBS music performance series has booked Dave Grohl and company for a taping to air during its upcoming 48th…

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The story begins in 1935 when the federal government decided to clear 36 city blocks to create a memorial to westward expansion.

In a lawsuit filed last month, several downtown property owners alleged that a petition submitted by the district seeking its extension was flawed.

SPRINGFIELD – As a new COVID-19 treatment rolls out across the country, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) continues to distribute these life-saving therapeutics equitably across the state. On February 11, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an emergency use authorization for a new monoclonal antibody, bebtelovimab, for the treatment of COVID-19. Bebtelovimab will now join another monoclonal antibody treatment, sotrovimab , two oral antivirals, Paxlovid and molnupiravir , and a preventive drug, Evusheld , in the list of COVID-19 treatments available across Illinois. “This newest COVID-19 treatment authorized by the FDA will continue to move us forward as we co-exist with COVID-19,” said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike. “While vaccination and boosting are still the best protection against severe illness due to COVID-19, this new treatment, along with other previously authorized treatments, can help keep people out of th

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BELLEVILLE — Illinois American Water is urging customers to guard themselves against utility imposters and scams. The company has seen an increase in scams as it has resumed normal operations for non-emergency work, including performing in-home work. Pretending to be a trusted utility worker is a trick some criminals use to gain access to homes, obtain payments or steal personal information. Customers should keep in mind that Illinois American Water employees will not just stop by and request access to a home without an appointment. Elizabeth Matthews, vice president of operations for Illinois American Water said, “Our employees all carry employee badges, and our trucks are marked with our logo. If we need to enter a customer’s home, we do require an appointment to allow entry and won’t come to the property demanding access inside. It is extremely rare for an employee to show up at a customer’s home without an appointment.” Illinois American Water

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Virtual Zoom Meeting Present for Meeting:  Fatimah Muhammad, Mark Pappas, Samantha Smugala, Jason Newsome, Adrian Stillman, Jen Einspahr, Leon O’Hara, Sarah Rubenstein, Veronica Ross-Mickan, Mackenzie Alperti, Brendan Fahey, Lisa Anderson, Nick Speed, David Berczek, Denean Vaughn, Rai Savage, Brandon Bosley, Adam Layne, Juwanna Brown, Peter Hoffman, Karla Brown, James Page, Marlon Lee, Dara Eskridge, Michael […]