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Video from Thursday morning showed a red truck rocketing down a Missouri highway -- backward.

Earlier this week we took a look at Donald Trump and Devin Nunes' Truth Social's terms of service, noting that they -- despite claiming that Section 230 should be "repealed" -- had explicitly copied Section 230 into their terms of service. In the comments, one of our more reliably silly commenters, who inevitably insists that no website should ever moderate, and that "conservatives" are regularly removed for their political views on the major social networks (and refusing to provide any evidence to support his claims, because he cannot), insisted that Truth Social wouldn't ban people for political speech, only for "obscenity."

So, about that. As Mashable has detailed, multiple people are describing how they've been banned from Truth Social within just the first few days -- and not for obscenity. The funniest one is someone -- not the person who runs the @DevinCow account on Twitter -- tried to sign up for a @DevinCow account on Truth Social. As you probably know, Devin Nunes, as a congressman, sued the satirical cow account for being mean to him (the case is still, technically, ongoing). You may recall that the headline of my article about Devin Nunes quitting Congress to run Truth Social announced that he was leaving Congress to spend more time banning satirical cows from Truth Social.

And apparently that was accurate. Matt Ortega first tried to register the same @DevinCow on Truth Social, only to be told that the username was not even allowed (which suggests that Nunes or someone else there had already pre-banned the Cow). Ortega then tried other varieties of the name, getting through with @DevinNunesCow... briefly. Then it, too, was banned:

This is censorship. pic.twitter.com/Ih6odqlsJh

— Matt Ortega (@MattOrtega) February 22, 2022

Note that the ban email does not identify what rules were broken by the account (another point that Trumpists often point to in complaining about other websites' content moderation practices: that they don't provide a detailed accounting).

So, it certainly appears that it's not just "obscenity" that Nunes and Trump are banning. They seem to be banning accounts that might, possibly, make fun of them and their microscopically thin skins.

The Mashable article also notes that Truth Social has also banned a right wing anti-vaxxer, who you might expect to be more welcome on the site, but no such luck:

Radical anti-vax right-wing broadcaster Stew Peters complains that he's "being censored on Truth Social" simply for demanding that those responsible for the COVID-19 vaccine "be put on trial and executed." pic.twitter.com/Uf9WXA793A

— Right Wing Watch (@RightWingWatch) February 22, 2022

And here's the thing: this is normal and to be expected, and I'm glad that Truth Social is doing the standard forms of content moderation that every website needs to do to be able to operate a functional service. It would just be nice if Nunes/Trump and their whiny sycophants stopped pretending that this website is somehow more about "free speech" than other social media sites. It's not. Indeed, so far, they seem more willing to quickly ban people simply because they don't like them, than for any more principled reason or policy.

A "skeleton crew" will remain for essential court operations.

GRANITE CITY – Seniors Makaina Woods and Nick Butchee of Granite City High School were selected as Granite City Elks Lodge 1063 Students of the Month for February. The Elks Student of the Month Program is designed to recognize outstanding young men and women for achievements in school and community life-fine arts, hobbies, athletics, church, school, club and community service, industry, and farming. Nominees are judged on multiple achievements including leadership skills, good moral character, community involvement, extracurricular activities, honors and award, and scholastic ability. Each student receives a $100 U.S. savings bond and an Elks certificate of achievement. MAKAINA WOODS Two-time Speech Team Captain and President of Thespian Society ... Four-year Honor Roll ... Treasurer of National Honor Society ... GCHS Dance Team ... Member of Foreign Language Club and Pride Club ... Worship Leading/Singing at Unity Baptist Church ... Daughter of Jennifer Woods. NICK

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Several local school districts will be dismissing students early today in anticipation of winter weather and hazardous road conditions. Jersey Community Unit School District 100 recently announced they’ll be dismissing students at noon today. JCHS student drivers will be allowed to leave during their lunch hours - 10:30 a.m. for fourth-hour lunch and 11 a.m. for fifth-hour lunch. All students who ride the bus, walk or have someone drop them off will be dismissed at noon. Southwestern Community Unit School District 9 also announced they will be dismissing middle and high school students at noon and elementary students at 12:10. They are also canceling the spring sports meeting that was planned at the high school for today. Calhoun Community Unit School District 40 will be dismissing elementary and junior high school students at noon, followed by high school students at 12:15 p.m. Schools in both Carrollton and Greene County school districts are staying open

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ST. LOUIS (KTVI)--The second wave of anticipated winter weather has arrived late Thursday morning and will be a wintry mix of sleet, freezing rain and some snow. It lasts through the afternoon before becoming spottier this evening and moving out overnight. There is even a good chance of a few thunderstorms (aka thunder sleet or [...]

ST. LOUIS - Round two of a wintery mix should begin around noon on Thursday in the Metro East Illinois area, National Weather Service Meteorologist Lydia Jaja said Thursday morning. “We expect the wintery mix to go from noon to 6 p.m. and after that, it will taper off and the event will end,” Jaja said. “So far, the weather event has been what we expected.” Temps are cold today and will only reach the mid-20s, so the weather forecaster advised that people show caution on the highways. “If you don’t have to get out, don’t, but if you do, leave plenty of space,” she said. “Give yourself a little more time to get to your destinations than normal because of the weather.” Jaja said Mardi Gras Saturday should be a good day, with the sun shining and highs in the low 40s to 50s for both Saturday and Sunday. The high Saturday is projected at 41 degrees and a low of 24 degrees.

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ST. LOUIS--The domino effect of U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler's decision to run for Missouri's U.S. Senate seat instead of seeking re-election to the House in the fourth congressional district appears to have led a former St. Louis Blues hockey player-turned St. Louis County bar owner to run for a seat in Congress. Jim 'Soupy' Campbell, [...]

Metallica has added a pair of U.S. stadium shows to the band's summer schedule. The metal legends will headline Highmark Stadium in Buffalo, New York, on August 11, and PNC…

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Foo Fighters have made some special announcements ahead of the premiere of the band's Studio 666 movie. Dave Grohl and company will be making a "special appearance" during select Los…

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Queen guitarist Brian May's second solo album, 1998's Another World, will be reissued in multiple formats and configurations on April 22 as the second installment of the Brian May Gold…

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The Center Square - A new study shows hospital price transparency requirements continue to lag around Illinois and the rest of the country. Federal law requires hospitals to be more transparent about prices by posting the numbers in various capacities, but a study by PatientRightsAdvocate.org (PRA) shows it rarely happens. “One year after this law-making hospitals show prices came into effect, unfortunately, we found that only 14.3% of our country’s 1,000 of 6,000 hospitals are complying with this law,” PRA founder and CEO Cynthia Fisher said. The law required hospitals to post prices for all services, including gross charges and discounted cash prices. In addition, the rule requires the information to be available in two formats, a machine-readable file that contains pricing data for third parties to compare between hospitals and a shoppable service list that displays specific services offered at the facility. Fisher said many would be surprised at the difference

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ST. LOUIS - Grammy and Emmy Award-winning comedian, actor, director, writer, and producer, Chris Rock has announced his highly anticipated return to live comedy with his Ego Death World Tour 2022. Produced by Live Nation, the 38-date North American leg of Rock’s first world tour in over five years kicks off April 2nd in Atlantic City, NJ with two shows at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, and will make stops across the country in St. Louis, Denver, New York City, Chicago, and more, before wrapping November 17th at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, CA. A full list of tour dates is below. More dates will be announced soon. Tickets go on sale to the public starting Friday, February 25th at 10 am local time at Ticketmaster.com . Lauded by peers and critics alike, Chris Rock is one of our generation’s strongest comedic voices. With a career spanning more than three decades, Rock has enjoyed ongoing success in both film and television as a comedian, actor, writer, producer, and

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ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo (KTVI)-- Prosecutors have charged two men with murder and armed criminal action after two were shot Saturday night in University City. Police were called to the 7800 block of Birchmont Avenue in University City around 8:30 Saturday night and found two shooting victims. A 24-year-old was pronounced dead at a local [...]

EDWARDSVILLE – Since its founding in 2010, Edwardsville Neighbors has worked to ease the financial burdens of local families when facing a medical or emergency crisis. In its first decade, the organization contributed over $1 million in direct assistance to individuals and families across District 7. Now, the nonprofit has found a sweet new way to continue building on its mission. The nonprofit is opening a first-of-its-kind bakery and community kitchen called Neighbors Bakeshop. All proceeds generated from the store will benefit District 7 residents through a variety of community outreach efforts and impact projects. Eventually, the community kitchen will also be available for party rentals, cooking demonstration classes and for use as a co-op kitchen for local makers. “As a nonprofit organization, we are always looking at new, sustainable ways to raise funds and ensure we can accomplish our mission of helping families in this community,” said President and Co-Founder,

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EDWARDSVILLE — Officials want to again open up discussions with the public on Tuesday night during Madison County’s Health Advisory Committee. “Last month, there were 13 people who came to speak at the meeting,” Chairman Kurt Prenzler said. “Everyone who wanted to speak was given an opportunity to share their comments and they were respectful toward one another.” The committee listened to the remarks made by the public on COVID-19, more specifically about masks in schools before discussing it among themselves. The committee shared their thoughts on everything from the types of masks, how masks are worn and vaccinations in children. “We want to give citizens another opportunity to bring their concerns on COVID, vaccines or any other health related issue to the committee,” Prenzler said. The Health Advisory Committee is made up of medical professionals from across the county. It’s purpose is to discuss and present information on

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WASHINGTON, D.C. - The FBI is continuing to aggressively investigate the ongoing nationwide bomb threats targeting Historically Black Colleges and Universities, houses of worship, and other faith-based and academic institutions. From January 4 to February 16, a total of 57 institutions across the country were targeted. The bomb threats have been made in phone calls, e-mails, instant messages, and anonymous online posts. FBI agents from multiple field offices are conducting hundreds of interviews and gathering a variety of electronic evidence for analysis. This investigation is of the highest priority for the Bureau and involves 31 FBI field offices that are actively working with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to identify those involved. The FBI is investigating these cases as racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism and hate crimes. Although at this time no explosive devices related to these threats have been found, the FBI takes all of these

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WENTZVILLE, Mo. - Northbound Highway 61 is shut down and traffic is being diverted onto Highway A. The Wentzville Police Department said in a Facebook post they are "working several accidents and slide offs due to the icy road conditions." Police also posted a photo of a patrol vehicle that was hit Thursday morning by [...]

GODFREY – Two student artists from Lewis and Clark Community College will be among 44 peers from across the region represented in Art St. Louis’ “ Varsity Art XXVI” this spring. “Varsity Art XXVI” is the gallery’s 26th annual invitational visual art exhibition featuring works by undergrad and grad-level art students of all ages representing 23 St. Louis regional colleges and universities from Missouri and Illinois. Included in this year’s show will be recent L&C graduate Chandler William Herron ( www.instagram.com/pics.by.chan ) and L&C Art student Ashlee Sirois ( www.omenimagery.com ) The exhibit will run March 4-31 at Art St. Louis’ gallery, 1223 Pine Street in downtown St. Louis. It will feature a variety of media, including ceramics, drawing, metalsmithing, mixed media, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, and video – all representative of universal or global contemporary art trends. “As art majors advance

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At dawn on Thursday, Ukrainians’ uneasy efforts at normality were shattered. Smoke rose from cities, even well away from the country’s disputed eastern border.