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Missouri attorney general sues St. Louis-area school districts over mask mandates

3 years 4 months ago
After Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced that he planned to sue school districts that require masks, he’s now following through on that promise. On Friday, Schmitt started tweeting lawsuits his office has filed against school districts across the state, including several in the St. Louis area: Affton Brentwood Dunklin R-5 Fort Zumwalt Francis Howell Ladue Mehlville Rockwood R-VI School District of Clayton St. Charles R-VI St. Louis Public Schools Schmitt's lawsuits demands schools…
Kayla Wheeler and Casey Nolen, KSDK

Here’s how we impacted press freedom in 2021

3 years 4 months ago

In a world where press freedom is under constant threat, part of our mission at Freedom of the Press Foundation will always be to defend investigative journalists who are in the most danger. But we see our job as more than that. We strive to not only defend journalists, but to empower them in the face of adversity.

We’re not just advocating for press freedom rights — we are also building technology to protect journalists and whistleblowers where lawmakers refuse to help.

And without our supporters, our donors, and the brave journalists and whistleblowers who put their lives on the line, none of our work would be possible. Please help us sustain this important work with a donation by clicking here.

Here are a few highlights of what we accomplished in 2021:

  • U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: In 2021, the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker monitored press freedom violations in the United States in real time, recording more than 200 press freedom violations and publishing nearly 600 incidents and updates.

There were more arrests or detainments of journalists this year than in 2017, 2018, and 2019 combined as an unprecedented crisis continued for journalists attempting to do their job covering the pandemic, nationwide protests and elections.

  • SecureDrop: FPF completed the second independent security audit of the next generation of SecureDrop, SecureDrop Workstation, concluding that “the system represents a complex but well researched product that has been thoughtfully designed” and identifying no issues that were directly exploitable by an attacker.

The new SecureDrop Workstation greatly simplifies the process of checking SecureDrop and responding to sources. To date, it has been used in production by 5 newsrooms and has been very positively received. In the year ahead, we will be rolling it out to the 75+ news outlets using SecureDrop.

  • Digital Security Trainings: Despite working in a remote capacity, the Digital Security Training team was able to deliver trainings to over 1,300 journalists, filmmakers, and other media makers across the globe.

FPF also successfully launched the Filmmaker Toolkit, in partnership with Field of Vision, and the long-awaited Digital Security Curriculum for Journalism Schools.

The role of journalism in our democracy matters now more than ever and we are grateful for your support of our important work. For more information, please see our full 2021 Impact Report (PDF), outlining the work we’ve accomplished in the past year, an overview of our major projects and programs, and how we will be expanding on our work in 2022.

Louise Black

New food manufacturing plant in St. Louis County looking to fill 300 positions

3 years 4 months ago

This article originally ran in the St. Louis Business Journal on January 21, 2022 A new food manufacturing plant opened up 300 jobs opportunities for people in north St. Louis County and the surrounding area. On Tuesday, elected officials, community members, and 8th Avenue Food & Provisions employees gathered outside of the new 250,000 square-foot facility at 4801 Trade Access […]

The post New food manufacturing plant in St. Louis County looking to fill 300 positions appeared first on St. Louis Regional Freightway.

Jared Haynes

Missouri Man Who Stole Hearse, Body Sentenced to Prison

3 years 4 months ago


A man who stole a hearse that was carrying a woman's body was sentenced Friday to six years in prison.

Brian Schaake, 39, and an accomplice snatched the in-service William C. Harris Funeral Home van on February 11, 2021, as it idled at a QuikTrip in Spanish Lake, according to law enforcement. For the next 24 hours, police searched frantically as tipsters reported sightings around the Metro area.

The van was spotted across the river at a gas station in Godfrey, Illinois, and Schaake and a woman named Christina Kalb were arrested the following morning in Festus.…
Doyle Murphy

Licorice Pizza Is Braless, Lawless but Far from Flawless

3 years 4 months ago
Like a shot of sunshine on a cold, COVID-wary afternoon, Licorice Pizza looks to be one of the most acclaimed films of the season — keeping open the doors of more than a few arthouse cinemas, at least for another few weeks (God willing). This, in and of itself, feels cause for celebration.…
Eileen G'Sell