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MADISON COUNTY — The Madison County Sheriff’s Office will join more than 200 law enforcement agencies across Illinois from Aug. 14 through the early morning hours of Sept. 8, 2026, in a Labor Day traffic safety effort aimed at stopping impaired driving, enforcing seat belt laws and reducing other dangerous driving behaviors. The statewide campaigns include “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over,” “Drive High. Get a DUI” and “Click It or Ticket.”

SWANSEA - The Swansea Police Department is welcoming Ashton Bade as its newest police officer, the department announced, after Bade recently graduated with an associate degree from Kaskaskia College and ahead of his basic law enforcement training at the Southwestern Illinois College Police Academy. “Please join us in welcoming our newest police officer, Ashton Bade, to the Swansea Police Department family,” the department said. Bade will soon begin basic law enforcement

A St. Louis suburb is gaining national attention for its housing market, with one ZIP code ranking among the "hottest" in the country.

On August 14, one of the most important events in modern history took place in 1947, when British India was divided and the independent state of Pakistan was created. The change ended nearly two centuries of British colonial rule over a vast region, but it also brought one of the largest and most painful migrations in history. Millions of people crossed new borders as India and Pakistan emerged as separate states. At the time, the event mattered because it reshaped South Asia almost overnight.

State Democratic officials are preparing for chaos at the polls this November, as President Donald Trump casts doubt on election security and pushes for more federal involvement in local voting.  “We’re no longer talking about hypothetical situations,” said Nick Brown, Washington state’s Democratic attorney general, noting the president’s push to nationalize election administration and to […]

Dear Friend of Press Freedom:

Donald Trump selling early access to his Truth Social posts is a First Amendment foul. This week, we sued to make him stop. Plus: A climate of fear for Columbia’s student journalists, how to save the Freedom of Information Act, and safety tips for journalists on AI and doxxing.

We sued Trump over Truth Social early access grift

President Trump is selling early access to his Truth Social posts for up to $100,000 a month. Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) and The Intercept just sued him and his staff to stop the scheme.

The First Amendment guarantees citizens equal access to the president’s public announcements. By enriching himself through early access to his posts, which routinely announce official government policy, Trump is violating the Constitution.

“Trump’s crooked scheme is particularly outrageous because, as documented by our Trump Anti-Press Social Media Tracker, he frequently uses his Truth Social account to berate journalists and even to announce his plans to sue them and criminally investigate them,” FPF Chief of Advocacy Seth Stern said. “Then, he makes them wait in line behind paying customers to find out about it unless they’re willing to subsidize the platform he uses to attack them.”

• Read the lawsuit announcement here

Threats to student journalism at Columbia persist after encampments

A climate of fear has taken hold among student journalists at Columbia University following the school’s investigation and interim suspension of several who covered pro-Palestinian protests on campus, Sawyer Huckabee of Columbia radio station WKCR writes for FPF.

Columbia is home to a prestigious journalism school. But universities that train future journalists shouldn’t be places where practicing journalism puts students’ ability to complete their education at risk.

• Read about what student press is facing at Columbia

How to save FOIA

Three members of the FOIA Advisory Committee, which just wrapped up its latest term, told FPF this week how they would strengthen the imperiled federal records law. Setting a baseline funding floor for FOIA offices, establishing a specialized FOIA court, and maybe even using AI (with caveats) could make a difference in the current transparency crisis, experts said.

• Watch the webinar here

Yes, the government is getting more secretive

FPF Daniel Ellsberg Chair on Government Secrecy Lauren Harper explains in a video how the Trump administration is intentionally starving the public of information by slashing the FOIA workforce — and hiring Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers instead. Use our action center to tell Congress to ensure that FOIA offices remain fully staffed and open, because Americans want more transparency, not less.

• Tell Congress to keep FOIA offices open

Watch this if you’re a journalist using AI

While AI tools can be a godsend for journalists strapped for time and cash, they also have risks, like having your information shared in response to a legal request or used to train AI models. FPF’s Chief Security Programs Officer Harlo Holmes breaks down how you can use AI tools without endangering yourself or your sources.

• Watch Holmes explain how to use AI safely

And read this if you think you might get doxxed

Important stories can bring a lot of attention to the reporters who share them, for better and worse. Dr. Martin Shelton, deputy director of FPF’s digital security team, runs through the steps journalists can take before their stories go live to protect against malicious actors collecting and publishing their personal information.

• Learn how to protect yourself from doxxing

What we’re reading Judge clarifies that reporter Catherine Herridge doesn’t have to pay $800-per-day contempt fines as she pursues Supreme Court appeal Deadline

The fine Herridge faces is paused, but the threat to journalist-source confidentiality remains. Only a Supreme Court ruling in Herridge’s favor and a strong federal shield law can stop it.

Get outraged, and active, about the Trump-toadying FCC American Crisis

Brendan Carr’s out-of-control agency is remaking the media in Trump’s image. Former New York Times public editor Margaret Sullivan runs down how to fight back.

Judge throws out DOE’s blanket ‘still interested’ FOIA policy Federal News Network

It’s diabolical for an agency to ignore FOIA requests for years, then close them if the requesters don’t remind the agency that they still want the records.

Florida seeks to scrutinize The New York Times’ editorial process Politico

Maybe Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, who’s behind this harassing demand, should open his own books. He’s been accused of corruption, including by a member of his own party.

Attorney seeks help from higher court in getting reporter’s notes back The Assembly

Gagging a journalist, holding her notes for more than three years, and then hiding behind procedural rules to block her appeal is outrageous.

Iowa governor’s office insists executive privilege can block release of staff emails Courthouse News Service

Expanding the exemptions to public records laws, like making up a new “executive privilege” exemption for staffer emails, helps elected officials operate in secret, without accountability.

O’Fallon’s latest attempt to halt some new apartment construction failed, with supporters falling one vote short of the six needed for approval. “The moratorium is overkill,” said Councilman Brian Boyer.

It’s always the same routine. Before each giant merger the companies promise that the new combined entity will deliver the sea, moon, and stars. We’re told the consolidation will result in untold synergies, massive job growth, and incredible new innovation. Yet in a country too corrupt to have functional antitrust enforcement or working regulators, what […]

As youngest son turns 21, a look into the past, and some pondering about a future amid changing times.

ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. - A pedestrian was struck and killed in a crash involving a tractor-trailer early Friday on Interstate 70 in Wentzville. According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP), the crash occurred shortly after 12:30 a.m. on eastbound I-70, just east of Wentzville Parkway. The pedestrian, who is from Perry, New York, [...]

Kansas City officials are looking to cut a ballpark deal within weeks that will define the city for decades. Publicly, at least, the details remain sparse. City officials are scrambling to finalize plans to help finance the Royals’ proposed $1.9 billion ballpark at Crown Center before the end of the month. If things had gone […]

Overheated political rhetoric and heat waves make for a bad combination.