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The Marvel TV universe is expanding.A new live-action series called Zodiac is set to debut on Disney+ in 2028. Brad Winderbaum, the head of Marvel Television, Animation, Comics & Franchise,…

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ALTON – While academic success and athletic accomplishments often earn recognition, it is character and compassion that truly define Alton High School junior Claire Delehanty. She is an Art Fahrner-Edward Jones AHS Remarkable Redbird of the Month. Known for her positive attitude, willingness to help others and ability to make those around her feel welcome, Claire has become a source of encouragement for many students at Alton High School. Her commitment to supporting others, particularly

Dear Friend of Press Freedom:

Trump’s Department of Justice is invoking national security in new, dangerous ways to go after the press. Plus, an Alabama university cracks down on free speech on the radio, while conservatives, along with everyone else, continue to tire of Brendan Carr’s censorship schemes.

Government raises alarming legal argument to prop up media ban

To defend the Trump administration banning CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House, DOJ lawyers are arguing in court that the outlets were barred not because Trump didn’t like what they reported, but because they had published “sensitive or classified information.”

That’s an obvious pretext — Trump himself repeatedly admitted he was singling out the outlets for coverage he disliked — but it’s still significant. As Caitlin Vogus, senior adviser for Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF), explains in MS NOW, the government is now claiming journalists and news outlets can be punished for publishing government leaks. Throughout the Julian Assange prosecution, the government claimed the case against the WikiLeaks publisher for obtaining and publishing government secrets was a one-off, and that “conventional” journalists need not be concerned. Who could’ve guessed that was nonsense, other than us and pretty much every other press freedom and civil liberties organization?

• Read the op-ed here

Alabama university censors NPR affiliate

The Alabama legislature passed a bill earlier this year requiring all state and local entities to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America,” slavishly following Trump’s executive order demanding the same. Now, the University of Alabama at Birmingham is forcing local public radio station WBHM to comply in its on-air reporting, even though the school could have easily ignored the toothless law or claimed journalism was exempt.

For The Intercept, FPF Chief of Advocacy Seth Stern and Reporters Without Borders Executive Director Clayton Weimers wrote about why the university should have chosen to stand up for journalists and the First Amendment, rather than embarrass itself.

• Read the article here

DOJ: Truth Social profiteering is Trump’s version of fireside chats

Lawyers for FPF and The Intercept argued this week for an injunction to stop Trump’s unconstitutional scheme to charge $1.2 million per year for early access to news he breaks exclusively on his social media platform, Truth Social.

Attorneys for the government argued that Trump communicates through Truth Social just like Franklin D. Roosevelt communicated through fireside chats. “Well, President Roosevelt didn’t charge money for his fireside chats, did he?” U.S. District Judge Paul Oetken responded.

• Read more about the hearing

Why ‘independent’ editorial boards can’t protect journalism

The settlement between state attorneys general and Paramount, clearing the way for its merger with Warner Bros., mandates that Paramount create an editorial independence board to oversee CNN and CBS. We said from the start that the board was a joke, but just in case we were missing something, we assembled an all-star panel of journalists and newsroom leaders who have seen how somewhat similar efforts played out in the past.

• Watch the panel here

Conservatives have had enough of the FCC

ABC fought the Federal Communications Commission’s harassment campaign in court this week, but they’re not the only ones tired of FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s censorship. Voices all over the political spectrum have spoken out about how Carr’s ill-advised and unconstitutional threats and coercion will come back to bite everyone who values free speech. We put together a video montage of conservative voices calling out Carr’s overreach.

• Watch the video here

What we’re reading Waddell v. Superior Court First Amendment Coalition

We joined an important legal brief urging the California Supreme Court to address the problem of agencies using vague excuses to postpone and avoid disclosure of records about police shootings.

Texas city demands $2M for public records on Flock usage Ars Technica

It is hypocritical for cities to use artificial intelligence for mass surveillance, and then turn around and claim their technology is too outdated to fulfill public records requests about said mass surveillance. If you can afford these cameras, you can afford to tell the public about them.

CNN, CBS News now under one roof as Paramount-Warner Bros. merger closes Al Jazeera

“Having a commitment to bipartisan representation, as opposed to a commitment to truth-telling, totally misunderstands what news is,” FPF’s Stern told Al Jazeera about Skydance’s plan for an editorial oversight board.

Remembrance Columbia Journalism Review

FPF board member Azmat Khan spent 10-plus years investigating U.S. airstrikes, where civilians were labeled as targets based on flimsy intel. She sees that doctrine in Gaza now aimed at reporters. In these obituaries, Gaza journalist Aseel Mousa spotlights the lives of five Palestinian reporters who were similarly targeted.

Police forensic tools may bypass key phone security feature FPF Digital Security Digest

A forensic extraction device used by law enforcement and some authoritarian regimes may be able to bypass your iPhone’s automatic reboot feature. Read more from our digital security team about the potential risks.

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The last of three men was sentenced to 50 months in prison for chaining, beating and starving an Indian college student in the basement of a rural Defiance home.

ALTON — For 15 years, Senior Chaplain Marc Lane has offered spiritual guidance and emotional support to Alton police officers and their families. On Thursday, Oct. 8, the Alton Police Department recognized that service with a plaque. Lane was sworn in Jan. 26, 2011, as the department’s first police chaplain. His work has included supporting officers and their families through everyday challenges and difficult times. “Throughout those years, Chaplain Lane has been a constant

It's the second forfeit win this season for University City football, which has a strong team in a weak division.

ALTON - Alton High School senior Lauren Conwell, whose service includes mentoring elementary students and volunteering at community events, has been named the school’s October Alton-Godfrey Rotary Student of the Month in recognition of her academic achievement, leadership, and community involvement. Conwell has maintained an A average while taking honors, Advanced Placement, and dual-credit courses, earning a place on the honor roll every semester. She has been inducted into the Nationa

ALTON — Isabella Tran, a Marquette Catholic High School student whose activities include tutoring classmates and creating murals for local organizations, was honored as one of the Alton-Godfrey Rotary Club's Students of the Month for October 2026. The recognition highlighted her leadership, creativity and commitment to serving others. Tran was honored at a regular club meeting at Gentelin’s on Broadway Restaurant in Alton, accompanied by her mother, MaiLan Le, and brother, Andrew

Who was Walter Barton? In 1991, Walter Barton was living in a trailer at the Riverview Mobile Home Park in Ozark, Missouri. The mobile home park was operated by 81-year-old Gladys Kuehler. According to court documents, Gladys was a busy person at the park. Family, friends, tenants and business partners would visit often. On October 9, 1991, [...]

Tropical storm conditions are being felt on the northern Gulf Coast as Category 3 Hurricane Isaias heads closer to Florida, the National Hurricane Center announced.

On Friday morning, the prediction market platform Kalshi gave the Democratic candidate in Minnesota’s U.S. Senate race an 87% chance of winning. The volume of trading on the outcome exceeded $1.8 million. This is exactly the type of activity Minnesota and numerous other states want to shut down. “They jeopardize people’s trust in government and […]

President Donald Trump has formed a White House committee to investigate Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, escalating even further a lengthy feud with the Federal Reserve Board member. The three-member committee will seek evidence that Cook made false statements in obtaining a mortgage and will hold a closed-door hearing at the White House on Nov. […]

Illinois is expanding its restaurant meals program statewide, giving eligible SNAP customers more options for prepared meals. The program now includes 50 restaurants in 16 counties. This includes Pizza Hut locations in Colona, Geneseo, Milan, Princeton, Kewanee and Monmouth. The program is for SNAP households where everyone is 60 or older, has a disability, is [...]

ILLINOIS (WCIA) -- Relief is on the horizon as the harvest season is in full effect in Central Illinois. Governor Pritzker signed an executive order, providing assistance to farmers when it comes to diesel fuel costs. Here's how it works: they will not be penalized for using red-dyed diesel for transportation on state roads for [...]

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A Missouri State University grants accounting manager is in custody in the Greene County Jail after he was arrested by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Wednesday afternoon, according to Greene County Jail records. Missouri State University Public Relations Strategist Emily Letterman said in a message to Ozarks First that the university [...]

The big Meta multi-state settlement got most of the headlines, and there’s been plenty of discussion about how it’s a bad deal for kids and pretty clearly anti-competitive. That’s thanks to a very strange clause that encourages Meta to make its own required feature changes the “industry standard” by convincing other platforms to cut similar […]

A major transportation milestone is set to benefit residents, workers, travelers and the environment across the Metro East and greater... Read More

The Essential MATLAB and LabVIEW Mega Bundle has 9 courses to help you improve your skills in programming and visualization. You’ll learn the basics of each and then go through hands-on courses building apps, learning about data analysis and visualization, and more. It’s on sale for $30. Note: The Techdirt Deals Store is powered and […]