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St. Paul's Episcopal Church to Host Exorcism Presentation

1 year ago
ALTON - St. Paul’s Episcopal Church will host a presentation on exorcisms. At 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, community members are invited to attend “Deliver Us: What Hollywood Gets Wrong about Exorcism.” Father Andrew Hook, the diocesan exorcist within the Episcopal Diocese of Springfield, will talk about his experience with exorcism and how exorcisms are represented in media. “The reality is that everyone’s heads aren’t spinning around and puking pea soup. It’s a little different from that,” explained Father Garron Daniels, the priest in charge at St. Paul’s. “Father Andy is going to be talking about some misconceptions of exorcisms, what it looks like to a lot of us in movies, and what it really isn’t.” Daniels referenced “The Exorcist” as an example of a movie where exorcism is “very theatrical.” He also noted that an actual rite of exorcism is “very rare.”

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Mortgage rates have spiked up to 7%. It’s a warning from Wall Street.

1 year ago
Despite the Fed's September rate cut, along with promises of more, 30-year mortgage rates began rising abruptly in early October and spiked above 7% today: What’s going on? Mark Zandi explains: First, the strong economy is even stronger than anticipated, causing investors to re-think how quickly the Fed will cut rates. Equally important is investors’ ...continue reading "Mortgage rates have spiked up to 7%. It’s a warning from Wall Street."
Kevin Drum

The American Privacy Rights Act’s Hidden AI Ban

1 year ago
The release of a bipartisan draft of the American Privacy Rights Act (APRA) reinvigorated the effort to pass a federal consumer privacy law, only to sputter and stall amid concerns raised from across the political spectrum. All that is gone, however, is not forgotten: it is only a matter of time before Congress returns its […]
Mike Masnick

Final GDP forecast: 2.8%

1 year ago
The Atlanta Fed has published its final forecast of third-quarter GDP before the official numbers are released tomorrow. Following a disappointing export report this morning, their model now projects a Q3 growth rate of 2.8%.
Kevin Drum

Troy/Maryville/St. Jacob/Marine Chamber of Commerce Interns Share Their Experience

1 year ago
TROY/MARYVILLE/ST. JACOB/MARINE - The Troy/Maryville/St. Jacob/Marine Chamber of Commerce interns shared a little about their experience with the Chamber. On a recent episode of “Our Daily Show!,” Kyle Mullin, Kyle Hazelwood and Sterling Crutcher took to the airwaves to tell listeners about the Chamber and their internships. Emily Gretak, the office manager, also spoke about how the Chamber has helped her and the interns grow since they started work with the board, the ambassadors, and CEO Dawn Mushill. “I’m enjoying it because I’m learning a lot and I’m getting to connect with these small businesses and learn more about what they do,” Crutcher said. Crutcher serves as a videographer, while Mullin and Hazelwood work in advertising and mass communications, respectively. The interns said they enjoy the networking opportunities they’ve experienced. “We’ve been able to meet so many different people at these different

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Former Employee Pleads Guilty to Embezzling More Than $135,000 from Dupo School District

1 year ago
EAST ST. LOUIS – Linda J. Johnson, a 58-year-old resident of Waterloo, pleaded guilty in federal court on Monday to embezzling more than $135,000 from the Dupo Community Unit School District #196. The theft occurred during her employment in an administrative support role in the superintendent’s office from 2020 to 2022. Johnson was responsible for managing deposits into the district's activities account, which funds student athletics, clubs, and extracurricular activities. According to court documents, she manipulated the deposit process by preparing two sets of bank deposit slips. The first set accurately reflected the amounts of cash and checks received, while the second set only accounted for checks, allowing her to pocket the cash. U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe commented on the impact of Johnson's actions, stating, “Stealing funds from student activities directly deprives children of opportunities within their extracurriculars.” She added that despite

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Charges Issued for Burglary, Property Damage and Stealing

1 year ago
ST. LOUIS COUNTY — Nicholas Williams, a 38-year-old resident of Jennings, Missouri, faces multiple charges following an alleged burglary incident at a convenience store on October 25, 2024. The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has charged Williams with Burglary Second Degree, Property Damage First Degree, and Stealing. According to a probable cause statement, Williams was recorded on video surveillance throwing a rock-like object through the front window of the convenience store located in the 8800 block of Jennings Station Road, which activated the burglar alarm. When police arrived, they noticed the back door of the store had been opened and then closed again. Upon investigation, officers discovered the door had been barricaded and forced entry into the establishment. Officers found Williams hiding in the bathroom, exhibiting injuries to his head and hand. Blood was also observed on the floor of the business. Further examination of the video footage revealed

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STL Emergency Response 

1 year ago

  The City of St. Louis has announced that a national nonprofit organization will help improve its local emergency response plan. The Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund has selected St.Louis to take part in its new Emergency Financial empowerment initiative, which will be led by the city’s Emergency Management Agency and the St.Louis Treasurers Office. The…

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MCT Yellowhammer Connector Trail Opens in Edwardsville

1 year ago
EDWARDSVILLE - The MCT Yellowhammer Connector trail is officially open in Edwardsville. The trail connects the Delyte Morris Trail and MCT Goshen Trail. It also helps connect SIUE’s campus to the Madison County Transit (MCT) trail system. Construction began in November 2023, and the completed 2,400-feet-long trail includes a 200-foot-long bowstring truss concrete deck bridge over the Delaplain Branch creek valley. “This is just the next phase in our multiyear, multimillion-dollar effort to expand and enhance the MCT trails and to make Madison County one of the most bikeable, walkable places in the Midwest,” said S.J. Morrison, the managing director of MCT. The trail was built with a $2.9 million “Re-Build Illinois” grant from the State of Illinois. State Representative Katie Stuart noted that the program is a great way for communities to get the funding they need to support their residents and tourists. “This is why I was so proud to vote

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