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Bruce Springsteen hit the stage for the first time in 2025 Saturday night, making a surprise appearance at the 25th anniversary Light of Day concert at the Count Basie Theater…

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ILLINOIS - Golden Apple, a non-profit committed to preparing, supporting and mentoring aspiring teachers, is accepting applications for both its Accelerators and Scholars programs. Through these programs, Golden Apple seeks to provide pathways for aspiring educators to enter the profession and fill crucial open teaching positions across the state. Illinois faces an ongoing teacher shortage crisis, leading to classrooms lacking the highly-effective, well-qualified educators our students deserve. A report earlier this year from the Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents found that there were more than 4,000 teaching positions unfilled for the 2023-2024 school year, with 91% of school leaders indicating experiencing a teacher shortage. “Recruiting the new cohorts of our Scholars and Accelerators programs is always an exciting and meaningful opportunity for our team to engage with hundreds of aspiring educators who have the passion for shaping our next generation,”

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A large masonry church in north St. Louis caught fire Monday morning.

Donald Trump's inaugural address was surprisingly low key and consisted mostly of a laundry list of the executive orders he plans to sign later today. Some highlights: Trump declares an emergency at the southern border even though there's patently no emergency at the moment. Trump reinstates "Remain in Mexico," but can he do that without ...continue reading "The shortest possible recap of Donald Trump’s inauguration speech"

MARYVILLE - The Maryville Kiwanis Club is thriving as 2025 begins. Six new members were inducted at the club’s January 15th meeting. According to Wayne White, Membership Chair, the club members have been intentional in their invitations to prospective members and it has paid off. White said, “Our club is very active in the community and when prospective members learn about the service projects that our club provides in our community, it is easy for them to want to join.” The club has one of its service projects coming up in February. Kiwanians will staff the local laundry mat (Sudz Wash) the weekend following Valentine’s Day. “During those two days (February 15th & 16th), from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. we will conduct our annual Loads of Love project,” said Julie Clark, club president. “Kiwanians will greet those utilizing the laundry mat at the door and let them know that the club is paying for their laundry as a Valentine’s

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The Poseys were staying at the Eureka Holiday Inn Saint Louis West at Six Flags Friday afternoon. They never imagined their daughter would need rescuing.

At the last minute, Joe Biden: Pardoned the J6 committee members and the Capitol police officers who testified before them. Pardoned Anthony Fauci and Gen. Mark Milley. Pardoned five close family members. Commuted the remaining sentence of native American activist Leonard Peltier. Posthumously pardoned civil rights leader Marcus Garvey. On Sunday he pardoned Darryl Chambers, ...continue reading "Today is pardon day"

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump took the presidential oath of office for the second time Monday during an inauguration ceremony inside the U.S. Capitol rotunda. The swearing-in marked the culmination of a four-year journey for Trump, whom many Republicans distanced themselves from following the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, but nonetheless supported during his third […]

The grocer already has partnerships with other delivery platforms DoorDash and Shipt.

An early draft of Bob Dylan’s lyrics to “Mr. Tambourine Man” sold for $508,000 at the Celebrating Bob Dylan: The Aronowitz Archive, T Bone Burnett & More auction conducted by Julien’s…

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SPRINGFIELD – Today, Governor JB Pritzker announced $14.7 million in federal grant funding will be used to extend the state’s Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA) beyond June 30, 2025. The funding will be awarded to the existing 15 providers announced in 2024. LFPA was launched as the Illinois – Equitable Access Towards Sustainable Systems (IL-EATS) program in 2022 by the Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) and the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) in a joint effort to transform the food system. Under the program, lead agencies such as food banks and non-profit organizations receive grant funds to purchase food from underserved farmers at a fair market value which is then provided at no cost to food-insecure communities. The program prioritizes ensuring culturally responsive fresh foods are available to Illinois’ most vulnerable families. “The continuation of this vital program ensures that those at bot

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CHICAGO - Attorney General Kwame Raoul today, as part of a coalition of 18 states, filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit defending a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule establishing the first nationwide drinking water standards for certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances “PFAS” under the Safe Drinking Water Act. The federal rule expands nationwide drinking water protections to add four PFAS analytes, known as “forever” chemicals, and sets enforceable standards for six PFAS chemicals found in drinking water across the country: PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS, GenX, PFNA, and PFBS. The rule sets regulations for each chemical individually, and as mixtures, recognizing appropriately that these threats cannot be addressed in isolation. Under the rule, public water systems across the United States are required to test and, if necessary, treat drinking water for these contaminants. “As the name implies, forever chemicals

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With Donald Trump’s inauguration today, journalists and whistleblowers can expect four more years of legal attacks, threats, smears, bullying, and other abuses we haven’t even thought of yet — all intended to stop them from reporting the news.

While no one can predict exactly what the next four years have in store, here are three press freedom issues that we’ll be following closely at Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF).

Increased leaks investigations

Trump’s first term was marked by a surge in leaks investigations. Unnamed sources close to his incoming administration (ironic, isn’t it?) have told reporters to expect even more of the same during his second term.

That means whistleblowers or anyone even suspected of unauthorized leaking could face invasive investigations, such as surveillance of their movements and activities, and broad legal demands for their electronic records. Those who are caught and prosecuted may also be punished harshly, including with long prison sentences.

The Department of Justice could also issue subpoenas or other legal demands to journalists or their tech providers seeking the identities of reporters’ sources, as it did during Trump’s first term. Journalists who refuse to comply with demands to name their confidential sources could be fined or jailed — Trump has been clear that he would like to see just that.

Unfortunately, a law that would have prohibited that, the PRESS Act, failed last Congress, thanks to Democrats’ stalling and Sen. Tom Cotton’s lying. We’ll continue to press Congress to pass a federal law that would protect investigative reporting, during the Trump years and beyond, by prohibiting jailing journalists for refusing to burn their sources. Congress must also reform the Espionage Act — a law that’s been used by both Democrats and Republicans to prosecute those who leak classified information to the press — to ensure it applies only to spying, not whistleblowing.

FPF will also continue to oppose attempts to undermine secure communication tools such as end-to-end encryption, which will become increasingly important in the absence of strong legal protections for journalist-source confidentiality. Journalists and sources should familiarize themselves with best practices for digital security. Sources should brush up on methods for lessening their own risk and may want to consider using SecureDrop and a Tor Browser to share documents or information anonymously.

Criminal prosecutions of journalists

Journalists could be jailed not only for refusing to reveal their sources but also for publishing information that the Trump administration or oligarchs in its orbit don’t want to be made public.

Thanks in no small part to the Biden administration’s decision to continue Trump’s prosecution of WikiLeaks founder and publisher Julian Assange, the Trump administration will have an easier time abusing the Espionage Act to prosecute journalists who publish national defense information. Assange pleaded guilty to violating Section 793(g) of the act last June, the first time in U.S. history a publisher has been convicted under the law.

It’s a short legal leap from prosecuting Assange to prosecuting national security reporters at traditional news outlets. Assange’s guilty plea was based on conduct that journalists engage in every day: soliciting classified information from the public, encouraging a source to provide him with classified information, and publishing that information.

It’s a short legal leap from prosecuting Assange to prosecuting national security reporters at traditional news outlets.

A journalist charged under the Espionage Act for publishing newsworthy information will have a strong First Amendment defense. But we shouldn’t rely on courts to make the right call when it comes to protecting press freedom against spurious national security claims. Congress must reform the Espionage Act not only to protect whistleblowers but also ensure that it can’t be used against journalists.

Unfortunately, the Espionage Act isn’t the only threat. Federal prosecutors could use other criminal laws against journalists over the next four years. Computer hacking laws like the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, in particular, have already been abused to go after digital journalists like Florida journalist Tim Burke.

With the possibility of increased protests during the Trump administration, we may also see journalists covering protests arrested for crimes like trespassing. While the DOJ recently issued important guidance and recommendations about the First Amendment protections for journalists covering protests, there’s no guarantee it will continue to follow them under Trump.

FPF will continue to speak out against the criminal prosecution of journalists for doing their jobs and push to ensure that they receive full First Amendment protections.

Abuse of government surveillance against the press

We’re also concerned about increased government surveillance of the press over the next four years, especially through tech providers.

The government already has the power to issue legal orders requiring a tech company to turn over a journalist’s digital records, and it can do so in secret by gagging the company. DOJ guidelines limit the circumstances under which the government can issue those legal demands, but the next DOJ could simply ignore or repeal them.

If the government can’t get a legal order for tech company data, it can often buy it. No law prevents the FBI and intelligence agencies from buying location or other sensitive data about Americans from data brokers that they usually couldn’t get without a warrant. And they’re doing exactly that.

While there’s a real risk of abuse of these spying powers over the next four years, there’s also a possibility of reigning them in.

The Trump administration will also have expanded powers under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which Congress reauthorized and broadened last year to expand the types of entities that can be forced to help the U.S. spy. While some lawmakers promised a later “fix” to that part of the law, that fix has never come. Section 702 is often sold as a purely foreign surveillance law targeting terrorists and drug traffickers, but it’s also been used to spy on Americans, including journalists, without a warrant.

While there’s a real risk of abuse of these spying powers over the next four years, there’s also a possibility of reigning them in. Some of the most vocal critics of government surveillance in recent years have been Republican lawmakers aligned with Trump, who called on the last Congress to kill FISA. Speaker Mike Johnson recently ousted a pro-FISA representative, Mike Turner, from his chairmanship of the House Intelligence Committee.

FISA will be up for reauthorization again during Trump’s second term. MAGA skepticism toward government surveillance may create opportunities to pass FISA reform and other bipartisan laws limiting government spying, like the Fourth Amendment is Not For Sale Act.

At the same time, some Trump appointees have been singing a different tune more recently and embracing government spying powers. Republicans may very well find that they enjoy vast spying powers when they’re the ones who control them, just like the Democrats did. In that case, FPF will be there to remind them that most Americans don’t want to live in a surveillance state.

Also read our article on Biden's three biggest press freedom failures.