New Mexico State Police and University of New Mexico police arrest pro-Palestinian protesters at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque on April 30, 2024.
Chancey Bush/The Albuquerque Journal via Associated Press
Charges have been dismissed against two Albuquerque journalists who were arrested at the University of New Mexico during a police sweep of a pro-Palestinian encampment in May. Although they no longer face trial, the journalists’ arrests and subsequent prosecution were violations of their constitutional rights and should have never occurred in the first place.
“By dropping the prosecutions, the UNM Police Department sent a message, albeit belatedly, that journalists can report freely,” Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) advocacy intern Jimena Pinzon wrote for the Albuquerque Journal. “While they deserve some credit for eventually coming to their senses, next time they need to avoid heading down this path in the first place.”
Pinzon also discussed a problematic legal quirk that allows police in New Mexico to prosecute misdemeanor cases without involving actual prosecutors. That allowed police to cut out the local district attorney, whose office had vowed not to prosecute First Amendment activity at protests.
The brutal Chicago police response to protests during the 1968 Democratic National Convention was disastrous. As the city hosts another convention, during another unpopular war, police have a chance to get it right.
AP Photo/RHS
As journalists flock to Chicago to cover the Democratic National Convention Aug. 19-22, local police must allow the press to report on what’s happening inside and outside the event — even if tensions escalate.
In a highly politicized election cycle, characterized by the ongoing war in Gaza, protests are likely to be widespread and newsworthy. In an op-ed for the Chicago Sun-Times, Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) urged Chicago authorities to uphold the First and Fourth amendments and allow journalists to do their jobs.
As we explained, “The issue isn’t about putting journalists on a pedestal … When journalists aren’t watching, abuses of peaceful protesters are more likely. The public suffers by being uninformed. The only beneficiaries are officials looking to avoid accountability.”
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) - Duke Webb, the man accused of killing three people at Don Carter Lanes in Rockford nearly four years ago, is heading to trial. The jury trial is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m., Monday, Dec. 2, in Courtroom A inside the Winnebago County Justice Center with Judge John Gibbons presiding. Webb, [...]
A franchisee of the chain is waiting for final approval from the St. Charles City Council to demolish a former fast-food restaurant building and build a coffee shop.
REO Speedwagon frontman Kevin Cronin has paid tribute to Aerosmith following the news the band has retired from touring due to Steven Tyler’s vocal issues. Cronin writes on Instagram that in the '70s they were…
Southern Glazers Wine and Spirits of Missouri is relocating its St. Charles warehouse to Raymore, Missouri, offering all employees employment at the new facility but warning that those unable to transfer will be laid off on November 1, 2024.
EDWARDSVILLE - The manager of Kyoto Steakhouse Edwardsville Inc. was indicted by a Madison County grand jury on several charges including sales tax evasion, theft of government funds, and more. He allegedly used false sales figures for more than three years to avoid paying over $100,000 in taxes to the state. Lin Hua, 41, of Edwardsville, was charged with one count of Theft of Government Funds (a Class X felony), one count of Sales Tax Evasion (a Class 1 felony), and three counts of Filing a Fraudulent Sales & Use Tax Return (each Class 3 felonies). The indictment, filed on Aug. 1, 2024, concerns a series of crimes Hua reportedly committed from Oct. 20, 2018 to March 21, 2022. During that time, he “utilized false sales figures to prepare and file monthly sales and use tax returns on behalf of Kyoto,” exceeding $100,000 in taxes owed, according to the indictment. The three Class 3 felonies filed against Hua stem from fraudulent sales and use tax returns filed on Jan.
ST. LOUIS - A St. Louis County man appeared in federal court on Monday and admitted carjacking and robbing two people in downtown St. Louis last summer. Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri said Bradley McKinney, 35, carjacked a 2015 Chevy Cruze on July 29, 2023. The indictment further [...]
EFFINGHAM/ST. LOUIS - No matter what industry you’re in, Turnkey Computer Systems offers IT support that’s tailored to fit your needs. Based out of Effingham, Illinois, Turnkey Computer Systems has over 100 clients in different industries across Missouri, Illinois and Indiana. They specialize in dentistry but can offer outsourced IT support to nonprofits, school districts and countless other organizations and industries. Aaron Geisen, one of the newest members of the 10-person team, explained the importance of Turnkey’s work. “We’re providing a Turnkey service of being the boots on the ground, the first point of contact for all these systems that we don’t own, we don’t manage, but we do support,” Geisen said. “Being able to have the independence so we’re able to do the troubleshooting we need to do to take care of our customers while also being able to partner with those vendors is amazing.” Turnkey started
In the 1960s, St. Louis nearly became one of the most magical places on earth. A planned Disneyland, called the Riverfront Square, captured imaginations as local leaders sought to strike a deal with Walt Disney himself — until that deal went bibbidi, bobbidi, bust. In this encore episode from May 2024, writer Devin Thomas O'Shea reminds us of what the canceled Disney attraction might have been, the disputed reasons why the plan fell apart (no, it wasn't just over beer), and the problematic characters and mythologized storytelling that the park would have been designed around.
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s efforts to delay sentencing in former President Donald Trump’s hush money case in New York were rejected Monday by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The decision comes a day before Bailey will face off in the Aug. 6 primary election against Will Scharf, a member of Trump’s legal team.
In a one-page order, the court refused to intervene in the case, meaning a gag order against Trump will remain in place and sentencing on his 34 felony convictions will move…
Missouri in the last year has significantly reduced its backlog of overdue nursing home inspections, recent federal data shows, though it still stands out for how low nursing staffing is at many facilities.
Around this time last year, a quarter of nursing homes hadn’t been inspected in at least two years.
Now the number is closer to 3%, according to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services data.
The state’s surveyors “have investigated complaints at night, early morning, weekends and…
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s efforts to delay sentencing in former President Donald Trump’s hush money case in New York were rejected Monday by the U.S. Supreme Court. The decision came a day before Bailey won the Aug. 6 primary election against Will Scharf, a member of Trump’s legal team. In a one-page order, the court […]
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