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Granite City Man Charged With Battery Of Pregnant Woman

1 year 9 months ago
GRANITE CITY - A man from Granite City was recently charged with domestic and aggravated battery of a pregnant woman, according to recent Madison County court filings. Dustin M. Hale, 32, of Granite City, was charged with one count of aggravated battery and one count of domestic battery, both committed against the same victim on Jan. 9, 2024. Hale committed these offenses while “knowing to be pregnant, in that said defendant punched and kicked about the body causing pain,” according to court documents. Hale was charged with a Class 3 felony for aggravated battery and a Class A misdemeanor for domestic battery. Court documents indicate he was remanded to be held in jail until his initial court appearance. The issuance of charges is based solely upon probable cause and is not an indication of guilt. All subjects charged with criminal offenses are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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Heavily Armed Arnold Man Busted in South County Center Break-In

1 year 9 months ago
A scooter-riding, pistol-packing, body armor-wearing Arnold man is currently facing a felony burglary charge after a botched attempt to rob a jewelry store early this morning at South County Center. Police say that a mall security guard spotted 31-year-old Jacob Cecil Scholtes around 1 a.m. on Friday, January 12, riding an electric scooter around the mall.
Ryan Krull

The case for ignoring censorship orders

1 year 9 months ago

A portion of the Nov. 30, 2023, court order attempting to censor BusinessDen reporter Justin Wingerter. Fortunately, he did not comply.

Our U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documented 11 prior restraints against journalists in 2023, the most since it started tracking them in 2017. Prior restraints — or government orders not to publish information — have long been considered the “most serious” First Amendment violation. 

Judges, like anyone who went to law school, should know that the Supreme Court has never approved a prior restraint against the press, even when the government alleged national security was at stake. And yet, courts keep entering them with little regard for the law, leaving journalists censored while often slow-moving appellate processes play out.

Freedom of the Press Foundation Director of Advocacy Seth Stern wrote in the Columbia Journalism Review that it may be time for news outlets to reconsider complying with these unlawful orders. Stern argues that:

"The law is useful only if judges respect it. But when the law on press freedom is not useful for them, they often don’t. And in First Amendment cases, even the most egregious violators face no consequences. It seems the only way judges are going to stop is if they learn that the press will disregard their orders, shame them on editorial pages, and dare them to imprison journalists for doing their jobs. Is that contempt of court? Maybe. But censorial judges deserve contempt."

You can read the full article here.

Freedom of the Press Foundation

Ameren All In Scholarships now available

1 year 9 months ago
The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis has launched the Ameren All In Scholarship Fund, a $1,180,000, five-year commitment to provide 25 students annually with scholarship grants up to $10,000 per student per year for up to 10 semesters, or five…
St. Louis American staff

Yeah, I remember Libya

1 year 9 months ago
This is an odd post from Atrios: Remember Libya? A funny forgotten war in which we destroyed a country most likely (whether we knew it or not) to cover up Sarkozy's crimes. No one can offer up a better explanation, anyway, other than the usual liberal humanitarian intervention nonsense which explodes as ridiculous as soon ...continue reading "Yeah, I remember Libya"
Kevin Drum