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The toddler, who police said was not in a car seat, was ejected from a Chevrolet Equinox after the vehicle collided with another that ran a red light.

From St. Louis Public Radio:  The dream of R&R Marketplace started with a parking lot. For years, pastors Ken and Beverly Jenkins talked about creating a “marketplace” ministry, a place that could draw on the spiritual resources of a church while strengthening the economic muscles of the communities around it. “When it first began, it […]

This tweet was posted a few days ago: Half of U.S. homeowners and renters (49.9%) sometimes, regularly or greatly struggle to afford their housing payments—and many are making big sacrifices to cover their costs, per Redfin and Axios: pic.twitter.com/pFLPhLuOEl — unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) April 15, 2024 Matt Darling reposted it but then added: These numbers are ...continue reading "Don’t believe everything you see on the internet"

Legislation pivotal to killing a proposed landfill project in south Kansas City took a huge step forward this week in the Missouri Senate and is now just one step away from the governor’s desk.  Missouri senators passed the legislation, which would prohibit a landfill from being built in Kansas City within a mile of its […]

The post Legislation designed to kill Kansas City landfill clears hurdle in Senate, nears final passage appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Cops continue to wonder why people don’t trust them. Go figure. At the center of this latest “we’re better than you” posturing by law enforcement is the raid of the wrong house by self-proclaimed “trained and experienced” officers, who mistook one Arab male for another before rushing into a house and pointing guns at everyone. […]

Daniel Riley, the St. Louis man who caused a February 2023 crash that cost an out-of-town teenager her legs, has been sentenced.

The Complete Cisco Training Bundle has 6 courses to help you get ready to become certified. Courses cover al you need to know as a CCNA, CCEA, and more. It’s on sale for $40. Note: The Techdirt Deals Store is powered and curated by StackCommerce. A portion of all sales from Techdirt Deals helps support […]

Washington University's Office of Technology Management, which helps commercialize faculty research, has now helped created 100 startup companies.

The St. Louis Cardinals are expected to introduce their highly-anticipated City Connect uniforms next month.

A massive education bill that expands a private school scholarship program and opens up Boone County to charter schools squeaked out of the Missouri House and to the governor’s desk on Thursday, winning the bare minimum number of votes needed for passage.  The 153-page bill, sponsored by Republican state Sen. Andrew Koenig of Manchester, is […]

The post Missouri House narrowly sends private-school tax credit, charter expansion to governor’s desk appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The Wentzville School District superintendent will be receiving over $1 million over the course of nearly two months. The numbers were revealed after she announced her immediate sabbatical last week.

Alsu Kurmasheva, an American reporter for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, has been held in Russia for six months for her journalism. Why hasn’t the U.S. Department of State designated her as wrongfully detained?

Deník N/Ludvík Hradilek, courtesy of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

Six months ago today, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist and American citizen Alsu Kurmasheva was detained in Russia. Like Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Kurmasheva is being held by Vladimir Putin’s government on baseless charges, because she is a journalist. Kurmasheva has been jailed in poor conditions that threaten her health, and Russian authorities have repeatedly extended her pretrial detention.

Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) and many other civil society organizations and news media outlets have previously called on the Department of State to designate Kurmasheva as wrongfully detained, which would open up additional U.S. government resources dedicated to freeing her. The case for granting the designation has only grown since FPF made that call shortly after Kurmasheva’s detention became public.

If there was any question about whether Kurmasheva’s detention was based on her journalism when she was first detained, that doubt has now vanished. Kurmasheva was initially detained for failing to register her U.S. passport — she is a dual U.S.-Russian citizen — and for failing to “self-register” under Russia’s “foreign agent” law, which Russia has used against many independent journalists.

Since then, however, Russia has added a new charge accusing her of spreading falsehoods about the Russian military. Russian investigators reportedly cited Kurmasheva’s work on a book published by RFE/RL that is critical of Russia’s war in Ukraine, called “Saying No To War: 40 Stories of Russians Who Oppose the Russian Invasion of Ukraine.”

In addition, in February, Russia labeled RFE/RL an “undesirable organization,” banning it from operating in the country and making it a crime to participate in its work or distribute its content. In a statement at the time, RFE/RL President Stephen Capus condemned the move as “just the latest example of how the Russian government views this type of truthful reporting as an existential threat.”

Now that Russia has made explicitly clear that it’s targeting Kurmasheva because of her reporting, there should be no hesitation to designate her as wrongfully detained.

Kurmasheva’s family has called on the State Department to make the designation, and numerous lawmakers have condemned her detention or written to the department to urge it to designate her as wrongfully detained. President Biden has also said that the U.S. “is not giving up” until Kurmasheva, Gershkovich, and Paul Whelan (another American detained in Russia) return home.

Let’s not forget that Kurmasheva also works for a media outlet funded by Congress. You’d think lawmakers would be eager to combat any claims that RFE/RL is a foreign agent, especially since they codified the news outlet’s editorial independence in law. If the U.S. believes in the importance of RFE/RL’s reporting and press freedom more generally, that makes it all the more important for it to stand up for one of its reporters being unjustly held by an authoritarian state.

Six months is too long for Kurmasheva to languish in Russian prison because she dared to truthfully report the news. One day would have been too long. The State Department should designate Kurmasheva as wrongfully detained. Even more importantly, Russia must immediately release her.

Starbucks said that it plans to alleviate some of that waste with new disposable cups that contain up to 20% less plastic.

Catch live music, food and drink specials, and plenty of great deals on vinyl at these RSD events.

A St. Louis man avoided a scheduled murder trial and reached a plea agreement with city prosecutors on Wednesday.

And learn about Wonders of Wildlife’s conservations efforts with the Sea Turtle Center.

Indigenous peoples around the world are harassed and killed at alarming rates. Will the world act?

WASHINGTON PARK, Ill. - First responders were called to check on a man shocked by a live electric line while on top of a utility pole a around 8 a.m. The incident occurred at Kingshighway on Hill Avenue. He was not an electrical worker. Bommarito Automotive Group Sky Fox helicopter captured footage of the rescue. [...]