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Missouri bill looks to ban AI from marriage, other human rights

1 week 2 days ago
A Missouri lawmaker has introduced a bill that would officially declare artificial intelligence (AI) systems as non-human and prevent them from receiving any sort of human rights, responsibilities or legal status. In the state, this would prevent AI from owning any property, getting married to a human, or being your boss at your job.
Alex Barton

Attorney General Raoul Begins Second Phase Of Robocall Roundup; Announces Investigation Of Four Service Providers

1 week 2 days ago
CHICAGO – Attorney General Kwame Raoul with a bipartisan coalition of 50 attorneys general, today launched the second phase of Operation Robocall Roundup, an effort by the multi-state Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force to crack down on robocalls across the country. As part of an ongoing investigation, Raoul and the task force sent letters to Inteliquent, Bandwidth, Lumen and Peerless directing each company to stop transmitting suspected illegal robocalls across their networks. “Today’s

FPF demands appellate court lift secrecy in reporter’s privilege case

1 week 2 days ago

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

The federal appellate court for the D.C. Circuit recently affirmed a ruling requiring investigative journalist Catherine Herridge to disclose the sources for her reporting on scientist Yangping Chen’s alleged ties to the Chinese military while an online college Chen founded received federal funds.

The court got it wrong by holding Herridge in contempt for not burning her sources, and Herridge is rightly seeking a rehearing. Worse yet, the misguided ruling was informed by documents about the FBI’s investigation of Chen that were filed under seal, even though the investigation is over and the documents aren’t classified. The appellate court even held a portion of its hearing to decide whether to order Herridge to testify in closed court.

Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF), represented by Schaerr | Jaffe LLP, filed a motion to intervene and unseal the documents and hearing transcript yesterday.

The following statement can be attributed to Seth Stern, director of advocacy for FPF.

“Journalist-source confidentiality is about safeguarding the public’s right to be informed. Its fate should not be decided in secret hearings about secret documents. Americans deserve to know whether the damages Chen claims to have suffered were because of alleged leaks to Herridge or because of the outcome of the government investigation she reported on. If the latter, it raises the question of whether the court is ordering Herridge to out her sources to aid Chen in pursuing a baseless lawsuit. Surely the bar for compelled disclosure of journalistic sources must be higher than that.

“Opponents of the reporter’s privilege often dream up convoluted hypothetical scenarios to call it a national security risk. But here we see someone suspected of ties to a foreign military able to use the courts to try to find out who in the government U.S. reporters are talking to and the content of those conversations. It goes to show that the real national security risk is the lack of a statutory privilege, which allows courts to issue misguided rulings. Congress should step up and reintroduce and pass the PRESS Act.”

H. Christopher Bartolomucci, a partner at Schaerr | Jaffe, added:

“Public access and government accountability are fundamental to the rule of law, and the notion of ‘secret law’ is anathema to our system of justice. By denying the public access to important judicial records in this case, the court is keeping members of the public from judging for themselves the strength or weakness of the court’s reasoning.”

You can read FPF’s motion here.

Please contact us if you would like further comment.

Freedom of the Press Foundation

The 8th Ward as a Lens: Jami Cox Antwi’s View of St. Louis

1 week 2 days ago

On July 1st, 2025, St. Louis voters chose a new representative for one of the city’s most complex and consequential areas: the 8th Ward. Stretching from Downtown through diverse historic neighborhoods, the ward offers a microcosm of St. Louis. The person now leading the ward is Alderperson Jami Cox Antwi, a third-generation native St. Louisan […]

The post The 8th Ward as a Lens: Jami Cox Antwi’s View of St. Louis appeared first on NextSTL.

Jackie Dana

LC Announces 2+2 Pathway to UIS for Legal Studies Students

1 week 2 days ago
GODFREY – Lewis and Clark Community College recently forged a new agreement with University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) that will allow Legal Studies transfer students to earn guaranteed acceptance while saving thousands on tuition during their first two years of college. This 2+2 pathway will allow students who have earned an Associate in Applied Science (AAS) in Paralegal Studies from LC to transfer to the Legal Studies program at UIS. The agreement establishes a clear pathway,

US Senate panel seeks speedy bipartisan deal on health insurance subsidies

1 week 2 days ago
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate committee that oversees health care started coalescing around an approach to lower costs for Americans during a Wednesday hearing, though several hurdles lay ahead. Republicans and Democrats on the panel appeared to accept that enhanced tax credits for people who purchase their health insurance from the Affordable Care Act marketplace […]
Jennifer Shutt

First Fridays Late Night Art and Shopping Experience In Alton Begins On Dec. 5, 2025

1 week 2 days ago
ALTON - Alton Main Street presents First Fridays, a late night art and shopping experience which spans 20 locations across the Downtown Alton district. This series is held on the First Friday of October, November and December, providing shoppers with an opportunity to check out new shops and galleries and visit familiar favorites to experience art and great specials at each business during special, late night shopping hours. Participants are offering a variety of discounts, refreshments, an

Police investigate fatal shooting in Breckenridge Hills

1 week 2 days ago
BRECKENRIDGE HILLS, Mo. – Homicide detectives are investigating Tuesday’s fatal shooting in Breckenridge Hills. According to Breckenridge Hills Police Chief Scott Robinson, the shooting happened before 11:45 a.m. in the 3300 block of Chaucer Avenue. Officers arrived to find a man suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. He was taken to the hospital, where he [...]
Kevin S. Held