Free Republic

Last Tuesday without any fanfare, the Barack Obama campaign announced Jennifer Joyce and Bob McCulloch, the top prosecutors in St. Louis city and St. Louis County, were joining something called an Obama truth squad. They plan to respond immediately to any misleading advertisements and statements that might violate Missouri ethics laws. "We want to keep this campaign focused on issues," Joyce told me. "Missourians don't want to be distracted by these divisive character attacks." The truth squad's plan is to indentify false attacks and respond immediately with truthful information, Joyce and McCulloch say. Truthful information like: Obama is a Christian...

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch made another round of layoffs Friday, cutting 20 employees, including 15 people from the newsroom staff. Employees in the marketing and production departments were laid off as well. A few members of management lost their jobs, but details about those positions were not immediately known, said Shannon Duffy, the St. Louis Newspaper Guild's business representative. The newspaper and the guild had opened early labor negotiations Sept. 15, well ahead of the guild’s current contract expiration set for June 2009. But they failed to prevent the job cuts. “We were in early bargaining with the Post-Dispatch to...

St. Louis Circuit Jennifer Joyce has been caught in a dust-up over her presence on a “Truth Squad” for Barack Obama. < snip > Now, here is a statement from Joyce: As a citizen, I believe that elections should be about issues. I also have enormous respect for our First Amendment and freedom of speech. My sole purpose in participating in this initiative is about getting truthful information to the voters. This has never been or never will be about prosecuting people. Clearly there are those who are attempting to twist the purpose of this initiative for their own benefit....

With the Missouri polls showing a dead heat between Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama, every campaign move is igniting scrutiny. That’s the backdrop over a two-day dust-up that is attracting local TV coverage, and has even ignited a Web fight between the Drudge Report and the Daily Kos. At issue is a new Obama “Truth Squad” formed in the state. < snip > Obama’s Missouri Truth Squad members include St. Louis Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce, Jefferson County Sheriff Glenn Boyer and St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch, among others. The inclusion of such officials has led to...

Governor Palin Supporters Announce Plans for Two Rallies Surrounding the October 2 Vice-Presidential Debate in St. LouisGroup to Invite Supporters from across the Nation to Come to St. Louis and Stand in Solidarity with Governor Plain and the Values and Principles She Is Fighting For ST. LOUIS, Missouri, September 22 /Christian Newswire/ -- The organizers will have a news conference on Tuesday, September 23, at 11:00 A.M., at the entrance to Washington University on the corner of Lindell and Skinker Boulevard to discuss their plans for the rallies. Shannon McGinley, a political activist and organizer from Bedford, New Hampshire, comments,...

(KTVI - myFOXstl.com) -- A would-be robber picked the wrong bar to rob overnight and ended up in the hospital with a gunshot wound. It happened around midnight at the Pooh’s Corner Bar at Virginia and I-55. Police say two men walked in to rob the place but several off-duty police officers were inside. Sometime during the robbery attempt, shots were fired and one of the suspects was hit in the buttocks. He was caught at the scene, but the other man ran away. Police caught him a short time later. One of the neighbors who called police says she...

Hazmat crews are investigating separate incidents at two area hospitals. Sources say several people came into contact with a chemical and drove themselves to DePaul and St. Anthony’s hospitals. Both emergency rooms were placed on lockdown and ER patients were quarantined. There is no word yet on the origin of the chemical or the incident that sent the victims to the hospital. FOX 2 has crews at St. Anthony’s and at DePaul and will have more information as it develops.

Just breaking on Fox. Not much info yet. People walking into are hospitals in St. Louis sick, skin turning blue and with breathing problems. Hospitals on Lock down. ??? They just mentioned it on Fox News....sounds very scary folks!

Ask virtually any store manager at the Saint Louis Galleria about shoplifting, and you'll invariably get two responses: One, it's out of control; and two, it's gotten exceedingly worse since August 2006, when MetroLink opened a stop just 500 yards from the high-end shopping center. In the first six months of this year, Richmond Heights police made 345 arrests at the mall. That's nearly double the number of arrests made in all of 2005, before MetroLink opened its Shrewsbury line. This year police are on pace to take 276 juveniles into custody for shoplifting and other offenses — a sevenfold...

Police in St. Louis seized cars, then freely drove them for months at a time. Perk extended to troubled daughter of police chief. Cars seized from motorists are being used as the personal rides of police officers and their relatives in St. Louis, Missouri. St. Louis Post-Dispatch investigative reporters uncovered the scandal while tracking down how Aimie Mokwa, 33, daughter of Police Chief Joe Mokwa, ended up driving vehicles registered to St. Louis Metropolitan Towing and its subsidiaries. Like many cities across the nation, St. Louis has adopted an ordinance giving police officers the ability to grab automobiles from people...

Today brings the confirmation of the long-rumored appointment of Archbishop Burke to be the head of the Apostolic Signatura in Rome. From the Vatican website: NOMINA DEL PREFETTO DEL SUPREMO TRIBUNALE DELLA SEGNATURA APOSTOLICAIl Santo Padre ha nominato Prefetto del Supremo Tribunale della Segnatura Apostolica S.E. Mons. Raymond Leo Burke, finora Arcivescovo di Saint Louis. This position ordinarily carries a promotion to Cardinal as well, which is of some solace to those His Grace leaves behind in St. Louis.It is certainly a bittersweet announcement for those in St. Louis and around the world who have rejoiced in the Archbishop's...

Legislation moving toward House debate would slash six judges from the St. Louis Circuit Court, while adding new judges to courts in the St. Louis County, Kansas City and Springfield areas.Rep. Bryan Stevenson, R-Webb City and a lawyer, said state resources must be allocated efficiently, and some courts desperately need more judges. He pointed to a special legislative committee report along with a state report conducted by the National Center of State Courts that found St. Louis has more judges than it needs. Stevenson said the studies and other judges have indicated St. Louis has more than it needs and...

Archbishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis St. Louis, May 29, 2008 / 01:03 am (CNA).- The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has confirmed Archbishop of St. Louis Raymond Burke’s decree excommunicating the board of directors of a schismatic parish.  Archbishop Burke had excommunicated the leaders of the breakaway ethnically Polish parish for hiring a suspended priest to celebrate the Sacraments and sacramentals.  The priest could be defrocked for remaining in schism, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has warned.St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish had operated under a structure in which the pastor is subject to the...

I'm going to be in St. Louis on business at the end of July. I will be going to Ranken Technical College for a week of training. Any advice on areas to avoid, areas to be sure and see (the arch I assume)? I was thinking of staying near Union Station, good idea or bad? I'm a small town southern boy, who hasn't done a lot of traveling. I'm outta here for now but will check back in tonite or first thing tomorrow. Thanks, FL_Native

Newspaper carrier Bruce Pitts knew the elderly couple only by the prayers the wife made for him while he was working at night and in bad weather, but he felt something was wrong when the papers piled up outside their home."It was never like them to leave a newspaper in their tube," Pitt said Tuesday. "That wonderful, small voice inside me said, `This isn't right.'"After his route early Sunday, Pitts went home, napped briefly and, with his wife, returned to Blanche and Fred Roberts' home, just outside Marion, Ill.They repeatedly rang the doorbells but got no answer. Pitts then eased...

St. Louis — A violent encounter outside a bar ended the dream for two fathers who immigrated to the United States years ago in hopes to build a better life. While one died a violent death the night of July 2, 2006, the other's plans crumbled Friday as a St. Louis Circuit Court judge sentenced him to 10 years in prison. Bekir Ademovic, 31, was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the death of a Sejfudin Suljic, 42, who was found dead in a alley next to the Kemix Bar, at 4701 Morganford Road.

he St. Louis Post-Dispatch announced today it will eliminate 31 positions at the paper. The main departments affected will be circulation, classified phone rooms, production, purchasing, telephone operations and marketing. No newsroom department positions will be affected. Some management positions are included in the jobs cuts, but a specific number was not provided. "Although the Post-Dispatch is performing relatively well, especially compared with other metropolitan newspapers, we believe it is prudent to dial back our expenses modestly," Kevin Mowbray, publisher of the Post-Dispatch, said in a statement. "These staff reductions will not affect the quality of our products or services...

I mentioned last week that a local St. Louis radio station reported that a minaret (Islamic prayer tower) was being built — but that I was awaiting confirmation. Well now we have it from reader Zachary B., who has taken photos of it for us, as it’s fewer than six blocks from his house...

The shooting occurred in the St. Louis suburb of Kirkwood.

With Tuesday's presidential primary on the horizon, Missouri once again finds itself basking in the political sun. Sunday's St. Louis visits by Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton and Republican Mitt Romney. . . . < snip> ROMNEY VISIT Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, declared here Sunday that he's "battling coast to coast" for his party's nomination and "the soul of the Republican Party." Romney addressed dozens of supporters packing two rooms at the Dave & Buster's restaurant in Maryland Heights. He was joined by Gov. Matt Blunt, Missouri House Speaker Rod Jetton and former Sens. Jim Talent of Missouri and...

Governor Romney Campaigns in Missouri 13857 Riverport Drive Maryland Heights MO 63043 February 03, 2008 Sunday, February 3rd, Governor Mitt Romney will campaign in Missouri. 4:30 p.m. Governor Romney Holds a Super Bowl Kick-Off Party Dave & Buster's 13857 Riverport Drive Maryland Heights, MO 5:20 p.m. Governor Romney Holds a Media Availability Dave & Buster's 13857 Riverport Drive Maryland Heights, MO *All Times Are Central Standard Time Start Time: 4:30 PM End Time: 6:00 PM

Eight people have been charged with faking voter registration forms in St. Louis city and county in 2006, federal authorities announced today. The federal indictments were unsealed this morning. Some of the accused have not been arrested yet, so their names are being withheld. The eight people were employed as voter registration recruiters by ACORN, the not-for-profit Assoication of Community Organizations for Reform Now. ACORN ran a voter registration drive for the general election in November 2006.

ST. LOUIS — Supporters say it's a political statement, maybe even art. The city says it's too big, a nuisance that needs to be removed. Either way, a two-story mural decrying eminent domain is testing the boundaries of the First Amendment, sparking a federal lawsuit that challenges the city's intricate zoning code. At issue is a tricky constitutional dilemma — fighting clutter versus protecting free speech — that experts say could force St. Louis to rewrite its laws regarding outdoor signs. "They are really going to have to go to work redrafting this ordinance," said David Hudson, a scholar at...

Having given fair warning to the women who are planning an "ordination" ceremony this weekend, Archbishop Burke is now doing his best to preserve the faithful of the St. Louis archdiocese from the confusion that event will cause. Maybe a deft editor could improve on the archbishop's statement, but it wouldn't be easy. He hits all the main points-- hard-- and yet he writes with charity; his genuine pastoral concern is unmistakable. Archbishop Burke makes it clear that he cannot fail to speak out, because his silence would be dereliction of his duty as spiritual leader. He feels the...

ST. GEORGE, Mo. -- The mayor of the St. Louis suburb of St. George, already accused of possessing marijuana, is now facing an even more serious accusation: suspicion of possessing child pornography. ~SNIP~ Goodman, 64, is a retired police officer who was elected last year. He was jailed and unavailable for comment. The St. Louis-Post Dispatch reported that police said they found marijuana when they searched Goodman's apartment, but they didn't say why they searched his apartment. snip The mayor's legal problems come less than two months after another embarrassing incident for the city. A young man's car seat-mounted videotape...

OK, maybe not real original...but still timely I think... Q&A ST. Louis Rams Q: What do you call 47 millionaires around a TV watching the Super Bowl? A: The St. Louis Rams. Q: How do you keep a St. Louis Ram out of your yard? A: Put up goal posts. Q: Where do you go in St. Louis in case of tornado? A: To the Dome - they never get a touchdown there. Q: What do you call a St. Louis Ram with a new SuperBowl ring? A: A thief. Q: What's the difference between the St. Louis Rams and...

ST. GEORGE, Mo. -- A suburban St. Louis police officer whose berating of a motorist was captured on video has lost his job. Aldermen in the tiny town St. George voted 5-0 to fire Sgt. James Kuehnlein. The vote occurred Monday in a session closed to the public. Notice of the firing was posted Wednesday at City Hall. Motorist Brett Darrow, 20, had a video recorder inside his car. He was at a commuter lot near Interstate 55 in the early hours of Sept. 7 when the officer approached the car. In a video that got wide viewership on the...

A car-mounted video camera — more commonly used by police than against them — captured a loud and threatening confrontation in this tiny St. Louis County community that left an officer on suspension and the whole world able to listen in. [snip] A voice identified as Kuehnlein's can be heard taunting the driver and threatening to jail him on fabricated charges. The tape, made late last week, was from a camera running in the vehicle Kuehnlein approached, police said. [snip] In the video, Kuehnlein, a St. George officer for about two years, approaches a young man who was sitting in...

Be not afraid!Two forms of the Rite of the Massby Archbishop Raymond L. Burke [Note: The Archbishop writes on the MP and on NFP in this column; for space considerations and in the interests of getting the word out on his thoughts about the traditional Mass, I will only post the Summorum Pontificum-relevant parts. Full article here, and I will post on the other later in the coming week] Introduction: Two different but related subjects In writing to you this week, I want to address two different but related subjects of concern to us all. The first is the recent...

Barring a last-minute switch, Cardinals shortstop David Eckstein will not be at next week's All-Star Game -- but Sports Illustrated gave him a more important recognition this spring. The magazine asked 413 Major League Baseball players, "Which player gets the most out of the least talent?" -- and Eckstein received 77 percent of the votes. No other player received more than 3 percent. Eckstein, the MVP of last year's World Series and also the shortest athlete on the field, at a generously measured 5-foot-7, is not without talent: He can hit a curveball, which Michael Jordan, a foot taller, could...

ST. LOUIS-After nearly eight years in the United States and a court fight with the government, Bosnian war refugee Adila Palalija can finally call herself an American. She is one of 34 Bosnians enjoying their first days as U.S. citizens. The group had filed a federal lawsuit in March, claiming the government was unlawfully delaying their applications to become citizens. The Bosnians became citizens Friday during a festive ceremony at Harris-Stowe State College. The case was dismissed the same day, as lawyers said the refugees had gotten the relief they had been seeking. "We're celebrating, yes," Palalija said Tuesday through...

On June 15th, 2007, His Grace Archbishop Raymond Burke will ordain two deacons of the Institute to the priesthood. The ordination will take place at the Cathedral-Basilica of St. Louis at 1:00 pm. This will mark the first priestly ordinations of the Institute to be conducted in the United States. All are invited to attend. On the following day, Saturday, June 16th, Abbé Matthew Talarico will celebrate his first Mass at our St. Francis de Sales Oratory in St. Louis, and on Sunday, June 17th, will be the first Mass of Abbé William Avis, also at the Oratory. Both these...

"Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, center, walks with faculty and students as they leave graduation ceremonies for Webster University, Saturday, May 12, 2007, in St. Louis. Pelosi was invited to attend the university's graduation ceremony to give her first commencement speech since being selected as speaker."

Today, at 11:00 am, I took the oath to become a citizen of the United States of America. It's still sinking in, but I'm ecstatic as well. And i just wanted to share this with you.

Home Schedule Exhibitors Events Attractions Housing & Travel Seminars Voting Past Meetings DON'T MISS OUT ON THIS YEAR'S MEETING... Click here to sign up for 2007 Annual Meeting Housing 2007 Event Schedule - click here for a detailed schedule Exhibit Hall Hours: Friday: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Saturday: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Sunday: 10 a.m - 5 p.m. Exhibit hall admission is FREE to all current NRA members, uniformed military and law enforcement personnel, and youth groups in uniform or otherwise identified. Thursday April 12th: National NRA Foundation Banquet Bid on limited-edition firearms, hunting trips, unique artwork and...

A retired St. Louis police captain must continue to pay his ex-wife $2,425 a month in maintenance, even though he claimed in a civil action that she tried to have him killed, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled this week. In a unanimous decision, the judges said Tuesday that neither the settlement agreement of Joseph and Ida Richardson, nor the divorce decree, nor Missouri statutes allow for a change in the financial arrangement. Ida Richardson's attorney, Elizabeth H. Christmas, had argued before the court in December that the so-called plot was never the subject of a police report or a criminal...

With the piles of food boxes growing higher, a sit-in at Mayor Francis Slay's office by city school students continued this iorning for a third day.The students, still wearing yellow shirts saying “Please don't Slay our future,” once again spent the night at the mayor's City Hall office.The students, upset with the mayor's support of a state intervention in the city schools, have submitted a set of demands they want met before leaving.

Two St. Louis religious leaders who are stuck in Lebanon say they feel fairly secure and are going ahead with some of their plans despite what they see from the balcony of their five-star hotel. Several miles from Beirut, they can see planes passing overhead on bombing runs, anti-aircraft guns countering from the ground, a naval blockage that has formed in the sea and a nearly constant cloud of smoke over the airport. Beirut "looks gorgeous from the distance - like New York City," said the Rev. Andre Mhanna from his cell phone Friday night. "But then there is gas...

ST. LOUIS — A St. Charles man accused of buying automatic weapons and a Claymore mine and bargaining for grenades was indicted this week on four federal machine gun charges.Mousa M. Abuelawi, 22, of Franjoe Court, was originally arrested Dec. 29 and charged with three counts of illegal possession or distribution of a machine gun and conspiracy to violate machine gun statutes.The men met several times in the 5700 block of West Florissant Avenue, where Abuelawi worked. One of Abuelawi's co-workers, Thaed Abde Sumad, met with the men once, according to the indictment, and "stated he wants to buy as...

In a back room at Schlafly Bottleworks in Maplewood, about 50 people gathered on a recent Wednesday night to talk rock 'n' roll. Why are Bob Marley and Kurt Cobain considered by some to be messiahs? When did rock music lose its edge and become another product manufactured and marketed by huge conglomerates such as Viacom? It was a conversation perfectly suited to the setting. Beer-stained wooden tables and the smell of hops complemented a free-flowing, spirited debate among hip young people in scruffy beards and T-shirts. In 2007, this is church.

"I've believed in him from day one. I still believe in him," the St. Louis Cardinals manager said Tuesday in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. McGwire is appearing on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time, and an AP survey of 125 baseball writers who are eligible to vote - about 20 percent of the total - showed that only one in four who gave an opinion planned to vote for McGwire. "It would be two in five then. I'd make it two in five," La Russa said. "I can't answer for anybody else, what priorities...

Tourism official says part of St. Louis only for buying crack Associated Press ST. LOUIS - A tourism official trying to portray St. Louis as a safe place to visit ended up referring to part of the city as a place that would only be visited to purchase crack cocaine.A research company, Morgan Quitno Press, called St. Louis the most dangerous city in the United States in October.The public relations director for the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission, Mary Hendron, was trying to combat the perception of St. Louis as unsafe to Venues Today, a national trade publication...

ST. LOUIS -- Mayor Francis Slay said a research company is dead wrong to call St. Louis the most dangerous city in the United States. "It's bogus," Slay said of Morgan Quitno Press's annual ranking, which was released Monday. "To suggest that St. Louis is more dangerous than Miami, New Orleans, Los Angeles and Chicago -- it just doesn't make any sense." St. Louis placed at the top of the most dangerous list after murders in the city jumped nearly 20 percent between 2004 and 2005, according to Morgan Quitno Press, a private research and publishing company specializing in state...

ST. LOUIS - Just days after the St. Louis Cardinals won the top honor in Major League Baseball, their hometown jumped to first place on a list no one wants to lead: the most dangerous cities in the United States. This Midwestern city has long been in the upper tiers of the annual ranking of the nation's safest and most dangerous cities, compiled by Morgan Quitno Press. Violent crime surged nearly 20 percent there from 2004 to last year, when the rate of such crimes rose much faster in the Midwest than in the rest of nation, according to FBI...

ST. LOUIS - The current kings of baseball are the worst World Series winners in history, though the St. Louis Cardinals are hardly bothered by such trivialities. For the rest of us, however, the question is whether to bury them or to praise them. That is what we are left with today, the first unofficial day of winter, following the fifth and final game of the World Series last night at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Detroit Tigers, 4-2, concluding a wildly improbable playoff year during which 12 teams, including Detroit and, yes, the Red Sox, finished the regular...

As the Cardinals closed in on their 10th World Series championship, former major-league executive Buzzie Bavasi agonized. "They're killing me,'' said Bavasi, a general manager with three major-league teams over 30 seasons. "Just killing me.'' Bavasi's case of Cardinal-envy was half-joking and half-real. As the general manager for the Brooklyn-Los Angeles Dodgers from 1950-68, Bavasi jousted with the Cardinals for the distinction of king of the National League. According to Bavasi, the Cardinals were more of a nemesis to the Dodgers than the hated New York-San Francisco Giants. Advertisement The Dodgers-Giants rivalry was based on geography as much as any...

Let's GO! Baseball fans!!!!! Verlander v. Weaver and "The Gambler" in G6!

Jeff Suppan is scheduled to pitch for the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 4 of the World Series at Busch Stadium, but his time on the mound will not be his only appearance on the baseball telecast. Suppan is one of several athletes in a political campaign commercial to be broadcast regionally during the Fox network’s telecast of the game. The ad urges Missouri voters to oppose stem-cell research and vote against Amendment 2 to the state constitution, on the ballot in the Nov. 7 election. In a video copy of the ad, produced and distributed by an anti-amendment group...