Illinois schools must implement 24 new rules

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) – State records show schools in Illinois will start the academic year having to comply with at least two dozen new statutes, or mandates from lawmakers. The Springfield bureau of Lee Enterprises newspapers says that reports collected by the Illinois State Board of Education show the 24 additional requirements are down slightly…

Striking contrast at Ferguson protest

FERGUSON, MO (KPLR) – Protestors wielding bullhorns and challenging the  line of police in riot gear were  not the only demonstrators on West Florissant Wednesday evening. Members of a local Ferguson church brought in a band on a flatbed truck about six thirty.  The lively gospel music quickly drew some protestors away from the police…

Protesters pushed from Ferguson streets

FERGUSON, MO (KTVI) – The St. Louis SWAT Team was on  the scene of a protest on West Florissant street in Ferguson on Wednesday evening.  Demonstrators were filling the streets. Police told the crowd to clear the area or there will be arrests. Just before 9 pm  police say the crowd that gathered at West Florissant and…

ISRAEL, HAMAS BATTLE OVER PUBLIC OPINION ONLINE

JERUSALEM (AP) — Beyond the boom of Israeli airstrikes and the stream of rockets fired from Gaza, Israel and Hamas are also battling to control the message emanating from this latest Israeli-Palestinian conflagration. Using videos, Twitter, text messages, leaflets and phone calls, both sides have attempted to direct the tone of the fighting — for…

Condemned inmate requests panel to review clemency

ST. LOUIS (AP) – A Missouri death row inmate with a July scheduled execution is asking Gov. Jay Nixon to appoint an independent panel to review his clemency request. Fifty-four-year-old John Middleton is scheduled to die July 16 at the state prison in Bonne Terre. The one-time methamphetamine dealer was convicted in the 1995 drug-related…