BELLEVILLE, IL (AP) — An 18-year-old has been charged with breaking the back of a fellow inmate during a beating that happened a few days before he went on trial for raping a carjacking victim. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Leondre McClendon was charged Tuesday with four aggravated battery counts in the Aug. 11 attack…
SPRINGFIELD, IL (AP) — Doctors in Illinois can now prescribe marijuana as a painkiller thanks to a new law intended to counter a growing opioid abuse epidemic. Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner signed the bill into law Tuesday allowing physicians to temporarily prescribe cannabis for pain relief, effective immediately. The Illinois Department of Public Health reports that 11,000…
SWANSEA, IL (AP) — Two teens have been charged with arson in a weekend fire at a southwestern Illinois house where 11 people were inside. Swansea Police Chief Steve Johnson says the 11 included a baby and five more children. He says a neighbor called and alerted them about the fire Saturday night. The Belleville News-Democrat says…
PEORIA, IL (AP) — A former central Illinois officer who was fired for inappropriate social media use says the posts were protected under the First Amendment. Former Peoria police officer Jeremy Layman is asking a federal judge to declare the Facebook posts he made while off duty as protected, The Journal Star reported. Layman filed a lawsuit…
By KEN THOMAS , Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is tweeting that his White House counsel, Don McGahn, will be departing in the fall after the Senate confirmation vote for Judge Brett Kavanaugh to serve on the Supreme Court. Trump praised his top White House lawyer on Wednesday, saying he has “worked…
By MELISSA DANIELS , Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — Family, friends and constituents will gather Wednesday at Arizona’s Capitol to pay their respects to Sen. John McCain, the first of two days of services here before he departs the state he has represented since the 1980s. A private ceremony will be held Wednesday morning at…
Ferguson, MO (KTRS) Security is being stepped up around McClure South Berkeley High School after a man was seen exposing himself in the area. Police say school staff and other witnesses reported a man exposing himself this week near the school. Police will have extra officers patrolling the area. The suspect is described a man in…
Mascoutah, IL (KTRS) A section of Mascoutah is under a boil order due to a water main break. City officials say the boil order isn’t expected to be lifted until Thursday at the earliest. Customers will be notified when the boil order has been lifted. The affected areas are: 105 – 111 E Church 109…
(AP) IllINOIS Gov. Bruce Rauner has signed a law allowing medical marijuana to be used as a painkiller instead of highly addictive opioids. The law the Republican signed Tuesday is effective immediately. It allows physicians to temporarily prescribe cannabis for pain relief as a means to combat a growing opioid-addiction epidemic. The Illinois Department of…
(AP) President Donald Trump is accusing Google and other U.S. tech companies of rigging search results about him “so that almost all stories & news is BAD.” A top adviser says the White House is “taking a look” at whether Google should face federal regulation even though Trump is offering no evidence of such bias.…