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President Trump’s War On “Woke AI” Is A Civil Liberties Nightmare

13 hours 1 minute ago
The White House’s recently-unveiled “AI Action Plan” wages war on so-called “woke AI”—including large language models (LLMs) that provide information inconsistent with the administration’s views on climate change, gender, and other issues. It also targets measures designed to mitigate the generation of racial and gender biased content and even hate speech. The reproduction of this bias […]
Tori Noble and Kit Walsh

I-64 Ramp Closure Set for Aug. 26, 2025

13 hours 5 minutes ago
O’FALLON – The Illinois Department of Transportation today announced that the entrance ramp from southbound Illinois 158 to westbound Interstate 64 in St. Clair County will be closed overnight for road construction. The closure will begin at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 26, and the ramp is expected to reopen by 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 27. Motorists should expect delays and are encouraged to use alternate routes during this closure. Drivers are urged to reduce speed, be alert for changing conditions, obey all construction signage, and refrain from using mobile devices while approaching and traveling through the work zone. For IDOT District 8 updates, follow us on the social media platform X at @IDOTDistrict8 or view area construction details on IDOT’s traveler information map on www.GettingAroundIllinois.com .

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Before They Can Rule the World, Chinese Robots Need to Master Basic Chores

13 hours 14 minutes ago

From Wall Street Journal: BEIJING—Humanlike robots are great for entertainment. Menial labor? Not so much. At the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing this weekend, more than 500 humanoid robots competed in both sporting events and real-world tasks such as moving boxes, delivering luggage and cleaning rooms. Some were remarkably fast and agile, but most […]

The post Before They Can Rule the World, Chinese Robots Need to Master Basic Chores appeared first on Construction Forum.

Tom Finan

AI is making it easier for bad actors to create biosecurity threats

13 hours 34 minutes ago
Artificial intelligence is helping accelerate the pace of scientific discovery, but the technology also makes it easier than ever to create biosecurity threats and weapons, cybersecurity experts say.  It’s an issue that currently flies under the radar for most Americans, said Lucas Hansen, cofounder of AI education nonprofit CivAI. The COVID-19 pandemic increased awareness of […]
Paige Gross

FBI raids Maryland home of Trump critic John Bolton

13 hours 34 minutes ago
WASHINGTON — FBI agents raided the home and office of former Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton, a one-time adviser to President Donald Trump who has become a frequent critic of the president, to investigate Bolton’s handling of classified documents, according to multiple media reports. The raid on a former Trump adviser’s house represents […]
Ariana Figueroa

New strategies to help journalists in Gaza

14 hours ago

Dear Friend of Press Freedom,

For 150 days, Rümeysa Öztürk has faced deportation by the United States government for writing an op-ed it didn’t like, and for 69 days, Mario Guevara has been imprisoned for covering a protest. Read on for more, and click here to subscribe to our other newsletters.

​​New strategies to help journalists in Gaza

Letters and condemnations have their place in press freedom advocacy, especially when dealing with a persuadable audience. But that playbook isn’t working for journalists in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his arms supplier, President Donald Trump, don’t care about journalists’ lives, let alone their freedoms.

Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) board member and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Azmat Khan and her colleagues, Meghnad Bose and Lauren Watson, spoke to over 20 journalists and activists, including FPF Executive Director Trevor Timm, in search of novel ideas to stop Israel’s slaughter of journalists and concealment of war crimes. Read more in Columbia Journalism Review.

FPF complaint opposes U.S. attorney’s retaliation against press

It’d be journalistic malpractice for reporters to ignore a prominent public official listing a boarded-up house as his residence to claim eligibility for his position. But that’s not how John Sarcone III, acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York, sees it.

He was reportedly “incensed” by reporting from the Times Union of Albany and ordered the paper removed from his office’s media list. In response, FPF, Demand Progress Education Fund, and Reinvent Albany filed a complaint with New York’s Attorney Grievance Committee. Read more here.

Oregon cops cosplay as journalists

Eugene police threatened documentary filmmaker Tim Lewis with arrest if he didn’t back up while filming them. But Lewis noticed another reporter wearing a vest marked “PRESS” filming without police harassment.

Turns out he wasn’t a reporter at all — he was a police public information program coordinator. As FPF Advocacy Director Seth Stern told Double Sided Media, “Police officers obstructing lawful journalism and giving their own publicly funded propagandists the exclusive right to record them up close is unconstitutional, un-American, and absurd.”

Eugene police have reportedly said they will replace the word “press” with “videographer.” Read more here.

Kansas school district fails to censor student journalists

A group of students sued Lawrence Public Schools in Kansas over the district’s use of surveillance software against students, including student journalists. Naturally, the student newspaper wanted to report on the case. But the principal ordered them not to, and the students believed their faculty adviser would be fired if they disobeyed.

Major news conglomerates have caved to official pressure, but not these kids. They sought a court order prohibiting the school from censoring them, leading the principal to drop his censorial directive and a judge to remind the district that the adviser was legally protected from retaliation. Then they published their story. Read it here.

Puerto Rico’s fake news law is unconstitutional

A district court rightly struck down Puerto Rico’s “fake news” law, which criminalized raising “false alarms” about public emergencies. Now, FPF and other rights organizations are urging an appellate court to affirm the ruling in a legal brief authored by the University of Georgia School of Law’s First Amendment Clinic.

The brief explained how the law could be selectively enforced to chill reporting that officials dislike. Read more here.

What we’re reading

Pritzker signs bill to protect freedom of press, Illinois journalists (WCIA). A nonsensical court ruling excluded news reporting from the protection of Illinois’ law against strategic lawsuits against public participation. FPF worked with local organizations and lawyers to help fix the mess.

Human rights groups to university administrators: Dismantle surveillance to defend free speech now (Fight for the Future). Surveillance technology has no place on college campuses and especially in student newsrooms. We joined a letter calling on universities to dismantle these dangerous tools.

Lawyers ask judge to order ICE to free Spanish-language journalist from immigration detention (Associated Press). Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s targeting of Mario Guevara — a lawful U.S. resident — based on his journalism is a flagrant First Amendment violation. He must be released.

US: Excessive force against LA protesters (Human Rights Watch). HRW usually focuses on wars and atrocities. Now, they’re investigating LA cops’ violence against protesters and journalists. It’s not because it’s a slow atrocity news week — it’s because the situation in LA really is that bad.

Israel says it killed a Hamas commander. It killed a Pulitzer-winning journalist (The New York Times). “The military made no attempt to obscure this brazen strike on civilians, which is a war crime.” And as +972 Magazine explained, it’s far from the first time Israel smeared journalists as terrorists to justify killing them. Its army has a unit tasked with linking journalists to Hamas.

Watchdog or ‘witch hunt’? Highland releases final review of town clerk’s office (River Reporter). Good for the upper Delaware region’s River Reporter for not letting an embattled town supervisor’s veiled threat of a SLAPP stop it from doing its job.

Journalists planning to cover McCormick, Perry event in Pennsylvania must prove their US citizenship (Penn Live). “Journalists who are citizens should decline to attend if their peers are excluded. They should spend their Tuesday investigating politicians and arms manufacturers rather than covering their photo ops,” Stern said.

For the Record is MuckRock’s weekly newsletter that keeps you informed on public records transparency battles, threats and wins. Sign-up to get original reporting, access to FOIA trainings and more.

Freedom of the Press Foundation

Win $50,000: Marquette Catholic High School Sponsors Mega Raffle Fundraiser

14 hours 1 minute ago
ALTON - Marquette Catholic High School is once again sponsoring a Mega Raffle fundraiser with a grand prize of $50,000. Every fall, MCHS holds the Mega Raffle to raise money for their students and programs. Tickets cost $50, or you can buy two for $100 and receive a third ticket free. The big drawing will be held during the school’s homecoming block party on Oct. 25, 2025, but early bird winners will take home $1,000 every week starting on Aug. 23, 2025. “It really just benefits Marquette as a whole,” explained Mary Hough, who organizes the raffle. “Really, it’s one of our bigger fundraisers for the year.” The school will celebrate the start of the school year with a kickoff party on Aug. 23, 2025, at Johnson’s Corner following the annual Blue/Gray game. The first early bird winner will be drawn at the party. Early bird drawings will continue on Sept. 5, Sept. 19, Oct. 3, Oct. 17, and Oct. 24. You can purchase tickets online u

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Ready, Set, Weekend: St. Louis events Aug. 22 through Aug. 24

14 hours 17 minutes ago
ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis area is gearing up for another weekend of exciting events around the region. From the annual Festival of Nations in Tower Grove Park to Schlafly's Sunset Cinema Series, there's so much to enjoy! Festival of NationsCelebrate the myriad cultures that make up the Gateway City and check out the [...]
Angela Hutti

Daily Deal: Academy of Educational Engineering

14 hours 18 minutes ago
The Academy of Educational Engineering is a premier platform tailored for aspiring and professional geeks. This all-in-one educational ecosystem is designed to empower you with expert-level knowledge and hands-on experience across embedded systems, electronics, IoT, and software development. As a premium member, you’ll access comprehensive tools, engaging projects, personalized feedback, and direct mentorship, helping you […]
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