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Supporters made "Save Murray Center" signs during the fight to keep the facility open.

Federal judge: State can close Murray Center

A federal judge in Chicago has ruled that the state can close its Warren G. Murray Developmental...

Mississippi Half Step owner steps away

A Grafton restaurant has closed after a nine-year run.

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Metro-east News

St. Clair County State's Attorney Brendan Kelly, in a 2012 file photo.

State police trooper gets 'no confidence' letter from state's attorney

An Illinois State Police trooper who allegedly choked a motorist during a traffic stop last fall has received a letter of "no confidence" from St. Clair County State's Attorney Brendan Kelly.

Crime

Courtney Coats.

Man will serve 55 years for killing, dismembering girlfriend

A 29-year-old Alton man pleaded guilty Monday to killing and dismembering his live-in girlfriend, and will spend at least 55 years in prison.

Hot Topics

Raqqa Lounge owners Abdalla and Lorena Ibrahem.

Raqqa Lounge: Gas in your tank and a beer on your tab

Pull into one metro-east service station and you can put gas in your tank and a beer on your tab. 1 hour ago

Sports

FILE - In this Junr 5, 2014 file photo, St. Louis Rams defensive end Michael Sam (96) takes part in an organized team activity at the NFL football team's practice facility in St. Louis. Coach Jeff Fisher and general manager Les Snead deserve kudos for making the Rams the first NFL team to draft an openly gay player. And for not making it a big deal.

Dungy clarifies comments on Michael Sam

Former NFL head coach and current television analyst Tony Dungy tried to clarify comments he made concerning St. Louis Rams draft pick Michael Sam, the first openly gay player in the league. 2 hours ago

Features

A white flag flies atop the west tower of New York's Brooklyn Bridge, Tuesday, July 22, 2014. Someone replaced two American flags on the bridge with mysterious white flags. The white flags, international symbols of surrender, fluttered from poles on the stone supports that hold cables above the bridge connecting Brooklyn and Manhattan. An entity called Bike Lobby tweeted Tuesday that it hoisted the flags to signal “surrender of the Brooklyn Bridge bicycle path to pedestrians.”

Mysterious white flags appear atop Brooklyn Bridge

Two large American flags atop the Brooklyn Bridge — one of New York City's most heavily secured landmarks — were replaced sometime during the night with white banners that were spotted Tuesday morning fluttering in the wind. 2 hours ago

State|Region

This undated photo provided by the Will County Sheriff's Department in Joliet, Ill., shows semi-truck driver Francisco Espinal Quiroz, 51, of Leesburg, Ind., who was involved in a crash Monday, July 21, 2014, on Interstate 55 that killed four people near Channahon, southwest of Chicago. Quiroz was charged with failure to reduce speed to prevent an accident and willfully making false entries in his logbook.

Truck driver charged in crash that killed 4

A semi-truck driver involved in crash that killed four people southwest of Chicago was driving too fast and falsified entries in a logbook tracking the number of hours he spent behind the wheel, authorities said Tuesday. 3 hours ago

Nation|World

300 dpi 5 col x 10 in / 246x254 mm / 837x864 pixels Gentry Mullen color illustration of hand holding timecard preparing to punch in the clock. The Kansas City Star 2005

40-hour workweek a relic of the past

When was the last time you worked a 40-hour week? Thought so.

Opinion

Editorial cartoon

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