Featured

Veteran Clarence Graham holds his head in his hands after he spoke about the issues he has had getting the care he feels he needs from the Veterans Administration during meeting hosted by the American Legion at the War Memorial in St. Louis on Monday, July 14, 2014. The long delays for veterans seeking medical care at VA hospitals have prompted The American Legion to set up a short-term crisis center in St. Louis this week. The veterans' organization opens a "crisis command center" at the Saint Louis University law school downtown starting at noon Tuesday, July 15, 2014. (AP Photo/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, David Carson) EDWARDSVILLE INTELLIGENCER OUT; THE ALTON TELEGRAPH OUT

Vets react with skepticism, hope to proposed VA reforms

Daron Steenbergen, of Trenton, lacks faith that Congress' latest attempt to fix the troubled veterans health-care system will have any lasting impact.

BND VIDEO

MORE > Photos Videos Submit a Photo

BND GALLERIES

MORE > Photos Videos Submit a Photo

Metro-east News

The signature feathers of Gerry "Chief" Frierdich's wheelchair can be see as Swansea deputy fire chief Chris Tell uprights the wheelchair.

'Tragic accident': Belleville man drowns in Swansea lake

The man who drowned Sunday in Centennial Park after his motorized wheelchair accidentally plunged into a lake was identified Monday as Gerard Frierdich, a well-known photographer in Belleville.

Crime

2 die from overdoses in Madison County

Two recent deaths in Madison County were caused by drug overdoses, according to the coroner.

Hot Topics

St. Clair County tangles with landowners over widening Frank Scott Parkway

St. Clair County is continuing its two-year fight to use eminent domain to take land needed to improve a busy intersection at Frank Scott Parkway East and Old Collinsville Road in Swansea.

Sports

Tommy Adams with ATG Sports secures the new turf field to prevent the wind from damaging the new field being installed at Mater Dei Catholic High School in Breese.

Mater Dei's new athletic field taking shape

In the middle of the summer, the greenest grass at Mater Dei High School is the new artificial turf athletic field that will be ready for the start of the football and soccer seasons.

Features

FILE - This Sept. 9, 2013 file photo shows reality television star from the MTV Series "Jersey Shore," Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino in New York. Sorrentino, better known as The Situation, has agreed to take the classes as part of a deal to resolve simple assault charges he faced following a July 15 fight with his brother at their family’s tanning salon in Middletown Township. A municipal court judge Monday accepted the deal. If Sorrentino successfully completes the counseling program, the charge against him could be downgraded.

The Situation agrees to anger management classes

The Situation will be getting lessons in anger management.

State|Region

APNewsBreak: Illinois: Doctor faked pot paperwork

Illinois regulators say an Illinois doctor misled a 79-year-old patient by issuing a bogus medical marijuana certification for a $250 fee.

Nation|World

Emergency personnel at the scene of a small plane crash in Caspersen Beach in Venice, Fla.

Plane crashes on Fla. beach; killing man, injuring daughter

A Georgia man is dead and his 9-year-old daughter is in the hospital with critical injuries after they were hit by a small plane that made an emergency landing on a Florida Gulf Coast beach.

Opinion

Compromise on land price to move on

Anyone who has driven on Frank Scott Parkway, especially at rush hour, knows that the intersection at Old Collinsville Road needs widening. Unfortunately for homeowners Ken and Sheila Cope, adding a lane means they will lose some of their property.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?