Afghanistan

Donald Crangle: Wife Defends Gun Instructor Accused of Fraud, Says She Was Handcuffed

Yesterday, we told you about Donald Crangle, a St. Louis county gun instructor who has been accused of fraud and running inadequate training classes -- raising questions about the residents who got concealed-carry permits with his certificates. Since publishing that story, Daily RFT got a chance t ... More >>

Gun Violence: Missouri One of Worst States With High Crime Rates, Weak Laws (REPORT)

Though top Republicans in Missouri are devoting a lot of time and money to protect the privacy of gun owners, a new report says that officials in the state have a much bigger problem they need to address: really high rates of gun violence supported by very weak laws. The Center for American Progre ... More >>

PrideFest Move to Downtown Like "Watching Your Kid Grow Up," Says Aldermen Candidate

Lisa Miller, a candidate for the Board of Aldermen for the 15th Ward, says she had a range of emotions when she heard the news that the annual PrideFest would be moving from Tower Grove to downtown this year. "It's almost as if you're watching your kid grow up," says Miller, who is gay and has liv ... More >>

Stan Musial Bridge: Governor Jay Nixon Pressures Pat Quinn With Press Release

The death of Stan Musial is one of those rare occasions that prompts elected officials from across the state to send out press releases with virtually the same message -- one of praise and gratitude for the late Cardinal and Missouri icon. The latest incarnation of press-releases-honoring-Musial is ... More >>

The thrilling manhunt of Zero Dark Thirty

Relax, Liberals. Akin's "Dog" Comment is Not Offensive.

In slavish devotion to the "Todd-Akin-says-offensive-things" narrative, news blogs are blowing up with the comment that the Congressman made about incumbent Senator Claire McCaskill at a Springfield fundraiser on Saturday: "She goes to Washington, D.C., it's a little bit like one of t ... More >>

Tikka Tikka Taco Truck Looks to Kickstarter for Startup Help

Do you like Indian food? Do you patronize food trucks? Do you have even one measly dollar to spare? Michael Swaleh wants to talk to you. Swaleh and his brother, Shaun, have turned to Kickstarter to raise $60,000 to buy the food truck that will launch their concept, Tikka Tikka Taco.

Oliver Stone's drug-trade drama settles for sensation in Savages

Ellen Back Again: Arnie Robbins steps down as editor of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and RFT checks in with his predecessor

How Fair Are Federal Sentencing Guidelines? One Skeptical District Judge Weighs in

In this week's feature story, "Our Military Doesn't Have a Gambling Problem," we narrate the tumultuous swan dive of decorated Army Sgt. Dreux Perkins, who returned home from a combat tour in Iraq with post traumatic stress disorder and a pathological gambling addiction. His condition prompted him t ... More >>

Fiona Apple, Tennis and Corporate Sponsorship: SXSW 2012 Days 1 and 2

Tuesday, March 13, 2012 6:25 p.m. I've been coming to SXSW for over a decade now, and pre- and post-apocalypse days off are as much essential rituals as 2 a.m. taco runs and sleep deprivation. This year, there'd be no day-before day off, as SXSW has extended the music portion of the festival/confer ... More >>

St. Louis' Brian Owens, No Stranger to the Spotlight, Releases New Single with Sony Distribution

Even though he's getting a chance to shine on a major label, don't call Brian Owens an overnight success. The Ferguson native has been making music on his own and with others for nearly ten years. And more recently, he was a lead male vocalist of Sidewinder, a U.S. Air Force band that effectively bl ... More >>

Finding Hip-Hop in Kazakhstan and Country in India: American Voices Sets Up in St. Louis

Diplomacy between nations doesn't always involve dignitaries or high-level negotiations. A group with a presence in St. Louis engages in "cultural diplomacy," which involves exchanging musical expertise between Americans and countries often hit hard by conflict. Since it became incorporated as a non ... More >>

40 Best St. Louis Releases of 2011: Part One

​As you may have noticed, we were excited to be St. Louis music fans this year. And there is no more substantial document of the sound of this city in 2011 than the music released by its bands and artists. It is not an exaggeration to guess that the releases in the metro area number in the tho ... More >>

Roger Daltrey At The Peabody Opera House, 10/8/11: Review, Photos, Setlist

Roger Daltrey Peabody Opera House October 8, 2011 Better Than: Any band you've heard since John and Keith were here. It could have been an expensive disappointment, an awkwardly painful reminder that life moves too fast and people get old and it sucks. But in the thick of it, it was hard to think ... More >>

St. Louis County Police Enact Tougher Policy for Fighting Heroin

​Tim Fitch, chief of the St. Louis County Police Department, stood up at a press conference this morning and recounted the words of a local heroin user who was describing the very first time he ingested it: "I saw God." That user, Fitch says, needed to see God "again and again and again," so ... More >>

Jacqueline Baron: Alton Teenager Charged With Murdering Ferguson Soldier

Photos via KMOV.comJacqueline Baron is in custody; her accomplice remains on the loose.​An 18-year-old teenager arrested last week at Alton High School is expected to be transferred to Ferguson this week in connection with the murder this month of Lawrence Valiant. Valiant, a 32-year-old cook with ... More >>

Blogger/Baker Heather Physioc of Fifty-two Cakes

fiftytwocakes.com​What with her duties as a site manager for PlattForm Advertising and her freelance work in search-engine optimization and web marketing, Kansas City native and St. Louis transplant Heather Physioc has a lot on her plate, but she always leaves room for a slice of cake. Every ... More >>

Earthworms premieres Capricorn Dreams about its military-base tour

Tommy Sowers, Anti-War Green Beret Running for Congress in MO, Gets National Press

Image viaTommy Sowers​Interesting feature this morning in The Washington Post about Tommy Sowers, who's gunning for a congressional seat down in southeastern Missouri:A combat veteran with a graduate degree from the London School of Economics, Sowers gave up a successful military career to mount a ... More >>

Unexpurgated Mark Twain Autobiography to Be Published in November

Image source​104 years ago, when he was 70 years old, Mark Twain began dictating his autobiography to a stenographer. He finished shortly before his death on April 21, 1910. The finished manuscript came in at more than 500,000 words, but Twain didn't expect the whole thing to be published. "F ... More >>

Veronica Schuster of Harvest Restaurant in Richmond Heights: Featured Bartender of the Week

Welcome to Girl Walks into a Bar, a weekly Gut Check feature that spotlights local bars and bartenders. This week Alissa Nelson profiles Harvest restaurant bartender Veronica Schuster. Alissa Nelson​Veronica Schuster might just possess the most positive mental attitude of any bartender in the ... More >>

LGBT Organizations Demand Apology From Congressman Ike Skelton

Skelton: Say you're sorry!​GetEQUAL, a national LGBT organization and Show Me No Hate, a Missouri LGBT rights group, are demanding a public apology from Ike Skelton, the Democratic House Representative from Missouri's 4th district, who last week stated he didn't want to change the military's "Don ... More >>

Mo. State Senator Gary Nodler Doesn't Want Gay Troops to Offend Islamic Nations

Gary Nodler: Leader of a queer debate in Jeff City.​Updated 11:50 a.m.Gary Nodler just called Daily RFT to inform us that Post-Dispatch columnist Tony Messenger got the context of his argument wrong during yesterday's committee meeting debating whether or not gays should be allowed to openly serve ... More >>

Extreme Close-up: The busiest man in heavy music, Hatebreed's Jamey Jasta, takes time to chat

Sen. Kit Bond Steals the Show on The Daily Show

Longtime Missouri Senator Christopher "Kit" Bond, a stalwart Republican, has said more than a few things in his lengthy political career to draw the comedic wrath of Daily Show host Jon Stewart. In April, for instance, he claimed that punishing those responsible for Bush-era torture policies was som ... More >>

Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize

​Socialist. Nazi. Fascist. President Barack Obama has another title to add to his resume: Nobel Peace Prize winner. Yes, this morning the Nobel Committee in Oslo, Norway, announced the selection of Obama "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between p ... More >>

Cindy Sheehan: "It's been change in the wrong direction"

Cindy Sheehan today in St. Louis.​The image most of us conjure when the name Cindy Sheehan surfaces is that of an enervated woman standing in the summer swelter on the side of the road, a few miles from George W. Bush's ranch near Crawford, Texas. Sheehan's four-week long vigi ... More >>

Vets push for exposure, and a local Hooters Girl gets it. Plus: Colt 45 works every time.

Rwandan Bookstore Owner to Visit Left Bank in August

Sure you've heard of a foreign exchange student, but have you heard of a foreign-exchange bookseller?IEEWLydie HazikimanaKris Kleindienst, a co-owner of Left Bank Books, hadn't either, until last week when she received an e-mail from her friend Lisa Hollenbeck, who owns the Alpine Shop. The National ... More >>

Hornswoggled!: Welcome to Gerald, Missourah — the town that did just fall off the turnip truck

Live Blogging Obama's 100 Day Meeting at Fox High School

10:25: Hello everybody! Have a seat10:26: It's good to be out of Washington and back in the Midwest! Yes. I love you, too!10:27: Obama gives shouts out to Senator Claire McCaskill, Governor Jay Nixon, Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, State Auditor Susan Montee, and everyone at Fox High School. Th ... More >>

Harsh Memories Haunt a Missouri War Resister

Dr. Manhattan, Meet Dr. Hollywood: Whew! Tinseltown's go-to graphic novel guy didn't ruin Watchmen. But he doesn't get it either.

Love the War, Neglect the Warrior: His fame's based on his POW status, but Senator John McCain's made a point of voting against fellow veterans

Complete 2008 St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase Schedule

Moolah for Mullahs

All aboard the '80s way-back machine for Mike Nichols' good time Charlie.

Careless Care

Veterans decry the treatment they receive at the St. Louis VA Medical Center's John Cochran Division.

Columbia Stories

Searching for truth at the best film festival in the Midwest.

Hello Delhi!

Ian finds happiness at Flavor of India.

Why won't Mexican men go down on their ladies?

Week of November 2, 2006

Keira Get Your Gun

Domino chronicles the life of a model turned bounty hunter

Letters

Week of August 4, 2004

Reagan's Creed

We examine conservative rock and learn why you should never throw anything away

Nice Shot

Photographer Andrew Cutraro brings home stunning, devastating photos from Iraq

Move On

Sure, those horrific 9/11 images are rolling again, but an old vet says to get a grip

Fighting the Power

Rapper Nas steps back into the ring, fists flying

Hunger Strike

Can a non-9/11 benefit album make any noise?

Emmy or Not to Emmy?

That's been the long, hard decision for TV academy chairman Bryce Zabel

The Calm Before the Storm

For anti-war protesters, the enemies are indifference and irrelevance