Daily Brief: Friday, July 3, 2026

St. Louis news worth your time today — curated by PubDef, with receipts from the archive. Click through for the full stories.

More states expand PTSD treatment options for first responders

More states this year have looked beyond traditional counseling and medication to help first responders cope with post-traumatic stress.  Firefighters, police officers and emergency medical workers… — Missouri Independent

📼 From the PubDef archive: “Irene, Maida and Mike — a Tale of Delusion, Promise and Possibility” (Nov 2008)

Audit finds former Missouri Gov. Mike Parson’s state flights often lacked a public purpose

Former Gov. Mike Parson’s office spent $375,000 flying him around on state aircraft without keeping flight records showing why, and for a third of those flights auditors could not identify any state… — Missouri Independent

📼 From the PubDef archive: “Green announces run for mayor (No, not that Green)” (Nov 2008)

Data center backlash spills into Missouri primaries as GOP candidates demand action

MONTGOMERY CITY — Bill Cope stood before the Montgomery County Commission earlier this month to urge local officials to reject a 25-year, 70% personal property tax abatement for a $15 billion,… — Missouri Independent

📼 From the PubDef archive: “Blunt to Professor: Missouri McCain supporters aren’t racists” (Nov 2008)

Black St. Louisans reflect on America at 250

“What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”  Those were the words of abolitionist, orator and writer, Frederick Douglass. He delivered them during his July 5, 1852 speech in Rochester, New York.… — St. Louis American

📼 From the PubDef archive: “Irene, Maida and Mike — a Tale of Delusion, Promise and Possibility” (Nov 2008)

Black athletes, families face a new college reality

Remember when you viewed, read about, or attended a sporting event to escape “the news?” Now, unfortunately, sports are often “the news.” Whether it’s lawsuits, athletes being arrested, gambling… — St. Louis American

📼 From the PubDef archive: “Irene, Maida and Mike — a Tale of Delusion, Promise and Possibility” (Nov 2008)

Downtown curfew targets teens through summer 

Teenagers 17 and younger will have to leave the downtown area by 9 p.m. or be accompanied by a parent or guardian under a summer curfew St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer announced Thursday. The curfew… — St. Louis American

📼 From the PubDef archive: “Thousands in St. Louis protest California’s gay marriage ban” (Nov 2008)

Black people made America’s 250th anniversary possible 

As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary, there is a group of people who were indispensable to its birth, growth and survival. But they have received almost no attention during this… — St. Louis American

📼 From the PubDef archive: “Irene, Maida and Mike — a Tale of Delusion, Promise and Possibility” (Nov 2008)

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