News

Justice Department moves to drop case against ex-Olympian charged with damaging Reflecting Pool

National News July 31, 2026

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department moved Friday to dismiss a criminal case charging a former Olympian with deliberately damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, saying evidence prosecutors had recently received refuted the idea that vandals were to blame. Government lawyers said in a 20-page court filing that additional documents provided by the Interior Department since the indictment of David Hearn show that the damage was the result of a botched installation by a contractor as well as "the rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the America 250 ...

National News July 31, 2026

The families of four teenagers who died by suicide are suing Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube over what they describe as "years of escalating harms" from using their platforms that eventually resulted in their deaths. The lawsuit, filed Thursday in the Superior Court of Delaware, is the latest in a flurry of suits filed against the social media giants that alleges their platforms are addictive and dangerous. The complaint was filed on behalf of four families from Texas, North Carolina, Minnesota and Tennessee whose children died over a 14-month period starting in July 2024 through ...

Council OKs new lease for airport operator

Local News July 31, 2026

MARSHALL — This week, the Marshall City Council approved a new long-term lease agreement with Midwest Aviation at the Marshall airport. Under the lease, Midwest Aviation will continue to serve as the fixed-base operator (FBO) at the airport. “Midwest Aviation has been operating as our fixed-base operator since 1974,” Marshall City Administrator Sharon Hanson told council members. “They really help the city serve our airport customers by providing essential airport services. So that could be things like aircraft fueling, temporary hangar storage, and passenger ground ...

US stocks rise to finish a wild July as Amazon soars, Apple sinks and inflation worries worsen

National News July 31, 2026

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rose Friday to finish a wildJuly for Wall Street as Amazon leaped, Apple sank and rising oil prices worsened worries about inflation staying high. The S&P 500 climbed 0.7% after veering between gains and losses through the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 276 points, or 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 1% after briefly losing all of an early 1.3% jump. It's a fitting finish to July for the U.S. stock market, which lurched up and down as oil prices shot higher because of the war with Iran and worries grew about whether Big Tech's massive ...

Decades of memories at aquatic center

Local News July 31, 2026

MARSHALL — The opening of a new pool — The Splash — comes after the closing down of an old one. Sunday will be the Marshall Aquatic Center's last day of operation, ending generations of swimming and meeting up with friends. Preston Stensrud, the city of Marshall Parks and Recreation ...

Correction

Local News July 31, 2026

In the crime and accident briefs of Friday’s edition of the Independent, the ages of the drivers involved in a two-vehicle crash near Garvin were incorrect. The crash involved a motorcycle driven by a 37-year-old man, and a pickup truck driven by a 66-year-old man.