Briefs

Menendez steps down temporarily as U.S. Senate committee chairman amid federal charges 

BY: - September 22, 2023

WASHINGTON — New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez will temporarily step aside as chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee following a federal indictment for conspiracy to commit bribery and other charges. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer made the announcement Friday afternoon, saying in a written statement that “Senator Menendez has rightly decided to […]

Karen Dykes looks inside the moldy kitchen cabinets at her Big Country Chateau apartment in Little Rock on May 16, 2023. (Tess Vrbin/Arkansas Advocate)

Last tenants in troubled Little Rock apartment complex offered assistance

BY: - September 21, 2023

The city of Little Rock and the court-appointed receiver for a troubled apartment complex have offered rental assistance for up to six months and $1,000 to help with moving costs to the residents who remain there, Deputy City Attorney Alan Jones said Thursday. The city’s goal since June has been to move everyone out of […]

Pistols on the shelf at Caso’s Gun-A-Rama store on March 25, 2021, in Jersey City, New Jersey. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Biden administration to create new gun violence prevention office

BY: - September 21, 2023

WASHINGTON — The White House Thursday announced the formation of an Office of Gun Violence Prevention that will help states and local governments as they implement a gun safety legislative package President Joe Biden signed into law last year. Lacking additional action in Congress to curb gun violence, “the Office of Gun Violence Prevention along […]

Workers install a power plant transmission tower

$10 million grant to support Arkansas electric grid upgrades

BY: - September 21, 2023

Arkansas will receive more than $10 million in federal funding to enhance the state’s electric grid, the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration announced Wednesday. Funding from the Grid Enhancement Grant program will total $5.16 million in the first year and $5.14 million the second year.  “This year’s historic natural disasters underscored the critical importance […]

Arkansas Food Bank CEO Brian Burton, right, says a 240,000 pound donation of rice from Arkansas rice growers will benefit the hungry statewide. At left is rice farmer Jeff Rutledge, who announced the donation at the Arkansas Food Bank in Little Rock on Sept. 20, 2023. At center is Arkansas Secretary of Agriculture Wes Ward. (John Sykes/Arkansas Advocate)

Arkansas growers donate 240,000 pounds of rice to state’s food banks

BY: - September 20, 2023

Food banks across Arkansas will share in a 240,000-pound donation of rice from the Arkansas Rice Federation, Arkansas Food Bank CEO Brian Burton said at an event at the Food Bank on Wednesday. The donation, equivalent to 1.8 million servings, will “help alleviate food insecurity” in all 75 Arkansas counties, said Newport rice farmer and […]

large plume of smoke

Arkansas firefighters deployed to Louisiana to help with wildfire suppression efforts

BY: - September 20, 2023

Six wildland firefighters from the Arkansas Department of Agriculture’s Forestry Division will assist with Louisiana’s Tiger Island Fire for a two-week period beginning today. Investigators believe the wildfire, which started on Aug. 22 and has affected more than 31,000 acres, is the result of arson, according to the Louisiana lluminator. The fire was 84% contained […]

school hallway lockers

Arkansas school safety rules public comment meeting set for Thursday

BY: - September 19, 2023

A public hearing on proposed rules governing school safety is scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 21, at the Arkansas Department of Education Arch Ford Education Building in Little Rock.  The proposed Division of Elementary and Secondary Education rules include requiring 40 hours of basic school resource officer training within 18 months of hiring and […]

Arkansas government entities barred from mandating COVID-19 vaccination

BY: - September 14, 2023

Although most of the debate this week focused on tax cuts and public records, the Arkansas Legislature also voted to prohibit state and local government entities from mandating COVID-19 vaccination. Senate Bill 3 is similar to a law the General Assembly enacted in 2021 that sunset last month. The new law doesn’t include a sunset […]

Arkansas’ Womack to seek 8th term in Congress

BY: - September 13, 2023

U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, an influential Republican who has been a vocal critic of some of his party’s far-right members, will seek an eighth term representing Arkansas’ 3rd Congressional District.  Womack, a retired Army colonel, had reportedly been weighing retirement at the end of 2024, but he said earlier this year that he’d make a […]

New round of COVID-19 booster shots on the way after CDC recommendation

BY: - September 12, 2023

WASHINGTON — Americans older than six months should get an updated COVID-19 booster this fall, according to a recommendation the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued Tuesday. The vaccine should be available by later this week, the CDC said in a statement. “We have more tools than ever to prevent the worst outcomes from […]

Food and Drug Administration approves COVID boosters for upcoming season

BY: - September 11, 2023

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved the latest round of COVID-19 boosters, as public health officials brace for another cold and flu season. An advisory panel at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is scheduled to vote on recommendations Tuesday, the final step in the process before people will […]

An American Airlines plane takes off from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Breakdowns in the nation's aviation system this month have highlighted the lack of a Senate-confirmed head of the Federal Aviation Administration. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Biden to nominate former FAA deputy to lead aviation agency

BY: - September 7, 2023

President Joe Biden chose a new nominee to lead the Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday, months after the U.S. Senate blocked his first choice. Biden intends to nominate Michael G. Whitaker, an executive at Supernal, a company working on an electric air vehicle, and a former deputy FAA administrator during President Barack Obama’s administration, according […]