Analysis

SESSION SNAPSHOT: The Arkansas Legislature takes a break

BY: and - March 17, 2023

The Arkansas House and Senate adjourned on Thursday for a week off, and the Spring Break probably comes at a good time. Each legislative session hits a point — meetings go longer and patience grows shorter. This week, there seemed to be an uptick in bills failing on the floor of both the House and […]

SESSION SNAPSHOT: The LEARNS Act becomes Arkansas law

BY: - March 10, 2023

Every public school teacher in Arkansas will now make $50,000. In three years, the Natural State will have a universal voucher program that could shake up the education landscape in unprecedented ways. By 2025, third graders not reading at grade level could be held back. Those are just a few of the many sweeping changes […]

What is the Arkansas LEARNS Act?

BY: - March 8, 2023

The LEARNS Act is a 145-page piece of legislation signed into law by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders Wednesday. The broad bill makes changes to multiple aspects of the state’s education system, including teacher pay, per-student funding, graduation requirements and annual student testing. Here are some details on the major parts of the bill: A voucher […]

Rep. Keith Brooks

SESSION SNAPSHOT: Arkansas LEARNS marches through the Arkansas House

BY: and - March 3, 2023

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ first legislative priority took the next big step toward becoming law this week. The sprawling, divisive education bill moved through the Arkansas House of Representatives, passing on the House floor Thursday by a vote of 78-21. There is great passion on both sides of the debate, which has really become about […]

Sen. Breanne Davis, lead sponsor of Senate Bill 294, which would enact the governor’s education program, and Education Secretary Jacob Oliva, right, share a laugh before a meeting of the Senate Education Committee in Little Rock on Feb. 22, 2023. (John Sykes/Arkansas Advocate)

SESSION SNAPSHOT: Arkansas LEARNS zooms through the Senate in Week 7

BY: - February 24, 2023

It felt like the Arkansas Legislature’s 2023 legislative session hit full stride this week. It was a whirlwind with the introduction and Senate passage of Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ sprawling education bill. There were also long, tense meetings on a range of other bills from paper ballots to solar energy that probably would’ve gotten more […]

COMMENTARY
U.S. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) receives the gavel from House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) after McCarthy was elected Speaker on Jan. 7, 2023 after four days of voting and 15 ballots. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

What does the speaker of the House do?

BY: - January 8, 2023

Second in the line of presidential succession after the vice president, the speaker of the House occupies a central role in our national government. But what is it that a speaker actually does? Most people think the speakership is a party office. It’s not. The speaker is selected by the full House membership, though the […]

Researchers say there's been an uptick in mass shootings at stores. Here members of the FBI and other law enforcement investigate the site of a fatal shooting in a Walmart on Nov. 23, 2022, that killed six, including the suspected gunman. (Nathan Howard/Getty Images)

Rampage at Virginia Walmart follows upward trend in supermarket gun attacks

BY: and - November 28, 2022

A gun rampage at a Walmart in Virginia is the latest amid a rise in mass shootings in general in the U.S., and mass shootings at grocery and retail stores in particular. Multiple people including the gunman were killed in the incident on Nov. 22, 2022, at an outlet of the retailer in Chesapeake. It […]

A row of abandoned homes along a residential street in Cairo, Illinois, in 2021. Many small towns like Cairo have a surfeit of vacant housing, but people who need housing often don't live where the houses are. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

The nation’s vacant homes present an opportunity — and a problem

BY: - November 28, 2022

With construction costs for new homes and interest rates soaring, vacant housing is drawing more attention as a shortcut to quickly getting more units on the market. But whether vacant homes are a curse or an opportunity depends on where you live. As housing affordability plummets and rents rise, putting more families with low incomes at risk […]

A passerby observes a memorial for the 10 shooting victims outside of Tops market on May 20, 2022, in Buffalo, New York. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Health effects of mass shootings ripple outward beyond immediate community

BY: - November 21, 2022

A grim and familiar pattern has followed the parade of mass shootings across America. In their aftermath, the nation’s attention focuses on the direct victims of the attacks, the dead and injured, their families and friends, and the witnesses. But a growing body of research reveals that the negative effects of mass shootings spread much […]

COMMENTARY
Federal ReserveBank Board Chairman Jerome Powell contemplates a response to questions on Nov. 2, 2022. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Fed inflation fight raises risks of both recession and financial crisis

BY: - November 7, 2022

There is wide agreement among economists and market observers that the Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest rate hikes will cause economic growth to grind to a halt, leading to a recession. Less talked about is the risk of a financial crisis as the U.S. central bank simultaneously tries to shrink its massive balance sheet. As expected, […]

What’s at stake this Election Day – 7 essential reads

BY: - November 7, 2022

As Election Day closes in, uncertainty and concern about potential chaos — from violence at polling sites to candidates refusing to accept defeat — continue to rise. Problems that have historically plagued the U.S. electoral and political system – like voter intimidation – are cropping up ahead of the midterms. But so, too, are less […]

On Oct. 19, 2022, an official with the Miami-Dade County Elections Department conducts a comprehensive examination of the voting equipment that will be used in the Nov. 8th general election. Elections, from campaigning to voting systems, are under great scrutiny this year. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

How to follow your congressional and local elections in 2022

BY: and - October 24, 2022

This is part of a series, User’s Guide to Democracy, being published by Propublica. Election coverage often focuses on competition between rival candidates while downplaying policies and platforms. But knowing how to decipher these “horse race” stories can help you understand what’s at stake for you and can inform your political participation. Think about it […]