Technology

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew takes questions from Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL) before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on March 23, 2023. (Getty Images)

Members of Congress blast TikTok CEO as bipartisan support for U.S. ban looks possible

BY: - March 23, 2023

A U.S. House panel grilled TikTok’s CEO for more than five hours Thursday over the social media giant’s ties to China, and indicated there may be bipartisan consensus for a national ban on the platform.  Members of both parties showed an unusual level of agreement during tough questioning of TikTok CEO Shou Chew. Several members […]

Arkansas governor-backed bill would require social media age verification

BY: - March 9, 2023

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders wants the Arkansas Legislature to require platforms, like Facebook and Instagram, to hire third-party vendors to verify users’ ages. A bill introduced with the new Republican governor’s support on Thursday would require social media users to provide digital versions of their drivers’ licenses or state IDs to online companies. Those under […]

Standard Lithium signage at offices on East Elm Street in downtown El Dorado. (John Sykes/Arkansas Advocate 02/28/2023)

Looking beyond the fence at Standard Lithium’s ‘South West Arkansas Project’

BY: - March 2, 2023

Editor’s note: This is the second of two parts examining the promise and possible environmental peril of lithium extraction in Southwest Arkansas. You can find the first part here. Just about an hour west of El Dorado, where Standard Lithium debuted its demonstration plant, lies the foundation of the company’s “South West Arkansas (SWA) Project.” […]

Standard Lithium signage at offices on East Elm Street in downtown El Dorado. (John Sykes/Arkansas Advocate 02/28/2023)

Southwest Arkansas and the promise of ‘green’ lithium extraction

BY: - March 1, 2023

Editor’s note: This is the first of a two-part series looking at the promise and possible environmental peril of lithium extraction in Southwest Arkansas. At 4:30 p.m., Jan. 10, 1921, the Busey No. 1 well drilled 2,233 feet and sent a thick black column of gas, oil, and water through the top of the derrick, […]

University of Arkansas at Little Rock researchers Ronald Thompson and Andrew James

UAMS researchers test app designed to prevent opioid use relapse

BY: - February 6, 2023

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences researchers have developed an award-winning smartphone app designed to decrease opioid cravings and optimize medication-assisted treatment for people with opioid use disorder.  Supported by a $2.8 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the research team is testing the effectiveness of OptiMAT (Optimizing Medication Assisted Treatment) among […]

The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee, chaired by Washington Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (center right), held a roundtable on Jan. 25, 2023, on the role of social media platforms in the sale of illicit drugs, specifically fentanyl-laced drugs. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)

U.S. House GOP takes aim at fake pills containing deadly fentanyl sold on social media

BY: - January 25, 2023

WASHINGTON — On a June 2020 morning, Amy Neville entered her son’s bedroom to wake him for an orthodontist appointment.  Fourteen-year-old Alex didn’t wake up.  He died of fentanyl poisoning after taking a counterfeit pill he bought from someone he met on Snapchat, Neville told GOP lawmakers Wednesday during a roundtable discussion of the role […]

In this photo illustration, a mobile phone can be seen displaying the logos for Chinese apps WeChat and TikTok in front of a monitor showing the flags of the United States and China on an internet page in Beijing, China. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

Members of Congress sign up for TikTok, despite security concerns

BY: - January 19, 2023

WASHINGTON — Just like teens, members of Congress are setting up TikTok accounts — even as the popular app is increasingly barred from government devices and heads of federal intelligence agencies raise concerns about data collection and surveillance obtained by a Chinese-owned company.  At least 32 members of Congress — all Democrats and one independent […]

From her home near Fergus Falls, Minnesota, retired dentist Dr. Yvonne Hanley teaches a virtual fitness class for older adults that meets three times a week. (Photo by Patrick Hanley)

Rural seniors benefit from pandemic-driven remote fitness boom

BY: - January 16, 2023

MALMO, Minn. — Eight women, all 73 or older, paced the fellowship hall at Malmo Evangelical Free Church to a rendition of Daniel O’Donnell’s “Rivers of Babylon” as they warmed up for an hourlong fitness class. The women, who live near or on the eastern shore of Mille Lacs Lake, had a variety of reasons […]

Officials seeking federal dollars need Arkansans’ help verifying broadband access

BY: - January 5, 2023

The Arkansas State Broadband Office is urging Arkansans to verify a federal broadband map to ensure the state receives the maximum funding available and that those funds reach regions that need broadband most.  The Federal Communications Commission has released a new broadband map showing high-speed internet availability across the country. The National Telecommunications and Information […]