News
U.S. Supreme Court mulls federal water rules, wetlands designations in Idaho case
The U.S. Supreme Court opened its term Monday with an Idaho case that could significantly restrict the federal government’s power to enforce clean water laws and prove crucial in determining wetland protections. The oral arguments came just months after the court’s 6-3 conservative majority limited executive authority to address climate change in a case involving […]
Puerto Rico to get $60M to prep for future hurricanes, Biden announces
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Monday landed in Ponce, Puerto Rico to survey the damage from Hurricane Fiona and announce $60 million in funding to help the island prepare for future hurricanes. The visit came after the Category 1 hurricane in late September damaged the power grid, leaving millions in Puerto Rico without power. […]
Arkansas joins national maternal health care alliance
Arkansas recently became the 48th state to join a national maternal health support organization that provides evidence-based standards of medical care to pregnant people, with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and the Arkansas Department of Health spearheading the move. States qualify for enrollment in the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM) by […]
Little Rock housing complex facing AG lawsuit pleads no contest to city code violations
Management of a housing complex facing a state lawsuit pleaded no contest to several city code violations Monday in Little Rock environmental court. Sylvester Smith, the attorney representing Big Country Chateau, said about 90% of the “life and safety issues” at the complex have been resolved. The issues include mold, broken windows, scattered garbage and […]
Little Rock housing authority failed to follow spending and contracting rules, HUD finds
Little Rock’s public housing agency routinely failed to comply with federal, state and its own purchasing rules, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD’s Departmental Enforcement Center reviewed samples of two and a half years of contracts and financial documents from the Housing Authority of the City of […]
Trump allies have interviewed nearly 200 election officials to probe for weaknesses
This article was originally published by Votebeat, a nonprofit news organization covering local election administration and voting access. Two of Donald Trump’s most prominent allies in his fight to overturn the 2020 election are leading a coordinated, multi-state effort to probe local election officials in battlegrounds such as Michigan, Arizona, and Texas ahead of the […]
Federal judge declares parts of state election law unconstitutional
Six parts of Arkansas election law are unconstitutional and “impose a severe burden” on “new political parties” seeking to get their candidates on election ballots, a federal judge ruled on Friday. U.S. District Judge Kristine G. Baker wrote in an opinion and order that the Libertarian Party of Arkansas met its burden of proof in […]
A new justice at the U.S. Supreme Court, and an Idaho wetlands case up first
When the U.S. Supreme Court opens its fall term on Monday, a few things will be different. A Black woman, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, will hear oral arguments for the first time ever. And the public will be allowed into the room for the first time since early 2020. The content of the term’s first […]
Hours ahead of shutdown deadline, U.S. House sends Biden stopgap spending bill
WASHINGTON — U.S. House members, mostly along party lines, cleared a spending package Friday that would bolster funding for natural disaster response, though with Hurricane Ian still battering the Southeast, lawmakers will likely need to approve another aid bill later this year. The measure would provide $2.5 billion in assistance for the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon […]
Administrative judge from Scott tapped to lead Arkansas Public Service Commission
Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Thursday appointed an administrative law judge from Scott to be the next chair of Arkansas’ utility regulator. Katie Anderson, an administrative judge for the Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Commission and vice president of her family’s Lonoke bait fish farm, will take the helm of the Arkansas Public Service Commission on Oct. 2. […]
Federal prisons ‘riddled with mismanagement’ probed by U.S. Senate panel
WASHINGTON — Members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in a Thursday hearing grilled the top leader of federal prisons on how the agency would address staffing shortages and reports of abuse of incarcerated people. “The Bureau (of Prisons) has been riddled with mismanagement and, sadly, with scandal,” said the chair of the committee, Illinois […]
‘Abortion absolutely is healthcare’: U.S. House panel told as GOP pursues nationwide ban
A nationwide abortion ban would widen disparities in healthcare and drive up the maternal mortality rate, particularly among Black women, physicians and advocates told a U.S. House panel on Thursday. “Women’s progress has always been inextricably linked with the ability to control our own bodies,” Jocelyn Frye, the president of the National Partnership for Women […]