federal
A defiant Sen. Menendez says he will not resign from U.S. Senate
New Jersey U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez appeared in Union City Monday to deny federal bribery charges that were unsealed in an indictment Friday and to reiterate that he does not intend to step down from the U.S. Senate, despite pressure from top Democratic leaders. Menendez, a Democrat whose political career launched in this Hudson County city […]
A ‘disaster’ nears: Millions of federal workers’ paychecks would be on hold in a shutdown
Updated Sept. 21, 2023, at 11:10 a.m. to include number of civilian federal employees in Arkansas. WASHINGTON — More than 3.5 million federal employees and military personnel — many in the Washington, D.C., area but also scattered across the states and around the globe — are bracing for another partial government shutdown, as U.S. House […]
Judge denies motions in suit over Arkansas county’s library practices
A lawsuit against Crawford County officials over the placement of library books with LGBTQ+ themes remained active Tuesday after a federal judge in Fayetteville denied motions from both the plaintiffs and the county. Crawford County residents and library patrons Rebecka Virden, Nina Prater, Samantha Rowlett and their minor children sued the county judge, quorum court, […]
Judge sets March trial date in Trump federal election interference case
This story was updated with additional details at 1:33 p.m., Aug. 28, 2023. WASHINGTON — The federal trial in the case accusing former President Donald Trump of knowingly lying about the 2020 presidential election results and trying to overturn them will begin in March, a federal judge said Monday. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who […]
Federal probe in Florida should raise more than eyebrows in Arkansas
A kerfuffle in the Sunshine State stirred ripples in Arkansas last week when The Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times reported on a federal grand jury subpoena. Prosecutors served the subpoena to Jefferson County Schools in Florida, asking for documents involving bids for a contract in 2021 to help the low-performing district transition back to […]
Congress, GOP presidential candidates react to Trump indictment
WASHINGTON — Members of Congress and Republicans competing against Donald Trump in the presidential primary quickly reacted Tuesday to the latest indictment against the former president, falling largely along party lines. This one, by a federal grand jury, stems from Trump’s alleged efforts to subvert the 2020 election after Election Day and leading up to […]
Budding U.S. offshore wind industry facing rough seas
BOSTON – Just as the U.S. is plunging into the deep end of offshore wind energy development, the nascent domestic industry is facing major supply chain problems, surging costs, permitting delays and other headwinds that could affect the aggressive installation timelines state and federal governments have targeted. Those obstacles, chiefly triggered by the pandemic, inflation […]
Advocacy groups file lawsuit against Idaho’s ‘abortion trafficking’ law
Several advocacy organizations and a civil rights attorney filed a lawsuit against Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador’s office Tuesday alleging a law that criminalizes the act of transporting minors across state lines to obtain an abortion violates constitutionally protected rights and is too vague to be enforceable. The federal lawsuit asks the Idaho U.S. District […]
Federal health insurance website lags in voter registration assistance, Democrats charge
A group of U.S. Senate Democrats is pressing the Biden administration to make it easier for the millions of Americans who sign up each year for health insurance through a federal website to register to vote. The lawmakers, led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., wrote in a letter to U.S. Department of Health and Human […]
Federal court temporarily halts Tennessee ban on transgender care for minors
In a partial victory for transgender Tennesseans, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction Wednesday on portions of new law prohibiting trans minors from obtaining gender affirming care, ruling the law likely violates the First and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. Judge Eli Richardson granted the injunction to the plaintiffs — among them, parents […]
The indictment is unsealed: Trump faces 37 felony counts in classified documents probe
Donald Trump has been indicted by a federal grand jury, making him the first former president to face federal criminal charges. The 37-count indictment in the Southern District of Florida, handed up by a grand jury there, was unsealed Friday. According to the indictment, Trump schemed with an aide to keep possession of top secret […]
Last member of Northwest Arkansas meth trafficking group sentenced
An Oklahoma man nicknamed “Misfit” was sentenced to more than 33 years in federal prison last week, the last member of a Northwest Arkansas drug trafficking organization to be sentenced in an investigation that began in September 2020. Steven James Warner, 46, of McAlester, Oklahoma, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks to […]