Arkansas State News | West Plains Daily Quill

Arkansas lawmakers approve $6.3 billion budget bill as session wraps up

Arkansas lawmakers have given final approval to legislation outlining the state's $6.3 billion budget for the coming year. The House and Senate on Thursday approved identical versions of the … more

5/2/24

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders speaks at a news conference next to former Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines at the state Capitol in Little Rock, Ark., Thursday, May 2, 2024. Sanders spoke before signing an executive order stating that Arkansas won't comply with new federal regulations intended to protect the rights of transgender students. (AP Photo/Andrew DeMillo)

Arkansas governor says state won't comply with new federal rules on treatment of trans students

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders says her state won't comply with a federal regulation that seeks to protect the rights of transgender students in the nation's schools. Sanders on Thursday signed … more

By ANDREW DeMILLO | 5/2/24

Arkansas lawmakers approve new restrictions on cryptocurrency mines after backlash over '23 law

Arkansas lawmakers have approved new restrictions on cryptocurrency mining operations in the wake of a 2023 law that prompted backlash from some communities. The majority-Republican House on … more

By ANDREW DeMILLO | 5/1/24

26 Republican attorneys general sue to block Biden rule requiring background checks at gun shows

Twenty-six Republican attorneys general are suing the Biden administration over its new rule requiring firearm dealers to run background checks at gun shows and other places outside brick-and-mortar … more

By ANDREW DeMILLO | 5/1/24

FILE - Arkansas Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin is interviewed in his office at the Arkansas state Capitol in Little Rock, Ark., Jan. 16, 2015. Several transgender, intersex and nonbinary Arkansas residents sued the state on Tuesday over its decision to no longer allow "X” to be listed instead of male or female and to make it more difficult to change the sex listed on state-issued driver’s licenses or identification cards. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston, File)

Arkansas' elimination of 'X' for sex on driver's licenses spurs lawsuit

Several transgender, intersex and nonbinary Arkansas residents are suing the state over its decision to no longer allow “X” to be listed instead of male or female on state-issued driver's … more

By ANDREW DeMILLO | 4/30/24

FILE - The Supreme Court of the United States is seen in Washington, March 26, 2024. The Supreme Court has refused to block a Texas law requiring pornographic websites to verify the age of their users. The justices on Tuesday rejected an emergency appeal filed by the Free Speech Coalition, a trade association for the adult entertainment industry. The provision of House Bill 1181, signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott, remains in effect even as the association’s full appeal is weighed by the Supreme Court. (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades, File)

Supreme Court leaves in place a Texas law requiring pornographic websites to verify users' ages

The Supreme Court has refused to block a Texas law requiring pornographic websites to verify the age of their users. The justices on Tuesday rejected an emergency appeal filed by the Free Speech … more

4/30/24

Today in History: May 6, the Hindenburg crashes in flames in New Jersey, killing 97

Today in History Today is Monday, May 6, the 127th day of 2024. There are 239 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On May 6, 1937, the hydrogen-filled German airship … more

By The Associated Press | 4/29/24

Ethel Humble, an elder at the Springfield United Methodist Church in Okemah, Okla., stirs a steaming tray of wild onions at the church's annual wild onion dinner, April 6, 2024. The church is on the Muscogee Nation's reservation, where the meals using wild onions picked by the community are an annual tradition. (AP Photo/Brittany Bendabout)

Wild onion dinners mark the turn of the season in Indian Country

Wild onions are among the first foods to grow at the tail end of winter in the South, and generations of Indigenous people place the alliums at the center of an annual communal event. From February … more

By GRAHAM LEE BREWER | 4/28/24

Barbara Pryor, the widow of former Arkansas governor and U.S. Sen. David Pryor, stands before Pryor's casket with their great-grandson Raven at the Arkansas state Capitol in Little Rock, Arkansas on Friday, April 26, 2024. David Pryor died in Little Rock on April 20, 2024. Pryor, a Democrat, remained active in public service long after he left public office. (AP Photo/Andrew DeMillo)

David Pryor, former governor and senator of Arkansas, is remembered

Former Arkansas Gov. and U.S. Sen. David Pryor is being remembered. Funeral services were held Saturday for family, friends and colleagues, including former Arkansas governor and President Bill … more

4/27/24

Chasing ‘Twisters’ and collaborating with ‘tornado fanatic’ Steven Spielberg

Growing up in the Midwest, filmmaker Lee Isaac Chung developed both a healthy fear of tornadoes and a reverence for Jan de Bont’s 1996 disaster film “Twister.” When he was hired to direct the … more

By LINDSEY BAHR | 4/26/24

17 states challenge federal rules entitling workers to accommodations for abortion

Seventeen states are challenging new federal rules entitling workers to time off and other accommodations for abortions. Arkansas and Tennessee filed the lawsuit in federal court on Thursday and … more

By ANDREW DeMILLO | 4/25/24

FILE - Attorney Jack Wagoner is interviewed after a hearing in the Pulaski County Court House in Little Rock, Ark., Thursday, April 17, 2014. Jack Wagoner, an attorney who represented same-sex couples who successfully challenged Arkansas' ban on gay marriage before state and federal courts, has died, Tuesday, April 23, 2024. He was 62. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston, File)

Jack Wagoner, attorney who challenged Arkansas' same-sex marriage ban, dies

Attorney Jack Wagoner, who helped successfully challenged Arkansas' ban on same-sex marriage, has died. He was 62. An attorney who worked with Wagoner said he died Tuesday in Little Rock and that a … more

By ANDREW DeMILLO | 4/25/24

Arkansas woman pleads guilty to selling 24 boxes of body parts stolen from cadavers

A former Arkansas mortuary worker has pleaded guilty to charges that she sold 24 boxes of stolen body parts from medical school cadavers to a Pennsylvania man. Candace Chapman Scott changed her plea … more

4/25/24

This undated photo released by the Cassville Missouri Police Dept., shows a portrait of Dr. John Forsyth. The death of the Missouri doctor who was found 11 months ago in a northwest Arkansas lake has been ruled a suicide, Arkansas authorities said Thursday, April 25, 2024. (Cassville Missouri Police via AP)

Arkansas officials say a Missouri doctor whose body was found in a lake died by suicide

Arkansas authorities say the death of a Missouri doctor who was found 11 months ago in a northwest Arkansas lake has been ruled a suicide. The Benton County, Arkansas, sheriff's department said in a … more

By JOHN HANNA | 4/25/24

Arkansas panel bans electronic signatures on voter registration forms

An Arkansas panel has prohibited election officials from accepting voter registration forms signed with an electronic signatures. The state Board of Election Commissioners on Tuesday unanimously … more

4/24/24

FILE - David Pryor, dean of the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service, poses, Jan. 24, 2006, at the school in Little Rock, Ark. Former Arkansas governor and U.S. Sen. David Pryor, a Democrat who was one of the state’s most beloved political figures and remained active in public service in the state long after he left office, has died. He was 89. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston, File)

Sanders orders US and Arkansas flags flown at half-staff in honor of former governor

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders' office says the U.S. and state flags will be flown at half-staff to honor former U.S. Sen. David Pryor, who also served as governor of Arkansas. Pryor died of … more

4/23/24

$6,500 school vouchers coming to Georgia as bill gets final passage and heads to governor

Gov Brian Kemp is signing a law to give up to $6,500 a year to some Georgia families to pay for private school tuition or home-schooling expenses. It’s a victory for the Republican governor, whose … more

By JEFF AMY | 4/23/24

US House Judiciary Committee chair seeks details from ATF on airport director shooting

The head of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee is asking the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to provide answers about the fatal raid at the home of the Little Rock airport … more

By ANDREW DeMILLO | 4/22/24

Calico Rock woman killed in crash

A woman from Calico Rock, Ark., succumbed to fatal injuries caused by a crash at 3:39 p.m. April 15 on Highway 177 in Pineville, Izard Co., Ark., the Arkansas State Police reported. more

4/22/24

FILE - The Tennessee Capitol is seen, Jan. 8, 2020, in Nashville, Tenn. Republicans in the Tennessee House and Senate both plan to offer businesses new tax help worth upward of $1 billion, Friday, March 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

Tennessee Gov. Lee admits defeat in school voucher push

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has conceded defeat on his push to enact universal school vouchers this year, acknowledging there was “not a pathway for the bill” after months of Republican infighting. … more

By KIMBERLEE KRUESI and JONATHAN MATTISE | 4/22/24