Arkansas State News | West Plains Daily Quill

Deep South News Digest, 7pm update

Here's a look at how AP's general news coverage is shaping up for select Deep South stories. For up-to-the minute information on AP's complete coverage of Deep South and the rest of the world, visit … more

5/16/24

Federal prosecutor in Arkansas stepped down while being investigated, report says

Justice Department documents show a federal prosecutor in Arkansas stepped down from the post while under investigation for having an inappropriate relationship with an employee. He was then … more

By ANDREW DeMILLO | 5/16/24

Arkansas Supreme Court upholds 2021 voting restrictions that state judge found unconstitutional

The Arkansas Supreme Court has upheld four voting restrictions passed by Republican lawmakers in 2021 that were struck down by a state judge as unconstitutional. Justices on Thursday unanimously … more

By ANDREW DeMILLO | 5/16/24

FILE - A worker carries bananas inside the Walmart Supercenter on Feb. 9, 2023, in North Bergen, New Jersey. Walmart reports earnings on Thursday, May 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez, File)

Walmart's strong first quarter driven by consumers seeking bargains with inflation still an issue

Walmart reported another quarter of strong quarterly results Thursday as its low prices pull in shoppers scouring for discounts with inflation stubbornly high. The nation’s largest retailer also … more

By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO | 5/16/24

Deep South News Digest, 1pm update

Here's a look at how AP's general news coverage is shaping up for select Deep South stories. For up-to-the minute information on AP's complete coverage of Deep South and the rest of the world, visit … more

5/15/24

FILE - Shoppers exit a Walmart store, Feb. 21, 2024, in Englewood, Colo. Walmart on Tuesday, May 14, 2024, announced layoffs affecting several hundred jobs at the retail giant’s campus offices. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

Walmart lays off hundreds of employees and requires others to relocate

Walmart on Tuesday announced layoffs affecting several hundred jobs at the retail giant's campus offices and said it will be requiring most remote workers and personnel in its Dallas, Atlanta and … more

5/14/24

Sheriff faces questions from Arkansas lawmakers over Netflix series filmed at county jail

Arkansas lawmakers are questioning a sheriff's decision to allow a Netflix documentary series to be filmed at a county jail. Pulaski County Sheriff Eric Higgins on Tuesday appeared before a … more

By ANDREW DeMILLO | 5/14/24

Marisshia Sigala secures her son Mateo in his car seat after picking him up after work from the Koala Children's Academy in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Wednesday, March 20, 2024. Like most other New Mexico families, Sigala and her husband qualify for subsidized child care in New Mexico, providing them more flexibility to see more clients as they build their careers. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan)

LOCALIZE IT: Child care prices soared in the pandemic and remain high. Some states are taking action

EDITORS/NEWS DIRECTORS: Child care is unaffordable for many, hard to find for those who can pay, and financially precarious for day care operators and their employees. The problem has only … more

By SHARON LURYE | 5/14/24

2 killed in single-engine plane crash in eastern Arkansas

Arkansas State Police say two people were killed when the single-engine plane they were flying in crashed in an Arkansas field on Sunday night. The agency says the privately owned plane that had … more

5/13/24

FILE - In this Oct. 15, 1957, file photo, seven of nine black students walk onto the campus of Central High School in Little Rock, Ark., with a National Guard officer as an escort as other troops watch. A federal judge ruled, Tuesday, May 7, 2024, that Arkansas cannot prevent two high school teachers from discussing critical race theory in the classroom, but stopped short of more broadly blocking the state from enforcing its ban on “indoctrination” in public schools. The prohibition is being challenged by two teachers and two students at Little Rock Central High School, site of the 1957 desegregation crisis. (AP Photo/File)

Arkansas cannot prevent 2 teachers from discussing critical race theory in classroom, judge rules

A federal judge has ruled Arkansas cannot prevent two high school teachers from discussing critical race theory in the classroom but is stopping short of a broader prohibition against the state's ban … more

By ANDREW DeMILLO | 5/8/24

FILE - Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump reacts at a campaign rally in Freeland, Mich., May 1, 2024. Trump remains stuck in the courtroom listening to salacious details of an affair he denies. But another spectacle is playing out as his vice presidential tryouts get underway. The dynamic was on full display over the weekend at a fundraiser at his Mar—a-Lago club that doubled as a VP audition. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

Trump in no hurry as he leans into the pageantry of vice presidential tryouts

Former President Donald Trump remains stuck in the courtroom listening to salacious details of an affair he denies. But another spectacle is playing out as his vice presidential tryouts get underway. … more

By JILL COLVIN, LISA MASCARO and ANDREW DeMILLO | 5/8/24

Artist Kevin Kresse, is shown with a clay bust of Johnny Cash, April 23, 2024 in Little Rock, Ark. Kresse's full sculpture of Cash will be unveiled at the U.S. Capitol as part of the Statuary Hall collection, later this year. (AP Photo/Mike Pesoli)

Civil rights leader Daisy Bates and singer Johnny Cash to replace Arkansas statues at the US Capitol

Arkansas is set to replace the statues of two obscure figures from its history that have represented the state at the U.S. Capitol with contemporary figures. A statue depicting civil rights leader … more

By ANDREW DeMILLO | 5/6/24

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