Category Archives: Arkansas

Arkansas father rushing his sick child to hospital won’t face charges after officer rammed into his car

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State trooper used Pit ramming maneuvre to stop Dillon Hess from speeding while transporting his son to hospital

An Arkansas father speeding while transporting his sick child to the hospital will not face charges after a state police trooper used a vehicle-ramming technique known as a Pit maneuvre to stop his vehicle, authorities have said.

Officials said they have ruled out charges against the father, identified as Dillon Hess, who was speeding as he rushed his son to the hospital for emergency medical treatment after he suffered an allergic reaction, as the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette first reported.

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Arkansas man seeks to have visa status restored after being arrested for ‘Opium’ perfume bottle

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Police thought bottle contained drugs and arrested Kapil Raghu, who was then taken into custody by Ice

An Arkansas man, who was detained for a month by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) after authorities mistook his bottle of perfume for opium, is seeking to have his visa status restored after the charges were dropped.

Kapil Raghu, an Indian national married to an American woman and working towards American citizenship, was detained on 3 May after police officers in Benton, a suburb of Little Rock, pulled him over for having a non-moving traffic violation, according to his attorney, Mike Laux.

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Arkansas killer and rapist caught after 13-day manhunt in mountains

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Grant Hardin, nicknamed ‘Devil in the Ozarks’, had escaped from prison after impersonating a corrections officer

A former police chief who is also a convicted killer and rapist nicknamed the “Devil in the Ozarks” was captured by law enforcement 1.5 miles north-west of the prison he escaped from following a 13-day manhunt in the mountains of northern Arkansas, authorities announced on Friday.

Grant Hardin’s identity was confirmed through fingerprinting, the Izard county sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post.

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The great Mississippi tops list of most endangered rivers amid fears over Trump rollbacks

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Cuts to disaster agency and deregulation of fossil fuels, plus rise of water-guzzling datacentres, highlighted in new report

The Trump administration’s sweeping cuts to the federal climate disaster agency – and the full-throttle deregulation of fossil fuels and water-guzzling datacentres – could prove catastrophic for America’s endangered rivers, threatening the food, water and livelihoods of millions of people, according to a new report.

American Rivers’ annual most-endangered rivers list lays bare a myriad of human-made threats including floods, drought and other extreme weather events driven by the climate crisis, as well as industrial pollution and poor river management – all of which Trump’s regulatory rollbacks will almost inevitably make worse.

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Severe storms and tornadoes hit US south and midwest, killing at least seven

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White House approves Tennessee’s state of emergency request as further fatalities expected to be confirmed

Violent storms and tornadoes have torn across the US south and midwest, killing at least seven people and downing power lines and trees, smashing homes and upturning cars across multiple states.

The outbreak of storms and tornadoes has resulted in at least seven deaths in Tennessee and Missouri, with further fatalities expected to be confirmed. One of the victims has been named: a 68-year-old man named Garry Moore who was a fire chief in Cape Girardeau county, Missouri. At least a dozen injuries have also been reported from the storms.

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Monster storm system in US south kills at least 35 people

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Several people killed in Kansas dust storm while scattered tornadoes cause fatalities in Missouri

Violent tornadoes ripped through parts of the US, wiping out schools and toppling semitractor-trailers in several states, part of a monster storm that killed at least 35 people as more severe weather was expected.

In western Kansas, a dust storm was reported to have killed eight people as high winds produced blowing dust over the interstate, causing collisions of more than 71 vehicles on the I-70.

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Survivors of deadly mass shooting at Arkansas grocery store hid in freezer

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‘I just want my baby back,’ the mother of one of four people killed said, as 10 others wounded in shooting

Families who were shopping at the Arkansas grocery where four people were killed and nine others were wounded during a mass shooting on Friday reportedly hid in the freezer as they desperately tried to stay out of the attacker’s view, according to reports.

The chilling details emerged as authorities identified the alleged shooter and the people slain at the Mad Butcher store in Fordyce.

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Three people dead and 10 injured in mass shooting at Arkansas grocery

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Shooting occurred at Mad Butcher grocery store in Fordyce, a city of about 3,200 people 65 miles south of Little Rock

Three people were killed and 10 others were wounded – including at least two law enforcement officers – when a shooter opened fire on Friday at a grocery store in Arkansas, police said.

The shooting occurred on Friday morning at the Mad Butcher grocery store in Fordyce. The suspected shooter was critically injured after being shot by police, Arkansas state police said. The wounded officers did not have life-threatening injuries.

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At least 21 people dead as storms leave path of destruction across central US

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Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas saw hundreds injured and homes obliterated as storms move into Georgia and South Carolina

Powerful storms were moving into the eastern half of the US on Monday, after killing at least 21 people, injuring hundreds, obliterating homes, and leaving a path of destruction that spread across Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas over the Memorial weekend.

As the weather system moved into Georgia, the Storm Prediction Center issued a severe thunderstorm watch for more than 7 million people in the state and South Carolina. Heavy rain is expected to drench parts of the East Coast, where damage from strong winds is also possible. Intense heat will also hit parts of the south.

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Arizona woman pleads guilty to stealing parts of corpses and trying to sell them

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Candace Chapman Scott of Little Rock, 37, worked at a mortuary and arranged to transport remains to buyers across state lines

A former mortuary worker in Arkansas has admitted to stealing parts of corpses and trying to sell them.

On Thursday, the US attorney for the eastern district of Arkansas announced that 37-year-old Candace Chapman Scott of Little Rock, Arkansas, had pleaded guilty to transporting stolen body parts across state lines and conspiring to commit mail fraud.

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Super Tuesday 2024 live: millions of voters head to polls in the US as Haley suggests she could stay in the race

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Donald Trump looks all but certain of Republican presidential nomination as Nikki Haley rejects suggestions of third-party bid and says she may keep fighting

Over at CNN, Ronald Brownstein has an analysis piece which looks a little at the potential weakness of Donald Trump support away from his core base. Brownstein writes:

[Trump’s] performance so far reflects his success at transforming the Republican Party in his image. He’s reshaped the Republicans into a more blue-collar, populist and pugnacious party, focused more on his volatile blend of resentments against elites and cultural and racial change than the Ronald Reagan-era priorities of smaller government and active global leadership that former South Carolina Gov Nikki Haley has stressed.

But while the primaries have underscored Trump’s grip on the GOP, they have also demonstrated continued vulnerability for him in the areas where he has labored since he first announced his candidacy in 2015 – particularly among the white-collar suburban voters who mostly leaned toward the GOP before his emergence. The early 2024 nominating contests have shown that a substantial minority of Republican-leaning voters remain resistant to Trump’s vision.

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Asa Hutchinson drops out of race for Republican presidential nomination

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Former Arkansas governor, a stalwart conservative, was willing to sharply criticize Donald Trump

The former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson, a stalwart conservative willing to sharply criticize Donald Trump, has suspended his beleaguered bid for the White House the day after the Iowa caucuses.

“My message of being a principled Republican with experience and telling the truth about the current front runner did not sell in Iowa,” he said in a statement. “I stand by the campaign I ran. I answered every question, sounded the warning to the GOP about the risks in 2024 and presented hope for our country’s future.”

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US prisoners who did not consent to ivermectin Covid treatment win payout

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Prisoners in Arkansas settle lawsuit for $2,000 each after accusing Washington county detention center of ‘medical experimentation’

The four Arkansas prisoners who sued their jail over allegations they knowingly prescribed them ivermectin to treat Covid without consent have settled the dispute for $2,000 each.

The quartet previously said they were administered the drug as a form of “medical experimentation” without prior informed consent or knowledge of the drug’s contents and potential side effects. Instead, the doctor at the jail told them they received “vitamins, antibiotics, and/or steroids”.

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E coli outbreak at University of Arkansas sends five students to hospital

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About 100 students have reported symptoms of infection, and officials are trying to pinpoint the source of the outbreak

Health officials are investigating an outbreak of E coli food poisoning among students at the University of Arkansas, with dozens reporting symptoms and five people needing treatment in the hospital.

Among those affected are two 19-year-old sorority members who developed serious complications that can lead to kidney failure after being infected with the E coli strain O157:H7. That is according to Bill Marler, a Seattle food safety lawyer who said he reviewed the patients’ medical records after being contacted by the families.

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Six Arkansas schools to offer African American AP course despite restrictions

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Officials have said class will not count toward graduation credit but some schools offer course as ‘local elective’

The six Arkansas schools that planned to offer an Advanced Placement (AP) course on African American studies say they will continue to do so despite state officials saying the class will not count toward a student’s graduation credit.

The North Little Rock and Jacksonville North Pulaski school districts and eStem charter schools said on Thursday they would offer the course as a “local elective” despite the Arkansas education department saying it is not considered a state-approved course. They join two other school districts that have said they will continue offering the class.

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Judge blocks Arkansas law allowing librarians to be charged over ‘harmful’ books

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Decision comes as lawmakers in conservative states are pushing for measures making it easier to ban or restrict access to books

Arkansas is temporarily blocked from enforcing a law that would have allowed criminal charges against librarians and booksellers for providing “harmful” materials to minors, a federal judge ruled on Saturday.

US district judge Timothy L Brooks issued a preliminary injunction against the law, which also would have created a new process to challenge library materials and request that they be relocated to areas not accessible by kids. The measure, signed by the state’s Republican governor, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, earlier this year, was set to take effect on 1 August.

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Judge strikes down Arkansas ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors

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Ruling states that the prohibition violated due process and equal protection rights of transgender youth and families

A federal judge struck down Arkansas’ first-in-the-nation ban on gender-affirming care for children as unconstitutional Tuesday, the first ruling to overturn such a prohibition as a growing number of Republican-led states adopt similar restrictions.

US district Judge Jay Moody issued a permanent injunction against the Arkansas law, which would have prohibited doctors from providing gender-affirming hormone treatment, puberty blockers or surgery to anyone under 18.

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Asa Hutchinson announces candidacy for Republican presidential nomination

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The 2024 presidential field widens although Senator Joe Manchin remains evasive about his own possible White House run

The former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson announced on Sunday that he plans to run for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, saying the US needs “leaders that appeal to the best of America, and not simply appeal to our worst instincts” while also calling for Donald Trump to drop out the race.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the political aisle, the centrist Democrat and West Virginia senator Joe Manchin evaded a question during an interview on CNN about a potential run challenging his party’s Oval Office incumbent, Joe Biden, fueling speculation about his own ambitions.

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Deadly storms and tornadoes kill at least 29 people in several US states

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Monster storm system struck at least eight states over the weekend, prompting at least 50 preliminary reports of tornadoes

As many as 29 people have been killed after a slew of tornadoes tore through parts of the southern and midwestern US in recent days, leaving immense destruction and debris in its path, according to officials.

A monster storm system struck at least eight states over the weekend, prompting at least 50 preliminary reports of tornadoes. The states affected include Indiana, Iowa, Illinois, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Delaware and Alabama.

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Monster storm system leaves at least 21 dead through US south and midwest

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Tornadoes leave devastation across Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa and Oklahoma, including theatre roof that collapsed during concert

At least 21 people died and as many as 900,000 places were without power after a monster storm system tore through the southern and midwest US on Friday, spawning deadly tornadoes that shredded homes and shopping centers, and collapsed a theatre roof during a heavy metal concert in Illinois.

More than 50 preliminary reports of tornadoes were recorded across seven states, with twister-producing conditions continuing into Saturday as the storm system threatened a broad US swath which is home to 85 million people.

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