Alarm as US Covid cases above 100,000 a day for first time since February

  • Seven-day hospital admissions average up 40% from last week
  • Mississippi health official says Delta surging ‘like a tsunami’

Daily Covid-19 cases in the US moved above 100,000 a day for the first time since February, higher than the levels of last summer when vaccines were not available, and came as health officials sounded alarm over lagging rates of vaccination driving the surge of the infectious Delta variant.

The seven-day average of hospital admissions has also increased more than 40% from the week before, with health workers describing frustration and exhaustion as hospitals in Covid hotspots were again overwhelmed with patients, almost 20 months into the pandemic in the US.

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Arkansas man given life for robbing taco shop with water pistol set to be freed

Governor announces intent to make Rolf Kaestel, who robbed a Fort Smith shop of $264 in 1981, eligible for parole

The governor of Arkansas, Asa Hutchinson, has said he intends to commute the sentence of a man serving life in prison for robbing a taco shop in 1981 with a water pistol.

Hutchinson announced he intended to make Rolf Kaestel immediately eligible for parole. There is a 30-day waiting period to receive public feedback before the governor’s decision can become final.

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Covid cases fall across US but experts warn of dangers of vaccine hesitancy

Health experts emphasize need for even those who have had disease to get inoculated

New cases of Covid-19 are declining across most of the US, even in some states with vaccine-hesitant populations.

But almost all states where cases are rising have lower-than-average vaccination rates and experts warned on Sunday that relief from the coronavirus pandemic could be fleeting in regions where few people get inoculated.

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Arkansas is first state to ban gender-affirming treatments for trans youth

Lawmakers overrode the governor’s veto despite criticism that the measure would harm an already vulnerable community

Arkansas has become the first state to ban gender-affirming treatments and surgery for transgender youth, after lawmakers overrode the governor’s objections to enact the ban on Tuesday.

The state’s governor, Asa Hutchinson, had vetoed the bill on Monday following pleas from pediatricians, social workers and the parents of trans youth who said the measure would harm a community already at risk for depression and suicide. The ban was opposed by several medical and child welfare groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics.

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Arkansas and South Dakota pass bans targeting transgender minors

Measures are among dozens of anti-trans legislation across the US and conservatives have filed more proposals this year than ever before

Arkansas lawmakers have approved a ban on gender-affirming healthcare for transgender children, sending the governor a bill that has been widely criticized by medical and child welfare groups.

Related: How trans children became 'a political football' for the Republican party

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Arkansas bans nearly all abortions in sweeping measure

Law, which supporters hope will force the supreme court to revisit Roe v Wade, does not provide exceptions for cases of rape or incest

Arkansas has passed a new law banning nearly all abortions in the state, a sweeping measure that supporters hope will force the US supreme court to revisit Roe v Wade but opponents vow to block before it takes effect later this year.

The state’s Republican governor, Asa Hutchinson, said he was signing the bill because of its “overwhelming legislative support and my sincere and long-held pro-life convictions”.

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Sarah Sanders, former Trump press secretary, to run for Arkansas governor – reports

A formal announcement is expected on Monday as the 38-year-old bids to succeed her father, Mike Huckabee, in the state leadership role

Sarah Sanders, Donald Trump’s former chief spokeswoman and one of his closest aides, is running for Arkansas governor, according to multiple reports.

Sanders, who left the White House in 2019 to return to her home state, planned to announce her bid on Monday, according to Associated Press and Reuters, citing anonymous sources.

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Two women and three girls found dead in Arkansas home

Authorities say the five people were all related and are treating the deaths as suspected homicides

Two women and three girls have been found dead in a home in north-west Arkansas in a suspected homicide.

Deputies responded to a call at around 5pm on Friday and found the five people dead in a home in Atkins about 65 miles (105 kilometres) north-west of Little Rock, Pope County sheriff Shane Jones said in a statement. The dead were between 8 and 50 years old and are all believed to have been related, he said.

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Storms tear through US south, leaving at least 19 people dead

Storms caused flooding, mudslides and power outages, killing 11 people in Mississippi and six people in Georgia

Severe weather has swept across the southern US, killing at least 19 people and damaging hundreds of homes from Louisiana into the Appalachian mountains.

Many spent part of the night sheltering in basements, closets and bathtubs as sirens wailed to warn of possible tornadoes.

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Tornado strikes Louisiana as powerful storm could affect over a dozen states

Twister destroyed buildings in Monroe, Louisiana, while local media said at least two tornadoes touched down in central Texas

A tornado strike destroyed homes and left a trail of devastation across parts of Louisiana on Sunday, as forecasters warned that a powerful Easter storm could affect more than a dozen states and millions of people before the early hours of Monday.

The storm provided a dilemma for public safety officials trying to find the balance between wanting people to stay in lockdown for the coronavirus pandemic and wanting them to leave their homes for shelter if conditions worsened.

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A Red Wall to Tame the Blue Wave

How did this man get elected? Why do you still support him? How can you condone his rude tweets and personal attacks? How can you call yourself a Christian and support this lying, immoral man? These are just some of the questions Trump supporters are asked as the left does everything it can to resist, derail, and impeach President Trump. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee brings some perspective, "Even if the best surgeon has a bad bedside manner, you still want him doing your surgery!" Trump is irreverent.

Trump is reportedly upset about old video footage showing him…

President Donald Trump has reportedly been fixated on unflattering news reports about his response to Hurricane Maria, which slammed Puerto Rico in September 2017. Trump has particularly been irritated by video footage of him throwing rolls of paper towels to a crowd of relief workers on the island, according to The Washington Post.

PredictIt lets clients test their luck

Want to stake money on whether Donald Trump will be re-elected or impeached? There's a website that allows you to do that legally. Since the fall of 2014, its roughly 85,000 clients have made more than 800 million trades, including 27 million on Election Day 2016.

U.S. attorney takes oath of office

Duane "Dak" Kees took the oath of office as U.S. attorney for the Western District of Arkansas on Friday during an investiture ceremony presided over by four federal court judges. Western Arkansas Chief U.S. District Judge P.K. Holmes III administered the oath to Kees before an audience of about 200 that included U.S. Sen. John Boozman, who put forward Kees' name for the position to President Donald Trump, and Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a former U.S. attorney for the Western District.

Gates certified as nominee, but state Republican Party votes not to back him

Delegates at the state Republican Party's convention Saturday voted to certify state Rep. Mickey Gates as the Republican nominee for his House seat but didn't endorse his re-election. Gates, a Hot Springs Republican, faces criminal charges of failing to pay state income taxes or file returns.

Huckabee: US Meddles in Elections Just as Russia Does

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said Thursday morning the United States is not as "pure" as Americans think it is because the government meddles in other countries' elections just as Russia did in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Huckabee appeared on "Fox and Friends" and acknowledged that Russia stuck its nose in America's business during the previous presidential campaign.