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Judge hears arguments in lawsuit over LEARNS ban on ‘indoctrination,’ ‘critical race theory’

A federal judge in Little Rock heard arguments Tuesday in a lawsuit seeking to block enforcement of an Arkansas law aimed at prohibiting “indoctrination” and the teaching of “critical race theory” in Arkansas classrooms, but he did not issue a ruling.

The lawsuit, filed in March by civil rights attorneys representing Little Rock Central High students, their parents, and a history teacher, argues that Section 16 of the Arkansas LEARNS Act is unconstitutionally vague and violates the First and Fo

Jake Keet Surveys Tornado Damage to Breckenridge Village

“Man this is just —,” Jake Keet stopped mid-sentence as he saw the tornado damage to Breckenridge Village.

Keet of JTJ Restaurants and his family recently acquired the retail center on North Rodney Parham Road off Interstate 430, and had been working to bring it back to life with new eateries and a cosmetic uplift. But on Friday afternoon, everything changed.

“We basically… Oh my God,” he said.

Dozens in the storm’s path were injured. No deaths had been reported Friday evening.

Arkansas Busi

Winners and losers of Google's China search pullout - CNN.com

Beijing, China (CNN) -- Google's partners in China are beginning to sever ties with the Internet giant following the company's decision to quit self censoring in the country and redirect searches to Google in Hong Kong.

However, there are plenty of companies lining up to take Google's Chinese search business.

The portal Tom.com, owned by the Hong Kong tycoon Li Kai Shing, has quit offering Google.cn on its pages and replaced it with Baidu.com on Wednesday.

The move is a path likely to be repe

Arkansas judge denies request for new DNA testing on West Memphis 3 evidence | Arkansas Democrat Gazette

WEST MEMPHIS -- Damien Echols pledged to continue his fight for exoneration after a judge on Thursday denied his petition to retest evidence for DNA from the crime scene of the heinous murders of three boys whose bodies were found in a ditch near this city of about 25,000 almost three decades ago.

Known as the West Memphis Three, Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley were convicted a year after the 1993 slayings of the 8-year-olds. The trio spent years in prison, including Echols who was

Arkansas Medical Board takes no action against jail doctor who treated inmates with ivermectin for covid | Arkansas Democrat Gazette

The Arkansas State Medical Board voted to take no action at this time against a physician embroiled in a federal lawsuit over prescribing Washington County jail inmates ivermectin, an anti-parasitic medication some doctors have given as an off-label treatment for covid-19.

During an April Medical Board meeting, board members told Dr. Robert Karas that a state investigator was unable to find consent forms in all but one of the inmate medical records that were reviewed.

Four inmates are suing Ka

Arkansas reports 3,957 new cases of covid on New Year's Eve, fourth highest since pandemic's beginning | Arkansas Democrat Gazette

The day after Arkansas experienced its highest daily increase in cases of coronavirus, the state recorded nearly 4,000 new cases Friday as Arkansans prepared to ring in the New Year amidst another covid-19 wave fueled largely by the highly contagious omicron variant.

Friday's daily case increase of 3,957 was the fourth highest since the first case of the pandemic was identified in March 2020.

That was almost 1,000 less than Thursday's new cases, which came in at a record 4,978, the Arkansas De

East Arkansas first responders receive $75M in damages after toxic chemical exposure | Arkansas Democrat Gazette

Around 4 o'clock on a Friday afternoon in April 2018, first responders arrived at the scene of an accident between a pickup and a tractor-trailer rig on U.S. 70 in St. Francis County.

The pickup had crossed the centerline, forcing the truck to swerve. The truck, which was carrying about 20,000 pounds of cargo, then rolled over and burst into flames. The pickup driver did not survive.

The responding law enforcement officers, firefighters and employees of a local towing company were concerned ab

Care group for 20,000 Arkansans with disabilities under investigation for Medicaid fraud | Arkansas Democrat Gazette

One of the state’s largest managed care providers for Arkansans with disabilities is under investigation for Medicaid fraud, according to documents obtained by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Empower Healthcare Solutions LLC, which serves some 20,000 people in the state who need services for behavioral health disorders or developmental disabilities, received a notice of sanctions from the state Medicaid inspector general, notifying the entity that it is being investigated for fraud.

The letter,

Arkansas Supreme Court denies state's appeal to enforce mask-ban law, keeps injunction until November trial | Arkansas Democrat Gazette

An injunction barring the enforcement of a ban on government mask mandates will stay in place after the Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday denied the state's request to remove the injunction ahead of a November hearing where the ultimate fate of the new law could be determined by a lower court.

Pulaski County Circuit Judge Tim Fox issued a temporary injunction of Act 1002 of 2021 in August after several parents, two school districts and Pulaski County officials filed a lawsuit challenging the l

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