Arkansas

Boat strike

These were “righteous strikes,” Cotton, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, told reporters on Capitol Hill.

Righteous meaning

acting in accord with [divine] or [moral] law: free from guilt or sin

So he is equating bombing of adrift boaters as combatants in a religious war? What religion could even morally justify that?

I don't know what the fuck this is, but I'm in.

(sorry, no peertube videos that I can find... yet) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSueN78OIk4

“We know that many of our families are feeling the effects of the government shutdown and the pause in SNAP benefits. For some, this will make an already difficult situation even harder. That’s why this effort is not just timely, it’s essential,” he said.

Nonperishable food items like canned goods, pasta, rice, peanut butter and cereal will all be accepted, as will personal care items like soap, deodorant and period products. Mabelvale Middle School Principal Jasmine Geter said it’s part of the community schools model used by her school and seven others in the district.

“That not only means focusing on academics, but also ensuring that our students and families have support that they need outside of the classroom. And that’s why having a school pantry is so important,” she said. “We know that when basic needs are met, students aren’t worried about food or hygiene, then we can focus on learning and growing and thriving.”

Michael Moon submitted a library book challenge form to the Benton School District on Oct. 2 asking for the novel “Jo: An Adaptation of Little Women (Sort Of)” by Kathleen Gros to be removed from the library at Mountain View Middle School.

Two weeks after Benton school officials ordered two books hidden from students, the North Little Rock School District ordered staff to block students’ digital access to dozens of LGBTQ+ books. Administrators called it “a proactive step to ensure all content used in our classrooms is appropriate for our students and respectful of family beliefs.”

Several parents expressed opposition to the decision, calling it censorship and unrepresentative of all NLRSD families, in emails to the district that the Advocate obtained via a public records request.

Yay!!! Can’t wait for the massive high paying jobs boost! /s

RTTL Exposed: The White Nationalist "Revolution" That's Really Just a Scam

In the hills of Sharp County, Arkansas, Eric Orwoll and Peter Csere claim they're building a Whites-only utopia - a bold “intentional community” for the far-right. They talk civil war, Christian values, and European heritage. But dig even a little, and the whole thing collapses into hypocrisy, cowardice, and fraud.

Forget the usual outrage over racism - this isn’t about that. This is about how Orwoll and Csere are conning their own followers, lying about their lives, hiding from scrutiny, copying jihadist tactics, and fleecing supporters for cash. Locals hate them, allies distrust them, and their pasts reek of porn, grift, and betrayal.

This isn’t a movement. It’s a mess. RTTL is a house of cards - and it’s already falling.

Springdale School District worker no longer employed after Charlie Kirk shooting post

https://4029tv.com/article/springdale-schools-employee-charlie-kirk/66070703

Pea Ridge School District worker put on leave over social media posts

https://4029tv.com/article/pea-ridge-schools-social-media/66070861

OSDE investigates teacher after 'disgraceful rhetoric' on Charlie Kirk's death posted online

https://4029tv.com/article/charlie-kirk-oklahoma-investigation/66067540

One in three or more farms in Arkansas could be shuttered by next spring if the federal government doesn’t provide some type of supplemental assistance to farmers this fall, Agriculture Council of Arkansas President Joe Mencer told Talk Business & Politics.

Commodity prices continue to plunge and as of mid-August the state’s ag sector was projected to lose $1.145 billion this season and that number has ballooned by another $300 million by the end of the month to $1.4 billion as rice prices spiraled downward to an eight-year low.

And, the overall losses will almost certainly continue to rise, Mencer said.

The Ag Council has submitted two letters, one to the White House and the other to the U.S. Trade Representative, seeking relief in a number of areas, said Ag Council Executive Director Andrew Grobmyer. The federal government has reported a record $100 billion in tariff collections, and many in the farm sector would like some of that money used to supplement farmers, he said.

https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/local-regional-news/2025-08-20/sanders-appoints-new-arkansas-state-library-board-members

All six members of the Arkansas State Library Board have been replaced, with a more conservative bench.

This comes after a law to replace the board was passed in the legislature and signed by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders earlier this year. The replacements, all appointed by Sanders, are a part of a statewide push to regulate the content of books in public libraries.

Former board members refused to pass a resolution withholding funding from libraries, or requiring libraries to relocate certain books to a restricted section. Lawmakers decided to replace them at the last legislative session.

As participation in Arkansas’ school voucher program has grown, so too has tuition at the private schools receiving state funds.

According to an Arkansas Advocate analysis of private school tuition obtained through a public records request, the average tuition for the 2025-2026 year is around $8,800, which is more than the roughly $7,000 the state will provide each student this year.

University of Arkansas students received a text message about a report of an active shooter at Mullins Library just before 12:30 p.m. on Monday.

A federal judge said he will decide soon whether to block implementation of a new state law requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in public schools, following a nearly nine-hour hearing Friday.

Act 573 of 2025 requires that “a durable poster or framed copy of a historical representation of the Ten Commandments” be “prominently” displayed in public school classrooms and libraries, public institutions of higher education, and public buildings and facilities maintained by taxpayer funds.

Saltwerx, a subsidiary of ExxonMobil, applied for the royalty last month, just days after the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission approved an identical royalty for Standard Lithium and Equinor’s joint venture.

Exxon’s newly-approved royalty rate — 2.5% — and the broader royalty payment structure are identical to Standard Lithium’s. Much of the language in the application itself was also identical.

There is a new grant opportunity for those in Pulaski County looking to establish a community garden or build up their backyard farm.

The ‘micro grants’ are available from the Central Arkansas Sphinx Foundation in amounts between $4,000 and $8,000. Grant Writer Kalven Trice says the grants can be used by many groups.

After 13 years, large-scale swine farms are banned — permanently — within the Buffalo River watershed, ending a saga that started when Arkansas environmental regulators quietly approved a general water permit for C&H Hog Farms in 2012.

The Arkansas Legislative Council reviewed and approved the regulations containing the so-called permit moratorium during its Friday meeting without discussion. It marked the culmination of over a decade of efforts from environmental advocates and their allies to prevent a similar large-scale swine farm, known as concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) from taking root in the watershed. The moratorium specifically applies to medium and large swine CAFOs that meet the Environmental Protection Agency’s definition.

The Arkansas attorney general has filed a motion to intervene in a lawsuit aimed at blocking the mandate to display the 10 Commandments in classrooms.

The motion was filed Tuesday in the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas in Fort Smith. It cites the public interest as the reason for intervention and states that the legal prerequisites for its intervention request are met.

The suit claims Act 573 violates the First Amendment’s establishment and free exercise clauses. Plaintiffs request a preliminary injunction to prevent the law from taking effect before the court case is completed.

The American Civil Liberties Union plans to challenge a new Arkansas law requiring Ten Commandments displays in public buildings.

Act 573 was passed by the Arkansas Legislature earlier this year. The law mandates a framed copy of the Ten Commandments be hung in all public buildings, including school classrooms. The ACLU is suing four Northwest Arkansas school districts, and not the state specifically, because Act 573 assigns enforcement to local school officials rather than a state agency.

The suit argues that the law promotes a Protestant version of the Ten Commandments and sends a message that students who don’t share those beliefs are outsiders in their own schools. Joining the suit are families of public school students in Northwest Arkansas. Some plaintiffs are Jewish or non-religious, while one family is Unitarian Universalist.

[Josh Duggar] cited “new legal theories and strategies [that] have emerged in public discourse” in documents that were filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas on Tuesday.

The language in the proposal serves to simplify the rules. It would also require changes to the process be made by the people of Arkansas and not the legislature.

The grassroots amendment process is promised in the state constitution, but many state legislators think the process is too easy. They have worked to pass laws further regulating each step.

Legislation that looks to abolish an Arkansas commission and board cleared its first major hurdle on Monday.

Senate Bill 184 would abolish the Arkansas Educational Television Network (AETN) commission and the state library board. It cleared the Senate Monday in a 23-8 vote and is headed to the House.

The legislation is sponsored by Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Jonesboro) and Rep. Wayne Long (R-Bradford). It is co-sponsored by Rep. Stephen Meeks (R-Greenbrier).

In November 2024, former Arkansas senator and current Arkansas State Library Board member Jason Rapert called for the library board to be dissolved due to its failure in “protecting children from sexually explicit materials.”

A bill introduced in the Arkansas legislature would end the state’s ability to hold moratoriums on permits along the Buffalo River and other watersheds.

If Senate Bill 84 becomes law, it will end the state moratorium on issuing, for example, confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) permits along the Buffalo River watershed.

The state currently maintains a temporary moratorium on issuing new permits for medium and large CAFOs along the Buffalo. The Department of Environmental Quality initiated the moratorium in 2014 after environmental concerns about the waste generated by a large-scale hog farm near the river. The farm closed in late 2019 when the state purchased its assets.