arkansasadvocate.com - Profile | ThreadSky | a Reddit-style client for Bluesky

The Arkansas State Library Board on Friday will disburse public funds to libraries for the last time in the 2025 fiscal year, and likely the last time before all seven board members will be replaced. #arpx #arleg

submitted 14 minutes ago • 0 comments

The case of the missing Federal Bureau of Investigation budget request was on full display Thursday, when senators repeatedly asked the law enforcement agency’s director what resources he needed Congress to provide in the upcoming fiscal year.

submitted 11 hours ago • 12 comments

Arkansas’ education secretary notified the state education board Thursday of his intent to recommend a Level 5 – Intensive Support classification for the Blytheville School District due to ongoing academic and administrative challenges.

submitted 12 hours ago • 2 comments

The Trump administration Thursday made an emergency request to the U.S. Supreme Court to allow the deportation of more than half a million immigrants granted humanitarian protections under the Biden administration.

submitted 13 hours ago • 5 comments

The top Democrat on a U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee panel Thursday slammed Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for her handling of her agency’s funding and the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

submitted 15 hours ago • 1 comment

The Trump administration has ousted the leader of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and replaced him with another official. Cam Hamilton was let go just one day after he testified before Congress about the size and scope of the federal agency.

submitted 19 hours ago • 6 comments

The U.S. House approved a measure Thursday that would codify part of President Donald Trump’s executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.” The legislation is unlikely to move far in the Senate, where it would take 60 votes to advance.

submitted 20 hours ago • 5 comments

A Democratic lawmaker is asking why House Republicans approved nearly six times the requested funding for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as President Donald Trump cancels federal grants for arts organizations across the United States.

submitted 21 hours ago • 5 comments

A trio of college presidents from across the nation Wednesday took heat from U.S. House lawmakers, as Republicans expand their drive to penalize higher education institutions they say have failed to combat antisemitism.

submitted 22 hours ago • 3 comments

U.S. House lawmakers on Wednesday began debating when the Federal Emergency Management Agency should provide state and local communities with help addressing natural disasters and when aid should be handled by others.

submitted 23 hours ago • 1 comment

Arkansas lawmakers passed a handful of bills during the 2025 legislative session to address environmental concerns, such as the application of industrial biosolids to farmland and a moratorium on medium and large swine farms in the Buffalo River watershed. #arpx #arleg

submitted 1 day ago • 1 comment

Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration officials announced Wednesday that duplicate driver’s licenses can be ordered online and delivered by mail beginning May 12.

submitted 1 day ago • 0 comments

The Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday that potential major cuts and changes to Medicaid under consideration could mean states would have to spend more of their own money on the program, reduce payments to health care providers, limit optional benefits and reduce enrollment.

submitted 1 day ago • 8 comments

Immigration attorneys are asking a federal judge for an emergency temporary restraining order to stop the Trump administration from removing their clients to Libya and Saudi Arabia as soon as Wednesday, in a major new development in the president's drive for mass deportations.

submitted 1 day ago • 2 comments

The Arkansas State Medical Board suspended the license of a Fort Smith physician on Tuesday and launched an investigation into his alleged sex crimes, to which he has pleaded not guilty.

submitted 1 day ago • 0 comments

The League of Women Voters of Arkansas on Wednesday decried the attorney general’s rejection of its proposed constitutional amendment under a new law that prohibits ballot titles from being written above an eighth-grade reading level. #arpx #arleg buff.ly/bBXtHJL

submitted 1 day ago • 3 comments

#OPINION: By taking maternal care and contraceptive resources directly to rural Arkansans, UAMS' mobile health units eliminate common barriers such as distance, cost and availability, creating a bridge to necessary services, according to guest commentary by Pearl McElfish.

submitted 1 day ago • 1 comment

U.S. Senate Democrats on Tuesday blasted the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, underscoring the impact of the dizzying array of cuts, overhauls and proposed changes to the agency on students, families and educators.

submitted 1 day ago • 1 comment

Veterans and Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill Tuesday protested the Trump administration’s planned cuts for the Department of Veterans Affairs that include slashing some 80,000 jobs, which many worry will affect the massive agency’s delivery of medical care and benefits.

submitted 2 days ago • 5 comments

Two federal judges Tuesday blocked the Trump administration from using the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport Venezuelans, limiting the rulings to Colorado and a New York district.

submitted 2 days ago • 0 comments

For those who insist Social Security is not an "entitlement program," check this out from the SSA's own website: www.ssa.gov/sf/FactSheet...

submitted 2 days ago • 4 comments

A joint venture looking to extract lithium from South Arkansas’ Smackover formation has increased its proposed royalty rate to mineral rights owners to 2.5%.

submitted 2 days ago • 1 comment

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced during a congressional hearing Tuesday the department will soon detail which staff positions it plans to move away from the nation’s capital and where in the country those jobs will be relocated.

submitted 2 days ago • 2 comments

The U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday allowed the Trump administration’s ban on transgender military service members to temporarily remain in place, while a lower court reviews the policy that advocates and some service members contend illegally targets a group of people.

submitted 2 days ago • 2 comments

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed Frank Bisignano as Social Security commissioner, putting him in charge of a $1.5 trillion entitlement program that’s relied on by tens of millions of Americans.

submitted 2 days ago • 4 comments

A federal judge will for 48 hours pause her own order to require the federal government to facilitate the return of an asylum seeker mistakenly deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador, while the court waits for the Trump administration’s anticipated appeal of her decision. buff.ly/utLW7RD

submitted 2 days ago • 7 comments

Wisconsinites who disagree on abortion recently reunited to develop a solution for extending postpartum Medicaid. Arkansas and Wisconsin are the only two states cutting off postpartum Medicaid after 60 days.

submitted 2 days ago • 1 comment

Less than half of Americans have confidence in federal public health agencies’ ability to regulate prescriptions, approve vaccines and respond to outbreaks, according to a poll released Tuesday by the nonpartisan health research organization @kff.org

submitted 3 days ago • 6 comments

The Department of Justice wrote in a legal filing released Monday that three GOP-led states attempting to overturn federal prescribing guidelines for medication abortion have sought to keep a case going in the wrong place at the wrong time.

submitted 3 days ago • 3 comments

The Arkansas House and Senate adjourned sine die Monday morning, marking the end of the 2025 legislative session. The Legislature ended the business portion of the session on April 16 after considering more than 1,600 bills. #arpx #arleg

submitted 3 days ago • 1 comment

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced Monday that the agency will provide $1,000 in what it called “travel assistance” to people in the United States without permanent legal status if they self deport.

submitted 3 days ago • 4 comments

President Donald Trump and his team have signaled a strong interest in continuing to strengthen federal support for nuclear power, an energy source Democratic states are increasingly open to expanding.

submitted 3 days ago • 1 comment

Education software experts say they’re cautiously optimistic about a Trump administration drive to incorporate AI into classrooms, but such a program needs clear goals, specific rules — and enough money to fund the costly systems.

submitted 3 days ago • 1 comment

After a nearly three-week recess, Arkansas lawmakers return to the Capitol Monday to officially adjourn the 2025 legislative session, which brand new legislators described as a busy and humbling experience. #arpx #arleg

submitted 4 days ago • 1 comment

In 2005, former Gov. Mike Huckabee named Larry Bengal director of the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission, a position he held for 20 years before handing it over to his successor, Allen York, last month.

submitted 4 days ago • 2 comments

All five international students at the University of Arkansas who had their visa status revoked last month have been reinstated, a university spokesperson confirmed Thursday.

submitted 5 days ago • 3 comments

On Wednesday, Elopak celebrated the grand opening of its new Little Rock facility, the Norwegian company's first carton production plant in the United States.

submitted 5 days ago • 1 comment

Gender-nonconforming Arkansans might not meet the state’s requirements to obtain a REAL ID in order to board flights or enter certain federal buildings, which will be required by federal law on May 7.

submitted 5 days ago • 1 comment

The Arkansas Department of Health on Tuesday reported the state’s fourth confirmed pediatric measles case in an Arkansas resident. Because the child did not travel outside the state, this indicates the first case of community spread this year, according to a press release.

submitted 5 days ago • 3 comments

Arkansas preschool programs met 8 of 10 benchmarks in a national early childhood education group’s analysis of pre-K efforts. The state falls short in its early childhood education degree requirements and annual staff professional development, according to the new report.

submitted 5 days ago • 1 comment

Arkansas environmental regulators updated the state Pollution Control and Ecology Commission last week on efforts to help storm-stricken areas of the state recover from multiple rounds of severe weather.

submitted 6 days ago • 1 comment

President Donald Trump’s budget request for the next fiscal year proposes deep cuts to renewable energy programs and other climate spending as the administration seeks to shift U.S. energy production to encourage more fossil fuels and push the focus away from reducing climate change. buff.ly/HZaDecq

submitted 6 days ago • 2 comments

President Donald Trump released a budget request Friday that would dramatically slash some federal spending, the initial step in a monthslong process that will include heated debate on Capitol Hill as both political parties work toward a final government funding agreement.

submitted 6 days ago • 3 comments

Republicans in Congress and several states, including Ohio, Iowa, and Montana, are pushing to implement work requirements for nondisabled adults, arguing a mandate would encourage enrollees to find jobs. Story by @stateline.org

submitted 6 days ago • 3 comments

President Donald Trump Thursday congratulated more than 200 graduates at a commencement ceremony at the University of Alabama for their academic accomplishments, and himself for his first 100 days in office for his second term. Reporting by @alabamareflector.com

submitted 6 days ago • 3 comments

In 2005, former Gov. Mike Huckabee named Larry Bengal director of the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission, a position he held for 20 years before handing it over to his successor, Allen York, last month.

submitted 7 days ago • 0 comments

The Justice Department made an emergency request to the U.S. Supreme Court Thursday, asking the justices to lift a lower court’s freeze on the Trump administration’s plans to terminate work authorization & deportation protection for more than 350,000 Venezuelans residing in the U.S.

submitted 7 days ago • 3 comments

Mike Waltz, a former Florida congressman who became known for sharing U.S. plans to strike Yemen on a Signal group chat, was out as White House national security adviser on Thursday. President Trump announced he will instead nominate Waltz to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

submitted 7 days ago • 2 comments

A federal judge Thursday struck down President Donald Trump’s use of a wartime law to deport Venezuelan nationals, but limited the scope to the Southern District of Texas.

submitted 7 days ago • 3 comments

Senate Democrats said Thursday they will file a privileged resolution that would require the State Department to report on human rights conditions in a brutal 40,000-capacity facility in El Salvador where Kilmar Abrego Garcia was first incarcerated after being mistakenly deported.

submitted 7 days ago • 2 comments