An Arkansas Senate Committee voted on Wednesday to advance a bill that would require state agencies to return fines collected from businesses that violated "rules, orders or directives to mitigate or prevent the spread" of COVID-19.

Noting "broad swaths of progress" in distributing vaccines in the state, Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Tuesday announced that those 65 to 69 in age are now eligible to receive the vaccine. According to Hutchinson, Lowering the age from 70 to 65 provides vaccine access to about 115,000 more Arkansans. 

Members of the Arkansas Senate advanced two bills Monday that would restrict abortion access in the state.

A bill that would ban nearly all abortions in Arkansas is on its way to the House after passing the Arkansas Senate on Monday.

Arkansas lawmakers have proposed a bill that would make it illegal for schools to allow transgender girls and women to play on sports teams corresponding to their gender identity.

The legislation, called the Gender Integrity Reinforcement Legislation for Sports (GIRLS) Act, is sponsored by Sen. Missy Irvin, R-Mountain View, and Rep. DeAnn Vaught, R-Horatio. State Attorney General Leslie Rutledge introduced the bill at a news conference Monday.

Walmart disappointed the equity markets Thursday with a 12-cent per share earnings miss in the fourth quarter, despite record revenue and strong same-store sales. Fourth-quarter earnings on an adjusted basis were $1.39 per share, lower than the $1.51 consensus estimate.

The global retailer posted a net income loss of $2.091 billion in the fourth quarter primarily because of accounting charges related to the sale of assets and operations in Argentina, Japan, and the United Kingdom. The company posted net income of $4.141 billion in the fiscal fourth quarter of 2019.

In addition to closing schools, grocery stores and government services due to the winter weather storm, Arkansas services related to the pandemic, such as testing and vaccinations, are also either slowing down or have temporarily stopped.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson called the fewer than 200 new COVID-19 cases announced Tuesday "not very significant" because of a reduction in tests caused by the snow that began hitting the state Sunday night.

Arkansas is expected to receive another four to eight inches of snow across the state Wednesday night, forecasters say, but the end is near. Heavy snowfall during the day caused widespread traffic disruptions, including Interstate 40 being closed at times in central and eastern Arkansas because of multi-vehicle accidents.

Meteorologist Dennis Cavanaugh with the National Weather Service says the southern and central part of the state will continue to receive snowfall, but it won’t be as widespread as what has been experienced since Sunday night.