Daniel Breen

Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott, Jr. says police can now issue citations to people caught breaking the city's extended overnight curfew from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. This comes as the city also institutes a daytime curfew for minors from 9:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. in an effort to promote social distancing amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Speaking to reporters after a special meeting of the city Board of Directors Wednesday, Scott said there are some exceptions for the daytime curfew.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson says the state will face a $353 million budget shortfall over the next three months as it postpones the state individual income tax filing deadline to July 15.

Hutchinson announced the postponement at a press briefing Monday, where he said the number of coronavirus cases in Arkansas has grown to 174. Hutchinson said he would call a special session of the state legislature to deal with the expected loss in state revenue.

The number of coronavirus cases in Arkansas has risen to 62, Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced Thursday. That included people in nine counties that have not previously had positive cases.

All but one previous case were limited to people who had traveled outside of the state or had contact with those people. Without providing specific numbers, Hutchinson said more people are contracting the virus in-state.

Health officials say Arkansas has seen the largest single-day increase in positive test results for the coronavirus since the first case was identified last week.

Speaking to reporters at the State Capitol Wednesday Gov. Asa Hutchinson said the total number of cases of COVID-19 in Arkansas has risen to 33.

Arkansas has six new presumptive positive cases of coronavirus, bringing the total number to 22.

Of the six new positive cases, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said two came from central Arkansas, while two others appeared in Cleburne County for the first time.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson says three more people in Arkansas are presumed to have tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing the total number of presumptive cases in the state to nine.

In a news conference at the Arkansas Department of Health Friday, Hutchinson said one case indicates the first instance of community spread of the virus in the state, in Little Rock.

While Arkansas still does not have a confirmed case of the coronavirus, Little Rock city officials are preparing for the impact of its eventual spread.

In a news conference at City Hall Tuesday, Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott, Jr. announced the creation of a COVID-19 Task Force, comprised of physicians and representatives of the city’s major hospitals.

Scott said, while Little Rock already has a plan to ensure city services continue in the event of a widespread outbreak, the task force’s recommendations would go beyond city government.

State health officials are advising the general public not to panic about the spread of the coronavirus to Arkansas, but that it will inevitably do so.

At a news conference at the state Capitol Monday, leaders of the Public Health, Welfare and Labor committees of the Arkansas House and Senate gave an update on their efforts to educate citizens and prepare for an eventual case of the disease caused by the virus, called COVID-19.

Arkansans chose Joe Biden and President Donald Trump on Tuesday as their nominees for the presidential election in November.

However, Gov. Asa Hutchinson believes the race that will be most studied in Arkansas is Barbara Womack Webb’s victory over Judge Morgan "Chip" Welch for an Arkansas Supreme Court Associate Justice position. 

Speaking Wednesday during a meeting of the Political Animals Club, Hutchinson said her victory will cause future judicial candidates to rethink their strategies during elections.

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren will be the third Democratic presidential candidate to visit central Arkansas ahead of Super Tuesday.

Warren will host a town hall event at the North Shore Riverwalk Part in North Little Rock on Saturday, Feb. 29. The event will be the second of three Warren will take part in that day; she’s set to appear in Columbia, S.C. before the event, and will hold a town hall in Houston afterward.

Democratic presidential candidates are hoping to rally momentum in Arkansas during the final week before the state takes part in Super Tuesday's primary election.

On Monday, Michael Bloomberg’s campaign said the former New York City mayor will return to Arkansas on Thursday to speak at a rally in Bentonville. The announcement comes one day after Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota spoke to an enthusiastic crowd in central Arkansas.

Judge candidates for the Arkansas Supreme Court and other circuit court races discussed current issues facing the state’s judicial branch during a forum hosted by the UA Little Rock Bowen School of Law on Sunday, Feb. 9.

State Supreme Court associate justice candidates Barbara Womack Webb and Judge Chip Welch shared their most pressing concerns they’d address if elected to serve on the bench. 

Welch, a current state circuit judge, said judges must work to treat those who enter the courtroom the same, whether they have legal counsel or not. 

Families affected by peanut allergies— which are often severe, especially for children— now have the opportunity to receive treatment from a drug recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 

The drug, Palforzia, stems from an 18-year research effort from the Arkansas Children’s Research Institute on the campus of Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock.

The U.S. Census Bureau started a recruiting push in Little Rock on Thursday to finish hiring enumerators for the upcoming 2020 Census in Arkansas.

The recruiting push kicked off with a hiring event and press conference at the Little Rock Census Office in downtown Little Rock. Prospective workers filled out applications and learned more about the jobs offered.

The Census, held once every ten years, determines how the government distributes billions of dollars in funds over the next decade to each state.