Daniel Breen

One of the state’s constitutional officers tasked with redrawing Arkansas House and Senate districts has announced her picks to help with the task.

Attorney General Leslie Rutledge announced Tuesday former state Republican Party chair Doyle Webb will lead the effort, alongside former Republican state lawmakers Andy Davis and Doug House.

Arkansas businesses can now apply for a second round of loans through the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP.

The second set of loans from the federal program opened to businesses getting loans from lenders with under $1 billion in assets late last week, and will open for all other businesses Tuesday.

A federal judge has blocked four laws restricting access to abortion in Arkansas just hours after they took effect.

U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker on Tuesday granted the request from abortion rights groups, issuing a two-week restraining order against the laws. Baker had previously put a halt to the laws in 2017, though a federal appeals court later vacated that ruling.

In a statement, the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas said clinics were forced to cancel appointments and only provide medication abortion while the laws were temporarily in effect.

Arkansas is the most pro-life state in the nation according to a national anti-abortion advocacy group.

The designation comes from the Washington, D.C.-based Americans United for Life, which ranks each state based on laws and policies aimed at restricting access to the procedure.

Speaking in a news conference at the state Capitol on Wednesday, Americans United for Life president and CEO Catherine Glenn Foster said states have more leeway to restrict the procedure as federal courts tilt more conservative.

A new report grading over 500 cities in the U.S. on LGBTQ equality shows Little Rock leading the eight Arkansas cities surveyed.

The Human Rights Campaign’s annual Municipal Equality Index scores cities on policies, such as non-discrimination laws and transgender-inclusive healthcare benefits, on a scale of zero to 100.

Xavier Persad is senior legislative counsel with the Human Rights Campaign. He says the report looks at several indicators to gauge the overall state of equality in individual cities.

North Little Rock voters will decide who will serve as their next mayor in a runoff election Tuesday. The two candidates, former mayor Terry Hartwick and former Democratic state lawmaker Tracy Steele, failed to get more than 50% of the vote in what was a four-person contest on Election Day. Steele says he’s confident he’ll emerge victorious from the runoff.

A new bill would make nearly all forms of abortion a crime in Arkansas, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $100,000 fine.

Senate Bill 6, sponsored by Sen. Jason Rapert, R-Conway, and Rep. Mary Bentley, R-Perryville, allows abortion to be performed legally only when the mother’s life is threatened or to remove an ectopic pregnancy.

Arkansas lawmakers will soon vote on whether to require all high school students to take a computer science course.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced Wednesday the state legislature will take up a bill creating the requirement sponsored by Sen. Jane English, R-North Little Rock, in the January general session.

Arkansas’s Republican Governor says President Donald Trump should begin the transition process to the administration of president-elect Joe Biden.

Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said he expects Biden to be the next president of the United States.

The results of some down-ballot races from Tuesday’s election could look different as votes continue to be counted in central Arkansas.

The Pulaski County Election Commission is still working to count roughly 4,500 absentee ballots that were rejected by counting equipment or contain irregularities that need resolving.

President Donald Trump along with five Republican members of Arkansas’ congressional delegation cruised to victory in the state Tuesday night. Some candidates further down the ballot saw victories by large margins, while some races remain undecided.

A new 28-mile network of walking and biking trails will soon open in central Arkansas thanks to a partnership between state and local parks departments and a philanthropic organization.

State and city officials announced the network of trails at Pinnacle Mountain State Park and River Mountain and Two Rivers parks at a news conference Wednesday. Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. said the system will serve as an inclusive space for residents to get outdoors.

For the first time ever, a group of researchers has published a set of evidence-based medical care guidelines for adults living with the most common genetic disorder in humans.

The group of 13 researchers, physicians and social workers from across the country published the guidelines for adults living with Down syndrome in conjunction with the Global Down Syndrome Foundation.

Arkansas students receiving school-based food assistance could be getting some extra help thanks to a new program by the Arkansas Food Bank.

The food bank announced the Emergency School Pantry Program, which is a partnership with five other food banks in the state, and will provide food boxes for 36 weeks.

Rhonda Sanders, CEO of the Arkansas Food Bank, says the goal is to have the program continue even after the COVID-19 pandemic is under control.

A group of Republican state attorneys general, along with the Department of Justice, is accusing Google of forming a monopoly on internet search engines and online advertising.

Arkansas joins 10 other states and the DOJ in bringing the lawsuit against the tech giant, which was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Little Rock voters will have their first chance in more than five years to select members of a locally-elected board to oversee the Little Rock School District.