Talk Business & Politics Staff

Eldridge Supply Company in Augusta provided the backdrop Saturday as former U.S. Prosecuting Attorney Conner Eldridge announced a bid for the U.S. Senate.

In front of about 75 people, Eldridge, 38, said he was running as a Democrat against incumbent U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark. in the 2016 general election. In his remarks, Eldridge criticized both parties in their response to the Affordable Care Act also known as Obamacare and other issues like the federal debt.

Eldridge said the debt, at $18 trillion, “has more than tripled since my opponent took office.”

The nominations of three people selected to serve as foreign ambassadors were put on hold by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, after the state’s junior senator called on the Department of Homeland Security to investigate Secret Service background leaks involving Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, a candidate for House Speaker.

Cotton placed the hold on Cassandra Butts, who was nominated for ambassador to the Bahamas; Azita Raji, for ambassador to Sweden; and Samuel Heins, for ambassador to Norway.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who is vying for the GOP Presidential nomination, announced his leadership team in Arkansas, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee – all states with early primaries in 2016.

U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, who faced scrutiny from conservatives over policy issues, announced his resignation Friday during a Republican conference meeting.

A flurry of reports hit the newswire when Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Michigan, tweeted: “Speaker Boehner just announced in Conference that he will resign as Speaker and from Congress at the end of October” on Friday morning.

Among the ideas being considered by the Governor’s Working Group on Highway Funding has been transferring some of the state’s 16,418 miles of roads to cities and counties.

The Association of Arkansas Counties doesn’t support the idea.

“Obviously, counties are in no position to absorb additional roads,” said Chris Villines, Association of Arkansas Counties executive director, in an association press release. “For the most part, we run a road maintenance program around the state, not one of new construction, and we can barely handle the 70,000 miles we currently have.”

Hillary Clinton promised a plan to cap the rising costs of prescription drugs and praised her husband’s and President Obama’s administrations in a speech before a raucous crowd at Little Rock’s Philander Smith College Monday.

ARVEST TOPS $1 BILLION IN MORTGAGE LOANS FOR 13TH STRAIGHT YEAR

Arvest Bank’s mortgage division topped $1 billion in mortgage loans for the 13th consecutive year, the privately held Bentonville-based financial concern recently announced. Arvest reached the $1 billion milestone more than a month earlier this year than it did in 2014 on Aug. 21, closing on a total of 6,380 loans with a value of $1,008,591,434. In 2014, Arvest didn’t hit the $1 billion mark until Sept. 30.

Two University of Arkansas researchers working on a promising new material to create more efficient solar cells will lead a corps of Arkansas scientists chosen to develop the next generation of photovoltaic devices used in space missions, the university announced on Thursday.