Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Israel, Hezbollah reach truce
JERUSALEM — Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group agreed Friday to halt the heavy fighting in southern Lebanon that had threatened to unravel an interim agreement between the United States and Iran to end their war, officials said....
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Sanders touted firms’ unproven China ties
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders used the attorney general’s office to assail businesses as run by Communist China despite her staff knowing those claims were unproven and the companies might be following the law, internal texts disclosed in court records...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Trump’s pick to lead FEMA vows objectivity
WASHINGTON — Cameron Hamilton, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Federal Emergency Management Agency, pledged to senators Wednesday to be “fair and reasonable” in assessing requests for disaster aid as he seeks to run an agency roiled by the...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Iran restates peace deal terms
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran’s top diplomat reiterated Tuesday that the tentative deal to end the war with the United States would require Israel to withdraw from Lebanon — a condition Israel has already rejected and that could sink the...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Stocks jump higher amid news of US-Iran deal
NEW YORK — Stock markets rallied worldwide Monday, and oil prices eased after the United States and Iran reached a tentative deal to extend their ceasefire and reopen the Strait of Hormuz to get the global flow of crude going again. The S&P 500 rose...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
US, Iran reach initial deal to close conflict
ISLAMABAD — The United States and Iran have reached an initial agreement to end their war and open the Strait of Hormuz, offering relief to the Gulf region and global economy more than three months since fighting began. Details of the deal were not...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Records: 4 groups funded legislators’ visits to Israel
Four organizations collectively paid more than $100,000 for overseas travel-related expenses of a dozen Arkansas state lawmakers in what they described as educational trips to Israel in 2025, state records show. The organizations that covered those...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Peace deal wording gets OK
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s prime minister said Friday that the United States and Iran have agreed to wording of an agreement aimed at ending their war in the Middle East and that mediators were working with both sides to finalize a deal. Prime Minister...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Trump claims Iran talks had breakthrough
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that he had called off new military strikes on Iran, claiming a breakthrough in negotiations to end the war just hours after the American leader threatened to escalate the conflict...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
US hits Iran with more strikes
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The U.S. military said Wednesday it has begun another round of strikes against Iran after President Donald Trump said more were coming. The escalating attacks threatened to derail efforts to end the war, with Trump warning...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Israel, Iran stop firing, return to fragile truce
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Israel and Iran appeared to back away from further strikes Monday, hours after they traded fire for the first time since the U.S. agreed to a ceasefire with Tehran two months ago. Both countries warned that they were ready...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Israel returns fire after Iran missile attack
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Israel launched airstrikes early Monday targeting central and western Iran in response to missile fire from Tehran, attacks that threatened to drag the wider Middle East back into a regional war. Iranian state television...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
West Memphis braced for boom
WEST MEMPHIS — This east Arkansas city might seem like an unlikely place for Elon Musk and Google to be scrambling for a data center site. But they were, until Musk backed out. “As soon as Musk went, Google stepped in right behind him,” said Ward...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
County judge hopefuls say trust has been lost
The biggest challenge facing Pulaski County is the public’s lack of trust and confidence in government, the two candidates running for county judge said Friday. Democrat Wendell Griffen and Republican Michael Rushin will face off in the Nov. 3...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Arkansas TV to renew PBS ties
CONWAY — The Arkansas TV Commission voted Thursday to renew its PBS affiliation — reversing its December decision to break with the national broadcaster — after a donation drive made up for a budget shortfall. The commission’s December vote would have...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Debate on funds for immigration agencies to begin
WASHINGTON — The Republican-led Senate is moving forward with legislation to fund immigration enforcement agencies after forcing the Trump administration to say it will drop its settlement fund for political allies and strip a separate proposal for...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
LR approves regulation set for data sites
The city of Little Rock’s governing body on Tuesday unanimously approved a set of new regulations on data centers as Google is preparing to build a large facility at the city’s port. Last month, Mayor Frank Scott Jr. brought forward the regulations,...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
US, Iran unleash dual attacks
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The United States said Monday that it bombed radar and drone sites in Iran after Tehran shot down an American drone over the weekend. Iran then said it targeted American soldiers in Kuwait with missiles, which the U.S....
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Israeli troops seize Lebanese mountain site
BEIRUT — Israeli troops have captured a strategic mountain topped with a Crusader-built castle in southern Lebanon in the deepest incursion into the country in more than a quarter-century, the military said Sunday. The taking of Beaufort Castle, near...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Board votes for Central’s teams to share ballfield
Since March, Little Rock Central High School’s baseball team has been playing on a brand-new field with top-tier amenities, the product of a construction project with a price tag of almost $5 million. The girls on Central’s softball team, meanwhile,...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Girls State’s volunteers quit amid closing event
Controversy surrounding Arkansas Girls State continued Friday as volunteer staff quit on stage during the program’s closing ceremonies, which caused an emotional reaction from several spectators. A video posted to social media shows roughly 10 members...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Two HUD officials to direct LR housing agency
A two-person board will oversee the Little Rock housing authority following the federal takeover of the local agency earlier this month. Both board members — Donna Wickes and Daniel Sherrod — are employees of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Iran restores internet access
CAIRO — Iranians began to regain internet access on Wednesday after authorities ended a monthslong shutdown. But users said service was slow and spotty in some areas, with apps such as YouTube and Instagram heavily restricted, as they were before the...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Video of state police car hitting geese incites rage
Video showing an Arkansas State Police trooper running over a gosling while trying to clear a group of geese from Interstate 57 on Sunday drew outrage from online commenters and a frustrated response from the head of the state police. State police...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
US says Iran sites were hit in self-defense
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military said Monday that it carried out “self-defense” strikes in southern Iran, including on missile launch sites and boats placing mines, even as President Donald Trump said on social media that negotiations were “proceeding...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Women increasingly dying in service of US
Ashley Pruitt is one of 13 service members killed in action since hostilities with Iran began in late February. A 14th service member died after a medical emergency in Kuwait in March. They’ve joined the hundreds of thousands of service members who...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Ebola precautions
BUNIA, Congo — Angry residents of a town at the epicenter of the Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo attacked and burned a tent that was part of a health center where people are being treated for the virus, the staff there said Saturday. It was the second...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Sherwood eyes exit from county school district
A group of Sherwood public school advocates are pushing for the community’s schools to break away from the Pulaski County Special School District. A local group, the Sherwood Public Education Foundation, has commissioned a feasibility study to show...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
House GOP leaders pull war powers vote
WASHINGTON — Republicans struggled Thursday to find the votes to dismiss legislation that would compel President Donald Trump to withdraw from the war with Iran, delaying planned votes on the matter into June. The House had scheduled a vote on a war...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Inspecting the damage
Palestinian women inspect the rubble of their home, destroyed in an Israeli airstrike at the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on Wednesday.
Read Full Story (Page 1)
CEO: State’s hospital system unsustainable
CONWAY — Arkansas’ current hospital system is not sustainable because roughly 40% of the state’s hospitals operate at a net income loss, the president and chief executive officer of Conway Regional Health System warned state lawmakers on Tuesday. Matt...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Transport workers strike
People strip parts from a burned-out vehicle during a public transport strike over fuel prices in Nairobi, Kenya, on Monday.
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Sole UAE nuclear plant hit
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A drone strike sparked a fire on the edge of the United Arab Emirates’ sole nuclear power plant on Sunday in what authorities called an “unprovoked terrorist attack.” No one was blamed, but it highlighted the risk of...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Strike kills Hamas military official
TEL AVIV — An Israeli airstrike in Gaza killed the leader of Hamas’ military wing who was one of the last surviving architects of the attacks that triggered the war in late 2023, the Israeli military said Saturday. Hamas confirmed the death. Izz...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
State trooper resigns as racist texts probed
An Arkansas State Police trooper resigned Friday, less than a day after the agency began investigating claims his estranged wife made in court filings that he is a white supremacist who repeatedly used racial slurs in text messages. Austin Kennedy was...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Trump welcomed in China
U.S. President Donald Trump participates in a welcome ceremony with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People on Thursday in Beijing.
Read Full Story (Page 1)
School district finds value in new tutoring program
ARKADELPHIA — Children struggling with literacy in Arkadelphia are seeing their reading scores improve after taking part in a new program that pays a tutoring firm based on how much student test scores improve, district administrators said...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Committee approves $20M for projects
The Pulaski County agenda committee narrowly sent a $20 million appropriation of Road and Bridge funds for county projects to the full Quorum Court on Tuesday. The vote was not unanimous, as nine voted in favor, while four opposed, one voted as being...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Pulaski County to use $2M for Providence Park project
Pulaski County plans to appropriate $20.1 million in Road and Bridge funds for use on “county-connected projects,” including more than $2 million on the Providence Park tiny home village. The $2 million is split into two separate allocations: $864,146...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
State effort to train doulas lagging
CONWAY — Due to give birth to her second child in July, Taylor Huff arrived for her appointment at the offices of the Ujima Maternity Network last month, eager for guidance she hoped would help her avoid the complications she faced toward the end of...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Immigration crackdown puts strain on Springdale
SPRINGDALE — A mother from Honduras said she is terrified to leave the home where she lives with her four children. A lifelong Springdale man said his hometown has become more welcoming and diverse during his 75 years. A woman from El Salvador...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Flying a flag
A flag bearer and veteran stands under a French national flag during a ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe monument in Paris on Friday, marking the 81st anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, which commemorates the end of the Second World War in Europe.
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Tennessee OKs new House map
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Amid raucous protests Thursday, Republicans in Tennessee enacted a new U.S. House map that carves up a majority-Black district in Memphis, reshaping it to the GOP’s advantage as part of President Donald Trump’s strategy to hold on to...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Governor signs tax cut bills
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Wednesday signed into law identical bills that will trim the state’s top individual and corporate income tax rates — the fourth income tax rate cut during her nearly 3½ years at the helm of state government. The...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
State lawmakers OK tax rate cuts
Identical bills that would trim the state’s top individual and corporate tax rates zipped through the Arkansas Senate and House of Representatives on Tuesday. The action came in the second day of the special session called by Gov. Sarah Huckabee...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Arkansas TV gets guarantee for PBS funds
The private foundation that supports Arkansas TV will “guarantee” up to $1.5 million a year during the next three years so the station can continue to offer programming from the Public Broadcasting Service. That’s the gist of an email that Ed McClure,...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
West Bank clashes
NABLUS, West Bank — One Palestinian man was killed and four others seriously wounded during an Israeli military raid in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Nablus on Sunday, the Palestinian Red Crescent said. The Palestinian Health Ministry said...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Trump reviews new Iran peace proposal
BEIRUT — President Donald Trump said Saturday that he was reviewing a new Iranian proposal to end the war but expressed skepticism that it would lead to a deal. Two semiofficial Iranian news outlets, Tasnim and Fars, believed to be close to Iran’s...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Trump ‘not satisfied’ with Iran’s latest offer
ISLAMABAD — U.S. President Donald Trump rejected Iran’s latest proposal to end the war between the countries, saying Friday he still was not satisfied while blaming Iran’s “fractured” leadership. Trump turned back the latest proposal almost as soon as...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Sanders calls for legislation on tax rate cut
The Arkansas General Assembly will consider legislation trimming the state’s top individual and corporate income tax rates in a special session starting Monday afternoon under a proclamation issued by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Thursday. In her...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Bill to help pay for PBS fails again in House vote
A bill to help the state’s public broadcasting network pay to keep PBS shows on its airwaves failed for the third time to pass the Arkansas House of Representatives. Senate Bill 77 would have created a fund where the state could match private...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
2 bills to raise revenue budget to $6.7B OK’d
The Arkansas House of Representatives and Senate on Tuesday approved identical proposed Revenue Stabilization Acts that would increase the state’s general revenue budget by $211 million to $6.7 billion in the next fiscal year. The measures also would...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Mayor avoids assault, harassment charges
More than four months after an investigation was opened into North Little Rock Mayor Terry Hartwick by the Arkansas State Police, a special prosecutor has declined to pursue charges of sexual assault or harassment against him. The decision was...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Suspect’s anti-Trump texts reported by kin
WASHINGTON — The man accused of opening fire at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner railed against Trump administration policies and referred to himself as a “Friendly Federal Assassin” in writings sent to family members minutes before...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Slot machines reign supreme in Arkansas casino industry
Slot machines have been king in the Natural State since Arkansas legalized casino gambling, and it doesn’t look like they’ll be giving up their crown anytime soon. Terminal games, commonly called slots, have evolved over the years, and while some...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
West Memphis hopes incentives draw facility
WEST MEMPHIS — Local leaders, business owners and residents in West Memphis say they are hopeful the city will land an advanced manufacturing super project that could bring thousands of jobs, even though the company hasn’t been identified. Their hope...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Panel OKs bills to bolster West Memphis site odds
Up to $300 million in surplus state funds could be allocated to bolster the odds of a sprawling manufacturing facility being built in West Memphis under legislation that cleared the Arkansas Legislature’s Joint Budget Committee on Thursday. Arkansas’...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Proposal to ban funds transfer at UA rejected
A legislative subcommittee on Wednesday voted down a proposal to block the transfer of University of Arkansas, Fayetteville institutional funds to Razorback athletics next year. In a split voice vote, the Joint Budget Committee’s special language...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Ceasefire extends as talks hold
ISLAMABAD — President Donald Trump said Tuesday the United States was indefinitely extending its ceasefire with Iran — a day before it was to expire — as a new round of peace talks was on hold. The announcement appeared to ease fears that the fighting,...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
In the news
▪ Jenna Perrin said a hot air balloon that made an emergency landing in her tiny Temecula, Calif., backyard, where it towered over the home she shares with her husband, was “kissing the fence” but “didn’t hit our house or our trees.” ▪ Benjamin...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Louisiana shooting leaves 8 children dead
SHREVEPORT — A Louisiana father fatally shot eight children, including seven of his own, during an early morning attack on his family Sunday that stretched across two houses in a Shreveport neighborhood left shaken by one of the nation’s deadliest mass...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Arkansas legal professionals note promise, pitfalls of AI
In recent years, research and development in the field of artificial intelligence have brought forth huge leaps in the technology that, while seemingly miraculous, can be a minefield for the unwary. AI technology enables computers and machines to...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
County judge urges treasurer resign in budget woe response
An obscure accounting maneuver helped propel Pulaski County into a budget panic, the county’s top elected official and comptroller acknowledged Friday in a news conference. County Judge Barry Hyde and Comptroller Michael “Hutch” Hutchens blamed the...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
House passes tax credit resolution
Homeowners could soon get a small tax break after the Arkansas House of Representatives advanced legislation Thursday to increase the homestead property tax credit. The House voted 92-0 to pass House Resolution 1006, sponsored by Rep. Bart Schulz,...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Protection from Sharia Law Act shot down
An Arkansas legislative committee on Wednesday declined to advance a proposal that sought to establish the “Arkansas Property Rights Protection From Sharia Law Act.” The decision on House Resolution 1016 by state Rep. Marcus Richmond, R-Harvey, came...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Panel moves to limit prison funds
The Joint Budget Committee on Tuesday directed legislative staff to draft a reappropriation measure under which the Arkansas Department of Corrections would be barred from spending any of the $73.7 million in state funds for construction of a prison in...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Iran threatens region’s ports amid blockade
CAIRO — U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that the American military had begun a blockade of Iranian ports as part of his effort to force Tehran to open the Strait of Hormuz and accept a deal to end the war that has raged for more than six...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Hungary votes to oust Orbán, concluding 16 years in power
BUDAPEST, Hungary — Hungarian voters on Sunday ousted long-serving Prime Minister Viktor Orbán after 16 years in power, rejecting the authoritarian policies and global far-right movement that he embodied in favor of a pro-European challenger in a...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Saracen hotel nears completion, leveling playing field for casinos
PINE BLUFF — Construction of Saracen Casino Resort’s hotel is nearing completion after a half-year delay caused by the pandemic and tariff hurdles. The hotel will add more than 300 hotel rooms in Pine Bluff and put the casino on even footing with its...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Vance sets off as US, Iran prepare for talks
ISLAMABAD — With the ceasefire in Iran still shaky, U.S. Vice President JD Vance headed to Pakistan Friday for high-level talks with Iranian officials, as Israel and Hezbollah militants traded fire and Tehran maintained its hold on the Strait of...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Israeli premier permits talks with Lebanon
DUBAI, United Arab Emirate — In a potential boost to Middle East ceasefire efforts, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that he authorized direct negotiations with Lebanon “as soon as possible” aimed at disarming Iranian-backed...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
NLR in negotiations to keep Travelers as lease nears end
The Arkansas Travelers open 2026 on Tuesday against the Wichita Wind Surge, the beginning of a season full of question marks as it is the final season of a long-standing lease agreement between the team and the city of North Little...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Trump warns Iran to reopen strait by cutoff
TEL AVIV, Israel — U.S. President Donald Trump warned Iran to open the crucial Strait of Hormuz by his Monday deadline, and Tehran called his threat “unbalanced and foolish.” A missing U.S. service member was rescued, according to U.S. officials early...
Read Full Story (Page 1)