Times Record (Ft. Smith Southwest)
Artemis II crew awestruck by trip
The four astronauts on the Artemis II mission that took them around the moon spent years preparing for the historic flight, practicing operating the Orion spacecraft, learning how to observe the moon’s geography and even training in photography. The...
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Mercy unveils campus upgrades
Mercy Health announced Tuesday the first phase of a multi-year investment plan to expand services and upgrade facilities at its Fort Smith campus. The initial phase is part of a threephase effort expected to bring more than $60 million in total...
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U.S., Iran declare victory with ceasefire
A two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran is underway following an eleventh-hour deal struck just before a deadline imposed by President Donald Trump, who threatened to wipe out a “whole civilization” if Iran did not capitulate to U.S....
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Public defender shortage ripples across legal system
The Oregon Supreme Court on Feb. 5 issued a ruling that will have a wide impact. More than 1,400 criminal cases had to be dismissed, the justices ruled, due to lack of adequate counsel available for defendants. Like other states, Oregon must provide...
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State awards $4.9M in park grants, River Valley benefits
Parks and trail projects across the Arkansas River Valley are set to receive new investments as part of a $4.92 million statewide grant program announced on March 31 by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders. The funding, distributed through the Arkansas...
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Trump issues more threats against Iran
President Donald Trump took to social media on April 5 to applaud the U.S. military’s rescue of the second airman whose fighter jet was shot down over Iran – and to issue an expletive-laden threat against the Middle Eastern nation to reopen the Strait...
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‘The Western District’ opens with Fort Smith history focus
A controversial and often-overlooked chapter of Fort Smith’s past will take center stage beginning April 9 as “The Western District,” a one-act historical drama, launches its opening weekend across multiple venues in the city. Written and produced by...
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Recent graduates find challenging job market
In 2025, new college graduates wanted remote, high-paying jobs that aligned with their values. In 2026, they just want a job. With 89% worrying artificial intelligence could replace entry-level roles – up from 64% last year – 67% of graduates now say...
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Trump fires Bondi as U.S. attorney general
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi after several investigations of his perceived enemies were thwarted and her handling of files related to accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein came under criticism. “Pam Bondi is a...
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ATU’s new AI track has focus on ethics, careers
As artificial intelligence reshapes industries worldwide, Arkansas Tech University is preparing students to meet that future head-on with a new academic track focused on AI and machine learning. Beginning in fall 2026, Arkansas Tech will offer an...
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Hegseth warns of ‘decisive’ turn in war
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, formally known as the Secretary of Defense, on March 31 said the upcoming days in the war with Iran will be “decisive,” as President Donald Trump demanded allies reopen the Strait of Hormuz themselves and average gas...
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Iran threatened with targeted strikes
President Donald Trump on March 30 said the United States was engaged in “serious discussions” with Iranian officials on a deal to end the war – but threatened to launch strikes on the country’s power, oil and water facilities if negotiations...
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Tilles Park renovation brings inclusive play to Fort Smith
With spring break crowds and nearperfect weather, Fort Smith leaders marked the completion of Tilles Park’s upgrades, showcasing new inclusive play features designed to serve children of all abilities. Other improvements at Tilles Park include...
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Buying U.S.-made cars has tax perk
DETROIT – The One, Big Beautiful Bill that passed last year made a lot of tax changes in relation to car purchases that consumers who qualify could take advantage of if they buy certain vehicles assembled in the United States. The bill removed the...
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GOP reps push back on DHS funding legislation
WASHINGTON – An 11th-hour Senate agreement to fund most of the Department of Homeland Security, securing a path to ending the weekslong shutdown that has left airports in turmoil, hung in the balance March 27 after GOP representatives pushed...
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Envoy: U.S. has sent ‘action list’ to Iran
The Trump administration on March 26 confirmed for the first time that it has passed a 15-point “action list” to Iran through Pakistani officials to end the war. U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed the diplomatic efforts at a Cabinet meeting, saying...
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Union: TSA ‘desperate’ for end to shutdown
DENVER – Day after day, flight after flight: Cancun. Orlando. Honolulu. Happy families and college students heading off on spring break vacations are being helped every day by 61,000 unpaid Transportation Security Administration workers. The screeners...
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Ferguson Student Union opens at Arkansas Tech
Arkansas Tech University opened the Ferguson Student Union on March 18, a nearly 70,000-square-foot facility more than a decade in the making and designed to serve as the hub of campus life. Students, faculty, alumni and supporters gathered for the...
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Arkansas rice losses drive surge in farm bankruptcies
Arkansas farmers, particularly rice growers, are facing mounting financial pressure as farm bankruptcies nationwide rise sharply, underscoring what industry leaders warn could be a turning point for agriculture in the state. New data from the American...
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Movement fights mental health crisis
Jayla Cole never experienced the carefree teenage years. She could not get a driver’s license because of epilepsy and frequent seizures. She didn’t want to take photos or selfies because Bell’s palsy left her with facial paralysis – a twisted smile...
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Age-checking tech becomes more reliable
NEW YORK – For years, tech companies successfully resisted pressure from child safety advocates to do more to keep kids off their services, claiming technical limitations would make any attempt to restrict access for teens impractical, overly broad or...
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Trump reveals AI policy to preempt state rules
WASHINGTON – The White House released an artificial intelligence policy on March 20 that aims to preempt state rules, ensure protections for children and shield communities from prohibitive energy costs. The Trump administration has been pushing for a...
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OIL SITES HIT AS IRAN WAR ESCALATES
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth wants billions more from Congress to fund the war with Iran as gas prices hit $3.90 a gallon nationwide and global oil prices surged amid the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The national average price per gallon...
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UA Turning Point chapter dissolves, forms new group
A student political organization at the University of Arkansas has broken away from its national affiliation, with its leadership announcing plans to dissolve its Turning Point USA chapter and form a new group. In a statement posted to social media,...
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Top U.S. intelligence aide quits over war
The head of the National Counterterrorism Center resigned in protest over the Iran war as Israel said on March 17 it had killed Iran’s top intelligence official. Joe Kent, a conservative politician and decorated former Army Ranger and CIA paramilitary...
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Mayor says he is keeping pledge to serve only 2 terms
Fort Smith Mayor George McGill used his State of the City address Thursday evening to reaffirm a promise he made when first elected in 2018: he will not seek a third term as mayor. McGill delivered the annual address March 12 at the Smith-Pendergraft...
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Wanted: Volunteers to host nuclear waste
WASHINGTON – The Trump administration’s plan to unleash a wave of small futuristic nuclear reactors to power the AI era is falling back on an age-old strategy to dispose of the highly toxic waste: bury it at the bottom of a very deep hole. But there’s...
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On the ice
Colby Brewer, a graduate of Arkansas Tech University-Ozark, had a six-month stint in Antarctica, where he served as an EMT. He credits his training to prepare him for the job. When Colby Brewer boarded a plane bound for Antarctica, he had never...
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6 U.S. service members killed in midair crash
Six more U.S. service members were killed when their refueling aircraft crashed after a midair collision over western Iraq, officials said March 13, as the joint U.S.-Israeli war on Iran reached the two-week mark with few signs of slowing down. The...
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ICA students bring ‘Sister Act’ musical to King Opera House
Students from the Institute for the Creative Arts Performing & Visual Arts High School will bring the high-energy musical comedy “Sister Act” to the stage this weekend at the historic King Opera House in Van Buren. The production follows Deloris Van...
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Ships attacked in Strait of Hormuz
President Donald Trump said he would ensure safety in the Strait of Hormuz as oil tankers have come under fire and the U.S. military has attacked minelaying ships during the Iran war. Iran has effectively closed the narrow strait, preventing Saudi and...
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Winter storm cost state poultry industry $200M
A winter storm that swept across Arkansas in late January caused an estimated $200 million in damage to the state’s poultry industry, Arkansas’ largest agricultural sector, according to a new report from the University of Arkansas System Division of...
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Oil prices soar as Iran names leader
As the U.S.-Israel war with Iran entered its 10th day on March 9, oil prices soared over fears of a prolonged conflict, President Donald Trump demanded “unconditional surrender” and the Pentagon made public the name of the seventh U.S. service member...
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DHS veterans worry over its future
Javad Khazaeli recalls the day workers came to his federal building in 2003 and switched all the signs to the brandnew U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He was a young intelligence analyst, excited to be embedded with the special agents who...
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UAFS urges students to apply for Lion’s Share scholarships
Nearly $3 million in privately funded scholarships are available to students at the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith through the university’s Lion’s Share scholarship portal, and university officials are encouraging students to complete their...
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Trump demands Iran’s unconditional surrender
President Donald Trump demanded Iran’s “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER” in a social media post the morning of March 6, insisting “there will be no deal” to end his 7-day-old war with the battered Persian Gulf power. The president added in a social media post...
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U.N. group condemns the strikes on Iran
The United Nations’ Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran, a group that investigates human rights abuses in the country, issued a statement that “strongly condemns” the U.S. and Israeli strikes that launched the...
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Championship basketball tips off noon Thursday
The Great American Conference Basketball Championships are returning to Fort Smith this week, bringing an estimated half-million-dollar boost to the local economy. The four-day tournament, which tips off Thursday at Northside Arena, is expected to...
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U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia takes strike
President Donald Trump slammed top U.S. allies, including the United Kingdom, as the war with Iran expands and warned Americans that they may have to deal with “a little high” oil prices as crude costs soared and the stock market tumbled. “If we have...
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U.S. fighter jets crash in Kuwait
The Trump administration’s conflict with Iran will not be “endless,” Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said on March 2, as the United States and Israel’s joint air strikes against Iran expand, the death toll rises and a congressional debate over President...
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3 U.S. service members killed
Three U.S. service members were killed amid the ongoing conflict in Iran and five were seriously wounded, according to American military officials. “Several others sustained minor shrapnel injuries and concussions – and are in the process of being...
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Snow, ice leave $30M+ in farm losses across Arkansas
A powerful winter storm that blanketed Arkansas with snow, sleet and sub-freezing temperatures in late January caused tens of millions of dollars in agricultural losses statewide, according to a new report from the University of Arkansas System...
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Clinton depositions show changed Democratic Party
WASHINGTON – In late February 2016, Hillary Clinton cruised to an overwhelming victory in the South Carolina Democratic presidential primary – an unambiguous statement of the former first lady and secretary of state’s dominance over her party as she...
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ServSafe strengthens Arkansas food industry
Food safety remains a cornerstone of Arkansas’ restaurant industry, and the Cooperative Extension Service is working across the state to help ensure businesses meet that standard. With more than 5,500 restaurants operating in Arkansas, county agents...
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William Clark Green brings new chapter to Majestic
When William Clark Green returns to Fort Smith on Feb. 28 at the Majestic Fort Smith, fans may hear something different in the songs, not a departure from his roots, but a deepening of them. For more than 15 years, Green has built a devoted following...
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Former ICE lawyer testifies to Congress
ICE supervisors are teaching “new cadets to violate the Constitution” amid President Donald Trump’s promise of mass deportations, a former agency lawyer testified to members of Congress. “The ICE academy is deficient, defective and broken,” former...
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Winter storm pummels Northeast
NEW YORK – An intensifying winter storm pummeled the Northeast on Feb. 23, unleashing blizzard conditions that blanketed major cities in snow, brought travel to a standstill and caused mass power outages. The powerful nor’easter dumped more than 2...
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Foster hometown pride to grow civic engagement
Eileen Higgins won a historic victory in December. She became the first woman ever elected mayor of Miami, as well as its first Democratic mayor since 1997. h Although the stakes in the city’s Dec. 9, runoff election were high, interest was not − 4 in...
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Black colleges hold strong legacy
Historically Black colleges and universities are well known for their deep roots in U.S. higher education and proven effectiveness at graduating Black students who go on to become professionally successful. HBCUs are colleges and universities that...
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Alleged trade leaks led to Andrew’s arrest
WASHINGTON – It wasn’t Jeffrey Epstein’s illicit past that led to the stunning arrest of Andrew MountbattenWindsor on Feb. 19. It was the alleged leak of confidential information from the former prince to the convicted sex offender while Andrew acted...
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Majority believe people in power get a pass, poll finds
WASHINGTON – Americans believe that wealthy and powerful people are rarely held accountable, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll found after the release of millions of reclicans ords on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s connections in elite business and...
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DHS spokesperson leaving amid immigration pushback
WASHINGTON – Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin will leave the administration, she said in a social media post on Feb. 17, a move that comes as public support for President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown has...
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Civil rights icon Jackson dies at 84
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, a towering civil rights icon who battled alongside the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., negotiated global hostage releases and shamed corporations for their lack of diversity and failure to support voting rights, died on Feb. 17. He...
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National Guard fully withdrawn from 3 cities
National Guard soldiers have fully withdrawn from Los Angeles, Chicago and Portland, Oregon, military officials said, ending federalized troop operations in half of the cities where the Trump administration launched them last year. The troops...
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Trump’s comments risk Latinos’ support
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s attack on Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show – including a gripe that it was mostly in Spanish – has alarmed some Hispanic Republican strategists, politicians and business leaders who warn...
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‘Demotif ’ Inches toward finish, without blood
In horror films, escalation is almost a law of physics. Tension rises. Weapons appear. Blood follows. But in “Demotif,” an indie horrorcomedy from Arkansas filmmakers Cody Banning and Alyxandria Banning, the final act swerves. The main character...
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Report: U.S. inflation ticked down in January
Inflation cooled a bit more than forecasters expected in January, with prices rising 2.4% from a year earlier, the Labor Department said Feb. 13. The report, which was delayed two days because of a brief government shutdown, revealed that inflation...
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Homan: MN ICE operation will end
The Trump administration said it is ending the controversial immigration operation in Minnesota that sparked nationwide protests after federal agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens in January. White House border czar Tom Homan on Feb. 12 said he...
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Lawmakers grill Bondi over DOJ’s Epstein files
WASHINGTON – Congressional Democrats accused Attorney General Pam Bondi of overseeing a Justice Department cover-up of allegations in the latest tranche of Jeffrey Epstein documents and failing to protect his accusers in a raucous Feb. 11 House...
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Pedestrian deaths by trains persisting
In 2018, high-speed passenger trains branded as Brightline started running along the formerly freight-only Florida East Coast Railway. Initial service from Miami to West Palm Beach was extended to Orlando in 2023. Unfortunately, the southern end of the...
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Maxwell refuses to testify to Congress about Epstein
WASHINGTON – Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted accomplice of accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, refused to answer questions Feb. 9 from a House committee seeking information on who else might have helped the duo. Maxwell is serving a 20-year...
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Social media reshaping research on substance use
When you think of tools for studying substance use and addiction, a social media site like Reddit, TikTok or YouTube probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. Yet the stories shared on social media platforms are offering unprecedented insights...
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‘Object of the game’
On a football field, the ball never bounces the same way twice. h Chuck “Chico” Kyle has been telling kids that for decades, not as a rehearsed metaphor, but as a truth he lived. You throw that oddly shaped ball into the air, and sometimes it breaks...
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MAGA vs. Bad Bunny splits Super Bowl
Sen. Tommy Tuberville was thrilled to attend the Super Bowl in 2025 when he hitched a ride on Air Force One, joining President Donald Trump and several other Republican lawmakers for the big game. “Happy Super Bowl Sunday,” the Republican senator for...
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Trump attacking pillars of democracy, group says
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has attacked key pillars of U.S. democracy, Human Rights Watch warned on Feb. 4 in its annual report, citing the Republican president’s immigration crackdown, threats to voting rights and other policies. Human...
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Trump is doubling down on federal election intervention
Fulton County, Georgia, challenged the Trump administration in court Feb. 4 over its seizure of ballots in an investigation tied to the 2020 election, a county spokesperson said. The county asked a federal court to limit the warrant to provide an...
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Officers in Minneapolis ordered to wear cameras
WASHINGTON – Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said immigration officers in Minneapolis will begin wearing body cameras immediately, following the shooting deaths of two U.S. citizens amid the Trump administration’s deportation crackdown. The...
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Boy detained by ICE released, back in MN
Liam Conejo Ramos, the 5-year-old boy who became one of the symbols of the Trump administration’s immigration raids in Minnesota, has been released from a Texas detention facility, where he was held for over a week with his father. “Liam is now home....
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‘Building this into a global force’
Film submissions for the sixth annual Fort Smith International Film Festival and MidAmerica Film Market open Friday, Jan. 30, as the event continues to grow into a regional and international platform for independent filmmakers. The 2026 Fort Smith...
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In fine feather
As snow settles over the River Valley, a quieter kind of traffic picks up outside kitchen windows and backyard feeders. While roads are empty, birdwatchers are suddenly busy, spotting winter regulars and the occasional celebrity guest with wings....
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Shutdown still possible despite DHS deal
Lawmakers appeared to be closing in on a deal endorsed by President Donald Trump to avoid an extended government shutdown, but a key player said a brief government closure may be inevitable as there still was work to be done Jan. 30 as funding was set...
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Amos Cochran brings immersive ‘ambient classical’ to Alma
On Feb. 7, Emmy-nominated Arkansas composer and sound artist Amos Cochran will bring an immersive, introspective performance to the Skokos Performing Arts Center in Alma, with a twist: audience seating will be onstage with the artist, an intentional...
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Agents in shooting placed on leave
The federal immigration agents involved in the deadly shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis have been placed on administrative leave, multiple news outlets reported. The move to place the Department of Homeland Security agents involved in the...
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Storm shifts AR Guard focus to EMS support
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has directed the Arkansas National Guard to shift its winter weather mission from supporting the Arkansas State Police to assisting emergency medical services in select counties across the state, an operation expected to...
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Bitter cold follows deadly winter storm
Extremely cold weather isn’t going away for a large swath of the United States as impacts linger from a deadly winter storm that resulted in at least 14 deaths. The monster storm dumped sleet, freezing rain and snow over much of the country,...
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