Arkansas is the only state that has not taken the step to expand what’s called postpartum Medicaid coverage, an option for states paid for almost entirely by the federal government that ensures poor women have uninterrupted health insurance for a year after they give birth. Forty-six states now have the provision, encouraged by the Biden administraion, and Idaho, Iowa, and Wisconsin either have plans in place to enact legislation or have bills pending in their legislatures.

Nationally, 41% of births were covered by Medicaid in 2021. Federal law requires states to provide pregnancy-related Medicaid coverage through 60 days after delivery. But maternal health advocates say Arkansas often begins the process of moving women out of the program after six weeks, or 42 days.

In March, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a Republican, signed an executive order creating a committee of experts charged with improving the state’s dismal maternal health outcomes and better educating women about their health insurance options.

The committees tasked with making recommendations to Huckabee Sanders have been meeting this summer and recently prepared draft recommendations.

But missing from the list is an expansion of postpartum Medicaid coverage, despite widespread agreement by health organizations and the state’s Maternal Mortality Review Committee that doing so would reduce pregnancy-related deaths.

But missing from the list is an expansion of postpartum Medicaid coverage, despite widespread agreement by health organizations and the state’s Maternal Mortality Review Committee that doing so would reduce pregnancy-related deaths.

After a series of tests on mice, rats and pigs, Japanese scientists found the animals absorb oxygen delivered through the rectum, work that underpins a clinical trial to see whether the procedure can treat respiratory failure.

The team is among 10 recognised in this year’s Ig Nobel awards (see below for more), the irreverent accolades given for achievements that “first make people laugh, and then make them think”. They are not to be confused with the more lucrative and career-changing Nobel prizes to be handed out in Scandinavia next month.

It may not look like much on the outside but inside the Northwest Arkansas Community Corrections Center, women’s lives are changing.

“It’s priceless,” Kachia Phillips said. “That time in there for me was precious.”

Several volunteer groups work at the prison to give support and life skills to the women inside, who are state prisoners.

Washington County Justice of the Peace Beth Coger said the reputation of the center speaks for itself, mostly thanks to its low recidivism rates.

“When we had the Criminal Justice Assessment Study in 2020 by the National Center of State Courts, they said our NWACCC is a model of what a prison should be,” she said. “The reason that is, is because the women there actually get treatment.”

All of this is now coming to an end.

“The first time I remember hearing this was March 29th of 2024 when everyone on the Quorum Court got a letter from Judge Deakins that he was canceling the lease as of December 31st this year unless they can reach an agreement as to rent,” said Coger.

Right now, the Arkansas Department of Corrections leases the facility from Washington County for $1. Judge Patrick Deakins told us back in April that he wants to use the building to help with overcrowding in the Washington County Jail.

“Either we need to be adequately paid for that facility or we are going to use it as extra jail bed space to relieve some of the suffering we are having at our Washington County Detention Center,” he told us.

A teenager on a field trip to see a Detroit court ended up in jail clothes and handcuffs because a judge said he didn’t like her attitude.

The teen was seeing King’s court as part of a visit organized by The Greening of Detroit, a nonprofit environmental group. During the visit, King noticed the girl falling asleep, WXYZ reported.

A Monday decision in Pulaski County court means the Arkansas LEARNS Act is closer to having its day in court.

The decision by Circuit Court Judge Morgan Welch denies a motion to have the case opposing the act dismissed. The state had asked for the suit to be dismissed based upon its failure to adequately state the facts and that the state had sovereign immunity from being sued.

Welch’s opinion held that the complaint against the state met legal standards.

The complaint, first filed in June, held that the LEARNS Act violated the state constitution at five points by diverting funds from public to private schools through its Education Freedom Accounts provision. Those accounts provide about $6,600 per student to attend any school, including private or home schools.

Billy Lee Coram, the inmate in the back of the patrol car, is wearing a hospital gown and choking himself with a seatbelt wrapped his neck as the car is moving in the roughly 12-minute video. After the car pulls over, Harris opens the door and punches and elbows Coram several times in the face as he unwinds the belt.

Harris later slams the car door against Coram's head. Elliott said he didn't know what injuries Coram sustained from the beating.

Coram had been taken to the hospital after he told jail staff he had ingested fentanyl and had escaped the hospital. Harris had caught Coram and put him in his patrol car.

On July 22, POLITICO began receiving emails from an anonymous account. Over the course of the past few weeks, the person — who used an AOL email account and identified themselves only as “Robert” — relayed what appeared to be internal communications from a senior Trump campaign official. A research dossier the campaign had apparently done on Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, which was dated Feb. 23, was included in the documents. The documents are authentic, according to two people familiar with them and granted anonymity to describe internal communications. One of the people described the dossier as a preliminary version of Vance’s vetting file.

The research dossier was a 271-page document based on publicly available information about Vance’s past record and statements, with some — such as his past criticisms of Trump — identified in the document as “POTENTIAL VULNERABILITIES.” The person also sent part of a research document about Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who was also a finalist for the vice presidential nomination.

The person said they had a “variety of documents from [Trump’s] legal and court documents to internal campaign discussions.”

"I was prepared to go on stage to craft a statement, saying he decided not to go on stage because of fact-checking... we couldn't compromise on that."

As [NABJ president Ken] Lemon was preparing that statement, Trump walked onto the stage.

The study found that more than one-third of the taxes paid by undocumented immigrants fund government programs and services they are prohibited from using. In 2022, the most recent year for which data is available, they paid $25.7 billion in Social Security taxes, $6.4 billion in Medicare taxes, and $1.8 billion in unemployment insurance taxes.

Furthermore, the state and local tax rates paid by undocumented immigrants exceeded those of the 1% of highest-income households in 40 of 50 states.

"Arkansans for Limited Government" submitted roughly 101,000 signatures. The Secretary of State's Office says about 87,000 of those signatures were collected by volunteer canvassers, and those signatures will count toward the nearly 91,000 requirement.

However, the 14,000 thousand collected by paid canvassers won't count. The secretary of state cited a lack of necessary paperwork submitted along with the signatures, prompting the lawsuit from "Arkansans for Limited Government," which says it did submit the proper paperwork.

The Arkansas Supreme Court is now left to decide officially what happens to the 14,000 signatures from the paid canvassers.

The decision is expected sooner rather than later.

"I would say within a matter of days because the final ballots have to go out in mid-to-late August," Silverstein said. "Around Aug. 20, I believe. And so, I think the court will rule within days after the final brief is submitted."

Speaking of a brief, each side is required to submit a brief to the Supreme Court by this Friday, Aug. 2. Then, each side is required to submit a response to the other side's brief by the following Friday, Aug. 9. That would allow for the Supreme Court to issue its ruling.

The emergency relief granted a motion to expedite, meaning Thurston will have until Monday, July 29 to perform the initial count of signatures collected by volunteer canvassers and provide the state supreme court with the findings.

The state Supreme Court also said a part of the motion of emergency relief could grant the petitioner, Arkansans for Limited Government, a thirty-day provisional cure period, meaning they will have 30 days starting Monday to collect the signatures they think they will need to fulfill the requirements for it to go on the ballot this November.