Arkansas Advocate

Arkansas Advocate We strive to amplify the voices of all Arkansans.

Arkansas Advocate intends to show how state government affects the lives of everyday Arkansans so they can make informed decisions about themselves, their families and their communities.

The Federal Aviation Administration’s shutdown plan, announced last week by Administrator Bryan Bedford and Transportati...
11/13/2025

The Federal Aviation Administration’s shutdown plan, announced last week by Administrator Bryan Bedford and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, was to reduce flights to 40 major airports by 10%.

As of Thursday afternoon, the FAA had not lifted the order restricting flights. But the agency did stop ramping up the percentage of those affected.

The record 43-day government shutdown that ended Wednesday night scrambled air travel, interrupted food assistance and forced federal workers to go without a paycheck for weeks.

At the same time, congressional leaders will try to wrap up work on the nine full-year government funding bills that wer...
11/13/2025

At the same time, congressional leaders will try to wrap up work on the nine full-year government funding bills that were supposed to become law before Oct. 1 and weren’t included in the package that reopened the government.

Congress must pass all of those bills or another stopgap measure before the new Jan. 30 deadline, regardless of how well or disastrous talks on a health care bill turn out.

Congress has roughly two months to find bipartisan agreement to curb rising health insurance costs if lawmakers want to avoid another government shutdown.

Created in 2023 by the LEARNS Act, a wide-ranging K-12 education bill, the Educational Freedom Account Program allows st...
11/13/2025

Created in 2023 by the LEARNS Act, a wide-ranging K-12 education bill, the Educational Freedom Account Program allows state funds to be used for allowable educational expenses, such as private school tuition, technological devices and extracurricular activities. The program was rolled out over three years with increasing eligibility, and opened to all students for the first time this fall.

The State Board of Education voted Thursday to release for public comment amended rules for Arkansas’ school voucher program that include new restrictions on how much funding can be used for extracurriculars.

Following revised guidance issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Thursday, the Arkansas Department of Human Servi...
11/13/2025

Following revised guidance issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Thursday, the Arkansas Department of Human Services has started internal processes to allow the distribution of SNAP funding “as soon as possible,” according to an agency press release.

Arkansans should expect their full SNAP benefits for November to be disbursed to cards late Thursday and into Friday, according to the state’s human services department.

The identical orders, which did not explain the justices’ reasoning, granted the state’s motions for expedited considera...
11/13/2025

The identical orders, which did not explain the justices’ reasoning, granted the state’s motions for expedited consideration of its appeals of the orders handed down by two Pulaski County Circuit judges last month. https://buff.ly/S00SKUX

The Arkansas Supreme Court denied Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ request to stay two lower court orders requiring her to set earlier special election dates for two legislative vacancies Wednesday evening.

The number of drivers has increased by 2,300, or 1.1%, since last year, according to the Economic Policy Institute, a le...
11/13/2025

The number of drivers has increased by 2,300, or 1.1%, since last year, according to the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning research group. But there are still 21,200 fewer bus drivers than there were in 2019, a decline of 9.5%.

School districts have made some progress in addressing the national shortage of school bus drivers, but there still aren’t as many drivers as there were in 2019, according to a new study. The number of drivers has increased by 2,300, or 1.1%, since last year, according to the Economic Policy Insti...

More than 400 Arkansans entered the 2026 election cycle by Wednesday’s filing deadline, several of them returning candid...
11/13/2025

More than 400 Arkansans entered the 2026 election cycle by Wednesday’s filing deadline, several of them returning candidates and some setting up rematches from the 2024 elections.

In addition to the regularly scheduled November 2026 elections, in which Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton will each seek another term, some Central Arkansas and River Valley voters will head to the polls for a special election earlier in the year.

The Democratic Party of Arkansas is fielding 75 candidates in 2026. Fewer contested races were on the ballot in 2024, when the party fielded 72 candidates.

The enactment of the bill — and the subsequent renewal of federal payments — would resolve a dizzying weekslong saga ove...
11/13/2025

The enactment of the bill — and the subsequent renewal of federal payments — would resolve a dizzying weekslong saga over SNAP that placed the roughly 1 in 8 Americans who use the program in the middle of a political and legal battle playing out across every level of the federal judiciary.

The Trump administration will release full benefits for most participants in the nation’s major federal nutrition program within 24 hours of the reopening of the federal government.

Grijalva, Arizona’s first elected Latina, called the delayed ceremony an “abuse of power.” https://buff.ly/0rLkitZ
11/13/2025

Grijalva, Arizona’s first elected Latina, called the delayed ceremony an “abuse of power.” https://buff.ly/0rLkitZ

Arizona Democratic Rep. Adelita Grijalva was sworn in to office Wednesday after a delay House Speaker Mike Johnson attributed to the long government shutdown.

Democrats are expected to oppose the spending package en masse, though a few centrists may vote for it, despite party le...
11/12/2025

Democrats are expected to oppose the spending package en masse, though a few centrists may vote for it, despite party leaders whipping against the measure. The House action will be the first time members, who left town while the Senate struggled to pass a stopgap spending bill and curtail the shutdown, have voted since Sept. 19.

The U.S. House plans to approve a stopgap spending bill Wednesday evening that will end the record-breaking 43-day government shutdown once President Donald Trump signs the legislation.

The three emails released by Democrats on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform were among 23,000 pages...
11/12/2025

The three emails released by Democrats on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform were among 23,000 pages of documents turned over to the committee by Epstein’s estate, according to Democrats.

U.S. House Democrats investigating the late s*x offender Jeffrey Epstein released emails Wednesday they say show President Donald Trump knew about the financier’s abuse of underage girls as far back as 2011.

While states continue to expand access to legal ma*****na, a separate market of h**p-derived intoxicants has blossomed. ...
11/12/2025

While states continue to expand access to legal ma*****na, a separate market of h**p-derived intoxicants has blossomed. The products, from drinks to gummies, are sold in gas stations and smoke shops. Critics say some companies have exploited a legal loophole from 2018 to manufacture products that get people high — without the safety regulations and taxes facing the legal ma*****na industry.

A provision significantly limiting the sale of intoxicating h**p products made its way into legislation to reopen the federal government. Its inclusion follows years of pressure from states and the ma*****na industry.

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