News

The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration is warning state taxpayers of an email scam that seeks personal information.

The department says the sender of the email claims that the recipient's tax return is being reviewed by Arkansas Revenue Services and asks the person to click on a link to learn more about the complaint.

DFA says there is no state agency called Arkansas Revenue Services and that the DFA does not send out unsolicited emails.

Efforts to overhaul the federal farm bill are finally gaining traction on Capitol Hill.

U.S. Senator John Boozman of Arkansas voted to help get the bill out of the Senate Agriculture Committee on Tuesday.

Arkansas Department of Higher Education Director Shane Broadway says expected cuts to state scholarship programs will affect students applying for those awards for this coming school year and beyond.

He says during the recent legislative session the Department didn’t get a requested additional $7 million to shore up estimated shortfalls, but did get $2 million to save the Governor’s Distinguished Scholarships. That scholarship goes to 300 high-achieving students.

U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor of Arkansas is hosting a Twitter town hall to answer questions about the farm bill and other agricultural issues.

Pryor's office said the Democratic lawmaker will answer questions via Twitter about the bill, agricultural research, regulations and domestic food availability. Arkansans can tweet their questions using the hashtag (hash)AskPryor starting at 8:15 a.m. Thursday.

David Sterling says his conservative leanings and the absence of other candidates led to his decision to enter the 2014 Attorney General’s race.

Appearing on the latest Talk Business Arkansas webcast/podcast, Sterling said he will seek the GOP nomination for Attorney General next year in an effort to offer voters a conservative choice in the race.

A federal judge has rejected Arkansas' attempt to dismiss a lawsuit challenging a new state law banning most abortions 12 weeks into a pregnancy.

U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright on Wednesday denied the state's motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas and the Center for Reproductive Rights.

The groups have sued the state on behalf of two doctors who provide abortions at a Little Rock clinic.

The state had argued that the doctors didn't have standing to challenge the law since it's not being enforced yet.

The oldest still in use baseball park in Arkansas, Lamar Porter Field, is the subject of major renovation and fundraising plans this summer.

The field, located in the heart of Stifft Station in Little Rock, is celebrating it's 77th year of use with its most famous player Brooks Robinson next month. Robinson spent his entire career with the Baltimore Orioles from 1955 to 1977.

Holt McConnell, a member of the Lamar Porter Revitalization Committee, recalled the legacy of the Hall of Famer.

Federal prosecutors in Arkansas say two more men are in custody after they were indicted in a cocaine conspiracy case linked to a Mexican drug cartel.

Spokeswoman Cherith Beck for the U.S. Attorney's office in the Eastern District of Arkansas says U.S.

Marshals arrested Mervin Johnson in Little Rock on Wednesday. Beck says Dwatney Noid turned himself in on Wednesday, the day after an indictment charging them and 14 others was unsealed.

The Arkansas Department of Correction says a pharmaceutical company has closed its account after the state last month acknowledged plans to use its anti-seizure drug phenobarbital in executions.

Department of Correction spokeswoman Shea Wilson told The Associated Press that West-Ward Pharmaceuticals officials notified the agency Wednesday that the company was closing the prison system's account.

The agency said last month that it would use phenobarbital in executions, even though the barbiturate has never been used in U.S. lethal injections.

Arkansas State University is warning Bill Halter that it owns the trademark to the "Arkansas Promise  Scholarship" and says the Democrat needs to stop using a similar phrase in his campaign for governor.

One of Halter's policy proposals is called the "Arkansas Promise."

The program would pay college tuition for Arkansas high school graduates who maintain a 2.5 grade point average, attend school in state and qualify for the state's lottery scholarship.