News

Arkansas Children's Hospital is getting a new leader.

The Little Rock hospital announced Friday that Dr. Jonathan Bates is retiring as president and chief executive officer and Marcella "Marcy" L. Doderer will step into the position in July.

Bates' retirement is effective June 30, and Doderer is to start July 15.

The change was announced by the hospital board chairman Tom Baxter.

Doderer is vice president and administrator at Children's Hospital of San Antonio. She is a graduate of Little Rock Central High School.

Officials with ExxonMobil have repaired an oil pipeline in southeast Missouri, where a leak was discovered earlier this week.

A resident near Doniphan, Mo., found oil leaking in his yard Tuesday. All told, about one barrel - roughly 42 gallons of crude oil - leaked from the Pegasus pipeline. The cause remains under investigation.

The repair was completed Friday.

The pipeline running from Illinois to Texas already was out of service after a much larger breach in Arkansas in March, but that doesn't mean there wasn't oil inside.

Both Democratic Candidates for Governor in Arkansas say the private option of Medicaid expansion was the best deal available to the state but disagree on the bulk of the federal health care overhaul.

Former Lt. Gov. Bill Halter and former Fourth District Congressman Mike Ross spoke to members of the Delta Grass Roots Caucus Friday at the Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock.

Arkansas' attorney general is asking the state's governor to set execution dates for seven death row inmates.  

Attorney General Dustin McDaniel sent seven letters to Gov. Mike Beebe late Thursday requesting that execution dates be set for Don Davis, Stacey Johnson, Jack Jones, Jason McGehee, Bruce Ward, Kenneth Williams and Marcel Williams.  

The Associated Press obtained copies of the letters on Friday.  

The Clinton Presidential Center Park will be the site of the 15th  annual Cinco De May Fiesta Saturday, celebrating Latino culture with activities planned to attract residents from around the state.

Michel Leiderman, an organizer for the event, says in addition to appearances by local and state officials, attendees can look forward to many different activites.

The first recorded snowfall in Arkansas in the month of May has covered the ground in at least five counties.

Snow began falling in the overnight hours in the northwestern portion of the state.

It's still possible central Arkansas could see some light snowfall or a mix on Saturday.

The latest accumulating snow for Little Rock on record is 0.8 inch on March 30, 1987.

As one of five Democrats who opposed expanding background checks for firearm sales, U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor of Arkansas is facing pressure from gun control groups who are urging him to rethink a position they suggest could haunt him during his re-election bid next year.

Mayors Against Illegal Guns on Thursday brought the father of a student killed in the Newtown, Conn. school shooting last year to Arkansas in the hopes of arranging a meeting with the two-term senator.

Many of the state’s top political leaders – and those aspiring for office – are taking part in a conference considering the best ways to revive the poverty-stricken Delta region.

The two-day Delta Grassroots Caucus started Thursday night with participants hearing from the Republican candidates for Arkansas governor, a freshman congressman and former President Bill Clinton.

“For the first time, literally in a generation, the larger demographic and other forces that are working on the world will help the Delta region,” Clinton said.

The Arkansas attorney general's office is suing a Faulkner County used car dealer, claiming the business sold vehicles to which it didn't have clear title.

Attorney General Dustin McDaniel's office on Thursday sued Carco of Arkansas Inc. of Greenbrier, which the office says is owned by J. Eric Turner.

The lawsuit claims that Carco sold cars when it had not fully paid for the vehicles and thus did not have the titles. The cars were acquired from auctions and other dealers.