Liz Fox

  A Little Rock man was arrested early Thursday morning after illegally entering the Governor's Mansion grounds, officials say.

Authorities say 32-year-old Ramon Taylor scaled a fence at 5:30 a.m. and attempted to break into a nearby car before he was taken into custody.  

Gov. Mike Beebe spokesman Matt DeCample said Taylor was unarmed and arrested by security guards without incident.

"[Protection] is for these types of occurrences," DeCample said. "They are tasked with taking care of these things as they arise and they'll do just that."

Arkansas lawmakers have approved legislation to expand the state's Medicaid program though increasing residents covered by private insurance.

The vote outcome was 62-37 and one present, with only a majority required for passage. 

Rep. Josh Burris of Harrison serves as the bill's primary sponsor and argued that the legislation's proposed coverage also brings a subset of benefits that arrives with passing the bill. 

Maintenance crews are working to restore power to multiple homes after severe weather swept through the state Wednesday evening, officials said Thursday.

The cold front produced a series of thunderstorms and tornadoes across several portions of Arkansas, leaving more than 10,000 residents without power. The outages were caused primarily by lightning and high winds that accompanied the storms, which subsided by Thursday morning.

Sen. John McCain is scheduled to speak Friday evening at the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock.

The Arizona senator and former presidential candidate plans to discuss current affairs and cover Congressional politics during the lecture, which will later be opened for questions from the audience.

Clinton School Public Programs Director Nikolai DiPippa says the event will be among the most attended in the school's eight-year history. 

Two Arkansas state representatives are sponsoring a bipartisan bill in the House of Representatives to bolster job creation and community investment across the state.

Reps. Darrin Williams (D-Little Rock) and Jonathan Dismang (R-Searcy) first touted HB132 -- also known as the New Markets Jobs Act of 2013 -- on March 7.

Based on an existing federal plan, the bill aims to create jobs for thousands of Arkansans through private investments channeled into community development.