News of the Ark-La-Tex

In response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s narrow decision to reverse lower-court wins against the Biden Administration on the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), also known as the Remain-in-Mexico Program, Attorney General Paxton made the following statement:

The U.S. Supreme Court just delivered Texas, several allied states, and millions of Americans and businesses a significant victory for energy independence, efficiency, and economy.

Hempstead Hall, on the UAHT campus at Hope, will host a pair of cooking classes for the Hempstead County Extension Office.

An unexpected emotional appeal from a concerned parent came during the open forum of Texarkana Independent School District’s board meeting.

Texas Parks and Wildlife wants to remind everyone that, with the holiday weekend coming up, they should celebrate safely on lakes and waterways.

The Independence Day fireworks show in downtown Texarkana has been cancelled again this year.

Union Pacific (UP) will close the railroad crossing on Findley Street today from S. Kings Highway to S. Bishop Road.

Since the Supreme Court’s June 24 ruling that overturned Roe vs. Wade, the country has been awash with opinion pieces and news articles about what this means for women across the country.

The Rotary Clubs for District 5830 held their installation of club officers on June 28 at Silver Moon on Broad.

An eighteen-month investigation of alleged criminal activity by the LCB/I-30 Cartel gang in the Texarkana area has resulted in numerous arrests in recent weeks.

According to a Harris County judge, providers at some Texas clinics can resume abortions up to six weeks.

Texarkana Regional Airport Director Paul Mehrlich says he hopes to start talking to potential companies about leasing eight acres of land the airport recently acquired.

According to the Farm Bureau, the average Fourth of July cookout for 10 people will cost 17% more this year . . . about $10 more than last year.

A federal appeals court upheld Arkansas’ law requiring state contractors to pledge not to boycott Israel, finding the restriction is not an unconstitutional violation of free speech.

The city of Texarkana is inviting everyone to visit the Metropolitan Planning Organization Open House tomorrow.

Storms in the Texarkana area brought high winds, irregularly shaped hail, and heavy rain in the late evening on Sunday.

Join the Texarkana Museums System in celebrating Independence Day with a special Living History tour at State Line Cemetery on Saturday, July 2.

The Independence Day holiday will be a prolonged celebration this year, as the nation’s birthday occurs on a Monday.

Abortion activists held a rally on Sunday morning in downtown Texarkana.

Strike Team 167 fire fighters Dustin Newman, Brad Thompson, Zach Flanagan, and David Jackson were deployed to Dempsey, Texas, to help battle the blaze that has spread over 1200 acres in Palo Pinto County.

A Saturday night shooting in De Kalb left one person critically injured.

Five people have been injured after a shooting during an outdoor trail event in East Texas.

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is providing an update on additional steps it has taken that will lead to more infant formula available in the U.S. under the agency’s recent increased flexibilities.

Several calls about shots being fired Thursday night prompted a police response to the 1300 block of Pierre Street.

Texarkana police arrested Anthony Sandoval, 27, for five felony warrants after a brief foot chase.

The Texarkana Metropolitan Planning Organization is holding a public meeting to solicit input on the development of a Regional Thoroughfare Plan for Bowie and Miller Counties.

The Texarkana Arkansas Police Department wanted to share some weather safety tips due to recent sudden rainfall on summer days.

Arkansas is seeing a record high price for diesel fuel.

At a meeting of the Texarkana Airport Authority on Thursday night, Executive Director of Aviation Paul Mehrlich said that the construction on the north taxiway is complete, and that the new terminal building is slated to be laminated by next month.

The Texarkana Animal Care and Adoption Center will host a free microchipping event for pets on Saturday.

The runoff results for the Miller County Justice of the Peace Place 7 have been invalidated.

A pair of researchers have put forward a possible explanation for a strange weather phenomenon in Texarkana.

A stabbing in Vivian, Louisiana, left one person dead according to the Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office.

With the temperature climbing, the National Weather Service recommends the following to help Americans beat the heat.

Senators Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas), Josh Hawley (R-Missouri), Marco Rubio (R-Florida), James Lankford (R-Oklahoma), and Steve Daines (R-Montana) introduced the Protecting Minors from Medical Malpractice Act, legislation to help individuals who suffer from potentially sterilizing gender-transition procedures as minors and to allow them to seek justice in court.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton joined a Tennessee-led multistate letter to President Biden urging him to withdraw new guidance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) regarding “sex discrimination” for schools and programs that receive federal nutritional assistance.

Attorney General Paxton joined a Mississippi-led multistate amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the Ohio National Guard and against Biden’s Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), which has sought to over-regulate the Guard.

In this time of high and potentially dangerous temperatures, the city of Texarkana, Arkansas has designated three neighborhood centers where citizens can come to escape the heat.

Two businesses are getting ready for their ribbon-cutting ceremonies in Ashdown, Arkansas.

The City of Texarkana, Texas City Manager David Orr has announced several director level promotions and named two Assistant City Managers.

Attorney General Paxton filed a Virginia-led amicus brief with the Richmond, VA-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in support of race-neutral, meritocratic public-school admissions criteria.

Attorney General Ken Paxton filed an Indiana-led amicus brief with the Chicago-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit defending the privacy and safety of boys and girls using sex-segregated restrooms in public schools. In this case, a federal district court barred a school district from requiring school restrooms separated by sex, concluding that the separation violated federal statutes and the U.S. Constitution.

Bowie County deputies were dispatched to a shooting Tuesday evening in the 500 block of Birch Street in Maud, Texas.

Texarkana, Arkansas, Board of Directors held a presentation for Texarkana Water Utilities during their regular meeting Tuesday evening.

Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge applauds today’s United States Supreme Court opinion protecting religious liberty.

U.S. Senators John Boozman (R-AR) and Tom Cotton (R-AR) joined Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) in sending a bipartisan letter to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure encouraging the agency to appeal a recent ruling by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and finalize its proposal to continue the Low Wage Index Hospital Policy in the fiscal year 2023 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) to reduce the disparity in Medicare reimbursement.

Hope police report the arrest of a 19-year-old on suspicion of rape.

Wayne Easley won the runoff election for Miller County Sheriff with 59 percent of the vote on Tuesday over challenger Stephan Ward.

Shaun Paxton, 42, was arrested on Sunday when police arrived at his parents’ residence on Skyline Drive.

Cedric Ballard and Darquales McHenry were indicted by a Bowie County grand jury in the death of a Texarkana man.

Texarkana police have arrested a man in connection with yesterday’s shooting on Laurel Street and MLK Boulevard.

The runoff election for Miller County Sheriff takes place today.

The body of a man who drowned in Lake Wright Patman was recovered Monday.

Monday’s shooting at Laurel Street and Martin Luther King Boulevard has left one person dead and another injured.

Wadley Regional Medical Center has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get with the Guidelines ® - Stroke Gold Plus with Target: Stroke Honor Roll and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll quality achievement award for its commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines, ultimately leading to more lives saved and reduced disability.

The University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana recently received a grant for $15,000 from the Hempstead County Economic Development Corporation (HCEDC) to support students in starting or improving small businesses.

Multiple vehicles, including at least two tractor trailers, crashed on westbound I-30 this morning.

The search for a drowned man at Wright Patman Lake has resumed today.

Texarkana, Arkansas, Police Department, as well as LifeNet and fire units, responded to shootings at two locations at the corner of Martin Luther King Boulevard and Laurel Street this afternoon.

The Texas Department of Transportation releases its weekly road work report.

Representatives Bruce Westerman (AR-04), Scott Franklin (FL-15), Claudia Tenney (NY-22), and Mike Johnson (LA-04) sent a letter with more than 120 colleagues demanding the Department of Justice investigate recent attacks against several Pro-Life organizations as instances of domestic terrorism.

The U.S. Senate approved a bill Thursday expanding health care access to veterans exposed to toxins during their service, a piece of legislation that included provisions written by Arkansas Republican John Boozman.

A passenger on a personal watercraft at Wright Patman Lake drowned on Sunday, according to authorities.

Texarkana police are investigating a stabbing that took place Sunday morning.

Harvest Regional Food Bank in Little River County has two fresh acres of corn that are ready to be harvested.

Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) today wrote to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland demanding that the Department of Justice take action to protect Americans from ongoing violent attacks on pro-life pregnancy centers.

President Joe Biden signed bipartisan, bicameral legislation into law today championed by U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR) along with Congressman Rick Crawford (AR-1) and Steve Womack (AR-3) to level the playing field for American exporters and help fix supply chains by easing shipping backlogs.

Kevin Shepard has gotten a sentence of life in prison in the capital murder case of Donnie Combs and Cynthia Arnold.

U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR), a senior member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, urged Senate passage of comprehensive legislation to deliver earned benefits for all generations of veterans exposed to toxic substances during their service in our nation’s uniform.

Texarkana, Arkansas, Police Department is seeking assistance from the community to locate a missing woman.

Arkansas State Police have released the identity of a fourth fatality in the multi-vehicle crash last Wednesday on Interstate 30.

Two teenagers are in jail after allegedly attempting to break into vehicles on Wednesday.

Thousands of people are killed every year by drunk drivers—1,061 in Texas last year. In the Atlanta District, there were 331 DUI-alcohol related crashes resulting in 23 deaths and 51 serious injuries.

SWEPCO wants customers to be aware that companies are approaching residents to sell solar panels and using SWEPCO’s advanced digital meter installations as a way to engage in solicitation.

Waldron Ralph Sheppard, a former Camden Police officer, has been arrested and is being held in Columbia County Detention Center on charges of rape and computer exploitation of a minor.

A New Boston father who kept the remains of his son in his kitchen for over three years has been sentenced to five years of probation.

Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge joined a coalition of state attorneys to call on President Biden to withdraw the USDA's new guidance on sex discrimination for schools and programs that receive federal nutritional assistance.

The Arkansas School Safety Commission met Tuesday to come up with recommendations for new school safety policies in the wake of the Uvalde school shooting at the behest of Governor Asa Hutchinson.

Fishermen on the Little River near Fulton got a surprise Tuesday.

Officers with the DeKalb Police Department arrested Terrell Daniels on Tuesday morning, after receiving a report of a man acting in an irate fashion.

Eligible commercial fleet owners now have the option to put a high-tech tool on the back of their vehicles.

AUSTIN –Today Attorney General Ken Paxton launched an investigation against Twitter for potentially false reporting over its fake bot accounts in violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

Texarkana, Texas, City Council has approved the purchase of eight acres of land for the Texarkana airport.

A woman who allegedly fired several shots from a handgun into an occupied apartment has been charged with deadly conduct.

Two Hope, Arkansas, teens went missing on Monday.

The annual Texarkana Dragon Boat Festival drew a crowd of thousands to Bringle Lake Park this past weekend.

The Arkansas High School Senior Destination Imagination (DI) Team Hamilton is Just Ok recently competed in the 22nd Annual Destination Imagination Global Finals in Kansas City, MO, and placed 2nd in the Fine Arts Secondary Level Challenge.

Miller-Bowie Health Coalition is hosting a free health fair and blood drive from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturday, June 18, at Texarkana, Arkansas, Recreation Center.

The Animal Care & Adoption Center will hold a free Microchip for Pets event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 25.

The Center of Disease Control (CDC) wants people to stay safe in the summer heat.

The annual Texarkana Dragon Boat Festival drew a crowd of thousands to Bringle Lake Park this past weekend.

After the arrest of more than two dozen members of a white supremacist group near a northern Idaho pride event, including one identified as its founder, LGBTQ advocates said Sunday that polarization and a fraught political climate are putting their community increasingly at risk.

Texarkana, Texas, police arrested a 15-year-old juvenile for aggravated robbery, unlawfully carrying a weapon, and evading arrest on Friday night.

Corey Kelley, 46, relocated from Arkansas to Texas without notifying the Texarkana, Texas, Police Department.

Officers from TAPD responded to reports of a shooting at 7:38 p.m. on Thursday in the 700 block of Ferguson Street.

Texas fights back against motor vehicle burglary and theft

The Arkansas Department of Transportation says all lanes of Interstate 30 have reopened in southwestern Arkansas more than 24 hours after a fatal crash there killed at least three people.

Two men are being held in the Bowie County jail on multiple counts of aggravated robbery in connection with an alleged home invasion.

Police identified a body found in Bowie County on Tuesday, June 7 as James Jacobs, 47, of Texarkana, Texas.

Texarkana Police are warning local businesses about potential credit card scams after multiple stores in the area were hit last week. According to Public Information Officer Shawn Vaughn, there have been three incidents over the last few days where people used fake credit cards to make some big purchases. They say the scam artists are using blank credit cards to trick cashiers into believing that the transaction is being run as credit even though the back of the card has instructions to run it as cash.

Texarkana police are seeking a man who allegedly rammed his girlfriend’s car Friday afternoon, then shot her passenger in the arm. TTPD officers say around 5 p.m. Friday, Princeton Crawford became upset when he learned his girlfriend was giving rides home to one particular co-worker.

Miller County District Court and sister court at the Bi-State will be running an Amnesty Program through April 30th. Individuals can receive up to $350 off of any active misdemeanor warrants.

47 year old Christopher Jeff Langston has been sentenced by a Bowie County jury to life in prison for sexual assault of a child involving a victim who got pregnant and had his child at 14 years of age. The jury convicted Langston of sexual assault of a child Thursday after also hearing testimony from two other witnesses who allege they were sexually abused by Langston when they were 14.

Hooks High School student James Deanda has won the Texas High School state championship for UIL STUDENT CONGRESS after a grueling couple days of fierce competition in Austin.

The Animal Care and Adoption Center in Texarkana has closed temporarily. The adoption center is located on the 200 block of Harrison Street.

CHRISTUS St. Michael is writing another chapter in its more than 105-year history in Texarkana with the construction of the multi- million CHRISTUS St. Michael Hospital – West, set to break ground early this year. Set to open next year, the new, fully-licensed hospital will be conveniently located at Gibson Lane and Arista Blvd. in Texarkana.

With the public appearance of the Omicron variant, many COVID testing sites are being overrun by residents wanting to know whether they are infected or not. This being the case, Arkansas has taken another step to relieve some of the pressure at these sites. Bridging The Gaps of Arkansas in Texarkana has teamed with the Arkansas Department of Health in distributing free COVID-19 testing kits to residents. Johnny Riley, of Bridging The Gaps, said interest in the kits is running high. His organization received nearly 300 kits Tuesday, Jan. 12 and they were out by midmorning the next day.

Schools are closing on the Texas side of Both Texarkana school districts are now closed due to COVID related issues and will remain closed through at least Monday.

Texarkana Fire investigators are figuring out the cause of a blaze that destroyed a former outlet mall in the 2600 block of New Boston Road in Texarkana, Texas, Monday evening.

According to Texarkana Emergency Management Coordinator Eric Schlotter, a surge in positive COVID cases since Christmas is a major cause of Monoclonal antibody treatment centers across the ArkLaTex being affected by a national shortage of treatments such as Regeneron.