Arkansas news

• Arkansas gets $173 million in Meta teen safety settlement

  26-08-2026 23:23 via arktimes.com
  
  Meta, the tech giant behind the giant time-sucks we know as Instagram and Facebook, has reached a $17.1 billion settlement in a landmark multistate lawsuit accusing the company of knowingly building addictive and harmful features into its platforms, features that a raft of research has linked to negative mental health impacts for children and teens.In addition to the settlement, of which Arkansas will receive $173 million, Meta has agreed to some important changes to its social media platforms,
  
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• Memories of Dolly Parton at the Driftwood Barn in Mountain View

  26-08-2026 23:00 via arktimes.com
  
  The benevolent country music icon Dolly Parton died Tuesday at the age of 80, and we at the Arkansas Times have been doing our best to keep our shit together.One thing that’s helped is looking through some pictures from Times photographer Brian Chilson of Parton’s last performance in Central Arkansas in 2016. The Aug. 13 show at Verizon Arena (now Simmons Bank Arena) was almost exactly 10 years ago. Dolly Parton at Verizon Arena (now Simmons Bank Arena) on Aug. 13, 2016. Credit
  
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• Eli Cranor awarded Booker Worthen Literary Prize

  26-08-2026 22:03 via arktimes.com
  
  The 2026 Booker Worthen Literary Prize, presented annually in honor of the best book of fiction or nonfiction by an author living in Arkansas over a three-year eligibility period, has been awarded to Pope County writer Eli Cranor. Cranor, who lives in Russellville and teaches at Arkansas Tech University, received the prize for his novel “Mississippi Blue 42,” which was excerpted in the Arkansas Times before its publication in August 2025. Focused on the criminal underpinni
  
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• Trooper who punched teen girl in the face during traffic stop told to identify himself better, not curse so much 

  26-08-2026 18:57 via arktimes.com
  
  The Democrat-Gazette reports the Arkansas State Police have completed an internal investigation of a trooper who punched a Black teenager in the face during a traffic stop. The paper says the investigation determined the trooper failed to identify himself to the teen and used excessive profanity during the interaction; he was subsequently counseled by supervisors not to make those mistakes again. The report didn’t address any reprimands for — or counsel against — punching
  
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• Hazel’s Public House opens in the River Market

  26-08-2026 17:55 via arktimes.com
  
  Hazel’s Public House, the new River Market burger spot that’s been in development since last fall, will finally open its doors today.According to a Facebook post from food blogger Kevin Shalin — or The Mighty Rib, as he’s better known — the restaurant’s launch is a soft opening with limited hours. “Normally, they’ll be open from 11-11, but they’re easing into things,” Shalin wrote. “Expect 11-1 today, then maybe a reset and back
  
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• Franklin County prison project not canceled, Arkansas corrections secretary says

  26-08-2026 17:35 via arktimes.com
  
  The 3,000-bed Franklin County prison project that’s faced legislative resistance hasn’t been canceled and remains an option, the head of the Arkansas Department of Corrections told lawmakers Tuesday.“Nobody has said that. We haven’t discussed that,” Corrections Secretary Lindsay Wallace said when asked if the project had been canceled. “We very clearly need to have more beds. Like I said earlier, given that we did not have funding to move forward with that pr
  
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• Kamala Harris endorses Chris Jones for Congress

  26-08-2026 13:22 via arktimes.com
  
  There are two ways to look at today’s big announcement that former Vice President Kamala Harris is endorsing Democrat Chris Jones for Arkansas’ Second Congressional District. If you’re Jones, a physicist, minister and Pine Bluff native making his second political run, this embrace from a well-known, well-resourced player on the national stage likely brings more cash and attention to the cadre of sweaty and sore-footed Democrats who’ve been hustling in the South for
  
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• Proposed data center ordinance gets first reading

  26-08-2026 04:29 via arktimes.com
  
  The Pulaski County Quorum Court completed the first reading of a proposed ordinance on Tuesday night that would go a long way toward allowing the county to control data centers.Prior to the meeting, the Pulaski County Planning Board met with the intent of sending the Quorum Court a recommendation on the proposal, but the best it could do was ask for a 90-day pause on any action taken on the proposed ordinance, giving them more time to study it, and a 90-day suspension of activity of high-end us
  
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• Jeff Nichols talks ‘King Snake’ and other forthcoming projects in Variety interview

  26-08-2026 00:00 via arktimes.com
  
  If you haven’t heard, Little Rock native filmmaker Jeff Nichols (“Mud,” “Loving,” “The Bikeriders”) is at work on a new movie, shot here in Arkansas and starring Margaret Qualley, Michael Shannon and Drew Starkey. Though a release date has yet to be announced for “King Snake,” independent juggernaut Neon recently acquired the film’s U.S. rights.While Nichols was in town the weekend before last to help out with Filmland, the annual fest
  
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