State health department extends hours to help Arkansans meet REAL ID deadline
(Courtesy of the Department of Finance and Administration)
The Arkansas Health Department is extending hours of operation Saturday at local health units in response to increased demand for birth certificates, an important document for obtaining a REAL ID.
Beginning May 7, REAL IDs will be required for all Americans to board domestic flights or enter certain federal buildings.
According to a press release, the following ADH locations will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. to issue certified birth certificates:
ADH Main Office, Vital Records — 4815 W. Markham, Little Rock
Pulaski Central Local Health Unit — 3915 W. 8th Street, Little Rock
Washington County Local Health Unit — 3270 Wimberly Drive, Fayetteville
Craighead County Local Health Unit — 611 E. Washington Avenue, Jonesboro
Miller County Local Health Unit — 503 Walnut, Texarkana
Drew County Local Health Unit — 940 Scogin Drive, Monticello
Arkansans must bring a valid driver's license and pay a $12 fee to obtain a birth certificate. More information about obtaining birth certificates is available on the health department's website.
Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration officials earlier this week announced driver's license offices in five cities would also have extended hours Saturday to assist Arkansans attempting to acquire their REAL IDs ahead of next month's deadline.
Offices in Little Rock, Fayetteville, Jonesboro, Texarkana and Monticello will be open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday. Appointments are recommended but not required, and can be scheduled on the finance department's website.
REAL IDs began with a 2005 law passed by Congress in response to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Instituting REAL IDs statewide 'will help fight terrorism and reduce identity fraud,' according to the finance department website.
REAL IDs are signified by a gold star on a driver's license or state-issued ID card. The state finance department has issued roughly 140,000 REAL IDs since Jan. 1, including 52,000 in March, bringing the statewide total to roughly 800,000, DFA Secretary Jim Hudson said in a Tuesday press conference.
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Associated Press
17 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Who's in charge? CDC's leadership 'crisis' apparent amid new COVID-19 vaccine guidance
WASHINGTON (AP) — There was a notable absence last week when U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced in a 58-second video that the government would no longer endorse the COVID-19 vaccine for healthy children or pregnant women. The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — the person who typically signs off on federal vaccine recommendations — was nowhere to be seen. The CDC, a $9.2 billion-a-year agency tasked with reviewing life-saving vaccines, monitoring diseases and watching for budding threats to Americans' health, is without a clear leader. 'I've been disappointed that we haven't had an aggressive director since — February, March, April, May — fighting for the resources that CDC needs,' said Dr. Robert Redfield, who served as CDC director under the first Trump administration and supported Kennedy's nomination as the nation's health secretary. $9.2 billion-a-year agency without leader as nomination awaits The leadership vacuum at a foremost federal public health agency has existed for months, after President Donald Trump suddenly withdrew his first pick for CDC director in March. A hearing for his new nominee — the agency's former acting director Susan Monarez — has not been scheduled because she has not submitted all the paperwork necessary to proceed, according to a spokesman for Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who will oversee the nomination. HHS did not answer written questions about Monarez's nomination, her current role at the CDC or her salary. An employee directory lists Monarez, a longtime government employee, as a staffer for the NIH under the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health. Redfield described Kennedy as 'very supportive' of Monarez's nomination. Instead, a lawyer and political appointee with no medical experience is 'carrying out some of the duties' of director at the agency that for seven decades has been led by someone with a medical degree. Matthew Buzzelli, who is also the chief of staff at the CDC, is 'surrounded by highly qualified medical professionals and advisors to help fulfill these duties as appropriate,' Andrew Nixon, an HHS spokesperson said in a statement. Adding to the confusion was an employee-wide email sent last week that thanked 'new acting directors who shave stepped up to the plate.' The email, signed by Monarez, listed her as the acting director. It was was sent just days after Kennedy said at a Senate hearing that Monarez had been replaced by Buzzelli. 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One employee, who insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media and fears being fired if identified said Monarez has been almost invisible since her nomination, adding that her absence has been cited by other leaders as an excuse for delaying action. The situation already has led to confusion. In April, a 15-member CDC advisory panel of outside experts met to discuss vaccine policy. The panel makes recommendations to the CDC Director, who routinely signs off on them. But it was unclear during the meeting who would be reviewing the panel's recommendations, which included the expansion of RSV vaccinations for adults and a new combination shot as another option to protect teens against meningitis. HHS officials said the recommendations were going to Buzzelli, but then weeks passed with no decision. 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Boston Globe
26 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
RFK Jr. wants to allow more experimental therapies, acknowledging health risks and threat of ‘charlatans'
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Hyun said he recently toured one in the Netherlands that used specialized air filtering, layers of gowns and a ban on bacteria-laden cellphones in their sterile area. 'It's kind of like you're entering a space station,' he said. Ultimately, Caulfield said, many unauthorized stem cell providers adopt the language of biotech and regenerative medicine, post glowing patient testimonials and exploit patients who are desperate for a cure. This article originally appeared in .
CBS News
33 minutes ago
- CBS News
Transgender military members heartbroken, fighting to serve despite Trump ban
Thousands of transgender U.S. military members have until Friday, June 6, to identify themselves and begin a voluntary separation from the armed forces under a ban implemented by the Trump administration. WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren spoke to three decorated service members about the uncertain future ahead. Thousands of transgender U.S. military members have until Friday, June 6, to identify themselves and begin a voluntary separation from the armed forces under a ban implemented by the Trump administration. CBS News Baltimore Transgender military members share heartbreak Colonel Bree Fram joined the military after 9/11 and was determined to give back. She never thought her distinguished career of more than two decades in the Air Force – and now the Space Force – would end with an executive order from the president to purge the military of its transgender members. "I'm absolutely heartbroken because we have given everything of ourselves," Col. Fram said. "We have met every standard, every demand the military in this country has asked of us. We have risen to the challenge and in most cases exceeded that. You can look at our performance reports and see that, year after year, meets or exceeds standards despite what we're being told by this administration that we somehow don't. The evidence is not there to support any of the claims that are being made about who we are, and that hurts." Fram said many of her colleagues have expressed their support. "For me, every day walking through the hallways of the Pentagon, wearing my uniform, is such a gift, and I have people who walk up to me and say, 'You don't know me, but I know you! I support you,'" Fram said. Thousands of transgender U.S. military members have until Friday, June 6, to identify themselves and begin a voluntary separation from the armed forces under a ban implemented by the Trump administration. Courtesy of Col. Bree Fram Uncertainty after Trump's ban on transgender troops Fram's friend and colleague, Navy Chief Petty Officer Ryan Goodell, already made the difficult decision to voluntarily separate from the military. For Goodell, leaving is anything but voluntary, with the fear of having to pay back thousands of dollars in bonuses. "To me, it was a threat that I just couldn't risk, as well as trying to take a little bit of control over what feels to me like an uncontrollable situation," Goodell said. Goodell described it as painful. "To have that ripped away is devastating to me," Goodell said. "I'm supposed to be going to sea next. I'm supposed to be leading our sailors out to sea, and I feel like that has now been taken from me." Thousands of transgender U.S. military members have until Friday, June 6, to identify themselves and begin a voluntary separation from the armed forces under a ban implemented by the Trump administration. Courtesy of DVIDS Sabrina Bruce, a decorated Master Sergeant in the Space Force, also feels the uncertainty. "I've served authentically, and it has not been an issue," Bruce said. "I've been promoted multiple times, multiple medals, awards, everything. It's never been an issue that's come up. I've never been good at anything in my life except the military. I found a community and a home in the military, and so the very real thought that I may lose that, it hurts because all I want to do is serve, and I want to continue giving back and continue standing up for this nation that we all believe in." Thousands of transgender U.S. military members have until Friday, June 6, to identify themselves and begin a voluntary separation from the armed forces under a ban implemented by the Trump administration. Courtesy of Space Force Master Sergeant Sabrina Bruce Trump's position on transgender troops The president has made no secret of his plans to oust transgender service members. "Our warriors should be focused on defeating America's enemies, not figuring out their genders," Mr. Trump said on the campaign trail in North Carolina in August 2024. While in Michigan in April, he promised to get "woke lunacy and transgender insanity the hell out of our government." His administration reportedly wants commanders to "out" transgender troops or force them to get medical check-ups, where they would be identified and forced out of the military. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in April, "Expressing a false gender identity divergent from an individual's sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service." Directives given to U.S. military Although Hegseth had made formal assurances in a February memo that transgender service members would be treated with dignity, the Army's new internal directives to units instruct personnel to intentionally address transgender troops – even superior officers - in accordance with an individual's medical assignment at birth, rather than by their preferred pronoun. Hegseth also told a Special Operations Force military conference in May, "No more dudes in dresses, we're done with that s***." CBS News previously reported that under Army guidance, transgender officers will receive what's known as a "Code JDK" upon separation. The code is for the Military Personnel Security Program. It's typically applied to discharge paperwork where a service member is being separated from the U.S. military for a security reason. "You say they are the problem, but you can't identify them, and the government's response was we have to go through their medical records to figure it out," Col. Fram said. "And I think that's a pretty good indicator that we're not a problem. If you have to look for something in a file to identify someone who is a problem, they aren't the problem." Goodell said, "I'm not a weak link…I'm an addition. I'm not a subtraction." Bruce expressed hope to continue serving in some capacity, "Whether that's in uniform, outside of uniform, whatever that may mean." Maryland Attorney General fights against ban Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown said he joined 20 other attorneys general in filing a brief before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals arguing that Mr. Trump's ban on transgender troops is discriminatory and harms national security. "These are courageous, skilled individuals who are willing to risk everything for their country. President Trump's unlawful ban sacrifices military readiness and basic human dignity for political gain. We must stand with all those who are ready to serve, not push them aside because of who they are," Brown said in a statement. Court battles over ban on transgender troops In the short term, hope is dimming for Bruce and other transgender troops. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the government can oust transgender military service members while multiple legal challenges wind their way through lower courts. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt cheered the Supreme Court's order as a "massive victory" and said in a social media post that Mr. Trump and Hegseth "are restoring a military that is focused on readiness and lethality – not DEI or woke gender ideology." Troops react to transgender ban Col. Fram said bluntly, "What's likely going to happen is that by the time we get a ruling from the court that puts a final stamp on this, people's lives will have been disrupted. We will almost all—if not all of us—be gone from the military." Goodell said the fear is tangible. "There are times at night where I have to fend off panic attacks because I don't know what my future is going to be…like am I going to be able to learn a job outside of the military," Goodell questioned. An analysis in 2017 found that discharging transgender troops would cost $1 billion, far more than the $52 million spent on gender-affirming care. "In fact, we're taking some of them directly off the battlefield today," Fram said. "These are people who are deployed, doing their wartime mission, who are being told, 'You're not deployable. You need to come home.'" Despite the directive, Fram stressed that her colleagues have her back. "It really does make you stop and think about who you are and what you believe in," Fram said. "And what I think is so amazing about transgender service members is that they have done that look inside. They have said, 'This is who I am. This is what I believe in. I am here to fulfill my oath.' We don't swear that oath just to live by it in the easy times. We do it when it's hard, and right now is one of those hard times, but we're doing it. We are accomplishing the mission, and we will continue to do so until the last day we possibly can." Thousands of transgender U.S. military members have until Friday, June 6, to identify themselves and begin a voluntary separation from the armed forces under a ban implemented by the Trump administration. Courtesy of Colonel Bree Fram
