Arkansas Library Board has final meeting before law disbanding it goes into effect
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The current Arkansas Library Board held its last meeting before Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders is expected to appoint all new members to the team due to a new law.
Gathered for the last time, the board met to discuss funding and recommendations to leave for the new board to take up.
Bill filed in Arkansas legislature to require locking away children's library material on sexuality
Act 903, passed during the recent legislative session, removes all seven current board members and allows the governor to replace them. Legislators in support of the bill testified during the session that the current board is not run correctly, citing concerns about young people's access to certain library materials.
Rep. Howard Beaty (R-Crossett) is a sponsor of the bill that became law.
'This board is not functioning in a manner that we find acceptable,' Beaty said in introducing the legislation.
Bill filed in legislature would abolish the Arkansas State Library, put controls on public libraries
Misty Hawkins is the regional director of the Arkansas River Valley Regional Library system. During the meeting, she thanked the board and said the library shouldn't be partisan.
'We do not want to be affiliated with either party, but we need to work with both,' Hawkins said.
If Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders acts in accordance with the new law, which will go into effect Aug. 3, the next library board meeting will have new members.
Hawkins said she hopes the new board will reach across party lines. Although it's bittersweet to have this board leave, she's optimistic.
'I do think that bi-partisan, nonpartisan, that is something we need to focus on, we have business to do, let's do it,' Hawkins said.
President Trump fires Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden
The board's next meeting will be Aug. 8.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump tariffs to remain in place pending appeal, court rules
A federal appeals court on Tuesday agreed to let many of President Trump's sweeping tariffs on United States trade partners remain in effect for now, extending a pause issued late last month after a separate court ruled the tariffs were illegal. The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals granted the Trump administration's request for a longer pause after issuing a temporary stay of the lower court ruling last month. The court put the case on a fast track to be resolved by the end of this summer, noting that 'these cases present issues of exceptional importance warranting expedited en banc consideration of the merits in the first instance.' The decision comes after the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled on May 28 that Congress did not delegate 'unbounded' tariff authority to the president in the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (IEEPA), the linchpin of Trump's legal defense. Trump appealed the ruling and, hours later, the appeals court granted the temporary stay and agreed to hear arguments in the case on June 9, when the court said it would decide on a longer pause. 'Both sides have made substantial arguments on the merits. Having considered the traditional stay factors… the court concludes a stay is warranted under the circumstances,' the order read on Tuesday. Trump has sought to impose tariffs on almost all U.S. trading partners since taking office, creating whiplash in financial markets as he repeatedly delayed or adjusted the announcements. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Advocates, legislators still trying to expand expired compensation program for radiation exposure
Jun. 10—One year ago, Congress let a federal program end that compensated people who grew sick from mining uranium for nuclear weapons or from living downwind of nuclear weapons tests. In those 12 months, Tina Cordova's cousin died after years of living with a rare brain cancer. Under a proposed expansion of the program, 61-year-old Danny Cordova likely would have qualified for the $100,000 compensation offered to people with specific cancers who lived in specific areas downwind of aboveground nuclear weapons' tests. "Instead, he and his mom lived literally paycheck to paycheck trying to pay for all of the medications he needed," Cordova said. Since the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) program was created in 1990, New Mexican downwinders have been left out, as have uranium mine workers from after 1971. Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., has led an effort in the Upper Chamber alongside Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., to expand the program so it includes later uranium mine workers, and people harmed by aboveground nuclear tests in more states — including New Mexico. In January, they reintroduced a bill to extend and expand RECA. "Letting RECA expire is a disgrace to these families and victims," Luján said. "It's an insult to the victims and their families who still struggle to this very day to get help, get the medicine they need, get the treatments for the conditions caused by the negligence of the federal government. For the victims, this story is long from being over. Generational trauma and poor health conditions continue to plague entire families." Although Hawley and Luján's bill passed the Senate twice in the last session of Congress, and was supported by the entire New Mexico delegation, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., never allowed a vote on the companion House bill, sponsored by Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, D-N.M. The expansion would have included an increased pricetag of $50 billion to $60 billion over 10 years, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office — a cost estimate Luján has disagreed with. Since its inception, RECA has paid out approximately $2.6 billion. There is no accurate estimate of how many New Mexicans would be included if RECA is expanded, according to Luján's office. "We know we have the votes to get this passed now," said Leger Fernández, who plans to reintroduce the bill in the House. "They keep raising issues with regards to the cost... These are people's lives, and so we need to keep bringing it back to that issue. And in many ways, I think that we are doing this in a bicameral manner, and that the pressure that is being brought from the Senate will help us in the House." 'No apology' Cordova's cousin was diagnosed in his 20s, and had five brain surgeries to address his cancer. "He was left with horrendous and devastating consequences of that (first) surgery," Cordova said. "He lost the eyesight in one eye, he lost the part of his brain that controlled all of his hormonal functions, and he lost the part of his brain that also controlled his ability to adapt his body temperature." Five generations of Cordova's family tree include many cases of cancer. She herself survived thyroid cancer, and as a co-founder of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, she's long advocated for expanding RECA. Cordova's kitchen counter is covered in the stories of family trees that mirror her own. For 18 years, she's been collecting health surveys from people who grew up in areas downwind of aboveground nuclear weapon tests, documenting a history of cancer and death for families from Tularosa, Alamogordo and beyond. Loretta Anderson, a patient advocate and co-founder of the Southwest Uranium Miners Coalition Post-71, works with over 1,000 former uranium miners and their families throughout the Laguna and Acoma pueblos. She knows 10 post-1971 uranium miners, those who would be compensated under a RECA expansion, who have died in the past 12 months. "They died with no compensation, no apology from the government," Anderson said. Despite the difficulty in getting RECA extended and expanded, Cordova has faith it will eventually pass through Congress. "This is not a partisan issue," Cordova said. "Exposure to radiation has affected the young, the old, the male, the female, the Black, the white, the Republican and Democrat alike."
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
On their way to BYU, teens first help run the Senate
WASHINGTON — As Nathan Neuhaus finished his daily shift as a Senate page on March 31, he figured the day would end the same way it had every night for weeks prior. Nathan completed his shift around 7 p.m. and then was replaced by Preston Neuhaus, his twin brother who was working a staggered shift that night. Preston expected to work for a few more hours until the Senate adjourned. Then he could return to his dorm and prepare for the next day. But March 31 was not like any other day. As Nathan left for the evening, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., was just taking to the Senate floor to deliver what would be a record-breaking speech lasting more than 25 hours. And while most Capitol Hill staffers got to return home for the night, the pages worked around the clock to help keep the Senate floor running during the marathon session. The 17-year-old high school students worked overnight shifts rarely experienced by those in Congress — and they watched history being made. Preston Neuhaus completed his shift around 2 a.m., when Nathan returned to the Senate floor. Senate pages continued working until Booker finished at 8:05 p.m. the next day. 'Just the feel in the room was something that (had) never occurred,' Nathan told the Deseret News inside the Capitol rotunda, just hours after he finished his five-month long service. 'Like, for the whole gallery to be full and everybody on the floor, Republicans and Democrats, to stand up and clap together — it was really cool to witness just the kind of bipartisanship, and just see history occur,' he said. Since 1829, teenagers have served as pages in the Senate in some capacity, helping senators with their work. In the current-day program, high school students from across the country leave home and move to a dorm in the nation's capital where they get to experience American democracy up close. Thirty teenagers are chosen for each five-month session — 16 dedicated to the majority party, 14 assigned to the minority — and each student must be sponsored by a senator in order to be considered for the program. For example, Nathan and Preston, who are from Tennessee, were sponsored by Sen. Mike Lee of Utah. The high school pages are supervised by the sponsor's staff, allowing the students to interact with senators throughout the day. That interaction, both said, allowed them to see a side of lawmakers that most others don't get to see. 'Of course, people see (Lee's) policies and his beliefs and form their opinion over that,' Nathan said. 'But like, when you really get to know a lawmaker on a personal level, you really see how they care about certain issues and it changes your perspective on things.' Nathan and Preston said they enjoyed getting to know Lee over the five-month period, pointing out several parallels between them and Utah's senior senator. For example, Lee himself worked as a Senate page when he was in high school. And Lee graduated from Brigham Young University, where Nathan and Preston will attend in the fall. 'The Senate page program is a time-honored tradition, where bright young men and women can see their representative government in action and assist us in serving the American people,' Lee told the Deseret News in a statement. The twins also expressed admiration for Lee for serving a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, of which both siblings are members. The pair attended church throughout the five-month program, often checking out from their dorm building to visit with their older brother who lives in Washington, D.C., attend his ward services, and eat lunch before returning later that afternoon. 'They were very willing to help ... and they made a lot of exceptions,' Preston said. 'It was just really refreshing to have a break at the end of the week and then just get ready for the next week.' High school students across the country can participate in the official Senate Page Program, which allows teenagers to play a crucial role in the daily operations of the U.S. Senate. Pages are responsible for delivering legislative materials between the Capitol and Senate office buildings; passing notes between senators on the floor; greeting senators on their way to the chamber; supporting senators and staff during debates; and assisting Capitol staff with updating the roll calls. The students are divided into four shifts throughout the day, with about seven to eight pages assigned to any given shift. Those shift assignments are 'who you're with all day, every day,' according to Preston. Pages must also adhere to a strict code of conduct and guidelines. One of the most significant: Pages cannot use their cellphones during the program, with limited exceptions for weekend travel or planned vacations. Students also don't have access to social media and are prohibited from posting about the program while they are enrolled. Instead, pages have landlines in their rooms to keep in contact with friends and family when their shifts are over. Landlines are then deactivated after 10 p.m. 'to ensure that all roommates get adequate sleep without interruption,' according to the program website. 'For me, it required a lot more effort to maintain relationships,' Nathan said. 'You don't have social media to see … what your friends are up to, what your family is up to, or you can't just call them or text them whenever.' 'It was definitely very difficult to maintain those relationships,' he added. 'But also, for me, it kind of brought out the ones that really mattered, because the ones that I could maintain were the ones that we got closer through it.' Pages follow a rigorous daily schedule, adhering to a 5 a.m. wake-up call every day before school begins at 6:15 a.m. The school program itself is 'a very unique program,' Nathan said, 'because the whole school revolves around the Senate schedule.' 'It's just like a regular school,' Preston added, but 'the classes are really short. They're only 35 minutes and a lot of it is just them talking to us and giving us the work that we're going to do the rest of the day because we don't have time in class to work through stuff.' That's because, Preston said, pages must report to the Senate before it convenes every morning, so it leaves the students with 'a lot of homework that will fill our time throughout the day.' Once the Senate adjourns, pages return to their dorms and can engage in some free time activities, such as watching TV, finishing homework or going on walks around the city. Curfew is at 9 p.m., after which pages must complete their chores and return to their rooms by 10 p.m. 'Most people just sat around and studied, honestly,' Nathan said of free time. 'And then you shower, do your laundry, get everything ready for the next day. And it's the same thing again.' Although pages have been in the Senate for almost two centuries, the program has followed close to the same schedule and requirements for just the last three decades. But Nathan and Preston's experience was unlike any other, they said. It came at an unprecedented time in Washington, when President Donald Trump was sworn in for his second term and turned the federal government on its head. Since then, Congress has been scrambling to keep up — often resulting in overnight legislative sessions and marathon speeches on the floor. And the Senate pages were part of it all. 'We had eight days where we missed school,' Preston recalled, explaining that 'if we go past 10 p.m. the night before, we can't go to school the next day.' 'Part of the busyness with that is (because of) the transfer of power with the new administration coming in, they're getting things done very quickly,' Nathan added. Those late nights included two vote-a-rama sessions, a process in which senators can introduce an unlimited number of amendments, allowing the minority party — in this case, Democrats — to hold up the process for hours. Pages also must be flexible in their schedules to return to the Senate on a moment's notice. That's what happened when the Neuhaus twins had to work around the clock for Booker's record-breaking speech — something the two didn't realize they would need to do until hours into the speech. 'Around 10 p.m., they got us all together, like, 'Hey, he's going to speak through the night, so we're going to need to send you all back at some point,'' Nathan recalled. 'We didn't know that he was actually planning for it, so we were unaware until it started, and then we realized this is going to keep going and going and going,' said Preston, who was working the late shift that night. 'So they sent us back (to our rooms) at like, 1 a.m. and we slept, and then got to come back at like 9 a.m. And then we finished it off until I finished at like 7 p.m. later that night.' 'But it was definitely crazy listening to him just go on and on,' he added. Despite the long hours, stringent guidelines and lack of social media access, the program is a 'once in a lifetime opportunity' they couldn't pass up, both Nathan and Preston said. 'What really made me want to do this program was just the opportunity that you get to see firsthand our American government, how it works, how how our republic holds itself today, and to see firsthand history be made,' Nathan said. 'I'm very patriotic. I have been since I was very young. And I would say, really, just the opportunity to see everything firsthand was the draw for me.' The ability to see how the federal government works from behind the scenes, Nathan added, has even inspired him to one day return to the halls of Congress. '(It was) an experience that we couldn't pass up,' Preston said. 'When are we ever going to be on the floor every single day and witness history being made? It was just something that we had to do.' The experience has also helped to blur partisan lines, the pair said, helping to ease concerns that cooperation between Republicans and Democrats is no longer possible. 'I feel like outside of the Capitol and the Congress and our lawmakers, there seems to be a great divide in our country,' Nathan said. 'But I think when we come here — of course, that's still there, but it's not to the extent that you feel it outside of this building.'
