Times Record (Ft. Smith Southwest)
Lawmakers grill Bondi over DOJ’s Epstein files
WASHINGTON – Congressional Democrats accused Attorney General Pam Bondi of overseeing a Justice Department cover-up of allegations in the latest tranche of Jeffrey Epstein documents and failing to protect his accusers in a raucous Feb. 11 House...
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Pedestrian deaths by trains persisting
In 2018, high-speed passenger trains branded as Brightline started running along the formerly freight-only Florida East Coast Railway. Initial service from Miami to West Palm Beach was extended to Orlando in 2023. Unfortunately, the southern end of the...
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Maxwell refuses to testify to Congress about Epstein
WASHINGTON – Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted accomplice of accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, refused to answer questions Feb. 9 from a House committee seeking information on who else might have helped the duo. Maxwell is serving a 20-year...
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Social media reshaping research on substance use
When you think of tools for studying substance use and addiction, a social media site like Reddit, TikTok or YouTube probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. Yet the stories shared on social media platforms are offering unprecedented insights...
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‘Object of the game’
On a football field, the ball never bounces the same way twice. h Chuck “Chico” Kyle has been telling kids that for decades, not as a rehearsed metaphor, but as a truth he lived. You throw that oddly shaped ball into the air, and sometimes it breaks...
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MAGA vs. Bad Bunny splits Super Bowl
Sen. Tommy Tuberville was thrilled to attend the Super Bowl in 2025 when he hitched a ride on Air Force One, joining President Donald Trump and several other Republican lawmakers for the big game. “Happy Super Bowl Sunday,” the Republican senator for...
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Trump attacking pillars of democracy, group says
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has attacked key pillars of U.S. democracy, Human Rights Watch warned on Feb. 4 in its annual report, citing the Republican president’s immigration crackdown, threats to voting rights and other policies. Human...
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Trump is doubling down on federal election intervention
Fulton County, Georgia, challenged the Trump administration in court Feb. 4 over its seizure of ballots in an investigation tied to the 2020 election, a county spokesperson said. The county asked a federal court to limit the warrant to provide an...
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Officers in Minneapolis ordered to wear cameras
WASHINGTON – Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said immigration officers in Minneapolis will begin wearing body cameras immediately, following the shooting deaths of two U.S. citizens amid the Trump administration’s deportation crackdown. The...
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Boy detained by ICE released, back in MN
Liam Conejo Ramos, the 5-year-old boy who became one of the symbols of the Trump administration’s immigration raids in Minnesota, has been released from a Texas detention facility, where he was held for over a week with his father. “Liam is now home....
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‘Building this into a global force’
Film submissions for the sixth annual Fort Smith International Film Festival and MidAmerica Film Market open Friday, Jan. 30, as the event continues to grow into a regional and international platform for independent filmmakers. The 2026 Fort Smith...
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In fine feather
As snow settles over the River Valley, a quieter kind of traffic picks up outside kitchen windows and backyard feeders. While roads are empty, birdwatchers are suddenly busy, spotting winter regulars and the occasional celebrity guest with wings....
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Shutdown still possible despite DHS deal
Lawmakers appeared to be closing in on a deal endorsed by President Donald Trump to avoid an extended government shutdown, but a key player said a brief government closure may be inevitable as there still was work to be done Jan. 30 as funding was set...
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Amos Cochran brings immersive ‘ambient classical’ to Alma
On Feb. 7, Emmy-nominated Arkansas composer and sound artist Amos Cochran will bring an immersive, introspective performance to the Skokos Performing Arts Center in Alma, with a twist: audience seating will be onstage with the artist, an intentional...
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Agents in shooting placed on leave
The federal immigration agents involved in the deadly shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis have been placed on administrative leave, multiple news outlets reported. The move to place the Department of Homeland Security agents involved in the...
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Storm shifts AR Guard focus to EMS support
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has directed the Arkansas National Guard to shift its winter weather mission from supporting the Arkansas State Police to assisting emergency medical services in select counties across the state, an operation expected to...
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Bitter cold follows deadly winter storm
Extremely cold weather isn’t going away for a large swath of the United States as impacts linger from a deadly winter storm that resulted in at least 14 deaths. The monster storm dumped sleet, freezing rain and snow over much of the country,...
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International F-35 training grows
The first Finnish Air Force F-35A Lightning II arrived at Ebbing Air National Guard Base on Jan. 20, marking another major step in Fort Smith’s growing role in international military aviation training. h The arrival marks the launch of a multi-year...
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Global swings pressure American farmers
President Donald Trump appears to have upended an 85-year relationship between American farmers and the United States’ global exercise of power. But that link has been fraying since the end of the Cold War, and Trump’s moves are just another big step....
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U.S. faces ‘human rights emergency,’ group says
One year into the second Trump administration, the United States has quickly eroded human rights safeguards, according to Amnesty International. The nonprofit released a report Jan. 20, the anniversary of President Donald Trump retaking office, saying...
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Trump opponents consider Amendment 25
Several lawmakers are calling on President Donald Trump’s Cabinet and Congress to boot him from office using a never-before-invoked provision of the Constitution. Some Democrats, including Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Arizona, Sen. Ed Markey,...
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Polluting plants – disproportionately located in low-income communities – forced back into service ‘VERY DISAPPOINTING’
CHICAGO – In Chicago’s workingclass Pilsen neighborhood, a 1960s-era oil-fired power plant rises up from an industrial lot behind Dvorak Park, which in warmer weather is packed with children climbing on its colorful playground and zooming down...
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McGill proclaims Jan. 8 as ‘Fred Kirkwood Day’
When Fort Smith Mayor George McGill proclaimed Jan. 8 as “Fred Kirkwood Day,” the honor recognized more than a job title or a retirement date. It marked the close of a four-decade career defined by service to customers, coworkers and the community...
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‘They understand what works and what doesn’t’
CAPE MAY, NJ – It was Megan O’Rourke’s dream job. As a top climate scientist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, she oversaw grants for research projects aimed at making food production healthier and more sustainable. But when President Donald...
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Tricks of the trade
For the students of the Oliver Springs Music Club, making a movie isn’t a oneweek project. It’s a years-long process, now nearing completion with the upcoming release of “Ghostbusters: HalfLife.” Led by Van Buren teacher Kevin Croxton, the club’s...
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Machado gains little in White House visit
WASHINGTON – Venezuelan opposition leader Marina Corina Machado got her courtesy luncheon with President Donald Trump on Jan. 15 but gained little else politically after the White House secured a $500 million deal for Venezuelan oil through ongoing...
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Trump threatens Insurrection Act in MN
President Donald Trump on Jan. 15 threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, which would give him power to deploy armed forces domestically, as tensions ratcheted up yet further in Minnesota following a second shooting involving a federal agent. The...
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Bricktown Brewery begins rebuild of Adelaide Hall
It’s a rare day that Richard Griffin doesn’t get a phone call or someone asks him, “When is Bricktown coming back?” While a specific date hasn’t been set, Bricktown Brewery is returning to Fort Smith, with Griffin Properties breaking ground to begin...
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RAM opens John Bell Jr., Ozark Regionalists exhibits
Two new exhibitions opening the same night at the Fort Smith Regional Art Museum will spotlight both a hometown legend and a broader artistic movement that helped define rural America. RAM will host a joint opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Jan. 16,...
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AI frenzy driving supply chain crisis
An acute global shortage of memory chips is forcing artificial intelligence and consumer-electronics companies to fight for dwindling supplies, as prices soar for the unglamorous but essential components that allow devices to store data. Japanese...
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From Greenwood to Broadway
When Grant Huneycutt talks about life on the road with the national Broadway tour of “Water for Elephants,” it’s hard to tell where the show ends, and real life begins. That’s fitting, really. The musical tells the story of a young man who jumps a...
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Maduro opponent vows to return
WASHINGTON – Venezuela’s main opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has vowed to return home quickly, praising President Donald Trump for toppling President Nicolás Maduro and declaring her movement ready to win a free election. Trump appears,...
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Maduro, wife plead not guilty in court
Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro pleaded “not guilty” in federal court on Jan. 5 on U.S. drug trafficking charges, days after he and his wife were captured by U.S. forces in a surprise attack on the oil-rich country. Maduro, dressed in prison...
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Guns marketed for safety fuel public health crisis
PHILADELPHIA – Leon Harris, 35, is intimately familiar with the devastation guns can inflict. Robbers shot him in the back nearly two decades ago, leaving him paralyzed from the chest down. The bullet remains lodged in his spine. “When you get shot,”...
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Mayor Zohran Mamdani promises new era for NYC
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s Jan. 1 inauguration and block party reflected a diverse city looking to make good on the 34-year-old democratic socialist’s promises to address affordability. On a freezing New Year’s Day, the Democratic mayor took...
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Officials say patrols aim to stop child trafficking, despite lack of related arrests
On a heavily patrolled stretch of Interstate 10 south of Phoenix, people pulled over for having a cracked windshield or an object dangling from their rear view mirror have ended up in deportation proceedings. The stated goal of the traffic stops is to...
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Big events on calendar for 2026
As a new year dawns, many Americans are reflecting on 2025, a year marked by historic events including the inauguration of a president, the appointment of the first American pope, and major pop culture moments like the release of “Wicked: For Good” and...
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AI to review Medicare claims in pilot program
A new Medicare program that uses artificial intelligence to review medical claims is set to launch in six states. Critics worry it will lead to patients being denied necessary care and more red tape for providers. The controversial new six-year pilot...
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Experts expect economy to grow in the next year
A seesaw year for the U.S. economy in 2025 looks set to give way to a stronger 2026 thanks to tailwinds from President Donald Trump’s tax cuts, less uncertainty around tariffs, the ongoing artificial intelligence boom and a late-year run of...
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‘The freedom to be unkind’
Alley Mills Bean approached the podium at a Los Angeles City Council meeting alongside council member Traci Park on a June day in 2024, Emmy in hand. She’d won it the previous year for her role as the hook-wielding serial killer Heather Webber on...
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‘DEEP CONNECTION’
The places Indigenous peoples call home have intertwined with their ways of life for millennia. Their stories, foodways and cultures relate directly to their homelands. Lands, waters, plants and animals, the creatures that inhabit the waters below and...
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Greenwood to 5A headlines AAA realignment for River Valley
From Friday-night rivalries to longstanding playoff paths, high school football across the River Valley is about to be reshaped by a new round of conference realignment for the upcoming 20262028 seasons. Fort Smith Northside will shift back to 7A...
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New Epstein files spotlight Trump
WASHINGTON – Former President Bill Clinton had his moment in the spotlight on Dec. 19 when the first batch of the Epstein files were released. On Dec. 23, it was sitting President Donald Trump’s turn. His name surfaced repeatedly in a new tranche of...
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Trump is accused of rape in new Epstein documents
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department released a new trove of 29,000 documents Dec. 23 from its investigation into convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein – including one in which a man accused Epstein and President Donald Trump of raping a woman he...
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Intelligence says Putin’s goals still unchanged
WASHINGTON/PARIS – U.S. intelligence reports continue to warn that Russian President Vladimir Putin has not abandoned his aims of capturing all of Ukraine and reclaiming parts of Europe that belonged to the former Soviet empire, six sources familiar...
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‘Serendipitous’
DeLanna Studi’s path from Fort Smith community theater to national stages has taken another historic turn: the Cherokee Nation actor and playwright has been named a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, marking the first time a Native writer...
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Brown shooting suspect found dead
PROVIDENCE, RI – Though the suspect connected to the deadly Brown University attack and the fatal shooting of an MIT professor was found dead in New Hampshire, the questions and fallout have only begun. Providence Police Chief Col. Oscar Perez...
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Trump plays blame game in address
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump delivered a forceful defense of his first 11 months in office during a prime-time address from the White House, blaming Democrats for Americans’ economic anxieties in a combative speech that set the tone for the 2026...
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Lawmakers fail to extend health care subsidies
WASHINGTON – Congress has run out of time to extend the Affordable Care Act subsidies that will expire at the end of the year, meaning health insurance premiums are about to go up for millions of Americans. That reality became clear after a lastminute...
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‘Emotional medicine’
When the holidays arrive in Fort Smith, the season brings its familiar mix of excitement, pressure, and the quiet hope that we’ll find a little more goodwill than the rest of the year allows. For many families, money is tight, and schedules are...
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The odds of White Christmas in Fort Smith this year
With Christmas approaching, many River Valley residents are wondering whether this could finally be the year for a White Christmas. But meteorologists say the odds, already low for this region, are even slimmer in 2025. “Odds are always stacked...
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‘Jewel of the Ozarks’
The process of designating Blanchard Springs Caverns as the 53rd Arkansas state park is officially underway after state officials and the U.S. Forest Service signed a memorandum of understanding Dec. 9 outlining a new joint management model for the...
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Universities to honor more than 1,400 graduates
Three Arkansas universities will celebrate the achievements of more than 1,400 graduates on Saturday, Dec. 13, as the University of Arkansas–Fort Smith, Arkansas Tech University, and the University of Arkansas–Fayetteville each host fall commencement...
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Trump: Oil tanker seized ‘for a very good reason’
The United States has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela amid a monthslong buildup of military forces surrounding the country, President Donald Trump confirmed Dec. 10. “As you probably know, we’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of...
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Private firms snap up mobile home parks
One of America’s most affordable paths to homeownership is slipping away. At manufactured home parks – sometimes called trailer parks or mobile home parks – rents are rapidly rising due to large-scale buyouts by private equity firms. Although private...
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Your guide to holiday volunteering in River Valley
As holiday needs rise across the River Valley, several nonprofits are inviting residents to lend a hand. Whether it’s ringing a bell, sorting food, or serving a meal, there are plenty of opportunities to give back before the year ends. Here’s a guide...
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Holiday hazards: a guide to keeping pets safe
The holiday season brings food, decorations, and gatherings, and with them, several potential risks for household pets. Dr. Angela Silva, Chief Veterinarian at Petco, shared her top tips to help families keep their animals safe and stress-free...
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Ground broke on $3.3M overhaul of playgrounds
Fort Smith Public Schools kicked off a multi-year, $3.3 million effort to overhaul elementary school playgrounds on Dec. 2, 2025, with a groundbreaking ceremony at Barling Elementary, marking the first visible step toward what administrators say will...
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DOJ identifies suspect in Jan. 6 pipe bomb case
WASHINGTON – Before joining the Trump administration, FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino promoted conspiracy theories about the pipe bombs planted in Washington ahead of the U.S. Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021, going as far as...
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Deal could alter churches’ political roles
Arguments were heard on Nov. 25 in a case that could overturn decades of First Amendment precedent that bars churches from endorsing political candidates – potentially reshaping the role of religion in politics. In a Texas courtroom, lawyers for...
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AI could worsen school inequalities
Today’s teachers find themselves thrust into a difficult position with generative AI. New tools are coming online at a blistering pace and being adopted just as quickly, whether they’re personalized tutors and study buddies for students or lesson plan...
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ARKANSAS GUARD SOLDIERS LEAVE FOR DC
Families packed into the on-base theater at Fort Chaffee Joint Maneuver Training Center on Dec. 1 as about 100 soldiers of the Arkansas Army National Guard’s 142nd Field Artillery Brigade prepared to deploy to Washington, DC, for a mission supporting...
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Trump doubles down on asylum freeze
President Donald Trump doubled down on his anti-immigration policies on Nov. 30, saying his administration’s pause on the processing of all asylum applications has “no time limit, but it could be a long time.” “We don’t want those people. We have...
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Centuries-old seashells tell history of habitats
During a day at the beach, it’s common to see people walking up and down the shore collecting seashells. As a paleontologist and marine ecologist, we look at shells a bit differently than the average beachcomber. Most people dig up shells in the sand...
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‘I wish this country supported artists’
Being an artist is not viewed as a real job. It’s a sentiment I’ve heard time and again, one that echoes across studios, rehearsal halls and kitchen tables – a quiet frustration that the labor of making art rarely earns the legitimacy or security...
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Kirk death fuels revival and renewal at churches
The assassination of Charlie Kirk changed Danika Meyerson in a way that, at first, made her deeply uncomfortable. She wanted to develop a relationship with God. She couldn’t stop thinking about it. But Meyerson, a 45-year-old mom of two boys, wasn’t a...
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A life built on lifting up others
“What if women could change a community just by lifting each other up?” That was the idea behind a project Stephanie Stipins called IF — Influential Females. It never fully launched. The pandemic made sure of that, but those who heard her talk about...
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Mobsters brought down by their words
The bloody mob war that is the focus of the new Netflix series “Mob War: Philadelphia vs. The Mafia,” which premiered Oct. 22, is full of the murder, mayhem, treachery and deceit that have been the hallmarks of the nation’s Cosa Nostra family...
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From Greenwood to NASA
On Thanksgiving, somewhere between the noise in the kitchen and the football game on TV, Maj. Brandon Hufstetler hopes his grandmother knows how much he appreciates the sacrifices she’s made that put him on a path to live his dream. She doesn’t need...
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Banned books being judged by their covers
Over the past decade, a growing movement to restrict access to books in public schools and libraries has spread across the country. Every year, there are hundreds of attempts to challenge or ban books, targeting thousands of titles. h According to the...
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Mercy among first to use AI tool for nursing workflows
Mercy Hospital Fort Smith is among the first health systems in the nation to use a new artificial intelligence tool designed to reduce the time nurses spend on documentation and increase the time they spend on direct patient care. The technology,...
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Senate approves plan to end shutdown
WASHINGTON – The Senate approved a deal late Nov. 10 to end the nation’s longest-ever government shutdown, putting Congress on the brink of resolving a weeks-long fight that has disrupted flights and halted food stamps for millions of Americans. In a...
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New teen center expands opportunities for area youth
The Fort Smith Boys & Girls Clubs celebrated a milestone this week with the grand opening of its new Teen Center and the dedication of the First National Bank Court on the Future School campus. The ribbon-cutting ceremony was Oct. 28 and drew community...
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‘It’s about truly living’
Fort Smith Little Theatre will close out its 2025 mainstage season with the comedy “Exit Laughing,” running Nov. 13-22. The play, written by Paul Elliott, premiered in 2014 and won the American Association of Community Theatre’s New PlayFest, later...
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Hole in the Wall
They’re the places that don’t need neon or Instagram filters — just cold beer, familiar faces, and a jukebox that still works. Fort Smith’s “hole in the wall” bars aren’t fancy, but they’re full of stories, laughter and loyal regulars who make them...
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SNAP disruptions could hurt grocers
Like the millions of Americans who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, retailers are bracing for the effects of reduced or delayed funding to a program that typically injects billions of dollars into the U.S. economy each month. The...
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