News from the South - Arkansas News Feed
Vexed by judicial restraints on Trump, U.S. Senate GOP floats bill to undercut courts
by Ariana Figueroa, Arkansas Advocate
April 3, 2025
WASHINGTON — Amid dozens of injunctions placed against the Trump administration, Republicans on the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary discussed a bill Wednesday to curb the nationwide effects of those orders from federal judges.
The bill, sponsored by GOP Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, who leads the committee, would prohibit district court judges from issuing injunctions that have nationwide effects.
“We all have to agree to give up the universal injunction as a weapon against policies we disagree with,” Grassley said. “The damage it causes to the judicial system and to our democracy is too great.”
As of Friday, 39 judges who were appointed across “five different presidents and sitting in 11 different district courts across seven circuits” have ruled against the Trump administration, said one of the witnesses, Stephen Vladeck of Georgetown University Law Center.
President Donald Trump and Republican allies in Congress have complained that such injunctions give judges in single districts too much power to stymie the administration’s agenda.
Trump has also taken to social media to attack the judges, especially one who temporarily barred use of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to quickly deport Venezuelan nationals.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota said Tuesday that Republicans are considering Grassley’s bill, but did not commit to bringing it to the floor for a vote.
House Republicans have introduced a similar bill.
Senate Democrats criticized the hearing and argued that the reason there are so many injunctions against the president’s executive orders is because they are unconstitutional.
The top Democrat on the committee, Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, pointed to the several nationwide injunctions against Trump’s executive order to end the constitutional right to birthright citizenship, which the administration has asked the U.S. Supreme Court in an emergency request to reverse.
Republicans see abuse
Republicans characterized the flurry of injunctions against administration actions as judicial activism.
Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri said the injunctions were unprecedented.
Hawley called the rulings from district courts a “pattern of abuse.” He added that it’s not only being done with nationwide injunctions, but with temporary restraining orders.
Florida Sen. Ashley Moody also took issue with temporary restraining orders, which generally are not appealable.
“There is keen interest in making sure our judiciary system remains impartial and that it is making rulings only in terms of relief to the parties before it and that we are encouraging expeditious resolution of these extraordinary important matters,” Moody said.
Criticism sparks threats, Dems say
Sens. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island raised concerns about the increased threats of violence aimed at judges.
Whitehouse said the reaction from Republicans about preliminary injunctions against the Trump administration puts those judges and their families at risk.
“The discomfort to fury…about decisions against the Trump administration may actually have a lot to do with the unprecedented lawlessness and lawbreaking of the Trump administration rather than a weird cabal of judges trying to intrude,” Whitehouse said.
Klobuchar said that Trump has attacked judges on social media and has posted images of himself wearing a crown.
“We do not live in a kingdom,” she said. “It is important that we not lose sight of the underlying cause of these injunctions. It is not that these judges are ‘crooked’ or ‘lunatics’ or ‘evil.’ Those are words used by the president, it is because the administration is violating the constitution.
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts on March 18 issued a rare statement, pushing back against Trump’s suggestion that a judge who issued an injunction against an administration order face impeachment.
“For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision,” Roberts said. “The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose.”
Jennifer Shutt contributed to this story.
Last updated 4:46 p.m., Apr. 2, 2025
Arkansas Advocate is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arkansas Advocate maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sonny Albarado for questions: info@arkansasadvocate.com.
The post Vexed by judicial restraints on Trump, U.S. Senate GOP floats bill to undercut courts appeared first on arkansasadvocate.com
News from the South - Arkansas News Feed
New prison would exacerbate Fort Smith’s current water transmission challenges
SUMMARY: Fort Smith has declined to provide water for a proposed 3,000-bed prison in Franklin County due to existing water transmission limitations. A recent engineering report revealed that the city’s current maximum water production of 50 million gallons per day is sometimes exceeded, and adding the prison would worsen supply issues. While alternatives like sourcing water from Ozark or the Arkansas River are being considered, Fort Smith’s infrastructure—built in the 1930s—is only partially upgraded. A new 48-inch pipeline is planned, but only the first phase is complete. Full completion may take over a decade, even with unlimited funding, officials say.
New prison would exacerbate Fort Smith’s current water transmission challenges
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News from the South - Arkansas News Feed
Trump, 79, has ‘benign’ vein condition; bruised hand blamed on handshaking, aspirin
by Shauneen Miranda, Arkansas Advocate
July 17, 2025
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, the White House announced Thursday.
The condition is “benign and common” for people above age 70, U.S. Navy Capt. Sean Barbabella, the president’s physician, wrote in a memo regarding the president’s health.
The 79-year-old president underwent a “comprehensive examination, including diagnostic vascular studies,” after he noticed mild swelling in his lower legs, the memo said.
The condition happens when veins in the leg struggle to get blood to flow back to the heart, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.
In the memo, Barbabella specified that “there was no evidence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or arterial disease,” and results from lab testing “were within normal limits.” Trump also underwent an echocardiogram, in which “no signs of heart failure, renal impairment, or systemic illness were identified.”
The White House Office of Communications released a letter from President Donald Trump’s physician on July 17, 2025.
Barbabella also elaborated on recent photographs depicting minor bruising on the back of the president’s hand, saying “this is consistent with minor soft tissue irritation from frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin, which is taken as part of a standard cardiovascular prevention regimen.”
The physician noted that “President Trump remains in excellent health.” The memo did not detail any methods for treatment.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who read aloud the physician’s note at a Thursday briefing, said the mild swelling in Trump’s legs is not causing him any discomfort.
“No discomfort from the president at all, and you probably all see that on a day-to-day basis, he’s working around the clock,” she said.
Arkansas Advocate is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arkansas Advocate maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sonny Albarado for questions: info@arkansasadvocate.com.
The post Trump, 79, has ‘benign’ vein condition; bruised hand blamed on handshaking, aspirin appeared first on arkansasadvocate.com
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Centrist
This content presents straightforward health information about President Donald Trump, primarily quoting official statements from his physician and the White House. It avoids editorializing or injecting opinion, focusing instead on medical facts and direct quotes. The neutral tone and reliance on official sources contribute to a balanced perspective without clear political bias toward either the left or right.
News from the South - Arkansas News Feed
The Dessert Lab | Eat It Up
SUMMARY: The Dessert Lab in Midtown Little Rock offers delicious mini pancakes with various flavors, including the popular Churro Delight—cinnamon sugar-coated pancakes drizzled with liche sauce and topped with sweet cream. Dana, a local, shares how her 9-year-old son Jed loves their kid-friendly “dirty sodas,” a mix of soda, creams, syrups, and boba popular in Utah. They enjoy the sweet treats and fun atmosphere, with pancakes featuring fruits like bananas and strawberries and toppings like Nutella. The Dessert Lab food truck is conveniently located near the Cantrell and Mississippi intersection, perfect for a quick, tasty summer snack.
This week on Eat It Up, Hayden Balgavy visits The Dessert Lab, a food truck in Little Rock where you can customize sweets like mini pancakes and “dirty sodas”.
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