Latest news with #UniversityOfArkansas
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
These new Arkansas laws take effect on July 1: What to know
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — A set of new laws is set to go into effect in Arkansas on July 1, ranging from state department name changes to an increase in the number of positions colleges can fill. Here are some of the laws set to take effect on July 1: Act 796 will merge the Arkansas School for the Blind and the Arkansas School for the Deaf into the Arkansas School for the Deaf and Blind. The law will also create a superintendent position for the school. Act 477 will increase the number of 'new or additional' positions that some Arkansas colleges and universities are allowed to fill. Arkansas State University increases from 375 to 425 positions. NorthWest Arkansas Community College increases from 80 to 100 positions. University of Arkansas at Fayetteville increases from 750 to 1,000 positions. University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff increases from 150 to 200 positions. The law also increases the number of vehicles that several schools are allowed to have. Arkansas fire-related deaths surpass 2024 total Act 567 will amend the annual cap for laboratory services within Arkansas' Medicaid program. The law says that if the service is not radiology services, the annual cap is either $500 or $1,800 if the person is diagnosed with chronic pain or being treated for managing pain. The state's Department of Human Services has until Jan. 1, 2026, to finalize rules on the new law. Act 672 will increase the fee for copies of either vehicle accident reports and traffic violation records for someone who wasn't involved with the incident. The law says the fee will jump from $10 to $25, and there will be a charge of $1.50 for each copy of a supplemental report. If the person asking for a copy of the report was involved in the accident, the cost will be $10. A portion of the funds from those fees will go to the State Police Retirement System, according to the law. Act 416 will add a list of cancers that allows for the payment of certain benefits when an active member enrolled in the Arkansas Local Police and Fire Retirement System dies before retirement from injury or disease while serving in the line of duty. The list includes leukemia, lymphoma, mesothelioma, or multiple myeloma. Cancers of the brain, urinary tract, liver, skin, breast, cervix, thyroid, prostate, testicle, colon or digestive tract are also listed. Thunder signs former Razorback Jaylin Williams to multi-year contract extension Act 499 will amend the Arkansas State Employee Student Loan Program and the requirements needed to be eligible for the program. The law says a state employee would have to complete a six-month probationary period that begins on their first day, show proof that their degree is related to their employment, show that their student loan is unpaid and agree to stay employed with the state agency for a 'reasonable' amount of time. If approved, the payments made by the program would go directly to the creditor, and the payments total $10,000 and not exceed five installments, according to the law. Other laws going into effect on July 1: Act 944 will transfer the Arkansas Development Finance Authority from the state's Department of Commerce and allow it to operate independently from a Cabinet-level department. Act 462 will transfer the Arkansas Wine Producers Council from the state's Department of Commerce to the Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism. Act 412 will change the name of the Arkansas Division of Information Systems to the Office of State Technology. Act 205 will change the name of the Arkansas Department of Transportation and Shared Services to the Department of Shared Administration Services. It's worth noting that most laws will take effect 90 days after the conclusion of the legislative session, which would be Aug. 5. However, the laws listed above were passed with an emergency clause, which goes into effect on July 1. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
‘We survived': Passenger relives diverted American Airlines flight from Northwest Arkansas National Airport
HIGHFILL, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — American Airlines Flight 3390 had to divert from Northwest Arkansas National Airport after a turbulent landing Sunday evening. The flight from Dallas-Fort Worth was scheduled to land at XNA at 6 p.m., according to flight data, but 'at the last instant,' the pilot pulled back up and took the passengers to Tulsa to refuel, passenger Larry Foley said. Radar and weather data from the National Weather Service shows rain was near XNA around the time of the flight's landing and wind gusts were upwards of 43 mph. 'The plane is rocking back and forth, and I'm thinking instantaneously, 'We're going to crash,'' Foley said. 'It was like we were a rocket ship, and he took off into the clouds and got us up there above the clouds really quickly.' Arkansas fire-related deaths surpass 2024 total Foley, a Fayetteville resident, University of Arkansas professor and documentary filmmaker, was in the final leg of his flights back from Italy, after showing screenings of his film, 'Cries from the Cotton Field.' Foley said the majority of the flight was smooth except for the descent. When the pilot diverted from the landing, Foley said the moment happened so fast, he barely had the chance to process it. 'I think people were just holding their breath,' Foley said. The second landing attempt at XNA was much smoother, Foley said, thanking the flight attendant as he deplaned. He wanted to thank the pilot and tell them they 'saved an entire plane,' but their door was closed. Foley said he wants to track down the pilot to thank them personally. Once he regrouped with his wife, Susan, who waited inside the terminal the entire three-hour duration of the diversion, he hugged her a little tighter. Foley said, despite the frantic few hours during the diversion, he and the other passengers temporarily bonded with one another. He said near him was a family was bringing their daughter to the University of Arkansas for orientation, a woman returning from vacation and a man coming back from a work trip. 'We were all kindred spirits,' Foley said. 'We survived something.' American Airlines told KNWA/FOX24 the following statement: 'On June 29, American Eagle flight 3390, operated by Envoy Air, with service from Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) to Northwest Arkansas (XNA) diverted to Tulsa (TUL) due to weather conditions at XNA. The flight departed TUL approximately 90 minutes later and landed safely at XNA. Safety is our top priority and we thank our customers for their understanding and our crew for their professionalism.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Fox News
16-06-2025
- Sport
- Fox News
Arkansas baseball star pitches historic no-hitter in college World Series
University of Arkansas baseball star Gage Wood pitched just the third no-hitter in College World Series history and first in 65 years on Monday, striking out a record 19 against Murray State to protect his team's 3-0 victory. Wood joined Jim Ehrler of Texas in 1950 and Jim Wixson of Oklahoma State in 1960 as the only pitchers to throw CWS no-hitters. The junior only had two three-ball counts as 83 of his 119 pitches were strikes. Wood had bid for a perfect game in the eighth inning, but a 2-2 breaking ball hit Dom Decker in his back foot. "When I hit the guy in the foot, I knew I screwed up," Wood said after the game. Still, Wood, a junior right-hander who set the CWS record for strikeouts in a nine-inning game, celebrated his feat after the game. "The only special thing was I didn't want to go home. That's it," he said. "We're not going home. We get to play tomorrow night. But it's pretty cool." Wood has gone from closer as a freshman to middle reliever as a sophomore to weekend starter as a junior. He injured his right shoulder throwing a warmup pitch in his Feb. 23 start against Michigan and didn't return until April 18 against Texas A&M, a total of 54 days. Asked what he did with the game ball, Wood said, "I gave it to my dad and said happy late Father's Day." Arkansas (49-14) plays another elimination game Tuesday night against the winner of Monday night's game between LSU and UCLA. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Medscape
09-06-2025
- Health
- Medscape
Third Trimester Vegetable Intake May Boost Kids' Cognition
Children whose mothers consumed greater amounts of polyphenols in the last trimester of pregnancy scored significantly higher on several cognitive measures at 8 years of age than children of mothers with lower polyphenol intakes in the last trimester, according to data from a new study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition. 'Polyphenols are nonnutritive phytochemicals present in fruits and vegetables and are linked to improved cognitive health in adults,' said presenting author Chelsey Fiecke, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at Arkansas Children's Nutrition Center and University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas, in an interview. Chelsey Fiecke, PhD Although prenatal fruit and vegetable intake has been linked to improvements in children's cognitive development, studies are needed to target critical prenatal and postnatal polyphenol exposure windows, said Fiecke. Notably, data on associations between prenatal polyphenol intake at different points during pregnancy and cognitive development in school-age children are lacking, the researchers noted. To examine these associations, Fiecke and colleagues enrolled 124 mother-child pairs at a single center. Participants were enrolled during pregnancy, and follow-up visits occurred when the children were 5 and 8 years old. Prenatal polyphenol intake was estimated on the basis of 3-day food records. Cognitive development for 62 children was based on the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence-II at 8 years of age. For 85 children, the researchers used the Wide Range Achievement Test 4 to assess reading, spelling, and math skills at ages 5 and 8 years. The researchers used linear mixed models for data available at both follow-up visits and generalized models when data were limited. They controlled for factors including maternal IQ, gestational age, and prenatal consumption of carotenoids, docosahexaenoic acid, choline, and vitamin A. Overall, the participants' average prenatal polyphenol intake was 815 mg/d. In the first trimester, greater maternal polyphenol intake was negatively associated with verbal IQ, perceptual reasoning IQ, and full-scale IQ ( P = .057, P = .020, and P = .011, respectively) in their children. Polyphenol intake during the second trimester was not significantly associated with any cognitive outcomes of offspring. However, during the third trimester, maternal polyphenol intake was positively associated with children's scores for reading, spelling, and verbal IQ ( P = .035, P = .052, and P = .067, respectively). Greater polyphenol intake was also associated with higher scores on the Similarities subtest (a verbal reasoning component of verbal IQ; P = .029). The suggestion of critical exposure windows for prenatal polyphenol intakes for optimal cognitive development was an especially interesting finding, Fiecke told Medscape Medical News . 'It suggests that polyphenols may have similar functionality to other nutrients that play roles in brain and cognitive development, such as docosahexaenoic,' she said. The results of the study need to be expanded to more diverse longitudinal cohorts, said Fiecke. In addition, research is needed to identify the extent of in utero transfer of polyphenols and to better understand how polyphenols might support optimal cognitive development during other critical exposure windows, such as the early postnatal period, she said. One Piece of the Food Puzzle 'It is well known that maternal nutrition during pregnancy has effects on both the mother and unborn child, with results implicating nutrition in overall neonatal health and newborn weight,' said Catherine Haut, DNP, CPNP-AC/PC, in an interview. The current study highlights one substance found in fruits and vegetables, polyphenol, which is also found in other substances consumed by pregnant women, notably coffee, tea, and chocolate, said Haut, director of Nursing Research and Evidence Based Practice at Nemours Children's Health, Wilmington, Delaware Valley, who was not involved in the study. The effect of healthy nutrition in the last trimester of pregnancy on infant brain development and subsequent childhood cognition is not unexpected, Haut told Medscape Medical News . 'However, it would be of interest to follow children's nutritional intake of polyphenol over the same period with and without considering maternal intake,' she said. 'Maternal nutrition will most likely reflect what is then fed to their children,' she added. Takeaways and Research Gaps The study findings support the current daily nutrition guidelines for all age groups to include appropriate portions of fruits and vegetables, said Haut. The current study was limited by the focus on a single state and location, despite the longitudinal results, and the sample size was small relative to the number of children in the United States, she noted. Looking ahead to a future study, 'it would be helpful to include more diverse populations and to inquire about daily fruit and vegetable intake in children starting at 6 months of age for infants, when solid food is typically introduced,' Haut added.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Mayor Rawn holds community meeting ahead of encampment sweep
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Mayor Molly Rawn hosted a community conversation on Sunday, June 8, to address homelessness and housing insecurity in Fayetteville. The event took place from 4 to 6 p.m. at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, a day before a scheduled sweep of a University of Arkansas property used by dozens of unhoused people in Fayetteville. During the meeting, attendees shared ideas and expressed concerns about the city's housing challenges. Two individuals were asked to leave after tensions rose. 'My takeaway is there are a lot of people in our community who are hurting, they feel forgotten,' Rawn told KNWA/FOX24. '… That's not how I want anyone in our city to feel.' More than 30 people attended, including both unhoused and housed residents, along with members of local advocacy groups. 'There is no magic bullet to this,' Rawn said. 'If there were, then people who have been on our council and who have been elected officials much longer than I have, who are also are advocates for this cause, would have solved it.' Fayetteville's new student housing adds 800+ beds for UA Though the city does not oversee the University of Arkansas property where the encampment sweep is planned, Rawn acknowledged the need for collaboration and support. 'I absolutely believe there are actions we can take, that we have taken and that we continue to take…' Rawn said. 'I'm excited to move forward I think there some really good suggestions that came out of this group this evening.' The city has also offered to send Fayetteville Police Department social workers to assist during the sweep, according to a news release. A letter sent to people living on University of Arkansas property near 19th Street states the university will clear and clean the area on Monday, June 9. Residents were told to remove all personal belongings and necessities or risk having them discarded. Thomas Crane, 54, said he has been living 'off and on' in the 19th Street encampment area for around eight years. 'A lot of people aren't ready for it, a lot of people have nowhere to go,' Crane told KNWA/FOX24. Police calls to 19th Street encampment increase more than sevenfold in 2025 Police data from University of Arkansas and Fayetteville authorities show a sharp rise in incidents around the 19th Street unhoused encampment. Since Feb. 2024, Fayetteville Police have responded nearly 60 times to the area, with most calls in the past six months. University police reported an even steeper increase, calls for service jumped from 86 to 642 in a recent three-month period, alongside spikes in criminal charges. A recent attempted murder case also originated from the camp. A few residents of the camp area told a KNWA/FOX24 reporter they felt unsafe, especially at night. of Fayetteville's housing crisis. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
