Senate leader Harry Reid has cancelled the July 4 recess so the Senate can deal with the debt ceiling. [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

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It’s official, an Arkansas institution, Yarnell’s Ice Cream in Searcy, abruptly went out of business with notice to employees beginning at 2 a.m. this morning. That puts 200 people out of work and means the end of an iconic brand popular at every crossroads of Arkansas. It means jobs losses in Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi, [...]

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I can’t shake the feeling that Republicans are again ahead of the curve on planning for 2012 elections in Arkansas. It’s too early for direct public campaigning, but it’s only 11 months until primary elections. People who are going to be running for legislature best be getting ready, even if the shapes of the legislative [...]

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Diane Ravitch’s essential education Twitter feed leads me to a Washington Post article that details highlights of the $157 million the Walton Family Foundation spent on education in 2010. Washington, D.C., receives the most in direct grants, almost $17 million. Note: the foundation spent $52.4 million on “shaping public policy.” The foundation is not the only spigot [...]

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President Obamatoday took a page out of Harry Truman’s book, blaming Republicans for a major role in creating today’s budget problems and the predominant role in blocking solutions. He accused the Republicans, who last week dropped out of negotiations on the budget, of avoiding tough decisions and said they were playing a dangerous game that [...]

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Hump day comments welcome. Final notes: * OBIT PROTEST: A demonstration is planned Thursday in Batesville by a gay rights group to object to the local newspaper’s policy of not including the name of unmarried partners — gay or straight — in free obituaries. The paper will carry partners’ names in paid obituaries. * HOSPICE FOUNDER DIES: [...]

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Malcolm Trent Cox, 48, a former North Little Rock School Board member, has been sentenced to 65 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release for possession of child pornography. Here’s the release. [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

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The Arkansas Republican Party unloads on Gov. Mike Beebe for pushing to have his “crony” Shane Broadway elevated to director of the state Higher Education Department when he lacks qualifications specified by state law for the job. The GOP nicks Beebe, too, because at least one member of the appointed board that will fill the [...]

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A U.S. appeals court in Cincinnati has upheld the health care reform law’s requirement that Americans have health insurance or pay a penalty. It is one of many cases winding its way to the U.S. Supreme Court. For tea leaf readers: NBC says this is first ruling in favor of the mandate in which a George W. [...]

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Early polling means not a lot. But this is still amusing. A sample of Texas voters shows President Obama over Gov. Rick Perry. Romney, Bachmann and Pawlenty all lead Obama, though not by much, in presidential matchups in this poll. [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

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