Mike Ross News

The downfall of Treasurer Martha Shoffner , who resigned last week over accusations she took at least $36,000 in cash in exchange for steering state business to a bond broker, is maddening for Democrats who had already viewed her as another unwanted headache for their party.

As a result of what Dr. Joycelyn Elders once memorably called a "love affair with the fetus," Mississippi has embarked on a path to prosecute some women in cases of stillbirth or miscarriage.

This is good news for abortion rights generally, though not necessarily in Arkansas since we are in a different judicial circuit.

A number of Arkansas political leaders are calling on Arkansas State Treasure Martha Shoffner to resign following her weekend arrest.

Republican House members tried to close the state's pension system to new employees, but many of them are part of the pension themselves.

The House and Senate convened briefly this morning to complete the 2013 General Assembly.

The Arkansas House Speaker is not entering the 2014 Arkansas governor's race. That's according to Talk Business, which reports Rep.

Leslie Newell Peacock will be in federal court for us this morning for the preliminary injunction hearing on the lawsuit challenging the new state law prohibiting most abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy.

Does the endorsement of James Lee Witt, Bill Clinton's FEMA director, now a bigtime lobbyist/consultant, help Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mike Ross? Surely it will in Wildcat Holler.

Federal Judge Susan Webber Wright has denied the state of Arkansas's motion to dismiss the ACLU-backed lawsuit challenging the new state law, passed over Gov.

Bill Halter may or may not win the Democratic nomination to be the next governor of Arkansas, but the central idea in his campaign should be a subject for major debate in the 2014 gubernatorial election.

The media's rapture with House Speaker Davy Carter continues. Latest is a gushing profile of Carter at the top of Talk Business' 10 Best Legislators list.

Rep. Debra Hobbs LITTLE ROCK, AR - Rep. Debra Hobbs says she's seeking the Republican nomination for Arkansas governor next year.

For the past three years, they've been the three dirtiest words in Arkansas politics.

State Rep. Debra Hobbs, R-Rogers, discusses her potential bid for governor in the 2014 election during a segment on "5NEWS Sunday Morning" to air Sunday .

Because Mother's Day is tomorrow and because I love former Lt. Governor Bill Halter , I figured I would share his Mother's Day e-mail with you all: Nancy Halter was a nurse.

The candidate announcements continue to trickle in and the first announced candidate for Arkansas Secretary of State has been made by Pulaski County Elections Commission Chair Susan Inman.

Kind of a nicely written narrative from Rep. Nate Bell of Mena on what he says was a formative episode of his youth, when, he says, a 30-30 rifle gave him the backing he needed to scare a would-be intruder away from his Alabama home.

'RIDIN WITH YOUR REP': U.S. Rep. Tim Griffin's website features a photo of him in motocross gear and an invitation to ride with him to learn about the 'important policy issues affecting this sport.' Any pipelines needed for motocross? * THE RELIGIOUS RIGHT HAS DESIGNS ON ARKANSAS : Church and State magazine reports on plans by the American Renewal ... (more)

Interesting story from Texas on the Texas legislature . Republicans, who control nearly everything in Texas, apparently suffered huge blowback from their war on women in the last legislative session that cut health care to women in the battle to destroy Planned Parenthood .