Thirty-two seconds.

'Ah, yes, you speak of a recent Pew Research Center survey that found '46% of adult social media users say they feel 'worn out by political posts and discussions they see on social media' - a share that 'has risen 9 percentage points since the summer of 2016, when the Center last asked this …

The word in Colorado is that John Hickenlooper is being pressured to quit his futile presidential quest and run for the Senate in 2020. Good.

If the circumstances weren't so awful, the predictability of the response would almost be laughable.

"Took away our native tongue/And taught their English to our young..." - from "Indian Reservation," by John D. Loudermilk.

We're at a turning point.

CNN anchor Chris Cuomo was caught in a video screaming expletives when someone made the mistake of calling him "Fredo," referring to the fictional character Fredo Corleone from "The Godfather films." Fredo is portrayed as the gentle, but dim-witted brother, incompetent in the family's busine…

What a long, hot, lousy stinking summer. We've spent so much time sending thoughts and prayers to Gilroy and El Paso and Chicago and Virginia Beach and Dayton and even Toledo, there's hardly been time for ice cream and barbecues and theme parks. Who can relax with everybody so focused on bei…

The loss of homes and businesses from the historic flooding in May and June devastated many Arkansans. Floodwaters breached four levees, damaged two pump stations and shut down navigation systems.

LITTLE ROCK — With the opening of the 2019-2020 school year, there are 26 open enrollment charter schools in Arkansas.

Dove season opens in California and across the U.S. on Sept. 1. 

Arkansas’s efforts to retain and recruit business continues to pay off as the state matched its record low unemployment rate of 3.4 percent in July.

Back when I was a rookie editor in ABC's Manhattan newsroom we used to place bets - actual cash wagers - on how the New York Times would design the next day's front page. 

It has been a great week in Arkansas! Stops included a visit to the UPS facility in Malvern, a Coffee with you Congressman event in El Dorado, and a few interviews at radio stations. You can read more about those stops in the "Around the District" section below.

The Senate will have a lengthy to-do list awaiting us when we reconvene in Washington next month. While some of the items on our to-do list will likely get slowed down by long, partisan debates, one that should receive quick, bipartisan support is the reauthorization of the highway bill.

LITTLE ROCK — As we continue to mourn the tragic loss of life in El Paso and Dayton, it appears that the suspect in the Texas attack is a white nationalist who hates immigrants. He traveled more than 600 miles to a border town, where the majority of the population is Hispanic. Law enforcemen…

Twelve years ago, when I first visited the Little Sisters of the Poor (LSP) retirement home in Pittsburgh, I was overcome with peace and calm.

Nobody knows what the earliest word used by humans was. The general consensus is the Sumerians developed the first written language around 3500 BC, using wedge-shaped symbols called cuneiform. Scholars hypothesize that the first word was either "ouch" or "me," although "pie" had to have been…

Despite only knowing him for a brief time, one man made such an impression on me that my first thought when I learned of his death was "Well, now my mother has great company in Heaven."

Thoughts and prayers, we are often reminded, only go so far. And politicians' attention spans are alarmingly short. 

Amidst the latest bloodshed - the worst of it triggered by a white racist domestic terrorist whose El Paso manifesto echoes Trump's racist rhetoric - I bet you're jonesing for some good news. I'm happy to share what I have. Admittedly it isn't much, but at this point we should probably be gr…

LITTLE ROCK — Back to school in Arkansas means that more than 6,000 buses will transport 350,000 students to and from school.

To the Editor,

Dear Editor,

It’s been a fantastic few days back home in Arkansas. During this first week of August recess, I made some visits in Hot Springs, Bismarck and Hope. It is always beneficial to stop by local businesses, catch up with community leaders and answer questions you may have along the way. Whether i…

LITTLE ROCK – Reading helps children avoid the “summer slide,” when lazy days can make them forget what they’ve learned over the previous year.

A phone scammer made a mistake when he called my mother.

I'm a big softie when it comes to children's books.

There was a clear message in Robert Mueller's testimony last week before two House committees, but it wasn't just about the danger Russia poses to our elections. It was the risk that aging presents for our public servants. 

Last week, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania (my old employer) ruled that rapper Meek Mill was entitled to a new trial on his 2008 drug conviction, the same conviction that kept him on probation for 11 years and dogged him all through his meteoric rise in the music industry.

President Donald Trump's Chaos Strategy was working overtime last week with a series of typical topical tyrannical Twitter tirades. He tore into Robert Mueller then pivoted to energize his base by tossing out attacks against anybody with the temerity to criticize the administration's inhuman…

The H-1B visa that allows U.S. employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations typically is associated with tech industry use. But the visa can have more far-reaching applications, as recent Capitol Hill actions showed. With the H-1B visas of 25 Baltimore teachers ex…

Is it safe for me and my wife to return from our vacation in Eastern Europe?

Secretary of Defense Mark Esper recently settled into his new Pentagon office after the Senate overwhelmingly approved his nomination prior to the start of the August work period.

LITTLE ROCK —I’d like to share some thoughts about Winthrop Rockefeller, one of Arkansas’s great governors, and about the building we have named in his honor.

Here is some more information about the Newton County Hometown Health Initiative and what it's coalition members have achieved over the years. Many of these projects are on-going, only because they are supported and utilized by Newton County residents

We could use a hearty dose of Robert Fulghum wisdom about now.

Remember the now-distant days when we Americans who closely track Donald Trump's lies and lawlessness waited in great anticipation for "Mueller Time"? 

I have a long history of dumb ideas.

"What to buy (and not to buy) at the dollar store," blared the headline for a Washington Post analysis of retail chains such as Dollar Tree and 99 Cents Only.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Mayor Pete Buttigieg, the Democrats' wunderkind from South Bend, Indiana, has made only a modest mark in national polls, yet he's a boffo attraction in Iowa as well as in California, where he's the favorite among Hollywood's glitterati. 

I've often been a critic of Planned Parenthood, because I believe that despite its arguments to the contrary, the organization is primarily a political tool for the abortion industry. Those who support Planned Parenthood are quick with the statistics about how they provide counseling, genera…

During a recent meeting with the Department of Homeland Security, the State Department and about 20 other representatives from agencies involved in immigration, the Trump administration floated the idea of zero refugees in 2020.

So here's another reminder that the soul of who we are as a nation, our fundamental conception of ourselves as a people, is on the line in the 2020 election.

LITTLE ROCK — A new law requiring stricter labeling of food products has placed Arkansas in the middle of an international dispute over truth in labeling.

This week wrapped up the summer session in Washington, D.C. Last night, the House voted on the budget bill. This bill arrived to the floor through a chronically poor and broken process, which is why I voted against it. If we're truly concerned about budgets and deficits, then we've got to fo…

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) whistleblowers recently exposed a nationwide problem to a Minneapolis-based reporter. These whistleblowers showed documentation from 2014 that detailed how the VA was wrongly charging disabled veterans home loan funding fees. The information provided to th…

LITTLE ROCK — I’d like to take a moment to remember Stone County Deputy Sheriff Mike Stephen, who was killed in the line of duty on July 18. Sergeant Stephen was responding to a report of domestic violence. He did his duty, went to the home, and when he arrived, a gun fired from inside the h…

Newton County Hometown Health is a coalition of individuals and organizations committed to improve the health and welfare of the citizens of Newton County. Each year the group reviews its health plan goals for the coming year. That will be the focus of meetings the next couple of months.