MOORE, Okla.—A monstrous tornado at least a half-mile wide roared through the Oklahoma City suburbs Monday, flattening entire neighborhoods and destroying an elementary school with a direct blow as children and teachers huddled against winds up to 200 mph. At least 51 people were killed, and o...

LITTLE ROCK—Arkansas’ state treasurer was accused Monday of taking at least $36,000 in cash—sometimes stashed in a pie box—from a broker who later came to manage a large share of the state’s $3.3 billion investment portfolio. Democrat Martha Shoffner, who made her init...

For the approximately eight years they have owned it, Razorback fans Charla and Stephen Harris of Texarkana, Ark., assumed the cast-iron razorback in their backyard was safe from thieves. “It’s about 300 pounds at minimum. ... We always thought it was safe because it weighs so much it t...

Eleven residents attended the second and final public hearing held Monday by Nash City Council members on a proposed land annexation. A map of the proposed annexation shows the city’s plans to annex 350 to 400 acres of land along a 1-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 82’s southern edge. This...

The U.S. attorney wants a federal judge to sentence a former Texarkana-area youth baseball coach who molested young players to the maximum punishment. Walter Richard Roberts, 60, pleaded guilty earlier this year to a single-count indictment accusing him of bringing a child across state lines for se...

Texarkana, Ark., Board of Directors on Monday denied a bar owner’s request for a variance from a noise ordinance. The request from Kenneth Bowman, owner of the Wagon Wheel Saloon, 6115 E. Ninth St., was rejected because the majority of the board thought granting the ordinance would set a prec...

Miller County Circuit Court on June 1 will become the eighth court in Arkansas to accept online scheduled plan payments through the “Xerox Contexte” case-management system. The case-management system will be provided to the court by the Administrative Office of the Courts, said Circuit...

Today brings the potential for severe weather in Southwest Arkansas and Northeast Texas. Besides hail, damaging winds and tornadoes, the threat for flash flooding will also be a concern, according to the National Weather Service in Shreveport, La. The storms are expected as air mass destabilizes d...

Better Business Bureau will have its annual Torch Awards on June 6 at Texarkana Country Club.   Cocktails will begin at 6:30 p.m., with the dinner and program beginning at 7 p.m.   Guest speaker is Dr. Emily Fourmy Cutrer, Texas A & M University-Texarkana president. BBB will recogni...

Northeast Texas Community College and Texas A&M University-Texarkana officials recently held an articulation agreement signing event at the Whatley Foyer on the NTCC campus.  The articulation agreement allows NTCC associate’s degree nursing students to seamlessly transfer to A&M-...

The pets of the week are Tzu Pzu, a 3-year-old white and tan, male, shihtzu mix who’s in cage D3, and Cotton, a 1-year-old neutered male white domestic long-hair cat in cage C7. The Animal Care and Adoption Center of Texarkana, Ark., has 63 dogs, four puppies, 38 cats and 18 kittens for adopt...

Livestock report from J&J Livestock. Sale date: May 18, 2013. Head count: 488. STEERS: Under 300 lbs. $150-215; 300-400 lbs. $140-184; 400-500 lbs. $128-155; Over 500 lbs. $118-134. HEIFERS: Under 200 lbs. $130-184; 200-400 lbs. $130-160; Over 400 lbs. $115-150. COWS: $800-1210 COW/CALF PAIR...

A 40-year-old woman was allegedly raped while she was delivering newspapers on a daily route early Monday morning on Miller CountyRoad 127 in Arkansas. The woman is an independent contractor for the Texarkana Gazette and was delivering the newspaper when she was allegedly raped at a cemetery. The...

DALLAS—A veteran Dallas firefighter’s body was recovered Monday several hours after he called for help because he was trapped in a condominium complex blaze. Stanley A. Wilson, 51, had been a Dallas firefighter since 1985.  Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman Jason Evans says Wilson&rsqu...

The Miller County Quorum Court approved an annual contract of $332,000 with Southern Health Partners to provide medical services to county prisoners, a pact that should save the county $68,000 annually. The new contract was awarded to Southern Health Partners of Chattanooga, Tenn. The previous cont...

Staff photo by Curt Youngblood • Charles Harris, who works for Texarkana, Ark., Streets and Parks, is cleaning the public pool at Inghram Park. Harris said it will take about a week to clean the pool.  

WASHINGTON—The area may have a local voice on the national Association of Defense Communities Board of Directors. Members will consider amending the group’s bylaws at a meeting next month to expand the board from 12 to 14 members. If approved, Bill Cork, TexAmericas Center executive di...

A boater safety class will be offered at the Winthrop, Ark., Baptist Church June 8. Registration begins at 9 a.m., and the class is from 9:30 a.m. to about 3:30 p.m. Anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 1986, and of legal age to operate a motorboat or sailboat, must have successfully completed an appro...

Texarkana Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors will meet at 4 p.m.,  today to get updates on the Italy trip, the chamber budget and upcoming chamber events. Board members will meet at the chamber office, 819 N. State Line Ave. For more information, call 903-792-7191.

Family and Friends of the Texarkana/Hope Arkansas area National Guard members will host the first annual Fallen Soldier 5K Run-Walk from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. June 1, starting at Trinity Baptist Church on state Highway 245. Registration packets and more information can be obtained by calling the Arkans...

• Betty Johnson paints a large red flower on the door of BJ’s Beauty Salon in Texarkana, Ark. Johnson said she was tired of the door’s color and needed a change. Johnson enjoys painting and has several painted chairs, benches, and doors around her property.   Staff photo by C...

AUSTIN—More Texas troopers will be on patrol over the Memorial Day weekend watching for speeders, drunken drivers and travelers not wearing seatbelts.  The Department of Public Safety says increased holiday patrols will begin Friday and run through the Monday holiday. DPS troopers last...

AUSTIN—A much-maligned curriculum system designed to help teachers adhere to state educational requirements and used by hundreds of school districts across Texas will stop offering lesson plans amid mounting pressure from some conservatives who claimed it was promoting anti-American values. S...

Submitted photo • A pediatric dental team from Smiles of Arkansas-Texarkana and Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock visited Union Elementary School on Monday to seal molar teeth for students. The sealant is a preventive measure to limit future cavities. TASD officials said t...

SAN FRANCISCO—After falling woefully out of fashion, Yahoo wants to be cool again while catering to the capitalistic demands of its shareholders. That goal led CEO Marissa Mayer to make a $1.1 billion bet on online blogging forum Tumblr in a risky acquisition that revolves around the vision an...

WASHINGTON—White House chief of staff Denis McDonough and other senior advisers knew in late April that an impending report was likely to say the IRS had inappropriately targeted conservative groups, President Barack Obama’s spokesman disclosed Monday, expanding the circle of top officia...