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Judge blocks key provisions of Arkansas law allowing criminal charges against librarians, booksellers

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Judge blocks key provisions of Arkansas law allowing criminal charges against librarians, booksellers

A Republican-backed Arkansas law allowing criminal charges to be pressed against librarians and booksellers for providing “harmful” or “obscene” materials to minors was blocked by a federal judge in a Monday ruling that declared some elements of the policy too vague and unconstitutional.

“The law deputizes librarians and booksellers as the agents of censorship; when motivated by the fear of jail time, it is likely they will shelve only books fit for young children and segregate or discard the rest,” U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks of the Western District of Arkansas wrote in his ruling.

Act 372, signed by Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders last year, would have established new avenues for challenging allegedly age-inappropriate library materials and requesting their removal.

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An Arkansas law that would have criminalized making inappropriate materials available to minors faced challenges in court. (In Pictures Ltd./Corbis via Getty Images)

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Brooks had previously blocked the law on a temporary basis, according to local reports, mere days before it was slated to take effect, but sided with the 18 plaintiffs who suggested two key provisions of the law were too vague and violated First Amendment protections this week.

A separate report stated Brooks took issue with one of the law’s provisions because it granted anyone the authority to challenge a library’s decision, including interest groups outside of Arkansas.

Section one, which was one of the provisions ruled unconstitutional, would have imposed a misdemeanor penalty of up to one year in jail for librarians, booksellers, etc. who make inappropriate media “available” to minors.

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Plaintiffs challenged sections one and five of Arkansas’ Act 372. (Fox News Digital)

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Section five, the other contested provision, would have mandated “a new procedure for libraries, city councils, and county quorum courts to follow when evaluating a citizen’s request to move or remove a book from a public library’s permanent collection,” according to Brooks’ ruling.

Brooks believed the provision was too vague, particularly through its use of terms like “appropriate” and for not providing clearer requirements for restricting book access.

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin told the Associated Press in a statement that he “respect[s] the court’s ruling” but plans to appeal.

Fox News Digital reached out to the attorney general’s office for further comment, but did not immediately hear back.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Illinois

Man buys winning $1.3 million jackpot ticket at suburban gas station

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Man buys winning .3 million jackpot ticket at suburban gas station


OSWEGO, Ill. (WLS) — A Chicago-area man claimed a $1.3 million jackpot prize during an ordinary stop at a local gas station.

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The newly-minted millionaire said he bought the ticket while stopping to buy a drink.

“‘Why not?’” the winner said. “I played a Quick Pick, and it turned out to be a lucky day.”

His ticket matched all five numbers in the Thursday, June 11 evening Lucky Day Lotto drawing. The winning numbers were 1-13-19-27-35.

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The ticket was purchased at Oswego BP, located at 2791 US Highway 34.

Overjoyed, he wasted no time sharing the big news with his wife.

“She was thrilled,” he said. “It’s funny-I actually won a $45,000 prize playing this same game 15 years ago when it was called Little Lotto.”

The winner plans to use the prize money to buy a new house and secure his and his wife’s retirement.

For selling the, the Oswego BP will receive a bonus of $13,000.

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Indiana

‘Foul play’ suspected in death investigation on Indiana-Ohio state line, Wayne County officials say

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‘Foul play’ suspected in death investigation on Indiana-Ohio state line, Wayne County officials say


WAYNE COUNTY, Ind. (WISH) — Police are investigating the death of a person who died in the emergency department of Reid Health in Richmond.

Wayne County Coroner Brent Meadows was notified of the death Wednesday evening, according to a media release. Evidence has reportedly indicated that foul play is involved.

Officials believe the incident may have occurred in the area of the Petro Travel Center in New Paris, Ohio, just across the Indiana-Ohio state line.

The coroner’s office said the deceased person has been transported to the Miami Valley Regional Crime Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio, for a forensic autopsy and identification.

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The office is still working the locate and identify the victim’s family.

This remains an active investigation.

News 8’s Michaela Springer contributed to this report.



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Iowa

New Iowa program aims to remove barriers to family support

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New Iowa program aims to remove barriers to family support


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Thrive Iowa, a new initiative from the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, has officially launched in a number of counties across the state with the goal of helping struggling Iowa families connect with local resources and build a network of support in their community.

On June 23, Warren County celebrated its own program site launch as one of eight initial sites. Other counties that are celebrating their own site launches are Cass, Lee, Black Hawk, Webster, Buena Vista, Fayette and Clayton. A site is officially launched once it has enrolled a minimum of 20 participants, Iowa HHS Director of Communications Danielle Sample said in a statement.

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The eight sites serve 11 counties in total, with services also available in Henry, Madison, and Van Buren counties, according to the Thrive Iowa website.

What is Thrive Iowa?

The initiative is focused on serving families, such as parents, caretakers, and pregnant individuals, according to the program’s website. To be eligible to receive help from the program, families must be living in Iowa, be a U.S. citizen or legal resident, and have an income at or below 200% of the federal poverty level.

The 2026 federal guidelines consider a family of four to be at the 200% threshold if they make $66,000 or less annually.

The program also outlines 13 core areas of well-being where it offers support. These include housing, recovery, employment, transportation, education, mental health, physical health, safety, dental, financial stability, food, child care and legal assistance.

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The overall goal of the program is to reduce barriers to accessing support for families by doing the work of finding the right organization to meet their needs for them. Instead of having to reach out to multiple sources, a family can visit the program’s HopeHub, a case management system, to create a free account and receive a referral. Once referred, the individual is connected with a Thrive Navigator who will create a personalized plan and build local connections to assist the family.

Thrive Iowa is modeled after Restore Hope, an Arkansas-based nonprofit that began in 2015 to reduce the number of individuals in incarceration and the foster care system through community-based approaches. In addition to Iowa, this model is also used in Tennessee and Canada, according to the organization’s website.

The Iowa program plans to expand to other counties in the near future, Sample said. In July, Iowa HHS will begin onboarding more participating organizations and counties, expanding the program to serve 22 counties.

Warren County launch pledges to take families from crisis to careers

At the Warren County launch, the county’s initiative coordinator, Sarah Downard, was joined by Iowa State Rep. Brooke Boden, Ben Segebart, senior pastor at Indianola Freedom Fellowship Church, Sue Wilson, executive director of WeLIFT Job Search Center in Indianola, and Paul Chapman, executive director of Restore Hope.

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Downard said the Warren County site is currently serving over 20 families.

To a room of around 75 community members and local organizations at The Hive event venue in Indianola, the five speakers emphasized the importance of the mission behind Thrive Iowa, which is collective impact and helping build strong communities through supporting the families that live there.

The group also invited the whole room to sign the site’s declaration of participation in the program, which stated the goals of the program and a pledge to work together to help take families from crisis to career.

“When families are struggling, we feel the impact everywhere,” Boden said. “We see this in our schools, our health care systems, our workplace, and our communities.”

Isabelle Foland is a communities reporter for the Register. Reach her at ifoland@registermedia.com.

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