Arkansas

TEXARKANA, Ark. — Custody hearings are starting for the six girls who were seized during a raid on the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries compound in Fouke.The girls, ages 10 to 17, were taken by the state for their protection during a September raid at the compound. Two of the girls are to be the subject of hearings Monday before Circuit Judge Jim Hudson in Texarkana, and hearings for the other girls are to follow this week.The hearings will be closed because they are juvenile proceedings. The girls could be returned to their parents, placed with other relatives or remain in foster care. Alamo was arrested in September in Arizona on federal charges of transporting minors across state lines to engage in sexual activity. (Read the full post about ‘Custody Hearings Begin For Alamo Ministries Girls’…)

FORT SMITH, Ark. — The cold weather is settling in on our area and could cause problems for the city of Fort Smith.City officials want to warn residents that leaves falling in yards will eventually make their way into neighborhood drainage ditches, clogging water flow and potentially flooding neighborhoods.Fort Smith city workers have spent the last month cleaning out drainage ditches so local neighborhoods won’t flood with the first heavy rain. Workers with the sanitation department are hopeful residents will do their part to keep leaves out of drainage ditches.”They can sack them up and put them at the curb. The sanitation department will pick them up about once a week. (Read the full post about ‘Fall Weather Could Cause Local Neighborhoods To Flood’…)

WELEETKA, Okla. — Five months after two girls were gunned down along a rural Okmulgee County road, there have been few positive developments for authorities as they investigate the case and search for suspects or a motive.But they insist that, despite the apparent lack of progress, the case has not gone cold and the investigation won’t stop anytime soon.Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Jessica Brown said that investigators still have leads to run in the case and the head agent is confident the case will be solved. (Read the full post about ‘OSBI: Few New Leads In Weleetka Case’…)

OKLAHOMA CITY — For the second time in eight days, a Powerball ticket sold in Oklahoma is worth $200,000.A ticket sold somewhere in the state was among eight nationally that matched the first five numbers drawn on Saturday night, which were 3, 7, 8, 12 and 44, but missed the Powerball number of 37. Six of those tickets, including the one sold in Oklahoma, are worth $200,000.None of the tickets sold anywhere for the Powerball game matched all six numbers, which means the prize will be an estimated $50 million for Wednesday’s drawing. Another Powerball ticket worth $200,000 was sold in Oklahoma before the drawing on Nov. 8. (Read the full post about ‘$200K Powerball Ticket Sold In Oklahoma’…)

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The race to be the next Arkansas secretary of state is already drawing candidate interest, even though the election is still two years away.Term limits will prevent incumbent Democrat Charlie Daniels from seeking another term.There are already six Democrats who have expressed interest in the job, including Sebastian County Clerk Doris Tate and state land Commissioner Mark Wilcox. There are currently no confirmed Republican candidates. (Read the full post about ‘Secretary Of State Race Crowded In ‘10′…)

In what People magazine admits is a “surprising choice,” “X-Men” star Hugh Jackman is named People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive. The magazine’s executive editor, Jess Cagle, told NBC’s “Today” show Wednesday that Jackman has been on the editors’ minds “for a long time and it seemed like this was the year to do him.”Cagle pointed out that not only is the Australian actor’s career at its peak as Wolverine in the “X-Men” movies and his upcoming epic with Nicole Kidman, “Australia,” but that he’s “built like a tank.” Kidman threw her two cents in, telling People that “women’s jaws drop when Hugh walks in a room.”The Tony Award-winning “Boy From Oz” actor has been married to Australian actress Deborra-Lee Furness since 1996. (Read the full post about ‘Hugh Jackman Named ‘Sexiest Man Alive’’…)

Interest appears to be on the decline in “Harry Potter” star Daniel Radcliffe’s Broadway debut — a controversial play in which the actor appears nude.According to Broadway World online, ticket sales for “Equus” have been uneven since the play debuted in September at New York City’s Broadhurst Theater, and in a steep decline in the last three weeks.The Web site reported that only 5,484 of the available 9,648 seats were sold for the week ending Nov. 16 — which is 56.8 percent capacity of the week’s eight performances. Last week the show sold 61.1 percent of its available tickets and the week before, 60.4 percent of its capacity. (Read the full post about ‘‘Potter’ Star’s Nude Play In Sales Slump’…)

LONDON — A judge will decide Thursday whether Michael Jackson is really sick.Jackson’s lawyers said that he’s too sick to travel to London to testify in a $7 million suit filed by Sheik Abdulla bin Hamad Al Khalifa of Bahrain.Jackson lawyer Robert Englehart said, “It would be unwise for him to travel, given what he’s got now.” He did not elaborate. A lawyer for the sheik told the court Jackson’s condition could be treated with a bandage “if the diagnosis is positive.” The sheik’s lawyer also noted that “it’s not the first time a sick note has been presented by Mr. Jackson.”Al Khalifa is suing Jackson, claiming he gave Jackson money as an advance for an album and an autobiography that never materialized. (Read the full post about ‘Judge To Decide If Michael Jackson Is Sick’…)

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Cockpit recordings have been released from the September crash of a Learjet that killed four people, including the pilots, and critically burned a musician and celebrity disc jockey. The jet’s co-pilot is heard telling the control tower at Columbia’s main airport: “Roll the equipment, we’re going off the end.” The plane shot off the end of the runway, ripped through a fence and crossed a highway before coming to rest in flames. Former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and celebrity disc jockey DJ AM were severely burned in the crash. Both men are expected to fully recover. Aviation authorities have said cockpit recordings showed the jet’s crew thought a tire had blown before takeoff. (Read the full post about ‘Pilot Heard On Barker, DJ AM Crash Tape’…)

When the clock strikes 12:01 a.m. this Friday, theaters across the country will usher in a new breed of a vampire movie.No, this isn’t your grandpa’s “Dracula” type of movie — this one is geared specifically at teen girls.The film is “Twilight,” the hotly anticipated vampire romance thriller has some analysts like Business Week online mulling whether it could be this holiday movie season’s “Harry Potter.” If online ticket seller Fandango’s numbers are any indication, “Twilight” at the very least is on pace with another ‘tween movie sensation — “High School Musical 3″ — with more than 100 midnight shows already sold out across the country. Time will only tell how the box office take will pan out. (Read the full post about ‘‘Twilight’ Develops Monster Following’…)