Andrew DeMillo / Associated Press

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson issued an order Thursday requiring people to wear face masks in public throughout the state, which has had a surge in coronavirus cases over the past several weeks.

The Republican governor had resisted a statewide mask mandate and opposed issuing a stay-at-home order earlier in the pandemic, but he announced the order requiring masks when social distancing isn't possible in the hopes of slowing the disease's rapid spread in the state. The order takes effect Monday.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas hair salons and barbershops closed because of the coronavirus pandemic can reopen next week, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Friday as he proposed putting $85 million more into a program to help businesses comply with new safety rules

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Arkansas gyms and fitness centers can reopen next week, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Thursday as he continued rolling back restrictions issued because of the coronavirus pandemic.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Civil rights groups filed a lawsuit Tuesday accusing Arkansas of not taking adequate steps to prevent the spread of coronavirus in its prisons after a third of the inmates at one facility tested positive.

The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Disability Rights Arkansas and the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas filed the lawsuit in federal court on behalf of nearly a dozen inmates, including three at the Cummins Unit. Officials on Tuesday said 670 inmates and at least 10 staff at the facility have tested positive.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas officials reported the state’s first two coronavirus deaths on Tuesday, and the governor said he’s calling lawmakers back to the Capitol to address a budget shortfall expected because of the pandemic.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas health officials on Friday said the number of coronavirus cases in the state has risen to 100 people, including 13 residents and staff of a Little Rock nursing home.

The state announced that the number of cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, rose from 62 Thursday to 100.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Tuesday eased some restrictions for seeking unemployment benefits as the rest of the state’s casinos temporarily closed in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Hutchinson’s order on unemployment insurance waived a one-week waiting period and made applicants immediately eligible to receive the benefits. It also eliminated any requirements to apply for the benefits in person.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas’ largest city is planning to impose more restrictions, including a curfew, as the number of coronavirus cases in the state continues to rise.

Mayor Frank Scott said Monday that a curfew from midnight to 5 a.m. will be in effect in Little Rock beginning early Wednesday.

“This decision we did not take lightly at all,” Scott said.

The mayor made the announcement shortly after the state Department of Health announced that the number of coronavirus cases in Arkansas had risen by six to 22.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Wednesday proposed a $5.8 billion budget that increases spending by 1.5% for the coming year and told lawmakers he wants to set aside more of the state’s surplus in case of an economic downturn.

Hutchinson did not specify how much of the $170 million surplus he wants to set aside as long-term savings. Arkansas currently has about $152 million in its long-term reserve fund. Hutchinson addressed lawmakers as they began hearings ahead of next month’s legislative session focused primarily on the budget.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A federal judge blocked three new abortion restrictions from taking effect Wednesday in Arkansas, including a measure that opponents say would likely force the state's only surgical abortion clinic to close.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A former Arkansas lawmaker who is the governor's nephew has admitted to accepting thousands of dollars in bribes to help a health nonprofit as part of a plea deal in a sprawling federal corruption investigation.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Authorities in Arkansas on Thursday confirmed that a body found outside the home of a former Republican state lawmaker was hers, and police are investigating her death as a homicide.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A former Arkansas lawmaker pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges he conspired to bribe an ex-judge who admitted lowering a jury's award in a negligence lawsuit in exchange for campaign contributions.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — An Arkansas lawmaker filed legislation Tuesday that would trigger an abortion ban in the state if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns its landmark 1973 decision that legalized the procedure across the nation.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson was sworn in for a second term Tuesday and took the opportunity to portray his re-election victory as a mandate for a "growth agenda" that includes an income tax cut, a teacher pay raise and a plan to reorganize state agencies.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas lawmakers are kicking off a legislative session that's expected to focus on the governor's proposed income tax cut and an effort to find more funding for highways.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas' governor is proposing a $5.7 billion budget for the coming year that sets aside money for raising the minimum salaries for public school teachers and for his tax cut plan.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas' highest court has ordered election officials to not count votes for a proposal to limit damages awarded in civil lawsuits and rejected an effort to block an initiative to raise the state's minimum wage.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A proposal to legalize casinos in Arkansas has been approved for the November ballot.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A federal judge on Monday extended a halt she had imposed on an Arkansas law that critics say would make the state the first in the nation to effectively ban abortion pills.

U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker granted a preliminary injunction preventing Arkansas from enforcing the law, which says doctors who provide the pills must hold a contract with a physician with admitting privileges at a hospital who agrees to handle any complications.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday cleared the way for the state to launch its medical marijuana program, reversing and dismissing a judge's ruling that prevented officials from issuing the first license for businesses to grow the drug.

  LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Opponents of a Ten Commandments display at the Arkansas state Capitol filed federal lawsuits Wednesday to have the monument removed, arguing it's an unconstitutional endorsement of religion by government

Democrats in central Arkansas will choose the party's nominee for a Republican-held U.S. House seat the party believes it has a chance to reclaim this fall, while a state Supreme Court justice is seeking re-election in a campaign that's marked by an onslaught of attack ads from an out-of-state group.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — An Arkansas judge said Friday he'll rule by the middle of next week on whether to allow the state to issue its first licenses for companies to grow medical marijuana after hearing complaints from an unsuccessful applicant challenging the permitting process.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — An Arkansas judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked the state from awarding its first licenses for companies to grow medical marijuana in response to complaints about the state's process for reviewing applications for the facilities.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — An attorney for a Little Rock man challenging Arkansas' voter ID law called the measure an end run around a court decision striking down a nearly identical state law four years ago, while attorneys for the state called the provision a proper way to verify a voter's registration.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas lawmakers voted Wednesday to keep the state's Medicaid expansion another year after federal officials said the state can require people on the program to work or volunteer to keep their coverage.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A top Trump administration official is visiting Arkansas next week as state leaders await word on requests to impose a work requirement and scale back the eligibility of its Medicaid expansion, Gov. Asa Hutchinson's office said Friday.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A former federal consumer product regulator dropped his bid for the Arkansas Legislature Wednesday and is now trying to unseat the state's Republican attorney general.

Mike Lee filed paperwork to seek the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican Attorney General Leslie Rutledge. Lee, 70, is the first Democrat to announce a race against Rutledge, who filed last week to seek re-election.