By Andrew DeMillo | Editor-in-Chief
Good morning, Advocate readers! Police were contacted after a man with a large hunting knife approached the Little Rock home of Democratic Senate nominee Hallie Shoffner over the weekend. The encounter has raised concerns following incidents of violence and threats against Republican and Democratic politicians in recent years. You can find more Arkansas government and politics news at the Advocate site here.
Also, you can find more information below about an upcoming opportunity to learn more about the changing Medicaid landscape.
Hallie Shoffner at the Democratic primary watch party in Little Rock, Arkansas on Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (Photo by Katie Adkins/Arkansas Advocate)
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
By Tess Vrbin
A man with a “large hunting knife” approached the Little Rock home of Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Hallie Shoffner on July 3, according to a police report filed Monday.
The National Museum of American History sits on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. (Photo courtesy National Museum of American History)
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
By DC Bureau
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s latest attack on the Smithsonian Institution represents an attempt to replace a shared American history with his own ideology, academics said as the Smithsonian defended its longstanding position as a nonpartisan actor.
A sign noting the acceptance of electronic benefit transfer cards for food aid is displayed at a grocery store in California. Upcoming shifts in the federal food stamp program are poised to cost states billions of dollars, raising fears that more Americans will lose access to the nation’s largest food assistance program. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
By DC Bureau
Upcoming funding shifts in the federal food stamp program are poised to cost states billions of dollars, heightening fears that more Americans will lose access to the nation’s largest food assistance program.
A Special Public Policy Briefing from States Newsroom and KFF
Medicaid and the Road Ahead: Spending Cuts, Work Requirements and What's Next for States, Providers and Families
July 23, 2026, 11 a.m. CDT
Featuring:
Robin Rudowitz - Director of KFF’s Program on Medicaid and the Uninsured
Jen Tolbert - Deputy director of KFF’s Program on Medicaid and the Uninsured and director of State Health Policy and Data
Kyle Pfannenstiel - Idaho Capital Sun reporter
Anna Claire Vollers - Stateline staff writer
David DeWitt - Ohio Capital Journal editor in chief
Significant changes to Medicaid – the publicly-funded health insurance for people with low incomes – are expected to put new pressures on states, healthcare providers and those who depend on the coverage. Families and individuals are already feeling caught up in unpredictable and confusing changes, at times when they’re dealing with significant health crises.
Join healthcare policy experts from KFF and journalists from States Newsroom who cover these issues at the state and national level for an in-depth discussion on the impacts that federal funding cuts, work requirements and state policy are having on healthcare in the U.S. They’ll explain the latest developments and discuss the political debate around these changes. Audience Q&A to follow.
MORE NEWS
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