John McCain’s Cellmate: No More ‘Hell on Earth’ By Alex Gangitano Retiring Rep. Sam Johnson saluted his fellow former prisoner of war, Sen. John McCain, on the House floor Thursday night. “John was more than just a colleague in Congress. We were friends, and that friendship was forged in the infamous Hanoi Hiton,” Johnson said. The two shared a cell. “I could testify to the fact that John did everything he could to defend our freedom … not just on that hell on earth,” he said. “John, we will rem...
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OPINION: Egypt’s Coptic Christians are in trouble By Henry Srebrnik The Copts of Egypt are over 10 million strong and have lived in the country as Christians for two millennia. Discriminatory state policies and political violence have historically marginalized Copts. There have been widespread attacks on Coptic churches and institutions in Egypt. All this provides the backdrop to the mission of Coptic Solidarity, an advocacy group located in the Washington, DC region. Their ninth annual conferen...
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Business news in brief By Noel Oman New navigation-aid site options revealed The Federal Aviation Administration has identified two potential sites to relocate a ground-based navigation aid for aircraft that is blocking the development of Port Authority of Little Rock property. Bryan Day, the port authority's executive director, said the properties meet FAA guidelines to relocate the VHF Omni Direction Radio Range station, often called a VOR. The properties are at least 100 acres, are within 8 m...
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U.S., Mexico urge Canada to join pact By Arkansas Democratic Gazette President Donald Trump said the U.S. is pursuing a new trade accord with Mexico to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement and called on Canada to join the deal soon or risk being left out. Trump announced the agreement with Mexico in a hastily arranged Oval Office event Monday with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto joining by conference call. Pena Nieto said he is “quite hopeful” Canada would soon be incorporated in...
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Hill visits Conductor By Log Cabin Democrat On Monday, the Conductor hosted U.S. Congressman French Hill in Conway, and facilitated events to connect him with startup and scale-up companies in the region. Hill led a roundtable discussion with a number of the area’s emerging businesses focused on entrepreneurial policy, workforce development, access to capital and the benefits these businesses have on the U.S. economy. During the entrepreneurial roundtable discussion, Hill highlighted the importa...
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President Trump Signs $716B Defense Bill By Fox 16 News FORT DRUM, N.Y. - The President and Vice President both traveled to Fort Drum in upstate New York on Monday to sign the John McCain National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The NDAA is named in honor of Senate Armed Services committee chairman, longtime Republican US Senator, veteran war hero, and former Vietnam POW John McCain—who has also been one of the President’s most vocal critics in Washington. McCain has been absent from Washingto...
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Greenbrier veteran gets replacement Army medals By Jeanette Anderton Congressman French Hill presented a local Army veteran with two replacement medals on Purple Heart Day during the Conway Lions Club meeting. Joseph Gilliam of Greenbrier was accompanied by his wife of 49 years, Jane, as he received a Purple Heart Medal and a Bronze Star Medal. “Toady we are presenting this brave man, Joseph Ray Gilliam, with two awards that he earned while in the service of this country in the Republic of Vietn...
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U.S. Rep. French Hill Takes NFIB's Small Business Challenge in Greenbrier By NFIB U.S. Rep. French Hill (2nd District) visited Viper Industrial Products in Greenbrier on Aug. 2 to take the NFIB Small Business Challenge. The Small Business Challenge is a national campaign that invites lawmakers to spend a day “on the job” at a small business in their community and allows them to experience firsthand the challenges small-business owners face, including day-to-day management, compliance, and tax is...
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Conway veteran honored with medals By Eden Corley Conway veteran Guy “Buddy” Carr received replacement medals he’d earned during his service in Korea. Congressman French Hill awarded Carr the medals during a ceremony held at Brookdale Senior Living on Friday. “We love celebrating [our veterans’s] service and one of the nicest, most touching ways to do that is to reunite a veteran with their medals,” Hill said. Carr enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in December of 1950 and was trained to be a turret...
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3 Arkansas leaders to work on farm bill By Frank Lockwood Hill honors veteran, retiring professor U.S. Rep. French Hill has returned to central Arkansas for the August recess. But before heading out of Washington, he paid tribute to two of his constituents on the House floor. In one speech, he congratulated R.D. Kinsey "on becoming the first African-American to be elected as commander of the American Legion Department of Arkansas." Kinsey, a Vietnam-era veteran, was elected to the post on June 2...
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