Good afternoon.
I'm Johnny Taylor and thanks for
joining us at the top of this hour.
A lot to cover today, including a
second in custody death in Conway.
Here's what else we're
following this afternoon.
Investigators in New Zealand are
looking for answers after the country's
first mass shooting in four years.
Will we know about the
shocking tragedy at 12 O 7?
Plus, a controversial child labor law
takes effect in less than two weeks,
and some aren't happy with the change.
A closer look at why still ahead
and the Powerball fund is over.
Someone has won the billion dollar jackpot.
More on the sad news for us a little later.
And if you didn't win big on the lottery,
we can at least say that we're lucky.
A slight cooldown is coming soon, right?
Meteorologists make the Scott,
don't give it away Journey.
Sorry. You taking my Thunder.
Hey, good afternoon to you.
We've got some warm temperatures out there.
Mixture of sun and clouds across
the region this afternoon.
Temperatures though, you know the drill.
It's warming up. It's the low.
To mid 90s across the
state already 93 in Searcy,
88 in Clinton, 92 in Hot Springs,
and 89 in Arkadelphia.
There are more clouds off to north
and there's even a few showers
making their way right along the
state line of Arkansas and Missouri.
So if you're watching,
it's the North Central Arkansas.
There could be certainly a spotty shower,
maybe a rumble of Thunder mixed in.
Excessive heat warnings have been
issued for a large part of Arkansas,
all the magenta,
everybody else pretty much
under a heat advisory.
But I think this is going to be
the last day that we're going to
see heat alerts for all of this.
Real estate highs today,
mid to upper 90s,
but look what happens tomorrow.
Temperatures only into the 70s
for highs in North Arkansas.
Even here in Central Arkansas
we will see cooler readings.
Now there's two reasons for that.
We've got a front making its way
in and that front is producing
more clouds and also the chance
of showers and storms.
I'll have more on the time that
that rain and let you know if it
continues into the weekend coming up.
Well, this afternoon we're working
to learn more about another
in custody death in Conway.
It happened Tuesday afternoon,
less than 24 hours after the
death of a suspect following
an encounter with officers.
Here's what we know right now.
According to a Facebook
post from Conway police,
officers were responding to a call of
a man yelling in people's yards in
the area of South Center and Hardy St.
That post says that they found a man
identified as 44 year old Ricky Freeburg,
unresponsive.
They reportedly gave him Narcan
and requested an ambulance.
Officers say Freeburg regained
consciousness and became quote combative.
They then reportedly got him
under control and handcuffed him.
The post goes on to say that Freeburg
was transported to the hospital
where he died a little more than
an hour after the initial call.
Arkansas State Police are now
investigating the incident.
So we've spent the last two days
reaching out to Conway and State
Police For more information,
as well as body and dashcam
footage from both incidents.
We have been told by both agencies
to reach out to the other.
T HV11 is following these stories closely,
and today we're working to get a better
idea of how State Police conducts
investigations into deaths like these.
And you can learn more about
both Monday and Tuesday's arrest
right now on thv11.com.
New at noon,
Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders has
appointed a special justice to hear
arguments in a case that's delaying
the implementation of the LEARNS Act.
Corey Cox will take the spot of Cody Hyland,
who recused himself last week when
justices heard the appeal to a
judge's decision to put the law on
hold over the way legislators voted
on it to take effect immediately.
As of right now,
the LEARNS Act will go into
effect on August 1st.
Today's update comes as Citizens for
Arkansas Public Education and Students,
or CAPES,
continues to collect more signatures
to stop the education and reform plan.
The group needs 55,000 people across the
state to sign by the end of the month.
If they do that,
Arkansas learns will be put to
a vote in 2024.
Volunteers were in Faulkner County Wednesday.
They say even if they hit the requirement,
they'll continue collecting signatures.
We want to do much more than that.
We need people to come out because
we want to be way over that minimum.
Minimum isn't good enough for
public schools in Arkansas.
And new this afternoon,
the group is opening a drivethrough
location or multiple drivethrough
locations where people can sign.
You can learn more about those on thv11.com,
another new law getting
national attention this week,
the Youth Hiring Act.
It allows our Kansans under the
age of 16 to get a job without
needing an employment certificate.
This afternoon's HP11's Jalissa
Garza shows us why one business
isn't a fan of this new law.
Summer
is a busy time for businesses
in Central Arkansas.
It's also the time where restaurants
like Hill Station hire extra help,
and sometimes that means teenagers.
Or they start coming around after
spring break trying to line something
up for the summer, which is great.
Owner Daniel Bryant says about 15 to
20% of his summer staff is teenagers,
and there's a process before they get hired.
We would ask them to get the permit
and then which would require a parent
signature and then a description of
the type of work they'd be doing,
the type of hours they would
be doing. That during
that process is going to change
starting next month once the
Youth Hiring Act goes into effect.
What the law does is just remove that
permission slip from the government.
Teenagers younger than 16 will be
able to work without that certificate.
And State Senator Joshua Bryant
says that's a good thing.
We need to reinstill a work ethic
in our children and removing those
barriers and make it easier for
employers to hire that child is
why I supported the bill. While
Daniel Bryant supports teenagers getting
their foot in the door and getting a job,
he says he doesn't support this law.
What I don't understand is what was
wrong with the old system if we
never cost us any employees or cost
any of the young people their jobs.
It was just a matter of getting the
parents involved and it also sort of held
us accountable on the employer side.
Supporters of the bill say kids
will still be protected under
existing child labor laws.
If you have good actors and good
employers that want to employ,
you know, children under the,
you know, over the age of 14,
under the age of 16, and then they
can do that without the the burden
of a government permission slip.
But as a parent and business owner,
Bryant feels this could take
away some accountability.
And I do think that this removed a
safeguard. And I don't be honest,
I just don't understand why.
And although this law goes into effect soon,
Bryant says it won't change his process
when it comes to hiring teenagers.
But we're going to ask the same
questions and we're going to behave
the same because the rules underlying
rules and stipulations don't change
in Little Rock. Julissa Garza, THB 11 News.
Well, that Log Law,
along with several others,
go into effect on August 1st.
We've compiled a list
of those on thp11.com.
You can also text the word LAWS to
501-376-1111. We'll also send you
a link straight to your phone.
Well, thousands of Arkansans will soon
have their student loans forgiven with
the help of the body and administration.
Yesterday, the administration released
state by state data on relief eligibility.
And Arkansas, the debt eligible
for a discharge is $342 million.
Qualifying nearly 7000 Arkansans now.
Keep in mind this only applies to
borrowers who have made longer term
payments for more than two decades.
The discharging process starts
in about 30 days,
and borrowers will then receive an
update from their loan providers
when the process is done.
A rare deadly shooting this
morning in New Zealand as US
soccer players were preparing to
compete in the Women's World Cup.
This is the first mass shooting
in the country since 2019,
when a gunman killed 51 people at 2.
Mosque Ian Lee has more on
today's shocking tragedy.
Scenes of chaos struck New
Zealand's largest city of Auckland.
After a gunman opened fire
at a construction site,
a guy with a shotgun in his hand
and he was aiming for people.
Police quickly secured
the area before engaging.
The 24 year old suspect
was killed at the scene.
Tragically, police located two
members of the public deceased on the
lower levels of the building site.
The rampage took place just hours
before the Women's World Cup kicked
off in the city and about 3 miles
from where the US team is staying.
There was lives lost and that is
very real and very devastating,
so we were just thankful that we were safe.
Several people were injured in the violence,
including a police officer.
Officials say there's no known
connection to the tournament,
but there were some anxious moments
for American fans who arrived to
support Team USA in their first
game on Saturday this morning.
It was very scary to be around in this area,
but.
Having them now contained everything
and kind of figured it out,
I feel a lot more comfortable being here.
I feel pretty safe.
I do. I do think New Zealand's
going to good job with security.
Authorities say they've heightened
security after the shooting and that
the World Cup is going on as planned.
Ian Lee, CBS News.
Well, police say the gunman had
a history of domestic violence
and had previously worked at that
construction site. In other news,
the clock is ticking for U PS:.
In the International Brotherhood of
Teamsters to avoid a possible strike.
Contract negotiations between
the two were resumed next week,
but thousands of Teamsters have been
conducting practice picket lines to keep
the pressure on the United Parcel Service.
In a statement, U PS:.
Said it's prepared to increase pay and
benefits while emphasizing the need to
work quickly to finalize a fair deal.
And temperatures across the country
are soaring to record levels,
and doctors are warning of the
dangers of hot, hot weather.
If you're planning to spend any amount
of time outdoors in this extreme heat,
hydration needs to start.
Before you leave the house.
Be sure to look out for the earliest
warning signs of dehydration,
such as dizziness, Lightheadedness,
nausea and headaches.
And young children and the elderly are at
the greatest risk for heat related illnesses,
according to the CDC.
So they need to take extra care
to stay hydrated and cool.
Well, if you're like many Americans,
the Powerball has been a
big topic of discussion.
So like many Americans,
you're also probably accepting the defeat
from last night's Powerball results.
Well, the winning numbers were
picked by a player in California,
not Arkansas, people.
The ticket was bought in a mini
market in downtown Los Angeles.
That lucky person will now have to
decide whether they will receive
their billion dollar winnings or
they can either get a time payout of
516,000,000 or get paid over time.
Well, we all know what you should be drinking
on hot days like today, but what about you?
What you should be putting in your bodies?
A closer look at that in 2 minutes, Nathan.
We've got one more day of brutal
heat to deal with here in Central
Arkansas before we see some heat relief
and also relief from the humidity.
I'll have more on that forecast coming up.