Arkansas

They should own this state's primary on Tuesday, but Hillary Rodham Clinton and Mike Huckabee have turned up to campaign among old friends in Arkansas in recent days, returning out of political caution and a recognition that even local favorites have enemies. Arkansas' prizes -- 35 Democratic delegates and 31 Republican delegates are at stake this week -- hardly compare with the riches of New York or California or other Super Tuesday states.

Chris Moreno lost his job managing a print shop two years ago, just after his wife became pregnant and they'd started building a house on 40 acres near the shores of Caddo Lake. He fretted he'd have to relinquish his humble piece of paradise, where he indulged his country boy's passion for hunting raccoons and catching catfish. But now fortune has smiled on Moreno: He's poised to become a millionaire, all because of that 40 acres he bought eight years ago for $45,000.

Six girls removed from an evangelical compound as part of an investigation into the possible sexual abuse of minors will remain in state custody for the near future, a state official said Tuesday. The Arkansas Department of Human Services had until Tuesday night to ask the court for permission to keep the children or return them to the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries compound. State and federal agents raided the compound Saturday looking for evidence that children were being molested.

FBI agents arrested evangelist and convicted tax evader Tony Alamo at an Arizona motel Thursday, alleging that he took minors across state lines for sexual purposes. Alamo was staying at a hotel in Flagstaff, Ariz., when arrested, said FBI spokesman Steve Frazier in Little Rock. The arrest came days after the FBI raided the Arkansas headquarters of his ministry.

Anne Shelley and Robin Ross are unwinding after a jam-packed day of ferrying 4-year-old daughter Eva Mae from preschool to ice skating lessons to speech therapy. "It's pretty much your mundane American family," said Shelley, 46, over a dinner of barbecue at their home near the Ozark Mountains. But not everyone sees their domestic situation that way.

A judge in one of the nation's longest-running school desegregation cases released the Little Rock district from federal supervision Friday, nearly 50 years after President Eisenhower sent in troops to escort nine black students into all-white Central High. U.S. District Judge William R. Wilson Jr. said the district was substantially complying with a 1998 desegregation plan worked out in the 27,000-student district.

The small town of Dumas was trying to cope with the destruction of a weekend tornado that destroyed the area's major businesses, left thousands without electricity and polluted the water supply. Residents were told to boil water for drinking. Dozens of people were injured and two children remained in critical condition. The National Weather Service said the tornado's winds exceeded 200 mph. Gov. Mike Beebe cut short his trip to the National Governors Assn.

A year and a half after hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is auctioning off -- at fire-sale prices -- thousands of trailers used by storm victims, raising fears among mobile home dealers that the government will flood the market and depress prices. Mobile home dealers are finding that some potential customers would rather wait to make a deal on a used FEMA trailer than spend $25,000 to $40,000 for a new one.

Timothy Griffin, who became U.S. attorney in Little Rock after his predecessor was fired last year by the Justice Department, said he is resigning. Griffin, a former aide to White House political advisor Karl Rove, said in a statement that he was "pursuing opportunities in the private sector." His appointment touched off a political firestorm after Justice Department officials acknowledged they had asked the previous U.S. attorney, H.E.