Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) on Tuesday said he regrets signing into law a ban that prevents state and local governments from implementing mask mandates. The walkback comes as Arkansas experiences one of the worst surges of COVID-19 cases in the country and infections spike among children aged 12 and under who are unable to get vaccinated, reports Newsweek and Little Rock's THV 11.
Hutchinson said he signed Act 1002 into law a few months ago because "cases were at a low point" and he "knew that it would be overridden by the legislature" if he didn't. But "everything has changed now, and yes, in hindsight, I wish that had not become law."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
John Sayles' 6 favorite works that left a lasting impressionFeature The Oscar-nominated screenwriter recommends works by William Faulkner, Carson McCullers, and more
-
Movies to watch in February, including 'The Monkey' and 'Paddington in Peru'The Week Recommends The return of a beloved bear, a Stephen King-inspired horror and an undersea thriller based on a true story
-
'It should be no surprise that our big tech firms are at risk'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Microplastics accumulating in human brains, study findsSpeed Read The amount of tiny plastic particles found in human brains increased dramatically from 2016 to 2024
-
FDA approves painkiller said to thwart addictionSpeed Read Suzetrigine, being sold as Journavx, is the first new pharmaceutical pain treatment approved by the FDA in 20 years
-
Study finds possible alternative abortion pillSpeed Read An emergency contraception (morning-after) pill called Ella could be an alternative to mifepristone for abortions
-
HMPV is spreading in China but there's no need to worryThe Explainer Respiratory illness is common in winter
-
Marty Makary: the medical contrarian who will lead the FDAIn the Spotlight What Johns Hopkins surgeon and commentator Marty Makary will bring to the FDA
-
California declares bird flu emergencySpeed Read The emergency came hours after the nation's first person with severe bird flu infection was hospitalized
-
Bird flu one mutuation from human threat, study findsSpeed Read A Scripps Research Institute study found one genetic tweak of the virus could enable its spread among people
-
Dark chocolate tied to lower diabetes riskSpeed Read The findings were based on the diets of about 192,000 US adults over 34 years
