This week is being marked as the mental awareness week throughout the Stateline. The week was first observed by Arkansas First Lady Ginger Beebe, who made the public announcement of the week in Little Rock.

A deal can be finalized by Darwin Deason, the hard-charging son of an Arkansas' chicken farmer and founder of Affiliated Computer Services, with Xerox Corp. Under the deal, the latter will takeover the former, paying it a huge sum of money. Deason had found Affiliated Computer Services in 1988.

With its focus on expansions and renovations, discounter Wal-Mart intends opening 150 new or expanded namesake stores in the US in 2009, for which the company to create nearly 22,000 jobs at newer positions - including a number of cashiers, store managers, pharmacists and stock clerks.

Operational changes introduced for cost reduction at Wal-Mart Stores entail a layoff of at least 800 employees at the retailer's headquarters in Bentonville, northwestern Arkansas.

A bomb explosion in the driveway of his house critically injured Dr. Trent Pierce, a renowned family practitioner of West Memphis, Arkansas. The blast that took place at around 8 a. m. injured Pierce, the chairman of the Arkansas Medical Board, while he was getting into his car, a white Lexus hybrid sport-utility vehicle.

According to a clinical trial co-authored by a University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) researcher and published in the January 29 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine losing weight can help women reduce urinary incontinence.

According to CNET reports, Cox Communications will soon be testing a new technology, by the use of which it intends 'regulating' internet traffic on a discriminatory basis.

New Jersey-based Verizon Wireless has notified that the company has finally completed its $28.1 billion acquisition of regional wireless carrier Alltel Corp.

The new breast cancer vaccine being developed by Arkansas scientists brings hope for breast cancer patients. A group of scientists at the University of Arkansas have been working on the vaccine for over a decade.

The vaccine is expected to supplement the traditional methods and chemotherapy. It would also ensure that the disease does not recur.

The Arkansas Department of Human Services took protective custody of six minors, removing them from an undisclosed Tony Alamo Christian Ministries (TACM) location. Though the authorities did not say where the children were taken, spokeswoman Julie Munsell assured they were in good health.