Arkansas

Meet 73-year-old Darlene Mayes, a grandmother from Vinita, Okla., whose late-life career was a doozy: She's accused of running a major marijuana ring across four states. What a way to finance your retirement!

You might think that with the economy on its slow climb back to health, Americans would have gotten a little bit happier in 2011. In fact, they got a bit more miserable. And some states have more reasons to be down in the dumps than others.

America's road to economic recovery has been long and slow -- and uneven. Some parts of the country are doing a lot worse than others. It's a pattern that shows up in the jobs numbers, poverty rates, foreclosures. But if you want a quick, simple gauge of how any part of the U.S. is doing economically, just look at its median household income.

As you hit the road for your final road trip of the summer, consider driving to one of the 10 states with the lowest prices on gas. Turns out, those sunny states also offer bountiful vacation options for the budget-conscious family.

The Department of Agriculture defines food insecurity as "lack of access to enough food to fully meet basic needs at all times due to lack of financial resources." Record food stamp enrollment over the last two years suggests that food insecurity has been getting worse.

Even after it was determined payday lending was unconstitutional in Arkansas, two companies allegedly couldn't resist marketing the high-interest loans online to Arkansas consumers. Arkansas' attorney general sued both companies -- Arrowhead Investments, Inc. and Galaxy Marketing, Inc. -- and...

Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel has sued Henderson, Nev.-based Consumer Telcom, Inc. alleging that the telecommunications company continued to charge Arkansas consumers even after they had canceled their long distance service. The suit alleges that CTI violated Arkansas' Deceptive Trade...

Wal-Mart agreed to pay $40 million to settle a lawsuit filed in Massachusetts that alleged the big-box retailer cheated 87,500 current and former employees in the state out of pay and failed to obey work rules. The class-action suit, filed in 2001, accused Wal-Mart of altering time cards, refusing to pay overtime, and denying workers rest and meal breaks.

Three years ago more than 250 payday lenders were doing business in Arkansas. As of this week, all are out of business.Arkansas represented a unique opportunity for opponents of payday lending. The state constitution includes a cap on interest rates that state officials and advocates used to drive...

As you may have heard, Kris Allen won American Idol last week. This week, the nail-biting continues, as a major American corporation is taking heat for facilitating some irregular voting that may have gotten him the throne.For the entire season, Adam Lambert was the preferred candidate by the...