Mike Huckabee Wins Arkansas as Does Hillary Clinton

Former Governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee is projected winner of Arkansas Republican primary while former first lady, Hillary Clinton is projected to take the Arkansas Democratic primary.

Crater of Diamonds State Park: Searching for Gems

MURFREESBORO, Ark. - Denis Tyrrell was walking past a hole he'd filled in while searching for gems at Crater of Diamonds State Park, when he saw a sparkle. The 3.48-carat diamond turned out to the biggest... diamond Tyrrell had found in regular digs that he began in March...

Crater of Diamonds State Park, which opened in 1972, is the world's only diamond-producing site open to the public. Visitors can keep the gems they unearth. The largest diamond found at the park was the 16.37-carat Amarillo Starlight, a white diamond found by a Texas visitor in 1975.

(Denis) Tyrrell said that when he found the diamond he first cleaned it, then put it in his mouth, "under my tongue." Then he headed for the visitors center.

"They always know when I'm coming with something," he said. "It was a very exciting day."

Mike Huckabee Denies Involvement in Release of Rapist

By MICHAEL LUO

As new polls highlight Mike Huckabee’s ascent in the Republican presidential field, he is drawing new scrutiny of his record in Arkansas, particularly his actions in the release of a convicted rapist who went on to murder a woman and his response to a questionnaire in which he said people with AIDS should be quarantined.

Former Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas has denied having any involvement in the release of Wayne DuMond, a rapist. Two former parole board members in Arkansas said yesterday that as governor, Mr. Huckabee met with the board in 1996 to lobby them to release the convicted rapist, Wayne DuMond, whose case was championed by evangelical Christians.

“He expressed his concerns about DuMond’s guilt,” said Deborah Suttlar, a former parole board member. “He felt he deserved to be released.”

Mr. DuMond went on to murder a Missouri woman after his parole. He died in prison of natural causes in 2005.

Mr. Huckabee, a former Southern Baptist pastor, has denied that he had any involvement in Mr. DuMond’s release, pointing out that he had refused to commute the sentence and that the parole board freed him. But The Los Angeles Times reported yesterday that three of the seven members of the parole board said Mr. Huckabee had pressured them, echoing earlier reporting by The Arkansas Times and other local news media.

Huckabee is 2nd in GOP Race

Alan Fram writes:

WASHINGTON - Mike Huckabee has vaulted from nowhere into second place in the Republican presidential race, riding a burst of support from evangelicals, Southerners and conservatives, a nationwide poll showed Friday.

The surge by the former Arkansas governor has come largely at the expense of Fred Thompson, according to the national survey by The Associated Press and Ipsos. Thompson has dropped after failing to galvanize the party's right-wing core as much as some had expected.

Rudy Giuliani remains the front-runner, yet while his support long has been steady it shows signs of fraying. Huckabee's growing strength in the South has come as the former New York mayor's support there has dropped, the poll found.

"Why not me?" Huckabee said in an interview Thursday. "I meet all the criteria. I'm conservative, but I think I appeal to a broader set of voters. And I think that people are also looking for someone with whom they can identify."

Mike Huckabee 'Preaching' in Little Rock, Arkansas