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Associated Press

Runaway bull on Phoenix freeway gets wrangled back without injury

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona state troopers say nobody was injured when a runaway bull was found wandering around a Phoenix freeway early Friday. Video footage from a traffic camera shows the dark, long-horned bull mulling around the highway as troopers try to herd it from the safety of their vehicles. Sgt. Kevin Watt told AZfamily.com […]
4 days ago
(AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)...
Associated Press

Backpage founder Michael Lacey convicted of 1 money laundering count in Arizona

Backpage.com founder Michael Lacey was convicted Thursday on a single count of money laundering and acquitted on another in Arizona.
11 days ago
Associated Press

Remains found in remote Arizona desert in 1992 identified as missing teen girl, police say

PHOENIX (AP) — Police in Arizona have determined that decomposed remains found in August 1992 in a remote desert area outside Phoenix were those of a missing 15-year-old, Melody Harrison. The Apache Junction Police Department announced Thursday that advancements in DNA testing helped them make the discovery 31 years after Harrison’s disappearance in June 1992. […]
11 days ago
Associated Press

A woman is ordered to pay nearly $39K to American Airlines for interfering with a flight crew

PHOENIX (AP) — A woman from Hawaii has been ordered to pay nearly $39,000 in restitution to American Airlines for interfering with a crew on a flight last year, according to authorities. Federal prosecutors said Tuesday that 29-year-old Cayla Farris was sentenced to more than three months of time served in connection with her actions […]
13 days ago
gavel hitting table...
Associated Press

Suspect convicted of 2nd-degree murder in 2018 shooting of a deputy US marshal in Tucson

A man convicted of killing a federal agent in Tucson five years ago could face life in prison when he’s sentenced in January, according to authorities.
14 days ago
Former Arizona Corrections Director Charles Ryan. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)...
Associated Press

Former Arizona Corrections director pleads no contest in armed standoff with officers at his home

Former Arizona Corrections Director Charles Ryan has pleaded no contest Tuesday to a disorderly conduct charge for an encounter in which police say he fired a gun inside his Tempe home in early 2022 and pointed a firearm at two officers during a three-hour standoff.
14 days ago
Stock photo of three guinea pigs. As many as 260 small animals that were supposed to be placed for ...
Associated Press

Legal action is sought against Arizona breeding company after 260 small animals were fed to reptiles

As many as 260 small animals that were supposed to be placed for adoption were instead frozen and fed to reptiles at a metro Phoenix farm.
15 days ago
Associated Press

Capitol rioter plans 2024 run as a Libertarian candidate in Arizona’s 8th congressional district

PHOENIX (AP) — Jacob Chansley, the spear-carrying rioter whose horned fur hat, bare chest and face paint made him one of the more recognizable figures in the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol, apparently aspires to be a member of Congress. Online paperwork shows the 35-year-old Chansley filed a candidate statement of interest […]
16 days ago
Ryan Blaney, center right, receives the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Cup from NASCAR president St...
Associated Press

Ryan Blaney earns 1st career NASCAR championship and gives Roger Penske back-to-back Cup titles

AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Ryan Blaney raced to his first career NASCAR championship on Sunday by banging his way past contender Kyle Larson in the closing laps at Phoenix Raceway to give Team Penske back-to-back Cup titles. The third generation racer is the first Ohio-born driver to win the Cup title and followed teammate Joey […]
23 days ago
Cody Manson, left, holds a sheep as Jay Begay, right, applies a castration band Friday, Oct. 28, 20...
Associated Press

Navajo sheep herding at risk from climate change. Some young people push to maintain the tradition

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) — Whenever Amy Begaye’s extended family butchered a sheep, she was given what she considered easy tasks — holding the legs and catching the blood with a bowl. She was never given the knife. That changed recently. In the pale light of dawn at this year’s Miss Navajo Nation pageant, 25-year-old […]
29 days ago
Operators of a northern Arizona golf course think they have finally found the right repellent for j...
Associated Press

Warmer than usual summer blamed for hungry javelinas ripping through Arizona golf course

Operators of a northern Arizona golf course think they have finally found the right repellent for javelinas ripping apart their turf — chili oil.
1 month ago
Associated Press

Arizona’s Maricopa County has a new record for heat-associated deaths after the hottest summer

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona’s Maricopa County set a new record Thursday for annual heat-associated deaths, with 425 tallied so far this year, the same number confirmed for all of 2022. Maricopa County, the hottest metropolitan area in the U.S. and home to Phoenix, said the 425 deaths were confirmed as of Oct. 14. Another 199 […]
1 month ago
Associated Press

Judge denies Phoenix request seeking extra time to clean largest homeless encampment

PHOENIX (AP) — A judge on Tuesday denied the city of Phoenix’s legal request seeking extra time to clean up the city’s largest homeless encampment. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Scott Blaney ruled in September that Phoenix must permanently clear the encampment on the edge of downtown by Nov. 4. The city asked for a […]
2 months ago
Associated Press

Sheriff Paul Penzone of Arizona’s Maricopa County says he’s stepping down a year early in January

PHOENIX (AP) — Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone announced Monday that he is resigning in January, a full year before his term ends. Penzone said at a news conference that he decided to step down and not seek a third term so he can explore other possibilities in public service. He didn’t elaborate. “I think […]
2 months ago
(Photo by Olivier Touron/AFP via Getty Images)...
Associated Press

Judge affirms Arizona can no longer exclude gender-affirming care from state health plans

A federal judge has approved a final settlement eliminating a ban on providing gender-affirming care under Arizona state employee health insurance.
2 months ago
A damaged saguaro cactus stands with a recently fallen arm resting on the sidewalk on Aug. 2, 2023,...
Associated Press

Arizona’s biggest city has driest monsoon season since weather service began record-keeping in 1895

After a summer of extreme heat, Arizona’s most populous city is in the record books again. This time Phoenix is notching a record for dry heat.
2 months ago
FILE - President Joe Biden speaks an event in Largo, Md., Sept. 14, 2023. Biden, on Thursday, will ...
Associated Press

Biden making defending democracy a touchstone in his reelection campaign — and a rejoinder to Trump

PHOENIX (AP) — On the anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, President Joe Biden stood in early 2022 at the literal epicenter of the insurrection and accused Donald Trump of continuing to hold a “dagger” at democracy’s throat. Biden closed out the summer that same year in the shadow of Philadelphia’s Independence Hall, decrying […]
2 months ago
Associated Press

Woman arrested after 55 dogs are removed from animal rescue home and 5 dead puppies found in freezer

CHANDLER, Ariz. (AP) — A Chandler woman who ran an animal rescue out of her now-condemned home has been arrested after dozens of abused dogs were discovered and five dead puppies found in a freezer, according to police. April McLaughlin, 48, was taken into custody Friday after a search warrant was executed at the house. […]
2 months ago
Associated Press

Arizona’s sweltering summer could set new record for most heat-associated deaths in big metro

PHOENIX (AP) — America’s hottest metro area is on track to set an annual record for heat-associated deaths after a sweltering summer, particularly in Phoenix. Public health officials in Maricopa County, home to Phoenix and Arizona’s most populous county, said Friday that 289 heat associated deaths were confirmed as of Sept. 16, with another 262 […]
2 months ago
FILE - Dancers with the Ballet Folklorico De San Antonio carry flags from different Latin countries...
Associated Press

National Hispanic Heritage Month highlights cultural diversity of Spanish-speaking Americans

Hispanic history and culture take center stage across the U.S. for National Hispanic Heritage Month, which is celebrated annually from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15.
2 months ago
A single-use cup undergoes a rigidity test at the Tryer Center at Starbucks headquarters, Wednesday...
Associated Press

Citing sustainability, Starbucks wants to overhaul its iconic cup. Will customers go along?

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Bethany Patton steps up to the counter and places her pink mug into a shoebox-sized dishwasher. It spins. It whirs. Water splashes inside. After 90 seconds, the door opens and steam emerges. A barista grabs the mug, dries it and prepares Patton’s order — a 16-ounce Starbucks double espresso on ice. […]
2 months ago
Associated Press

Enough to make your skin crawl: 20 rattlesnakes found inside a homeowner’s garage in Arizona

MESA, Ariz. (AP) — An Arizona man called a snake removal company after seeing what he thought were three rattlesnakes lurking in the garage of his Mesa home. He was wrong. There actually were 20 snakes — five adult western diamondback rattlers and 15 babies. One of the adult snakes also was pregnant. Snake wrangler […]
2 months ago
Associated Press

Lawyers argue indicted Backpage employees sought to keep prostitution ads off the site

PHOENIX (AP) — A former executive and two operations managers for classified site Backpage.com worked vigorously to keep the platform free of ads for prostitution even as strategies on how to do so constantly shifted, their attorneys said Tuesday at a federal trial in Phoenix. Defense lawyers for Scott Spear, Andrew Padilla and Joye Vaught […]
3 months ago
Associated Press

End may be in sight for Phoenix’s historic heat wave of 110-degree-plus weather

PHOENIX (AP) — A historic heat wave continues to stifle Phoenix — but the end may finally be in sight for residents of Arizona’s largest city. The National Weather Service is forecasting a high of 107 degrees Fahrenheit (41.7 degrees Celsius) on Monday and 102 F (38.8 C) on Tuesday. “I hate to say, ‘Yes, […]
3 months ago