Tucson mail processing center gets reprieve from planned July closure

WASHINGTON - A Tucson mail processing center that had been scheduled to close in July will remain open until at least 2016, the U.S. Postal Service said Wednesday.

Tucson postal service

Drowning takes no holiday: Deaths low now, but may rise in summer

WASHINGTON - A cool, wet spring in Arizona and an ongoing emphasis on pool safety have combined to produce statewide drowning numbers that officials say are far below those at the same time last year.

drowning deaths

Groups aim to put memorial back in Memorial Day

WASHINGTON - When Mike Sullivan rode in the first "Flags for Our Fallen" Memorial Day rally nine years ago in Phoenix, it wasn't much of a rally.

Memorial Day

Parent fights unsuccessfully for more than ‘blood money’ in child’s death

WASHINGTON – Erin Holmes got $250,000 she didn’t want, “blood money” her husband didn’t want to spend.

vaccine shots photo

Critics say vaccine injury fund has strayed from original purpose

WASHINGTON – Barbara Loe Fisher was at the table 29 years ago when the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act was crafted – and she says it’s no longer living up to the “spirit and intent of Congress.”

Teen vaccine photo

Vaccine injury fund tops $3.5 billion as patients fight for payment

WASHINGTON – When Phoenix nurse Tarah Gramza realized that her daughter’s autoimmune disorder may have been caused by a vaccine, she looked into suing the vaccine manufacturer. Then she learned that the government won’t let her.


Has the ‘anti-vaxx’ movement made vaccine talk impossible?

WASHINGTON – Renee Gentry is president of the Vaccine Injured Petitioners Bar Association, but she doesn’t tell people what she does for a living if she can avoid it.

Vaccine protester image

Tribal officials discuss importance of repatriation

TOPAWA – Joseph Joaquin sat beneath a mesquite tree at the base of Baboquivari Peak and gestured toward the mountain range and desert plants.

Joseph Joaquin photo

Tribes say law requiring return of remains, relics, hasn’t met promise

WASHINGTON – Manley Begay Jr. stood surrounded by boxes “stacked to the ceiling” that were filled with the remains of more than 1,000 Native Americans, when one label caught his eye.

Arizona State Museum photo

For museums, sifting decades of artifacts is painstaking, but vital

TUCSON - Suzanne Eckert leaned over the second-floor railing in the old Arizona State Museum building, now used for storage after the museum outgrew the space years ago.

Female looking at artifacts at ASU Museum

Theft and larceny chief source of crime at Valley community colleges

Tyler Puglisi leaves her Marc Jacobs watch at home when she leaves for classes at Glendale Community College. A freshman, Puglisi said friends have had their cellphones and watches stolen, and she doesn't want to lose something that cost her more than $150.

Warning sign

Border changes improve crossing, critics say officials must do more

NOGALES – Engines roar and the smell of diesel wafts through the air as trucks steadily pass through the final checkpoints as they enter Arizona from Mexico.