Milstead, after White House event, says wall is needed for border ‘crisis’
WASHINGTON - Arizona Department of Public Safety Director Frank Milstead, after a White House meeting on border security, said there is an "ongoing crisis" at the border and he called on Washington to fund a border wall to help stop it.
As shutdown drags on, some lawmakers defer pay – but only for now
WASHINGTON - As thousands of federal workers in Arizona go without pay this month, at least six members of the state's congressional delegation are deferring their salaries while the government shutdown lasts, and some have vowed to turn their paychecks over to charity.
On eighth anniversary of shooting, Giffords in D.C. to support gun bill
WASHINGTON - Eight years to the day after an attack that killed six and wounded 13, one of those victims, former Tucson Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, was back in Washington Tuesday to tell Congress it's time to act on gun control.
Former Arizona forester taps years of history in new Forest Service job
WASHINGTON - Former Arizona State Forester Vicki Christiansen will draw on her years of experience as she takes on her new role as chief of the U.S. Forest Service, which faces problems of funds, growing wildfires and a lingering culture of harassment at the agency.
Officials hopeful ‘fire funding fix’ helps tame brutal wildfire seasons
WASHINGTON – After years of wrangling, Congress last year passed the "fire funding fix" that creates a $2.25 billion emergency fund that federal officials can tap when the cost of fighting wildfires exceeds the budget, as it has done regularly for years now.
Cuts in refugee admission defended as necessary, decried as ‘disastrous’
WASHINGTON - Three months after the Trump administration cut the number of refugees the U.S. will accept to the lowest level since 1980, aid groups in Arizona say they are already feeling the effects of the move they call disastrous but supporters say is necessary.
In rural Pennsylvania, family detention a world away from the border
WASHINGTON – A former nursing home in eastern Pennsylvania has been converted to a family detention center immigrants, one of three such facilities in the country. Protesters want the facility shut down, but federal officials are eyeing ways to expand the number of such facilities.
First in Congress? Get in line, as more women, minorities head to Hill
WASHINGTON - When Sen.-elect Kyrsten Sinema is sworn in next week, she will be the first woman to represent Arizona in the U.S. Senate - a distinction that barely stands out in a Congress filled with firsts, as more women and minority lawmakers head to Capitol Hill than ever before.
New Congress likely to resume torrid pace of judicial confirmations
WASHINGTON - Democrats are gearing up for change in Washington after their midterm election surge, but the GOP still holds the upper hand in judicial nominations, with the Senate likely to resume the torrid pace of confirmations for President Donald Trump's judicial nominees next year.
Grijalva could bring dramatic shift as head of resources committee
WASHINGTON - After six years as the ranking Democrat on the House Naturall Resources Committee, Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Tucson, is in line to be its next chairman and he's promising vigorous oversight of the department whose secretary, Ryan Zinke, resigned before Democrats could take over.
Immigration reform likely to make – limited – gains in next Congress
WASHINGTON – Lawmakers and analysts believe there will be some progress on immigration reform after the new Congress is sworn in next month.
Ducey taps McSally for McCain’s seat; state to have two women senators
WASHINGTON - Rep. Martha McSally, R-Tucson, lost her bid to replace Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake this fall but won a seat in the Senate after all, when she was tapped Tuesday to replace the late Sen. John McCain, giving the state two female senators, both freshmen, in the next Congress.
