House panel’s votes on gun bills give likely preview of battles to come
WASHINGTON - A House panel worked late into the night in a sometimes heated, sometimes emotional hearing on gun-control bills Tuesday, a potential preview of congressional debates to come in the weeks after a string of mass shootings.
Court: Death-row inmate should get new chance to show lawyer failed him
WASHINGTON - A federal appeals court ruled that an Arizona death-row inmate should have another chance to prove his attorney did not fully investigate evidence of his intellectual disabilities in his trial for a 1989 Phoenix double-murder.
Mesa mayor, others in Washington to urge action on gun background checks
WASHINGTON - Mesa Mayor John Giles was in Washington Monday with police chiefs and mayors from across the country, meeting with senators and White House officials to urge action on House bills that have been stalled in the Senate since February.
March for Our Lives Arizona steps into gun violence fray in communities of color
PHOENIX – Congressional candidates and members of the Arizona Legislature spoke at a town hall about gun reform organized by 17-year-old Genesis Rivas, director of special projects for March for Our Lives Arizona.
12 Valley police agencies join program linking to video-doorbell owners
WASHINGTON - A dozen Valley police departments are among 400 in the U.S. partnering with video-doorbell maker Ring to connect police and local homeowners who use the company's technology, raising concerns among some privacy advocates. But police say the program is safe and helps solve crime.
Arizona joins other states calling on Supreme Court to overturn DACA
WASHINGTON - Arizona joined 12 other states this week that asked the Supreme Court to roll back the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which they say has caused "irreparable harm" to their states.
Court upholds ruling that town conspired with fundamentalist church
WASHINGTON – A federal appeals court upheld a lower court's finding that Colorado City, Arizona, had been run as an extension of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, violating non-members' rights in the process.
Protesters, proponents and the cultural clash over Phoenix police
PHOENIX – Police departments have looked to technology for solutions to criticisms, such as body-worn cameras to monitor police and public behavior and early-intervention software to sniff out bad behavior. Experiments with better community engagement, including civilian review boards with subpoena power, also are being considered or field-tested. Phoenix police plan to launch accountability procedures to document every time an officer draws a gun.
Brnovich makes long-shot pitch to Supreme Court to take opioid lawsuit
WASHINGTON - Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stop the Sackler family from "looting" Purdue Pharma of billions of dollars being sought by victims of the opioid crisis the company is accused of helping create.
Courts reject environmental lawsuit to block Navajo coal mine expansion
WASHINGTON - A federal appeals court said environmental groups cannot sue to block expansion of a coal mine owned by the Navajo Transitional Energy Co., because the company is an arm of the Navajo government and thus immune from civil suits.
Court upholds conviction in ‘cold-blooded’ murder of Phoenix family
WASHINGTON - A federal court rejected the appeal of an Arizona death-row inmate who murdered four Phoenix family members in their home in retribution for a petty theft by another of the family members, saying it presented "one of, if not the, strongest" cases for the death penalty it had seen in years.
Barr orders resumption of federal executions; Navajo among those targeted
WASHINGTON – Attorney General William Barr ordered a resumption of federal executions and named a Navajo double-murderer as one of the first five death-row inmates who will be put to death. Lezmond Mitchell is scheduled to be executed Dec. 11 with a fatal injection of pentobarbital.
