http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/az-news/ en-us Thu, 31 Dec 2009 23:44:30 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418672/posts The Mayo Clinic will stop accepting Medicare patients at one of its primary care clinics in Arizona. Why? The government doesn’t pay enough: [snip] This is nothing compared to what might happen under Democratic health overhaul plans, which would slash Medicare spending by nearly $500 billion over 10 years. IBD's Capital Hill http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418672/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 23:44:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418563/posts WASHINGTON — With the health care battle still unfinished, the Obama administration has been laying plans to take up an issue that could prove even more divisive — a major overhaul of the nation's immigration system. Rep. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., in a meeting with Journal editors in Albuquerque, said last week that House Democrats have also been discussing action on the issue in 2010, even though Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said the House might defer to the Senate on taking the lead. Senior White House aides have privately assured Latino activists that the president will back legislation next year to... The Albuquerque Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418563/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 19:51:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418422/posts What is your level of confidence in Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano? High Medium Low Undecided KGUN 9 TV, Tucson http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418422/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 16:54:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418362/posts Link only, per FR copyright rules The Arizona Republic, Phoenix, Ariz. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418362/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 15:37:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418268/posts The possible primary race for John McCain's U.S. Senate seat is getting more colorful. Former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission, contending that former U.S. Rep. J.D. Hayworth is violating campaign laws by promoting his possible bid on his radio talk show. "There's no problem with someone in his position talking about the issues of the day and the issues that are important to the country, but essentially, you've got a situation where Hayworth is spending hour after hour, day after day, promoting his possible candidacy for the U.S. Senate while a... The Arizona Daily Star, Tucson, Ariz. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418268/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 12:57:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418266/posts (snip) Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who's seeking a fifth six-year term, wrote in his own solicitation that "we may not be able to continue and expand our fight for reform if I am not reelected to the U.S. Senate." McCain, the losing 2008 Republican presidential nominee, should face meager Democratic opposition next November but could be challenged in the GOP primary by ex-Rep. J.D. Hayworth. (snip) CQ Politics http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418266/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 12:55:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418030/posts PHOENIX — Sen. Jon Kyl said he doesn't "feel totally safe'' with Janet Napolitano at the helm of the Department of Homeland Security, given that agency's handling of the attempt to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner. At a press conference Tuesday, Kyl and fellow Sen. John McCain, both Republicans, detailed what they said was a breakdown of security that allowed Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab not only to board the plane but to be carrying explosives. Kyl said it was bad enough that the Nigerian got on the plane in the first place given what should have been warning signals. But in... Arizona Daily Star - Capitol Media Services http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418030/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 00:38:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418023/posts NOGALES — A sinkhole found two days before Christmas revealed a tunnel beneath International Street just west of the Dennis DeConcini Port of Entry. The discovery of the sinkhole prompted city of Nogales officials to contact the Border Patrol Station to investigate. Meantime, city crews placed a steel plate over the hole as a temporary fix to facilitate street traffic during the pending holiday. Agents discovered the street had caved in over a portion of a “sophisticated tunnel,” still under construction with two-by-four wood shoring and plywood floors, walls and ceilings, according to a Border Patrol news release. It measured... SIERRA VISTA Herald/Review http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418023/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 00:27:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418021/posts TUCSON — As a Border Patrol agent continues to recover from a gunshot wound, the agency’s regional chief says the violence is part of a larger problem. There has been a 300 percent increase in assaults on agents in the first two months of this fiscal year (October and November) compared to last year — 108 compared to 27 in the Tucson Sector. Many of these assaults have involved rocks large enough to inflict serious injury or death. The assaults are usually used as a tactic to evade apprehension or draw agents away from other illegal smuggling activity nearby, the... SIERRA VISTA Herald/Review http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418021/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 00:22:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417943/posts PHOENIX (AP) - Arizona Sens. John McCain and Jon Kyl are criticizing President Barack Obama and his administration's response following the attempted Christmas Day terrorist attack on a Detroit-bound airliner. With Kyl by his side, McCain told reporters at his Phoenix office on Tuesday that Obama should have addressed the nation earlier than three days after the attempted attack and that the 23-year-old Nigerian man arrested in the incident should be tried in a military court. Kyl says he now doesn't feel "totally safe" with Janet Napolitano as Homeland Security Secretary. AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417943/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 22:39:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417831/posts AN DIEGO -- The founder of the San Diego Minutemen is facing more legal problems, 10News reported. Jeff Schwilk is the focus of another defamation lawsuit that will be filed next week. In May, a jury decided he helped defame activist Joanne Yoon and was fined more than $130,000. A jury found Schwilk e-mailed members links to a Web site that called her vulgar names and implied Yoon was a prostitute. Recently, another e-mail to Minutemen members allegedly defaming Yoon was obtained by her attorney, Dan Gilleon. 10 news http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417831/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 19:36:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416860/posts Senate Democrats will face a problem when they return in January every bit as tough as crafting the healthcare bill: Assembling a climate and energy package that can be shoehorned into the election-year calendar. Imposing limits on greenhouse gases is a White House and Democratic priority, but it’s stuck in line behind health care, Wall Street reform and jobs legislation. It’s also become increasingly apparent since the Copenhagen climate summit that the Senate will go forward in a dramatically different direction than the House, which approved its own climate bill last summer. Environmentalists familiar with Democratic plans say party leaders... The Hill, Washington, DC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416860/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 13:09:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416029/posts New population figures give a boost to the GOP By: Chris StirewaltPolitical EditorDecember 28, 2009 The 2010 census is sure to be controversial.Republicans will thunder about the community organizers who get hired to do the counting, and Democrats will wail that the homeless and migrant workers are undercounted.But in the final pre-count estimate just released by the Census Bureau, we already have a broad idea of where the results are headed and what they will mean politically.The numbers are cause for alarm for Democrats.Of the states gaining House seats -- Texas (three) and Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina, Utah... Washington Examiner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416029/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 02:44:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416244/posts A Border Patrol agent was shot in the ankle Sunday evening south of Tucson, officials said. The shooting happened at about 5:30 p.m. near Rio Rico in the Ramanote Canyon area, said Omar Candelaria, a Border Patrol spokesman. The agent suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was taken by helicopter to University Medical Center in Tucson. The agent's condition was not immediately known. Arizona Daily Star http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416244/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 14:50:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416155/posts PHOENIX - Tensions are running high after Friday's attempted terror attack aboard an airplane, and those fears sparked a security scare at Sky Harbor Airport Saturday night -- and two men had to be pulled off a plane. The two men were described as Middle Eastern and were reportedly acting suspicious. The flight crew called ahead for law enforcement and security officials to meet them on the tarmac. When the US Airways flight from Orlando landed in Phoenix about 8 p.m., the passengers on board were told to remain in their seats. Police officers boarded and pulled the two men... MYFOXPHEONIX.COM http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416155/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 11:23:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416154/posts Received this by email this morning. Sounds like a textbook case of “soft terrorism.” BTW, sorry about the short (11 sec) ad…was unable to remove it. Video Link DarkSkiesBlog.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416154/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 11:14:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416139/posts Feingold, McCain, Lieberman Introduce Resolution to Reverse FEC’s Action to Gut Corporate Jets Provision. WASHINGTON, DC – A bipartisan group of senators has introduced legislation to reject a Federal Election Commission regulation that would effectively gut Congress’ work to crack down on Senators accepting rides on corporate jets. Senators Russ Feingold (D-WI), John McCain (R-AZ) and Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) introduced a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act to overturn the FEC’s decision and require it to redraft the regulation. In the regulation published in the Federal Register on December 7, the FEC undermined Congress’ decision in 2007 to... U.S. Sen. John McCain, RINO-Ariz. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416139/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 08:54:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416072/posts PHOENIX – Two men thought to have been acting suspicious aboard a flight bound for Phoenix were detained and questioned by federal anti-terrorism authorities before they were released, the FBI said Sunday. Transportation Security Administration officials said passengers aboard U.S. Airways Flight 192 from Orlando, Fla., on Saturday night reported that two men, described as Middle Eastern, were acting strangely and talking loudly to each other in a foreign language. Yahoo News/AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416072/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 04:23:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415947/posts PHOENIX — Authorities say they’ve detained two men thought to have been acting suspicious aboard a flight bound for Phoenix. A Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman says passengers aboard U.S. Airways Flight 192 from Orlando, Fla. Saturday night reported that two men were acting strangely. The New York Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415947/posts#comment Sun, 27 Dec 2009 23:12:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415927/posts U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is backing president-elect Barack Obama’s apparent pick of Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano as secretary of homeland security. “Gov. Napolitano’s experience as the former U.S. attorney for Arizona, Arizona’s attorney general and as governor warrants her rapid confirmation by the Senate, and I hope she is quickly confirmed,” McCain said in a statement Thursday. If Napolitano takes the federal position, Arizona Secretary of State Jan Brewer will become governor. Phoenix Business Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415927/posts#comment Sun, 27 Dec 2009 22:24:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415618/posts PHOENIX (AP) - Arizona Sen. John McCain is criticizing passage Thursday of the health care overhaul bill saying sleazy deals were cut behind closed doors. In an interview with Phoenix radio station KTAR-FM, McCain said "the lobbyists and special interests have won. The American people have lost. But the battle isn't over." (snip) He predicts Democrats will pay a very heavy price for passage of health care overhaul that he estimates will add another $2.5 trillion debt on future generations of Americans. AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415618/posts#comment Sun, 27 Dec 2009 05:18:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415361/posts CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq — When someone thinks of the desert, images are invoked of unbearable heat and an extremely dry climate where no one would volunteer to live. What is commonly overlooked, is how cold it becomes during the winter months or how a soldier manages to handle the extreme temperature changes. The U.S. Army ensures soldiers have the best equipment possible to handle any environment or situation. But an Extreme Cold Weather GENEX III Sleep System just does not have the feel of home, when deployed 6,500 miles away, according to Capt. Scott Burnett, the battalion communications officer from... SIERRA VISTA Herald/Review http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415361/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 17:31:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415255/posts PHOENIX — A 5-year-old girl abducted by a man as she played outside her Phoenix home Friday was rescued hours later after police chased down the suspect's pickup and found her "alive and well" inside, officials said. Natalie Flores was located around 9 p.m. after a patrol officer spotted the truck of the man accused of kidnapping her, Sgt. Andy Hill said. "We have had our Christmas miracle," Hill said. "She is alive and well." AP by way of Fox News online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415255/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 12:50:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415200/posts PHOENIX – Phoenix police have rescued a 5-year-old girl who was reportedly abducted on Christmas Day. Sergeant Andy Hill with the Phoenix Police Department said 5-year-old Natalie Rose Flores and her two sisters, aged 7 and 9, were playing by a tree in a common area of an apartment complex near 19th Avenue and Cactus around 2:15 p.m. The girls are staying with an aunt, who reportedly has legal custody of the children, and her boyfriend, in an apartment in the complex. The parents live separately out of state. Hill said the male suspect parked his truck in the parking... abc15.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415200/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 05:18:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414969/posts Link only, per FR copyright rules The Arizona Republic, Phoenix, Ariz. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414969/posts#comment Fri, 25 Dec 2009 15:54:19 GMT