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YUMA, Ariz. — Aster, a 1-year-old long-haired Labrador Chesapeake, had an upset stomach and threw up in the examining room of the Yuma Proving Ground’s veterinarian clinic. The dog is one of several dozens that just arrived from Indiana, where they embarked on a military working dog training program. At YPG’s Mine Detection School, the dogs will train in detecting explosives in buildings, vehicles, buried in the roadway or somewhere in the field, probably in Afghanistan.

I just came from the John McCain Yuma town hall. I got to the event 20 minutes early. The room was almost filled. I believe most were Colorado River Tea Party folks, because quite a few had the tea shirts on, and I recogized many of the others that were not wearing tea shirts. I sat in the front row and Senator McCain spoke to us and with us from just a few feet away. Much of the time he was less than six feet from me. I was impressed with his command of the facts and his ability to...

<p>No source yet, but will update: Shep Smith just broke in and said that 5 people are dead, including the shooter, and one wounded in Yuma, AZ where there is currently a school lockdown as law enforcement arrives on scene. Will update as link is posted to Fox News.</p>

The royal is off to a secret US experimental combat weapons base where he will learn how to hunt the Taliban in his attack helicopter. The 26-year-old has been selected for special training at the American Army's Yuma proving ground in Arizona, where he will be taught how to use the gunship's awesome firepower.

Quechan sue federal government over health careJanuary 28, 2011 11:52 AM BY JOYCE LOBECK - SUN STAFF WRITER **SNIP** The Quechan Tribe filed its lawsuit after IHS disclosed last year that 44 tribal members were potentially exposed to blood-borne viruses such as HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C from October 2008 to July 2009 as a result of IHS' failure to use the autoclave sterilizer for instruments used to provide open-wound treatment for patients at the Fort Yuma clinic. “This is just the most dramatic example of the United States' breach of its trust obligations to the tribe in the...

Yuma County early voter last minute registrations have been greatly exagerated. Yuma County Recorder, Robyn Stallworth-Pouquette spoke to the Yuma Countee Republican Central Committee an hour ago and described what has happened. While there have been large numbers of early permanent voter registrations submitted, there have not been the 3,000 with 65% rejected as has been reported in other stories. Robyn gave an excellent talk about the challenges that she and her staff have been facing and overcoming. The total number of early permanent registrations in the last 10 days has been 822, of which 102 have been rejected. Most...

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is always ready to share news from his day with his 1.7 million Twitter followers. Tuesday evening was no exception when he ran across an exotic bird in the southwest Arizona city of Yuma. "Guess what just walked by ... in Yuma?!" he tweeted around 6 p.m. PST (see photo below).

YUMA, Ariz. (AP) — An Arizona politician is apologizing for making disparaging remarks about gays in the military. Mayor Al Krieger of Yuma told The Associated Press on Friday that he must respect people's "lifestyle choices" no matter how much they conflict with his personal beliefs. Krieger has been criticized for remarks he made opposing a repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" law prohibiting gays from serving openly in the armed forces. Speaking at a Memorial Day ceremony, Krieger said: "I cannot believe a bunch of lacy-drawered, limp-wristed people could do what those men have done in the past."...

SNIPPET: "Three U.S Airways planes were diverted from Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix to Yuma between 7 and 8 p.m. Monday, said Craig Williams, airport director. He added that he didn't know why the flights were diverted." SNIPPET: "United connects with Los Angeles while US Airways connects with Phoenix."

(snip) McCain said the presence of the Guard will not only help prevent the violence in Mexico from spilling across the border, but will also take some pressure off of the Border Patrol and U.S. Customs. "When the bad guys see Americans in uniform, it has an effect on them, no doubt about it," McCain said. "But also there is work that Guard personnel could do to relieve the burden from Border Patrol and Customs." That being said, McCain added that cooperation with Mexico on border issues will continue to be important. As part of his trip to Yuma, McCain...

Twelve-year-old Richard Wayde Hamar of Yuma was killed in a bull-riding competition Sunday morning at the Little Britches Rodeo at the Boulder County Fairground in Longmont. Hamar was wearing a helmet and padded vest, but after he was thrown, the bull stepped on his stomach, officials said. His parents were in attendance at the two-day rodeo for youths 8 to 18 years old. "He held on for a few seconds," Katy Sinclair, who witnessed the accident, told the Daily Camera. "When he hit the ground, the bull just ran him over. I could see the bull's legs hit his chest....

I attended the Colorado River Tea Party this evening in Yuma, Arizona. I took off from work for a couple of hours so I was able to get there a little early. By 5 pm, there were about 500 people there. I had counted 400 before 5 pm, then counted people as they arrived. At a little after 5:30 we had a bit over 1100 people. This is a pretty good sized crowd for Yuma after the snowbird season. I met a number of people that I knew from my association with local politics, but most of them were new...

Four illegal immigrants arrested in the Yuma area Tuesday and Wednesday turned out to be previously convicted felons who had been arrested a combined total of 40 times, the Border Patrol said. Three of the four were arrested about 11 p.m. Tuesday after they were seen by a Border Patrol camera operator cross the Colorado River from Mexico, the patrol said in a news release. Border Patrol agents arrested the three and brought them to the patrol station, where agents discovered that all three had previously been deported on multiple occasions from the United States. One had been deported four...

Gov. Sarah Palin's critics had better hope she doesn't sick America's newest brand of super hero on their heels. A group of women in Yuma say Palin is absolutely right, that no one has the same driven bark and protective bite as a hockey mom hustling to care for her brood. These ladies say they cheered Wednesday when the vice presidential candidate joked during the Republican National Convention that the only difference between hockey moms like herself and pit bulls is lipstick. "We're fierce, loyal and competitive, just as competitive as our kids," said Karen VanDeberg, whose son plays hockey...

Border Patrol agants in Yuma arrested three illegal aliens with extensive criminal histories and immigration violations including assault with a deadly weapon, drug offenses, vehicle theft, multiple battery/assault charges, public intoxication, and shoplifting. All had been previously prosecuted for illegal entry and multiple re-entries after deportation.

The number of illegal immigrants dying in the deserts of Yuma County have decreased because they are trickling through other sectors to cross the border, the Border Patrol says. The increased manpower along the border, with the help of of the National Guard and the new 52-mile border fence, are prime reasons that illegal immigrants are being deterred from crossing through the sector, said Eric Anderson, border patrol agent at the Yuma Sector.  Four bodies were found in the Yuma sector between Oct. 1 and May 31, the first eight months of the current 2008 fiscal year that ends Sept. 30....

I went to the Yuma Regional Medical Center Plaza Lab for annual tests today. They had a prominent sign on the door saying “No Firearms”. As they are a public facility, I went to the receptionist desk, showed them my doctor’s request for tests, and asked them to check my personal firearm. The nice lady at the desk looked puzzled, and I explained that they had a sign on the door saying “No Firearms” and that I wished to check my personal firearm, as required by law. I said “security has a policy for this if you with to call...

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer assigned to the San Luis, Ariz., port of entry and four others face various immigrant smuggling charges in a 22-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury. The officer, Jose Carmelo Magana of Yuma, is accused of accepting bribes from four others to allow illegal immigrants to be smuggled through the port of entry from October 2007 through May of this year. Also charged are Ana Calderon, 28, of San Luis, Ariz., and four residents of neighboring San Luis Rio Colorado, Son., identified in the indictment as Jesus Gastelum-Rodriguez, 41, Guadalupe Milan de...

Yuma police have identified the Yuma man shot Monday morning during a reported vehicle burglary. Robert Cuen, 23, of Yuma was shot once in the lower back after he allegedly attacked another man whose car Cuen allegedly was burglarizing in the 3200 block of Rome Street, police said in a news release. Police said the shooting occurred after Ian Laughlin, 23, was awakened around 5 a.m. by a noise outside his home on Rome Street. Laughlin said he went to investigate and confronted two men trying to burglarize his vehicle, police said. Laughlin told police he was armed with a...

YUMA — A Marine who disarmed a huge truck bomb outside a bombmaking factory in Iraq last year has been awarded the Bronze Star medal.

BY CESAR NEYOY, BAJO EL SOL January 21, 2008 - 12:39PM Baja California police have recovered the burned remains of a Hummer and a Ford pickup suspected of being used in a smuggling attempt that led to the death of a Yuma Border Patrol agent last weekend. Residents on the west side of Mexicali, Baja Calif., found a Hummer in flames in their neighborhood about 3:30 p.m. Saturday, police said, and a partially burned Ford pickup was located Sunday in Ejido Nayarit, a farming area south of Los Algodones. Yuma Sector Border Patrol Senior Agent Luis Aguilar was struck by...

An El Paso family mourns after they get word that their son is killed in the California desert.  According to Border Patrol, the uniform he wore may have made him a target.  "This could have been a civilian ran over...but in this case they actually aimed for our agent," said Eric Anderson, Yuma Border Patrol Agent. The agent killed was Luis Aguilar, 32, an El Paso High Graduate.Yuma Border Patrol officials said Aguilar and several other agents were trying to stop an alleged smuggler from heading back into Mexico.  Aguilar set out road spikes to slow the SUV down, that's...

RUTBAH, Iraq (Jan. 3, 2008) -- RUTBAH, Iraq – Making a choice after graduating from high school is stressful for most, but for one Yuma, Ariz., native, the military was his number one choice. The difficult decision was choosing which branch of service to enter. Looking to his father for advice was difficult because he had served a tour in the Marine Corps and then finished out his 20 years in the Army. He told his son he loved them both and he would have to research them and make his own decision. Spc. Louis Madrid III did just that....

Move America Forward brings its "Fight for Victory" tour to Yuma today to ask for support for U.S. military troops abroad and at home. The "pro-troop" rally begins at 1 p.m. at the front entrance of the Yuma County Fairgrounds, which is across from the Marine Corps Air Station on 32nd Street. Organizers ask that attendees bring banners of support as well as cards of appreciation for wounded military personnel. They will be distributed to recovering troops at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, D.C., where the caravan will finish its cross-country trek on Sept. 15. Move America Forward is...

A U.S. Border Patrol agent's leg was injured when a suspected marijuana smuggler slammed into his patrol vehicle Sunday afternoon, officials said. In another incident Sunday night, unknown assailants fired on four agents near the Mexican border, they said. Officials also said three bodies have been recovered in the desert since Friday. The suspected smuggler, an illegal entrant, was arrested after evading Border Patrol agents for more than an hour, according to a U.S. Border Patrol press release. More than 1,100 pounds of marijuana were found in the stolen truck the man was driving. Agents in the Yuma Sector noticed...

The National "Fight for Victory Tour" Yuma Event Yuma, Arizona - Sept. 5, 2007 - 1:00PM Join Move America Forward and a coalition of other pro-troop groups as we promote the national "Fight for Victory Tour" (a patriotic pro-troop caravan that crosses the nation) for our first Pro-Troop Rally. The "Fight for Victory Tour" continues on Monday September 5th with this 1:00PM rally in Yuma then crosses the nation before concluding with "The Gathering of Eagles" and a giant pro-troop rally in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, September 15th. The rally takes place at the Front entrance (parking lot) of...

BREAKING NEWS UPDATE - "Three Marines and one Navy sailor are dead and one Marine is injured after a helicopter from the Yuma Marine base crashed 20 miles north of Yuma near the Colorado river, according to a military official. The accident involved a search and rescue helicopter that crashed late Thursday afternoon while returning from a routine training flight near the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground. The crashed helicopter was one of four in the Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron at Marine Corps Air Station-Yuma. The names of the dead and injured are being withheld for 24 hours until the...

An attempted assault with a rock and a homemade spear was made against Border Patrol agents in the Yuma Sector who were trying to apprehend 15 illegal immigrants. Around 5 a.m. today, agents in the Boat Patrol Unit were assisting agents along the Colorado River in capturing the group, and as they closed in, the group scattered and fled into surrounding brush. One man, suspected to be the group's smuggler, entered the shallow water along the river bank and allegedly threw a rock at agents in the boat, but missed them, according to a Border Patrol press release. When the...

Pro-troop rally coming to Yuma FROM STAFF REPORTS July 23, 2007 - 6:54PM Move America Forward, an organization that describes itself as supportive of both the military and the war on terror, will come to Yuma as part of a cross-country caravan for Operation Iraqi Freedom. From Sept. 3-15, the caravan will stop in about 25 locations around the country from California to Washington, D.C., in what a Move America Forward news release describes as a series of "pro-troop rallies." The Yuma rally in what is being called the "Fight for Victory" tour is scheduled to for Sept. 5,...

Agents from U.S. Customs and Border Protection were assaulted by people throwing rocks Sunday during the arrest of two illegal immigrants near the U.S.-Mexico border in San Luis, Ariz. The rocks failed to strike an agent, but one did shatter the window of a marked Border Patrol vehicle, according to Albert Bosco, public affairs specialist with CBP. The federal organization reported Monday that its agents working in the Yuma sector have experienced a 43 percent increase in assaults between Oct. 1, 2006, and June 30. A total of 122 incidents were reported during the same period of last fiscal year,...

Yuma area Border Patrol agents had their hands full Monday morning with rock and firebomb throwers, including an arsonist who started a fire in a wheat field, the patrol said. No agents were injured in any of the incidents that occurred near the U.S. Port of Entry at San Luis, Ariz., the patrol said, and the city's fire department put out the fire before it could spread. The first incident occurred at 1:20 a.m. about a half-mile east of the port, when agents encountered a group of five suspected illegal immigrants, who turned around and headed back to Mexico when...

U.S. Border Patrol agents were assaulted in two recent incidences while apprehending Mexican nationals illegally in the United States. Agents from the Border Patrol Yuma sector's bike patrol unit were assaulted by a convicted murderer at 9 a.m. Saturday. Agents driving a marked Border Patrol vehicle through Somerton noticed two people exit and run from a pickup truck stopped at an intersection, according to a Border Patrol news release. The agents caught one of the subjects, who was determined to be a Mexican national illegally in the U.S. They spotted the second subject hiding behind a wall. As they approached...

Members of the U.S. Army's elite precision parachute team will be dropping in on Yuma Proving Ground's Cox field beginning Tuesday... ...Weather permitting, about 60 Knights will jump Mondays through Fridays through early March, said Chuck Wullenjohn, YPG spokesman. And this season, as in the past 31 winters, the public is invited to come out and see the Knights practice. Jumps take place typically from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., said Wullenjohn, who advises people to come out earlier in the day when weather conditions are more favorable for parachuting. "They jump frequently throughout the day, so people can come...

An acclaimed author visiting Yuma County as part of "One Book Yuma" discussion series said the region has become the epicenter of what he called the "mass hysteria" that is the national immigration debate. Luis Alberto Urrea, author of the 2004 award-winning book "The Devil's Highway," visited Arizona Western College and the Cesar Chavez Cultural Center in San Luis, Ariz., to sign copies of the book and discuss the book during open forums. After the Yuma session, Urrea said Yuma is center-stage of the debate because many people do not know what happens along the border. "Immigration is Hurricane Katrina,...

Agents with the U.S. Border Patrol in Yuma found an alligator stashed in the suitcase of a California man who was on his way to Phoenix. The agents found the 4-foot, 4-year-old cayman alligator during a routine checkpoint search on Interstate 8 on Thursday night, agency spokesman Lloyd Easterling said. Easterling said a drug-sniffing dog became alert near the man's car. Inside, agents found 13 grams of marijuana. Then agents asked the man, whose name was not released, if he had anything else inside the car they should know about. "The guy says, 'There's an alligator in there,'" Easterling said....

YUMA – Sophomores and seniors at two Yuma high schools will be required to take the Armed Services Vocational Battery this week. That's unless their parents object. The ASVAB tests whether someone qualifies for military service and what jobs in the military would suit him or her. Before, the ASVAB was only given to students who requested to take it. ---snip---

A border rights coalition has asked federal officials to suspend Border Patrol high-speed chases pending a review of a deadly Yuma-area rollover two weeks ago. The letter from the Los Angeles-based Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law also asked Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and the heads of Customs and Border Protection and the Border Patrol to update their hot pursuit policies. The letter was sent on behalf of the Border Human Rights Working Group. That's a coalition of organizations involved in human rights advocacy in the four states bordering Mexico...

The death count climbed to nine Monday in a rollover accident on Martinez Lake Road involving what may have been an alien smuggling vehicle. The accident occurred at milemarker 4, west of Highway 95, at about 7 a.m. when the white Chevrolet Suburban swerved to avoid spike strips deployed by the U.S. Border Patrol to stop the vehicle, according to the Yuma County Sheriff's Office. Five of the Suburban’s passengers died at the scene and four more died at Yuma Regional Medical Center, said Mike Shelton, spokesman for Rural/Metro Fire Department, one of the agencies that responded to the accident...

AL ASAD, Iraq (Mar. 16, 2006) -- An AV-8B Harrier screams loudly as it slowly lowers itself to the runway. Four other Harriers circle above, waiting for their turn to land - the Flying Nightmares have arrived. While the main body of Marine Attack Squadron 513, originally from Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz., arrived here a few weeks ago, the actual aircraft arrived March 7 to a unit ready to get to work. "The main body arrived prior to the aircraft in order to unpack and have the work centers established," said Gunnery Sgt. Travis A. White, quality assurance...

AL ASAD, Iraq (June 26, 2006) -- Marines here received the opportunity to see their families living in Yuma, Ariz., through a 30-minute video teleconference call June 17. The event, which was hosted at the Morale, Welfare and Recreation and Marine Aircraft Group 16 Headquarters buildings, afforded Marines from Marine Attack Squadron 513, MAG-16 (Reinforced), 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, the chance to do more than just hear their loved ones back home. "The video calls are a way for me to stay in touch with my wife even though we are far apart," said Sgt. David K. Averill, aviation ordnance...

PHOENIX — The first National Guard troops sent to assist immigration agents prepared Sunday to work on projects near a fortified stretch of desert along the U.S.-Mexico border. The 55 Utah National Guard members on Monday plan to begin extending fences, improving gravel roads and working on border lighting near the town of San Luis, Ariz., which is part of the nation's busiest U.S. Border Patrol station.

PHOENIX - Fifty-five National Guard members from Utah arrived in Yuma on Saturday afternoon — the first troops to be sent to the Arizona-Mexico border in a new crackdown on illegal immigration. The Utah troops had been scheduled to work on fences and other projects as part of the Guard's long-standing efforts at the Arizona border, officials had said as late as Wednesday. But their mission has since been folded into President Bush's plan to send up to 6,000 National Guard troops to the four southern border states to supplement federal immigration agents. The Utah troops got word of the...

Plain talk gives politicians severe heartburn. The most successful pols learn to speak only in euphemy and obfuscation. President Bush, no doubt smarting from the slapping around from his once-reliable conservative base, spent yesterday on the Arizona border trying to talk the talk to please Americans fed up with the federal government's inability or unwillingness to protect its borders, a failure unprecedented among the nations of the world. "America can be a lawful society and a welcoming society," he said in Yuma, "and we don't have to choose between the two."

For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary May 18, 2006 President Bush Discusses Border Security and Immigration Reform in Arizona Yuma Sector Border Patrol Headquarters Yuma, Arizona       In Focus: Immigration 12:51 P.M. PDT THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very much for allowing me to come by and say hello. It's good to be here in Yuma. I'd never been to Yuma before. (Laughter.) I'd like to come back. It's a hospitable place with good weather. (Laughter.) Remember, I was raised in West Texas. (Laughter.) I've come down here to first of all thank the men and women...

Bush immigration reforms fail to reassure patriots By Catherine Elsworth in Yuma (Filed: 19/05/2006) President George W Bush yesterday took his proposals for immigration reform to the south-western tip of the Arizona desert where illegal smuggling, accompanied by crime, banditry and death, is soaring. The arid, unfenced area is rapidly emerging as the busiest point of entry along the 2,000-mile United States/Mexican border. The President joins United States Border Patrol agents The President's visit to Yuma came days after he called for 6,000 National Guard troops to strengthen the border, improved channels for illegal immigrants to obtain US citizenship and...

YUMA, Ariz. - Over the past year, this sandy stretch of desert in southwestern Arizona has become the nation's busiest immigrant-smuggling hotspot, a place of increasing banditry, violence, desperation and death. Border Patrol agents are seeing spikes in arrests of illegal immigrants and cases every day of criminals preying on border crossers. President Bush will be get an up-close look on Thursday when he visits Yuma as part of his push to overhaul the nation's immigration laws and tighten the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexican border by sending up to 6,000 National Guardsmen in a backup role. An eastern Arizona stretch that includes...

PHOENIX (AP) -- Agents with the U.S. Border Patrol on Friday discovered its third illegal immigrant drop house in Yuma in less than a week. Agents with the Yuma sector of the Border Patrol received a tip about the drop house, in which they found 14 illegal Mexican immigrants, a .25-caliber pistol and $8,520 in cash, according to an agency press release. The house was filthy and full of garbage, the agency said. Agents were working to identify who among the group was the smuggler. On Sunday, agents found 93 illegal immigrants in a drop house and a rear utility...

Monday's immigration march exceeded the expectations of its organizers, angered some opponents but remained peaceful throughout. Nearly 1,500 people walked across the city in one of the largest demonstrations in Yuma. The march through the city was followed by the sounds of cheers, honking horns and, at times, words of rebuke. When people were gathering near the Yuma Civic Center prior to the event, counter-protesters were already out with their own messages. When asked why he was marching, 15-year-old Jesus Ruiz had a simple answer: "For my country," he said. When asked which country that was, he said Mexico. This...

A proposed bill giving local law enforcement agencies the ability to stop, question and arrest illegal immigrants as trespassers is a "recipe for disaster," said Yuma County Sheriff Ralph Ogden. It will create a "ripple effect" on the jail, records department, county attorney and court system, Ogden said. "Both for the officer on the street and the officer in the jail that will incarcerate the trespassers," Ogden said in a letter to Gov. Janet Napolitano. "This legislation represents an enormous unfunded obligation for state, county and local law enforcement ... I strongly urge you to veto this bill if it...

A loaded smuggling vehicle collided with a large pickup Thursday morning, sending 13 suspected illegal aliens to the hospital. Nine of those 13 were later released from the hospital but were not taken into Border Patrol custody — similar to a March 15 incident. Yuma County Sheriff's Capt. Eben Bratcher said the brown Ford Aerostar van was "absolutely" a smuggling vehicle and all those inside were illegal aliens. The van struck a lifted Ford F-250 truck at 8th Street and Dora Avenue at 7:57 a.m. Yuma Regional Medical Center spokeswoman Machele Headington said nine of the patients were treated and...