A Phoenix man held in connection with the May 3 attack in Garland, Texas, wants a new lawyer and claims in a handwritten letter to the court that the FBI took two DNA samples from him without permission. The document was released publicly on September 1 and obtained by New…
Sarah Louise, a 20-year-old Arizona State University student, is a passionate advocate for legal marijuana who isn’t content to sit on the couch and dream of better drug laws. She’s an energetic and savvy activist who leads a local chapter of the national group Students for Sensible Drug Policy and…
Almost 36 hours after a microburst exploded over downtown Phoenix and Tempe and brought high winds, hail, dust, and more than an inch of rain in some locations, residents and the cities are still in recovery mode – thousands are still without power, dozens of intersection traffic lights are dark,…
Let the ‘Recall Diane Douglas Games’ begin! The campaign to recall Arizona State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Diane Douglas, filed the necessary paperwork with the State Secretary this morning, and can now legally begin collecting signatures. But having spent the last ten months since the November 2014 election organizing and…
U.S. immigration authorities incarcerate Mexicans at a much higher rate than immigrants from any other country, according to an analysis by BuzzFeed News. Seventy-five percent of Mexicans who are facing deportation for non-criminal reasons are being held in detention centers. By comparison, Immigration and Customs Enforcement locks up just 39…
Unless you live in an underground cave, you probably witnessed at least some part of Monday night’s crazy-big monsoon storm: heavy rains, 65 mph gusts of wind, dust storms, thunder and lightening, flash floods, and even hail. National Weather Service Meteorologist Keith Kincaid called Monday night’s microburst “nothing unusual” for…
Previous marijuana tax-revenue estimates were far too low, says a new report by the non-partisan Grand Canyon Institute. Arizona would raise about $72 million in revenue annually if voters make recreational marijuana legal in Arizona in November of next year with an anticipated ballot initiative, says the report, published on…
Despite Senator John McCain’s reported interest in all things related to Islamic terrorism and abortion politics, he claimed not to know about the growing Islamophobia movement in Arizona and the recent report by a team of forensic video experts proving that the controversial Planned Parenthood videos were edited in a…
Thanks to Republican presidential contender Donald Trump and right-wing pundit Ann Coulter, hating on “anchor babies” is all the rage. But Phoenix nativist Michelle Dallacroce, founder and president of Mothers Against Illegal Aliens wants you to know that she was hating on so-called anchor babies before hating on them was…
Amid both the national conversation about water pollution following the Animas River spill and a controversial debate over whether to tighten laws within the Clean Water Act, a recent U.S. Geological Survey study found that human activity is causing an alarmingly high concentration of toxins in one of our most important…
Local liberals freaked when their top 10 wacky beliefs were skewered. But Arizona conservatives boast equally nutty ideas. Here are 10 of the nuttiest. 10) President Obama is not a natural-born citizen. 9) More guns in America means a safer America. 8) People give a rat’s ass about Hillary’s e-mails. …
While Arizona Senator John McCain is “pleased” that a federal judge in North Dakota issued an injunction against the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Water Rule, his critics – some of whom have their own, separate concerns about the ruling – say his reasoning is just another example of how he…
When Nancy Markham’s ex-boyfriend wrapped his hands around her neck and attempted to strangle her last year, she called 911. She called again when he showed up with a handgun and tried to break into her house, again when he threatened her with a knife, and again when he drove…
The U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday afternoon that 42-year-old Arizona resident Ahmed Mohammed El Gammal has been charged with four counts of “planning and perpetrating a Federal crime of terrorism against the United States.” From 2014 through August 2015, El Gammal, who went by Jammie Gammal, “did knowingly and…
Sheriff Joe Arpaio has a serious pot connection, one that may score us all legal ganja come 2016: Republican political consultant Chad Willems of Summit Consulting Group. For many years, Willems has been Arpaio’s campaign guru and money man, helping Arpaio raise millions, outspending Arpaio’s opponents, and raking in a…
Surveillance video released by Scottsdale police on Wednesday shows the chaos of a huge crowd watching a large fight that engulfed a downtown Scottsdale street earlier this month. Scottsdale police stated this week that they are seeking criminal against four people believed to have started a melee on August 2,…
On a March night 37 years ago, a young Glendale woman was gruesomely shot to death in her car on a secluded street after an evening of shopping at nearby mall. Her slumped over body and 1976 Toyota Celica were discovered around 8:30 p.m. by a local jogger on the…
Governor Doug Ducey fired the company that manages a private prison near Kingman, saying the group did not “promptly and effectively” quell a three-day riot in July that injured 16 people. “Our action should send a loud warning shot to all prison operators,” Ducey said. “Fail in your job, we…
About a month after a Federal District judge rejected a preliminary injunction intended to prevent the Arizona Department of Transportation from razing 200-plus properties to make way for the South Mountain Free pass, the initial demolition is set to begin this week. While some are celebrating, others are not so…
In what may turn out to be one of the least competitive citywide elections in Phoenix history, voters overwhelming reinstated Mayor Greg Stanton and four City Council members — Daniel Valenzuela, Thelda Williams, Bill Gates, and Michael Nowakowski — and passed all five ballot measures. It was not a very…
In the wake of both the recent Gold King Mine disaster that unleashed more than 3 million gallons of toxic mining waste into the Animas River earlier this month, and the impending resumption of uranium mining at Canyon Mine near the Grand Canyon, a coalition of 15 environmental organizations, three…
Police want four people, including an off-duty Scottsdale firefighter, charged with starting a melee in downtown Scottsdale. Hundreds of people were involved in the incident, which shut down North Saddlebag Trail and East Shoeman Lane about 2:30 a.m. Sunday, August 2, according to a report reviewed by New Times. No…
