Before leading the way for other states to pursue immigration laws, Arizona passed a ban on human smuggling in 2005 that has led to more than 2,100 arrests and drawn criticism for a tactic in which people who pay to be sneaked into the country are charged as conspirators to the crime.

PHOENIX — The self-proclaimed toughest sheriff in America breezed past two challengers to win a sixth term as Maricopa County sheriff after facing his most bruising political challenge.

An Arizona woman charged in the disappearance of her infant son more than two years ago was consumed with anger over the demise of her romantic ties with his father and used the boy as a pawn in their disputes, a prosecutor said Tuesday in closing arguments at the woman's trial.

PHOENIX — The personal stories of people who said they were racially profiled in Sheriff Joe Arpaio's immigration sweeps took center stage Wednesday at a trial aimed at settling allegations over whether the lawman's trademark patrols disproportionately single out Latinos.

PHOENIX (AP) — There were no TV cameras, no scrum of reporters, no protesters — and there was no swagger inside the courtroom when the typically brash Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio took the stand to face critics who say he and his deputies racially profile Hispanics.

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio's anti-illegal immigration patrols took center stage Thursday in federal court as a group of Latinos set out to prove that his deputies racially profiled them as part of a systemic policy of discrimination.

TIJUANA, Mexico (AP) — Four drug smuggling tunnels equipped with lighting and ventilation — including one with a railcar system — have been discovered along the U.S.-Mexico border in less than a week, the latest signs that cartels are building sophisticated passages to escape heightened detection above ground.

Prosecutors plan to seek a retrial for a man whose conviction for killing nine people at a Buddhist temple was overturned after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to reverse a decision that threw out his confession.

A 1-year-old boy being cared for by his grandmother was fatally shot early Monday morning in Mesa after two masked men came to her backdoor and started a confrontation that ended with one of the men firing at least one gunshot.

It always comes back to illegal immigration in Arizona — even when the state is on fire.

It always comes back to illegal immigration in Arizona — even when the state is on fire.

It always comes back to illegal immigration in Arizona — even when the state is on fire.

Authorities said Friday that they have arrested a man believed to be the elusive "Rock Burglar" who broke into nearly 400 houses in affluent Phoenix suburbs over the last 17 years.

An examination in Arizona's Maricopa County has found that the sheriff's office, widely known for efforts against illegal immigrants, inappropriately spent $99 million from two jail funds over the last eight years to pay for other law enforcement operations — including immigration patrols.

A judge ruled Monday there is enough evidence to launch a formal disciplinary case against former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas for allegedly basing a lawsuit and criminal investigations of county officials on his animosity toward them.

Republican John McCain has defeated a little-known Democrat to win a fifth term in the U.S. Senate.

Republican Sen. John McCain framed the porousness of America's borders as both a national security concern and a human rights issue Sunday in the only scheduled general election debate in Arizona's U.S. Senate race.

The race to become Arizona's next attorney general has turned into a slugfest where the two Republican candidates have set up websites devoted exclusively to savaging each other.

Maricopa County officials will subpoena records that Sheriff Joe Arpaio's office has refused to turn over to U.S. Department of Justice lawyers who are investigating the police agency over allegations of discrimination and unconstitutional searches.

Court records made public Thursday show that a grand jury ended its investigation of a judge, county officials and one of their lawyers on corruption allegations, but the reason for concluding the probe is a subject of dispute.

Former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas says his successor is lying when he claims a grand jury ended its corruption investigation of county officials because there was nothing to the allegations.

A prosecutor said Thursday that the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office threatened to publicly release criminal allegations against county officials even though a grand jury had months earlier ended its investigation into the matters without filing any charges.

As the days tick down until the Arizona immigration law takes effect, the state stands as a monument to the anger over illegal immigration that is present in so many places.

A Phoenix police officer could be fired if he doesn't enforce the state's new immigration law he has sued to block, an attorney told a federal judge Thursday in the first major hearing in one of seven challenges to the strict crackdown.

President Barack Obama's plan to send as many as 1,200 National Guard troops back to the U.S.-Mexico border quelled demands that he must do more to battle illegal immigration and drug smuggling, but advocates for tougher enforcement say the troops need authority to make detentions.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has warned a county prosecutor not to reveal details of criminal probes to a bar association investigator examining unethical conduct allegations against her former boss.