A federal appeals court has rejected a bid by environmental groups to force the Bureau of Land Management to do more to protect two national monuments in Arizona.

I came close to dying three times last week. Driving straight east on Baseline Road, I had a full green light. The oncoming car, stopped in the left-turn lane, suddenly jumped forward trying to turn left in front of me. I missed her by skinny inches.

Characters are frequently urged to "release the beast" in "The Purge," a high-concept home-invasion shocker set in a future where one night a year, all crime is legal. But what should be a clammy exercise in claustrophobic, queasy tension becomes, in the hands of writer/director James DeMonaco, an underpowered compendium of over-familiar scare tactics and sledgehammer-subtle social satire. The intriguingly nightmarish premise may well rustle up a decent opening weekend for a picture that comes with the imprimatur of producer Michael Bay before the lukewarm word of mouth hastens its trip to DVD and VOD.

The Court of Appeals won't stop the state from continuing to fund a controversial voucher program, at least not now.

Piece by piece, the world is becoming a little smaller in Mesa — about 100,000 times smaller. But, in this case, small is actually quite big — as in 40 stories tall, and with astonishing detail.

The League of American Bicyclists has ranked Arizona 10th out of the 50 states for bike friendliness in 2013, a jump from its position of 14th in 2012.

The healthy living classes for heart patients will be held this summer in the East Valley. They are presented by Chandler Regional Medical Center’s HEAT Wave committee, made up of registered nurses in cardiology.

Most foot races take place early in the morning or at sunset, when temperatures start to lower — but not this race. The first-ever Beat the Heat race will begin at 2:47 p.m., the time when, on June 26, 1990, temperatures reached 122 degrees, the hottest recorded temperature the Valley has ever endured.

I can’t think of a country that doesn’t have something like Memorial Day. Whether democratic or totalitarian or anything in between, national honors are paid annually to those who have given their lives for their countries.

Atlanta wasn’t an isolated incident. Neither was El Paso, or Washington, DC, or Columbus. A new General Accounting Office report demonstrates that cheating by school officials on standardized tests has become commonplace despite the use of security measures the report recommends. The only solution is one that Education Secretary Arne Duncan has so far refused—removing the high stakes attached to standardized testing.

About a dozen people are moving their arms and legs to the sound of silence. Only the soft voice of their instructor, Debbie Nemeth, occasionally breaks in.

I can’t think of a country that doesn’t have something like Memorial Day. Whether democratic or totalitarian or anything in between, national honors are paid annually to those who have given their lives for their countries.

The great weather expected this weekend across Arizona is an open invitation to step out into the state’s great outdoors. Between hiking and camping in Arizona State Parks, checking out your favorite fishing hole, or just getting some all-around exercise, there are plenty of opportunities. Just be sure to pack your common sense when you pack your car or bike.

The government can’t be trusted with our health

In February, elementary physical education teachers challenged 5,000-plus fifth-graders in Mesa Public School District to make healthy food choices and get more exercise for 28 consecutive days as part of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona’s Walk On! Challenge. Every fifth-grade student in the Mesa district had the opportunity to participate in the Walk On! Challenge, which was facilitated by the physical education teachers in each of the elementary schools in Mesa.

Calling a woman's rights "unalterably clear,'' a federal appeals court on Tuesday struck down Arizona's nearly year-old ban on abortions at 20 weeks and beyond.

‘They told me the window for my recovery had closed.”

When our nation’s founders wrote the language in the First Amendment guaranteeing the right to “petition the government for a redress of grievances,” there were no words describing the form of that petition.

PHOENIX — Obstacle course runners start on their feet, but eventually end up on their stomachs, sides, even backs at they clamber through mud, over shipping containers, across netting made of mangled ropes.

My mother submitted a letter to the editor back in 2003.

Saying she's run out of patience, Gov. Jan Brewer will veto any bills sent to her until she sees movement on a new state budget and her pet Medicaid expansion project.

Arizona Air National Guard F-16 fighters will be flying over downtown Phoenix Thursday as they practice intercepting hostile aircraft intent on a terrorist attack.

The military will conduct air interceptions of mock hostile aircraft over Phoenix this week.