Complaining about Congress is practically a national pastime, so I know I won’t be breaking new ground here. But recently, Congress introduced an amendment that would end production of the F-35B. Their solution: For us to go back to the dangerously outdated F-18. This makes no sense to me. We have invested way too much into our next generation F-35’s to stop now. They will carry our military for decades to come. Thankfully, enough Congressmen voted the amendment down, but it served as another reminder of the scary backward thinking from some leaders in Washington.

SAN DIEGO - An F-18 military jet approaching a Marine base crashed near a busy highway in a densely populated San Diego neighborhood Monday, sparking at least one house fire.

The loud rumble over downtown Scottsdale on Friday evening likely came from an F-18 fighter jet and was exacerbated by that day’s storm cloud cover, aviation officials said Monday.

Williams Gateway Airport could take a major economic hit at the end of this summer when two Boeing military contracts expire. So far the company has not found new contracts that would replace the work that is winding down, said Boeing spokesman Hal Klopper.

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Heavy detonations and the crackle of anti-aircraft fire were heard Thursday night in Baghdad.

A 10-year program to modernize T-38 Talon training aircraft for the U.S. Air Force and Navy ended Monday morning when the last refurbished airplane took off from Williams Gateway Airport for its home base in Texas.

As Congress debates federal deficit reductions, they are reviewing America’s commitment to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. This program is critical to the national security of the United States and while reducing spending may look good when running for re-election, the truth is that reductions now will cost taxpayers more later. As a result we will aid our adversaries in closing the gap between American air superiority and their own, reducing our global power and putting our armed service members at greater risk. This is simply unacceptable.

The site of Williams Gateway Airport ceased being a military base in 1993, but the airport in southeast Mesa remains home to the Air Force Research Laboratory.

A brief look at the six Americans and Israel’s first astronaut aboard space shuttle Columbia.

Places and times for competitors in Sunday's P.F. Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon:

The Bush-Cheney campaign will launch an Arizona advertising campaign this week that slams Sen. John Kerry’s votes in Congress against military programs that employ thousands of people in the East Valley and the rest of the state.

SALMAN PAK, Iraq - Marines searched the wreckage of Iraqi military facilities in this Tigris River town Sunday after a night of fiery bombardments destroyed entire buildings and apparently sent fighters loyal to President Saddam Hussein fleeing.

WASHINGTON - American forces in Iraq had four deadly accidents, three of which may have been caused by friendly fire, officials said Thursday.

If you start roasting a 14-pound turkey at 375 F at 7 a.m. and need to feed 15 people — including three vegetarians, a vegan and two gluten intolerants — by 1 p.m., how many pounds of cranberries do you need if the stuffing is baked outside the bird and the pumpkin pie is cut into 11.75 equal wedges?

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A suicide bomber detonated a minibus Wednesday in an outdoor market packed with shoppers ahead of a Muslim festival, killing about 20 people and wounding more than 60 in a Shiite town south of Baghdad. Six U.S. troops were killed, two in a helicopter crash west of the capital.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The U.S. ambassador suggested Tuesday there may be further changes to the draft constitution in order to win Sunni Arab approval, saying he believed a "final, final draft" had not yet been presented.

May 13, 2005

December 23, 2004

November 11, 2004

BAGHDAD, Iraq - In their boldest and deadliest ambush yet, insurgents waylaid three minibuses carrying U.S.-trained Iraqi soldiers heading home on leave and massacred about 50 of them - forcing many to lie down on the ground and shooting them in the head, officials said Sunday.

DOHA, Qatar - President Bush defended the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq on Thursday and pledged that "we'll reveal the truth" on Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction.

WASHINGTON -- U.S. officials are communicating with Iraqis to surrender or attempt a coup that might topple Saddam Hussein's regime without a full-scale U.S. invasion, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Thursday.

 It’s the quick glance at Amy Patton’s downtime that shows why she’s so good when the lights go on.

Top finishers in Sunday's P.F. Chang’s Rock ’n’ Roll Arizona Marathon.