What word sums up 2009? How about unfriend? That's the New Oxford American Dictionary's 2009 Word of the Year. It means to remove someone as a friend on a social networking Web site such as Facebook.

Vinayak Muralidhar, a Chandler student who attends the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has earned a Marshall Scholarship from the United Kingdom.

Four Arizona Aqua Stars swimmers performed well recently.

Four Arizona Aqua Stars swimmers performed well recently.

It is a matter of great dismay to the academics and cultural guardians of the world’s other great languages that English has become the global lingua franca (the term for a medieval trading language, long since appropriated by English; it’s in the dictionary).

PHILADELPHIA - A University of Pennsylvania student who organized an exhibit about Lenape Indians living quietly in the state is among this year's winners of Rhodes Scholarships.

A pedestrian was killed after he was struck by a vehicle near a Tempe intersection on Monday.

Mesa police are seeking the public’s help in locating a missing man.

NEW YORK - "The Drowsy Chaperone," a daffy musical about one fan's favorite 1920s show, took 13 Tony nominations Tuesday, including for best musical.

A Gilbert man drowned in his pool while trying to retrieve a neighbor’s basketball Thursday night, authorities said.

The new link between meat consumption and heart disease, discovered by Dr. Stanley Hazen of the Cleveland Clinic, is just the latest evidence linking meat consumption to killer diseases that cripple, then kill, 1.3 million Americans annually. Hazen’s study showed that carnitine, an amino acid contained in all meat products, is a major factor in heart failure.

The number of Americans considered obese is expected to rise from the current 34 percent to 42 percent by the year 2030, according to a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine and discussed at Monday’s “Weight of the Nation” conference in Washington. Diabetes, kidney failure, heart disease, and other obesity-related ailments account for countless premature deaths and as much as 18 percent of the $2.6 trillion national cost of medical care.

The number of Americans considered obese is expected to rise from the current 34 percent to 42 percent by the year 2030, according to a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine and discussed at Monday’s “Weight of the Nation” conference in Washington. Diabetes, kidney failure, heart disease, and other obesity-related ailments account for countless premature deaths and as much as 18 percent of the $2.6 trillion national cost of medical care.

A Gilbert family had a creepy encounter with a home intruder Friday.

LONDON - Michael Jackson will make a rare public appearance at the World Music Awards in London next month, organizers announced Sunday. The reclusive king of pop will receive a Diamond Award, given to artists who sell more than 100 million albums, at the industry ceremony on Nov. 15.