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.

As the economy continues to recover, competition is intense in virtually every industry. The auto insurance providers slug it out for market share. The cell phone service carriers fight tooth and nail for subscribers. Even universities battle it out to attract students, not to mention benefactors and research dollars.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California state parks system, beset by financial problems and scandal, is launching a study commission that leaders hope will reshape the system and restore public confidence and financial stability.

The state's more than 38,000 medical marijuana users are in no danger of losing their medication, at least not at the ballot box.

“There they go again!” Ronald Reagan’s words echoed in my mind as I read Rod Livdahl’s recent letter supporting a raise in the minimum wage.

Arizona public schools again had some of the lowest per-pupil spending in the nation in 2011, ahead of only Oklahoma, Idaho and Utah, according to a recent Census Bureau report.

What do Newtown and Moore have in common? They were both heartbreaking tragedies, of course. But they were also targeted by opportunistic politicians eager to push their left-wing ideological agendas.

What is wrong with America?

EDITOR'S NOTE — Aging America is a joint AP-APME project examining the aging of the baby boomers and the effect that this "silver tsunami" is having on the communities in which they live.

Q: What is better for a computer, leaving it on all the time or shutting it down every night? — Justin

Individuals for and against the Loop 202 freeway expansion through the South Mountain area trickled in and out of the Phoenix Convention Center last week, offering passionate pleas to panel members as the Arizona Department of Transportation hosted a day-long public hearing.

Investigators say due to some creative Ireland-based tax gimmicks, Apple has managed to keep $75 billion away from the IRS’s reach just in the years 2009-2012.

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.

College students have spoken and lecture-based learning is prehistoric. An emerging trend on which colleges are reporting solid success rates is lecture-free classes. This approach to learning is being designed to promote deeper student learning, collaborative learning, skilled communication, self-managed learning, and cross-disciplinary and technology-enhanced coursework. Lecture-free classes are a response to growing criticism of the traditional, often passive lecture-based college classes which some educators say are a turn-off to students, leading to aggravation and poor grades.

The City of Mesa and Arizona State University are partnering on a technology business accelerator site, to be located at the ASU Polytechnic campus, in the southeast part of the city.

For nearly two hours on Monday night, stories were shared, laughs were loud and Kleenex was out in full force.

As the sounds of kids jumping, tumbling and somersaulting echo through the Aspire Kids Sports Center in Chandler, solar panels silently soak in the sun on the roof of the 32,000-square-foot training facility.

Susan G. Komen Central and Northern Arizona supports Governor Brewer’s Medicaid Restoration Plan.

Q: What can I do to get better battery life from my smartphone? It doesn’t even get me through the afternoon on most days. — Ed

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and this week is Women’s Health Week. It’s an opportune time for you (or the women in your life) to assess both your physical and mental health.

School districts in the East Valley are working the numbers to figure how much they will have to pay utilities, pay teachers next year or spend on textbooks.

American oil producers are in the crosshairs of the Obama Administration once again, this time the president is promising to force the Big 5 oil companies to pay their “fair share.” This begs the question: Who gets to decide who’s not paying enough? Who gets to decide which American taxpayers or businesses need to pay more?

Three years ago, in the wake of a new Arizona law aimed at those in the country illegally, tens of thousands converged on the Capitol with a message: Today we march, tomorrow we vote.