My wife and I happened to be traveling this past week and had occasion to travel multiple times from Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX) thru Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson (ATL) airports to Orlando FL. Wow. What a stark difference. Maybe it’s not a fair comparison, I don’t know; but, the difference in quality from top-bottom, ceiling-floor, processes, finishes, services provided, retailers etc was striking. Phoenix is supposedly the #5 or 6 largest city (depending upon who you ask) in the U.S, while Atlanta is a little bigger than Mesa, not even in the U.S. top 25. Just as striking to me, while in ATL, I happened to be reading a copy of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (don’t know if right- or left-leaning, but a GOOD paper) and I read an AP piece about “Bush-era probe involved ‘walking’ guns”. Apparently, this whole “Fast and Furious” (BATFE) scandal actually happened first back in 2006 under the Bush administration, as “Operation Wide receiver.” Never read about that in the Republic or saw that on Channel 12! John and Patti Latson

A new sentencing date has been set for a man who admitted working as a straw buyer for a gun smuggling ring that was monitored in the government's botched investigation known as Operation Fast and Furious.

New sentencing dates have been set for three people who admitted participating in a gun smuggling ring that was monitored in the botched federal investigation known as Operation Fast and Furious.

The scope of gun walking U.S. weapons into organized crime hands in Mexico was either a lethally mis-coordinated policy that spun out of control, some kind of covert operation or official malfeasance.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The chairman of the House oversight committee said Sunday that he could send subpoenas to the Obama administration as soon as this week over weapons lost amid the Mexican drug war.

Bill Richardson

Jose de la Isla

Jose de la Isla

Jose de la Isla

Like the guitar amplifier in “This Is Spinal Tap” that goes “all the way to 11” while others can only reach 10, the Foo Fighters cranked up the intensity from exhilaration to exhaustion before a capacity crowd at Dodge Theatre.

TUCSON — A man accused of robbing marijuana smugglers after they sneaked into the United States will be sentenced in federal court on Dec. 17 for a conspiracy conviction.

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — A federal judge has reset the trial date for a Mexican man charged with killing a U.S. Border Patrol agent.

WASHINGTON — Attorney General Eric Holder on Tuesday acknowledged serious mistakes in an arms trafficking probe that allowed AK-47s and other weapons to leak into the black market, but he insisted the Justice Department was taking steps to ensure that never happens again.

Jose de la Isla

LOS ANGELES - The street-racing sequel "2 Fast 2 Furious" won the pole position at the box office, taking in an estimated $52.1 million in its opening weekend.

LOS ANGELES - Cartoon fish still have audiences hooked as the undersea adventure "Finding Nemo" regained the top spot at the weekend box office with $29.2 million.

Paul Walker returns, sans Vin Diesel, in "2 Fast 2 Furious," the John Singleton-directed sequel to the runaway hit "The Fast and the Furious." As disgraced ex-cop Brian O’Conner, Walker again infiltrates a drug ring, this time in Miami, with the help of a childhood buddy, played by R &B star Tyrese Gibson ("Baby Boy").

If the "Fast Five" filmmakers had thrown in giant, shape-shifting robots, talking apes and some vampires, the fifth installment in "The Fast and the Furious" franchise would hardly have been more outlandish.

Hard to imagine many firsts remain following 31 years of coaching basketball, but Paul Westhead found one.

Hard to imagine many firsts remain following 31 years of coaching basketball, but Paul Westhead found one.

LOS ANGELES - Jon Stewart is sitting in a cushy white chair in a small, windowless room known as Kodak Theatre's "Dressing Room 3." It's spare other than a laptop on a table and dozens of bottles of water atop a tiny fridge.