TUCSON — The Arizona Republican Party is spending big on attacks on former Gabrielle Giffords aide Ron Barber in the 8th Congressional District special election.

WASHINGTON – Arizona’s senators urged tribal leaders Thursday to move quickly on a proposed settlement of water-rights claims so they can push the bill through Congress before this session ends.

In separate closed-door meetings with Navajo and Hopi leaders in Tuba City, Republican Sens. Jon Kyl and John McCain stressed the importance of quick action, said those who attended the meetings.

TUCSON — Federal Election Commission records show Democrat Ron Barber has raised more than twice as much money as any Republican challenger in the special election to fill the former congressional seat of Gabrielle Giffords.

TUBA CITY — Arizona’s two U.S. senators are meeting with tribal leaders today to discuss a water rights settlement.

Jon Kyl introduced legislation earlier this year that would settle the Navajo and Hopi claims to the Little Colorado River system. The tribes would get groundwater delivery projects in exchange for giving up further claims to the water.

WASHINGTON — Sen. John McCain says Rick Santorum should recognize “it’s time for a graceful exit” from the Republican presidential campaign in the wake of Mitt Romney’s sweep of primaries in Wisconsin, Maryland and the District of Columbia.

TUCSON — State Sen. Paula Aboud has withdrawn from the Congressional District 2 race and is endorsing former congressional aide Ron Barber for the seat.

About 60 Democratic members of Congress have filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the U.S. Supreme Court expressing their opposition to Arizona’s 2010 immigration enforcement law.

Some Western lawmakers are pushing for a showdown with Washington over federally-controlled land, picking a fight on an issue that they say puts an economic stranglehold on their states.

Citing the high number of cross–border tunnels that pop up in Arizona and California, a House committee Tuesday passed a bill toughening laws against the use of tunnels for smuggling underneath the U.S.-Mexico border.

Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne joined other attorneys general Monday to criticize the Obama administration’s “unprecedented” overreach of federal authority that they said have led to a torrent of lawsuits over immigration, voting rights, health care and more.