Recent Articles from Brandon Ross, Cronkite News Service
Recent discovery of high-tech Yuma tunnel unlikely to dissuade smugglers
Law enforcement officials say they do not think they have seen the last of sophisticated drug-smuggling tunnels in Arizona.
Officials report steep decline in ‘drop houses’ used by human smugglers
Police seizures of drop houses, where smugglers “stash” undocumented aliens en route to other parts of the country, have plummeted in Arizona this year, continuing a trend that began in 2008.
Large-scale Arizona solar, wind-energy projects could win federal OK by end of year
Federal officials said Tuesday that they are on track to decide by early next year whether two new utility-scale renewable-energy projects – one wind, one solar – can move forward in Arizona.
U.S. House can’t muster votes to pass Franks bill limiting abortions in Washington
A bill by Rep. Trent Franks, R-Glendale, to ban abortions in the District of Columbia after 20 weeks of pregnancy failed to get the two-thirds majority needed to pass the House Tuesday.
The House voted 220-154 for the District of Columbia Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, shy of the 250 votes needed to make up the two-thirds of those present.
Police take wait-and-see approach after federal immigration pact ends
Arizona police agencies said the loss of a state-federal partnership might not be the critical blow to immigration law enforcement that some had feared.
Former Pima County judge one step closer to becoming U.S. attorney
A Senate committee Thursday gave preliminary approval to former Pima County Superior Court Judge John S. Leonardo’s nomination to be the next U.S. Attorney for Arizona.
A year later, Marquez nomination to U.S. district court judgeship has stalled
President Barack Obama nominated Rosemary Marquez to a judgeship on the U.S. District Court for Arizona on June 23, 2011.
Federal court says Border Patrol bosses cannot be sued for officers’ actions
A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that Border Patrol supervisors cannot be sued for the actions of subordinates who routinely stopped vans “based principally on ‘the Latin, Hispanic or Mexican appearance’” of their occupants.
Can a piece of paper block border smuggling tunnels? New law will try
Santa Cruz County Sheriff Tony Estrada is only half-joking when he describes the problem of border-smuggling tunnels that criss-cross under the streets of Nogales.
Arizona businesswoman asks Congress for certainty, clarity in estate tax
Phoenix accountant Thala Rolnick told a House committee Thursday that, whatever Congress does with the estate tax, it needs to make sure the law is clear and consistent so small-business owners can plan their estates.
Appeals court upholds conviction in straw-man purchases of AK-47s
A federal appeals court Tuesday upheld the 2011 conviction of a man who bought dozens of AK-47s from an Arizona gun shop over a two-week period and delivered them to another man.