A trial is set to begin this week for a former Arizona state lawmaker accused of killing a man on a hunting and fishing trip in Alaska.

A group representing marijuana business owners in the West is urging Congress to include language in a government spending bill that would protect pot operations.

Forestry and fire officials told a Senate subcommittee that federal, state and local firefighters need more funding, training and flexibility to effectively battle wildfires.

DOVER, N.H. (AP) ai??i?? Thirty months after she was shot through the head, former Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords sits in a New Hampshire restaurant facing parents of children killed in the nation's latest school shooting.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) ai??i?? Alaska might seem a hard place to sell a gun control message in a state where subsistence hunting is for many a way of life, and where people routinely carry guns into the wilderness for protection from bears.

Supporters of bipartisan immigration legislation smoothed the way Friday for likely Senate passage of their handiwork, overcoming last-minute disagreements at the bill's controversial core and tacking on other items certain to build support.

In California, a new law makes it a crime for a dog to pursue a bear or bobcat at any time.

In Illinois, it’s now illegal to sell, trade or distribute shark fins.

The National Conference of State Legislatures has compiled a list of laws around the country that went into effect Jan. 1. Here are others, as described by the NCSL.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer says she's taking her first vacation in more than two years.

Tea party supporters voting in a straw poll at a national summit favor conservative Texas Rep. Ron Paul and Georgia radio host Herman Cain for president in 2012.

Arizona Rep.-elect Paul Gosar has hired a Palin family lawyer as his legislative director and deputy chief of staff.