News from The Arizona Republic

A Family Divided

Daniel González, Photos by Nick Oza — Mon, 20 May 2013 07:12:13 +0000

Firefighter, police officer lose lives on same day in tragic first for Phoenix

Jackee Coe, Caitlin McGlade and Laurie Merrill — Mon, 20 May 2013 05:45:51 +0000

One was a newlywed, and the other was getting ready to attend his 5-year-old daughter’s kindergarten graduation. They will be forever linked through their tragic fates, which intermingled to become a grim first for Phoenix.Firefighter Brad Harper, 23, died at 1:30 a.m. Sunday, hours after being crushed between two vehicles while fighting a blaze in west Phoenix the previous day. Two hours after he died, police Officer Daryl Raetz, 29, was killed by a hit-and-run driver while investigating a crash linked to driving under the influence. It was the first time Phoenix has ever lost a police officer and a firefighter on the same day.

McCain bill pushes ‘a la carte’ cable pricing

Dan Nowicki — Mon, 20 May 2013 05:32:59 +0000

Online music retailers usually don’t force consumers to buy an entire album to get a favorite song.
Many consumers wonder why satellite and cable operators can’t do something similar and allow them to purchase TV service by the channel instead of a bundle of dozens or even hundreds of networks, many of which they’ll never watch.

Billboard Music Awards performances rock Las Vegas

Brian Mansfield — Mon, 20 May 2013 03:02:08 +0000

Quick, name a Billboard Music Award winner. Yeah, we’d be hard-pressed to do it, too. As with most such shows, it’s the performances that get people talking. For USA TODAY, Brian Mansfield recaps the night’s musical numbers.
4 stars (out of four): Prince, “Let’s Go Crazy/FixUrLifeUp”

Phoenix firefighter ‘extremely critical’ after responding to mulch fire

Cecilia Chan and Mark Carlson — Mon, 20 May 2013 01:21:00 +0000

Tornadoes touch down in Kansas, Oklahoma

azcentral.com | news — Sun, 19 May 2013 23:47:49 +0000

TOPEKA, Kan. — A powerful storm system rumbled through the Plains and upper Midwest on Sunday, spawning tornadoes that damaged homes and buildings near Oklahoma City and put the Tulsa area on high-alert.
There were no immediate reports of injuries caused by any of the tornadoes that touched down in Oklahoma and Kansas, including one that hit the Oklahoma City suburb of Edmond before moving northeast toward Tulsa, 90 miles to the northeast.

$590M-plus Powerball: 1 winning ticket sold in Florida

azcentral.com | news — Sun, 19 May 2013 18:18:15 +0000

ZEPHYRHILLS, Fla. — Some lucky person walked into a Publix supermarket in suburban Florida over the past few days and bought a ticket now worth an estimated $590.5 million — the highest Powerball jackpot in history.
But it wasn’t Matthew Bogel. On Sunday, he loaded groceries into his car after shopping at the Publix. He shook his head when asked about the jackpot.

In a single magic Phoenix Suns season, an entire city comes of age

Bob Young, columnist — Sun, 19 May 2013 08:59:22 +0000

At the time, it seemed audacious even to Paul Westphal, the first-year head coach who had guided the Phoenix Suns to the best record in the NBA during the 1992-93 regular season.
But in the first round of the 1993 NBA playoffs, the Suns lost the first two games of the best-of-five series against the Los Angeles Lakers, at home no less. No team in NBA history ever had escaped from such a fix.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer staking legacy on Medicaid

Yvonne Wingett Sanchez — Sun, 19 May 2013 08:58:04 +0000

Inside a Sun City West clubhouse one recent afternoon, Republican Gov. Jan Brewer stood before fellow Republicans, many of whom she once represented as a state lawmaker or county supervisor. She was there to explain why she had bucked many conservatives in her party to embrace Medicaid expansion, a signature piece of Democratic President Barack Obama’s health-care overhaul.
It was a tough sell for some in this crowd — just as it has been with many GOP state legislators, who are divided on whether to accept billions in federal funds under the Affordable Care Act to provide health coverage to tens of thousands of uninsured Arizonans.

Wildfires around Arizona cover over 1,400 acres

D.S. Woodfill — Sun, 19 May 2013 01:05:48 +0000

Wildfires covering over 1,400 acres sparked up in the northwest and southern areas of the state, fire officials said.One fire in Black Rock, which is in Mojave County near the border with Utah, was sparked by lighting and spread Saturday to 1,235 acres about 25 miles southwest of San Carlos, according to officials from the Albuquerque, N.M.-based Southwest Coordination Center. The agency coordinates federal and state fire resources to combat wildfires.