COVID-19 - Wednesday 12/30/2020

"Senate remains at a standstill over increased COVID relief checks" PBS NewsHour 12/30/2020

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  The struggle to provide additional COVID relief continues in the U.S. Senate.  The passage of $2,000 relief checks is stalled despite President Trump's repeated demands for larger direct payments.  Anna Palmer, senior Washington correspondent for POLITICO, joins Amna Nawaz to discuss.

 

 

"Arizona health care workers face ‘catastrophic’ conditions amid surge in COVID cases" PBS NewsHour 12/30/2020

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SUMMARY:  With the number of COVID cases and hospitalizations surging in many parts of the country, health care systems and their staff are becoming further strained, including many areas in Arizona.  In Phoenix, six hospitals are now diverting incoming emergency patients to other facilities.  Dr. Quinn Snyder, an emergency physician in Mesa, Arizona, joins Amna Nawaz to discuss his view from the frontline.

 

 

"U.S. struggles to distribute vaccinations, falling far short of projections" PBS NewsHour 12/30/2020

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SUMMARY:  In the first two weeks of America's vaccination campaign, just 2 million people have received the first of the two required doses for their vaccinations -- far short of the Trump administration's projections of 20 million vaccinations by the end of this year.  William Brangham spoke to Dr. Carlos del Rio, a professor of global health at Emory University School of Medicine, to discuss.

 

 

"COVID-19 cases drop in rural Missouri, but vaccinations are still weeks away" PBS NewsHour 12/30/2020

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SUMMARY:  As the pandemic continues spiraling out of control in much of the U.S., the number of infections have declined in recent weeks in Scotland County, Missouri.  But despite that good news, medical professionals there may not receive any doses of the coronavirus vaccine until the end of January, and they fear their community could soon have another surge.  Special correspondent James Fox reports.

TRUMP IMMIGRATION - Kids in Custody

"Troubling video sparks more questions about treatment of migrant children in shelters" PBS NewsHour 12/31/2018

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SUMMARY:  Troubling videos from inside an Arizona migrant children’s shelter appear to show employees of a government contractor treating children roughly.  The footage, which was taken in September, was obtained through an open records request by Mary Jo Pitzl of the Arizona Republic, who joins Amna Nawaz to discuss the disturbing content and why it's "a bit of a mystery" what occurs at these facilities.

QUESTION:  Is the "concern for privacy rights" really a way to hide what is happening?  Especially when those in government who are responsible remain silent.  In other words, wouldn't transparency be a better way to protect these immigrant children.

VOTE 2018 - Midterms, Arizona and Florida

"What Arizona and Florida primary winners mean for November" PBS NewsHour 8/29/2018

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SUMMARY:  In Florida, Democratic Mayor Andrew Gillum pulled off a historic upset Tuesday, setting up a battle with GOP nominee Rep. Ron DeSantis.  In Arizona, Rep. Martha McSally topped the Republican candidates to face off against Rep. Kyrsten Sinema [D] to become the state's first female senator.  Lisa Desjardins and Kyle Kondik of University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, join Judy Woodruff for more.

TRIBUTE - McCain

"Despite losses, McCain’s spirit was ‘never broken,’ says former defense secretary" PBS NewsHour 8/27/2018

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SUMMARY:  Judy Woodruff looks back on the prolific and storied career of Sen. John McCain, from his military heroism to two disappointing presidential campaigns to a reputation as a party maverick.  Former Secretary of Defense William Cohen was a close friend of McCain's, serving as a groomsman at his 1980 wedding.  He joins John Yang to remember McCain's irrepressible humor and “restlessness” to do more.

"How did John McCain and Ted Kennedy find common ground? ‘They listened’" PBS NewsHour 8/29/2018

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SUMMARY:  Sen. John McCain’s death on Saturday, nine years to the day after friend Sen. Ted Kennedy died of the same type of brain cancer, has drawn parallels between the two political icons, who were known for their occasional bipartisan efforts and their shared sentiments.  Victoria Reggie Kennedy, the senator’s widow, joins Judy Woodruff to talk about their friendship.

"John McCain remembered as a fighter for American ideals" PBS NewsHour 8/30/2018

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SUMMARY:  Friends and family, ordinary citizens and VIPs alike gathered Thursday in Phoenix to honor the life and legacy of Arizona Sen. John McCain, who died last Saturday at the age of 81.  Judy Woodruff reports.

"Washington pays tribute to McCain: ‘He would fight tooth and nail for his vision of the common good’" PBS NewsHour 8/31/2018

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SUMMARY:  Washington pays tribute to John McCain at the Capitol
Blurb: At a ceremony inside the Capitol Rotunda Friday, Sen. John McCain's family gathered as lawmakers paid final respects, and top Republicans testified to his independent streak.  Judy Woodruff reports.

"McCain modeled a bedrock belief in human dignity and American democracy, say family and friends at his funeral" PBS NewsHour 9/1/2018

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SUMMARY:  Politicians, family and friends gathered at the Washington National Cathedral Saturday to remember former Presidential candidate and decorated Navy pilot Sen. John McCain.  While President Donald Trump was not invited, former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama gave eulogies and hailed their once-political opponent's courage and dignity, saying that he modeled the best of American leadership.

ARIZONA - Personalized Probation

"A personalized approach to probation saved Arizona $461 million" PBS NewsHour 4/7/2018

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SUMMARY:  Arizona has saved millions of dollars by keeping people out of prison since it introduced a more rigorous adult probation program 10 years ago.  With classes that help people on probation create goals and learn coping skills, violations have declined by 29 percent.  NewsHour Weekend’s Christopher Booker talks to some of the people who have benefited from the overhaul.

RETHINKING COLLEGE - Personalized Learning

"How ‘personalized learning’ can put college in reach for nontraditional students" PBS NewsHour 9/19/2017

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SUMMARY:  A program in Arizona supports nontraditional students who want to pursue degrees at their own speed.  Much like a Netflix subscription, the new program lets students pay a flat fee for a personalized curriculum that works within their schedules.  Hari Sreenivasan reports on how Northern Arizona University is putting bachelor's degrees within reach for many.

DESPICABLE - Arpaio Pardon (Updated)

Prof that Trump is a racist.

"Arpaio pardon hurts GOP relations with Trump" PBS NewsHour 8/26/2017

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SUMMARY:  President Donald Trump's pardon of former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who aggressively pursued undocumented immigrants, exacerbated an increasingly tenuous relationship with national Republicans.  NewsHour Weekend Special Correspondent Jeff Greenfield joins Hari Sreenivasan from Santa Barbara, California, on what the latest rift means for the party and country.

"What the Arpaio pardon reveals about Trump's take on the rule of law" PBS NewsHour 8/28/2017

His all powerful Majesty, King Trump, who is the ONLY law (at least in his own warped mind).

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  President Trump's Friday night pardon of former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio -- convicted of defying a court order to stop targeting undocumented immigrants -- drew swift criticism, even from fellow Republicans.  What makes the controversial pardon so noteworthy?  John Yang is joined by Brian Kalt of Michigan State University to discuss its significance.

ELECTION 2016 - Healthcare at Risk

"Obamacare's future at stake in election" PBS NewsHour 9/22/2016

Republicans (especially emperor-with-no-cloths  Trump) would like to dismantle or weaken the ACA and go back to the old system, and dump our poorest citizens so the Health Insurance Industry can make MORE profits.  Totally in-line with their 'money before people' dogma.  After all, the poor don't make the big$ contributions to Republicans, who know who is really paying them.

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  One big issue at stake in this election is President Obama's signature domestic achievement:  the Affordable Care Act.  While Hillary Clinton wants to preserve and expand the law, Donald Trump would replace it with a series of smaller measures.  From Arizona, special correspondent Sarah Varney speaks with residents about what they would like to see in future health care policy.

GWEN IFILL (NewsHour):  And now we continue our coverage of the issues of this campaign.  Tonight:  health care, and specifically what's at stake for President Obama's signature domestic achievement, the Affordable Care Act, often referred to as Obamacare.

It's turned into a significant issue in some states, like Arizona, where polls show Hillary Clinton in a tight contest with Donald Trump.

Special correspondent Sarah Varney looks at those concerns and the candidates' plans.  This story was produced in collaboration with our partner Kaiser Health News.

SARAH VARNEY, Special correspondent:  Just weeks before the presidential election, Tempe, Arizona resident Josephine has spent nearly every morning driving, waiting, and back at home worrying.

Once uninsured, she was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and gets health coverage through Obamacare.  The 61-year-old, who goes by Jo, says she trusts just one candidate to keep her covered.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), Presidential Nominee:  I will continue to improve the Affordable Care Act.  I will work to get the costs down, premiums, co-pays, deductibles, prescription drug costs.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

SARAH VARNEY:  Hillary Clinton has offered detailed plans to preserve and expand the law, even pushing for a public option, a type of government-run insurance plan.  She also wants to expand tax subsidies to reduce health care costs and allow people 55 and older to buy into Medicare.

DONALD TRUMP (R), Presidential Nominee:  We're going to repeal and replace Obamacare so quickly.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

SARAH VARNEY:  Meanwhile, Donald Trump wants to replace the health law with a handful of smaller measures, like allowing insurance to be sold across state lines and tax deductions for premiums.

Health policy experts say these approaches would cover far fewer people than the Affordable Care Act.

ELECTION THREAT - Russian Hack of Voting System

"FBI WARNS OF ELECTION HACK" by Ellen Nakashima, San Diego Union-Tribune 8/30/2016

NOTE: This is from the online edition of the newspaper, therefore no article link.

Agency alerted Arizona officials that Russians were behind assault on state’s voting system

The FBI is investigating a series of suspected foreign hacks of state election computer systems and websites, and has warned states to be on the alert for potential intrusions.

Hackers have targeted voter registration systems in Illinois and Arizona, and the FBI alerted Arizona officials in June that Russians were behind the assault on the system in that state.

The bureau described the threat as “credible” and significant, “an eight on a scale of one to 10,” Matt Roberts, a spokesman for Arizona Secretary of State Michele Reagan, said Monday.  As a result, Reagan shut down the state’s voter registration system for nearly a week.

It turned out that the hackers had not compromised the state system or even any county system.  They had, however, stolen the user name and password of a single elections official in Gila County.

Roberts said FBI investigators did not specify whether the hackers were criminals or employed by the Russian government.  Bureau officials on Monday declined to comment.

The Arizona incident is the latest indication of Russian interest in U.S. elections and party operations, and follows the discovery of a high profile penetration into Democratic National Committee computers.  That hack produced embarrassing emails that led to the resignation of DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz and sowed dissension on the eve of Hillary Clinton’s nomination as the party’s presidential candidate.

The Russian campaign is also sparking intense anxiety about the security of this year’s elections.  Earlier this month, the FBI warned state officials to be on the lookout for intrusions into their elections systems.  The “flash” alert, which was first reported by Yahoo News, said investigators had detected attempts to penetrate election systems in several states and listed internet protocol addresses and other technical fingerprints associated with the hacks.  In addition to Arizona, Illinois officials discovered an intrusion into their elections system in July.  Although the hackers did not alter any data, the intrusion marks the first successful compromise of a state voter registration database, federal officials said.

“This was a highly sophisticated attack most likely from a foreign (international) entity,” said Kyle Thomas, director of voting and registration systems for the Illinois State Board of Elections, in a message that was sent to all election authorities in the state.

The Illinois hackers were able to retrieve voter records, but the number accessed was “a fairly small percentage of the total,” said Ken Menzel, general counsel for the Illinois elections board.

State officials alerted the FBI, he said, and the Department of Homeland Security also was involved.  The intrusion in Illinois led to a week-long shutdown of the voter registration system.

The FBI has told Illinois officials that it is looking at foreign government agencies and criminal hackers as potential culprits, Menzel said.

At least two other states are looking into possible breaches, officials said.  Meanwhile, states across the nation are scrambling to ensure that their systems are secure.

Until now, countries such as Russia and China have shown little interest in voting systems in the United States.  But experts said that if a foreign government gained the ability to tamper with voter data — for instance by deleting registration records — such a hack could cast doubt on the legitimacy of U.S. elections.

“I’m less concerned about the attackers getting access to and downloading the information.  I’m more concerned about the information being altered, modified or deleted.  That’s where the real potential is for any sort of meddling in the election,” said Brian Kalkin, vice president of operations for the Center for Internet Security, which operates the MS-ISAC, a multistate information-sharing center that helps government agencies combat cyberthreats and works closely with federal law enforcement.

Nonetheless, the Senate minority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, asked the FBI Monday to investigate evidence suggesting that Russia may try to manipulate voting results.  In a letter to FBI Director James Comey, Reid wrote that the threat of Russian interference “is more extensive than is widely known and may include the intent to falsify official election results.” Recent classified briefings from senior intelligence officials, Reid said, have left him fearful that President Vladimir Putin’s “goal is tampering with this election.”

Reid argued that the connections between some of Donald Trump’s former and current advisers and the Russian leadership should, by itself, prompt an investigation.  He referred indirectly in his letter to a speech given in Russia by one Trump adviser, Carter Page, a consultant and investor in the energy giant Gazprom, who criticized U.S.  sanctions policy toward Russia.

“Trump and his people keep saying the election is rigged,” Reid said.  “Why is he saying that?  Because people are telling him the election can be messed with.”  Trump’s advisers say they are concerned that unnamed elites could rig the election for Clinton.  Reid argued that if Russia concentrated on “less than six” swing states, it could alter results and undermine confidence in the electoral system.  That would pose challenges, given that most states have paper backups, but he noted that hackers could keep people from voting by tampering with the rolls of eligible voters.

James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, has told Congress that manipulation or deletion of data is the next big cyberthreat — “the next push on the envelope.”  Tom Hicks, chairman of the federal Election Assistance Commission, an agency set up by Congress after the 2000 Florida recount to maintain election integrity, said he is confident that states have sufficient safeguards in place to ward off attempts to manipulate data.  For example, if a voter’s name were deleted and did not show up on the precinct list, the individual could still cast a provisional ballot, Hicks said.  Once the voter’s status was confirmed, the ballot would be counted.

Hicks also said the actual systems used to cast votes “are not hooked up to the internet” and so “there’s not going to be any manipulation of data.”  However, more than 30 states have some provisions for online voting, primarily for voters living overseas or serving in the military.

This spring, a DHS official cautioned that online voting is not yet secure.

“We believe that online voting, especially online voting in large scale, introduces great risk into the election system by threatening voters’ expectations of confidentiality, accountability and security of their votes and provides an avenue for malicious actors to manipulate the voting results,” said Neil Jenkins, an official in the department’s Office of Cybersecurity and Communications.

Private-sector researchers are also concerned about potential meddling by Russians in the U.S. elections system.  Rich Barger, chief information officer at ThreatConnect, said that several of the IP addresses listed in the FBI alert trace back to a website-hosting service called King Servers that offers Russia-based technical support.  Barger also said that one of the methods used was similar to a tactic employed in other intrusions suspected of being carried out by the Russian government, including one this month on the World Anti-Doping Agency.

“The very fact that (someone) has rattled the doorknobs, the very fact that the state election commissions are in the cross hairs, gives grounds to the average American voter to wonder: Can they really trust the results?” Barger said.

Nakashima writes for The Washington Post.  The New York Times contributed to this report.

DOCUMENTARY - Cartel Land

"New documentary offers close-up view of violent cartels" PBS NewsHour 8/4/2015

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SUMMARY:  Cartel wars have been raging for years now in Mexico, with civilians getting caught in the crossfire.  To document the struggle against these cartels, Matthew Heineman embedded with two vigilante groups.  He joins Jeffrey Brown to discuss his new documentary, “Cartel Land.”

JEFFREY BROWN (NewsHour):  It’s the stuff of the nightly news, the violent drug wars in Mexico and along the U.S. border.  But the documentary “Cartel Land,” which won awards at the Sundance Film Festival for directing and cinematography, takes the viewer along on a sometimes wild and scary ride at ground level.

Filmmaker Matthew Heineman embedded himself with meth cooks, self-appointed lawmen and others.  We spoke recently at the AFI Docs Festival in Washington.

MATTHEW HEINEMAN, Director, “Cartel Land”:  For me, there’s been a lot of really wonderful documentaries, news stories, articles about the drug war, about policy, about this issue.  And I really wanted to put myself on the ground in the middle of it.

I wanted to get into places that people hadn’t seen before.  I’m not a war reporter.  I have never been in situations like this before.

JEFFREY BROWN:  You never have?

MATTHEW HEINEMAN:  Never.

JEFFREY BROWN:  That’s exactly the kind of situation Heineman found himself in.  He tells his story through the lens of two modern-day vigilante groups, Mexicans in the state of Michoacan led by the charismatic Dr. Jose Mireles, and a paramilitary group of Americans patrolling the U.S. border led by Tim Foley of Arizona.

MATTHEW HEINEMAN:  On some level, it’s a character-driven film about these two men.  They’re both 55 years old, one living in Arizona; one in Michoacan, Mexico.  But both believe that the government has failed them.

And they both have sort of taken up arms to fight for what they believe in.  Access and trust are everything, and developing that trust with my subjects was really important, obviously especially on the Mexico side.  You know, it was really frightening.

I mean, I — you really didn’t know if you were with the good guys or the bad guys.  And very quickly, I realized that this story was a lot more complicated, that the lines between good and evil were much more blurry.
-----
JEFFREY BROWN:  Near the end of film, one of the characters says; it’s never going to stop, period.

Is that what you came to think?

MATTHEW HEINEMAN:  I really do think this problem is cyclical.

And I do — you know, as long as there’s a demand for drugs in the States, there will be supply for drugs in Mexico and South America flowing northward.

WATER - California and Arizona Shell-Game

"Less Than Zero" by Abrahm Lustgarten, ProPublica 6/16/2015

Excerpt

Despite decades of accepted science, California and Arizona are still miscounting their water supplies.

Deep beneath the bleached-out, dusty surface of the drought-stricken West is a stash of water sequestered between layers of rock and sometimes built up over centuries.

Officials in the Colorado River basin states have long treated this liquid treasure as a type of environmental retirement account — an additional supply of water they can raid to get through the driest years and make up for the chronic overuse of the rivers themselves.

In recent years, the withdrawals have taken on even more importance:  At least 60 percent of California’s water now comes from underground, some researchers say.  Arizona, staring down imminent rationing of Colorado River water, pumps nearly half its supply from aquifers.

But in allowing their residents to tap underground resources this way, regulators and legislators in Southwestern states have ignored an inconvenient truth about how much water is actually available for people to use:  In many places, groundwater and surface water are not independent supplies at all.  Rather, they are interconnected parts of the same system.

The science has been clear for the better part of a century.  Drawing groundwater from near a stream can suck that stream dry.  In turn, using all the water in streams and rivers lessens their ability to replenish the aquifers beneath them.  Farmers who drill new wells to supplement their supplies with groundwater are often stealing water from their neighbors who hold rights to the rivers above them.  This understanding has been the foundation of the U.S. Department of the Interior’s water accounting for decades, and was used by the U.S. Supreme Court to decide one of the most significant water contests in history.

Yet California and Arizona — the two states water experts say are facing the most severe water crises — continue to count and regulate groundwater and surface water as if they were entirely separate.

“States have their own take on this.  Or they choose to not address it at all,” said Stanley Leake, a hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey and a leading expert on properly accounting for the connection between ground and surface waters in the West.  “In some cases they pretend that there is no connection.”

Leaders in California and Arizona acknowledge that their states have done this, at least in part to avoid the grim reckoning that emanates from doing the math accurately.  There is even less water available than residents have been led to believe.

If these states stopped effectively double-counting their resources, they would have to change laws, upend traditional water rights and likely force farmers and cities to accept even more dramatic cuts than they already face — a political third rail.

“The politics of water are more challenging than any other issue the state faces,” said Fran Pavley, a California state senator who helped draft a much-praised package of state laws passed last year regulating groundwater withdrawals for the first time.

Tucked into Pavley’s package was a little-noticed provision that explicitly prohibits California state regulators from addressing the interconnection between groundwater and surface water in local water plans until 2025, a compromise meant to give local water agencies a leisurely runway to adjust to a new way of counting.

Pavley said the prospect of more immediately acknowledging the overlap between ground and surface waters threatened to derail the legislation entirely, triggering fierce opposition from the Agricultural Council of California, the California Chamber of Commerce and other industry groups.

“Those who have unlimited water supply don’t particularly like the idea of changing that,” she said.  “You can’t manage what you don’t measure.”

Arizona law, too, treats groundwater and surface water as unconnected, as does Arizona’s state water plan, which purports to account for water resources and to estimate how many years of supply remain.  Its authors know better, Arizona’s top water official acknowledged, but rewriting them to be more truthful would be politically impossible and economically damaging.

“We know for a fact that pumping aquifers can dry up rivers,” said Thomas Buschatzke, the director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources, who says his policy is bound by the Legislature and court rulings.  “But it is the law … it would be a huge upset to the economy to do away with that.”

The costs of refusing to acknowledge or adapt to the reality that two seemingly separate sources of water are actually often one are hard to measure but may turn out to be profound, leading hydrologists say.

In a series of articles, ProPublica has been examining the ways in which man’s mistakes in managing water in the West have exacerbated the severity of the drought and have left Colorado River basin states less able to adapt to a changing climate.  There are lots of culprits:  farming subsidies for water-intensive crops, arcane laws encouraging waste, leaky infrastructure, and more.

But none may be more significant than allowing a miscounting of how much water exists in the first place.  Willingly overlooking the science amounts to a fundamental failure of water management, leading water experts say, one that is leading to decisions about how to use it that will deepen and prolong the drought’s painful effects.  In the end, said Rich Juricich, an engineer with the California Department of Water Resources, it may mean that some places run short of the water they need.

Already, damage from the West’s increasing reliance on underground water supplies is proliferating.  In parts of California and Arizona, groundwater levels are being drawn down so quickly that the earth above them is collapsing.  Bridges and canals are buckling.

The more water is extracted from underground, the harder it becomes to restore the region’s rivers and reservoirs — some of which no longer flow through the summer — simultaneously sucking them dry from above and below.

“If you don’t connect the two, then you don’t understand the system,” said John Bredehoeft, a leading hydrogeologist who for many years managed the U.S. government’s western states water program for the U.S. Geological Survey.  “And if you don’t understand the system, I don’t know how in the hell you’re going to make any kind of judgment about how much water you’ve got to work with.”

ARIZONA - Attack of the Killer Bees (no kidding)

"Thousands of bees kill landscaper in Arizona" SFGate 10/9/2014

DOUGLAS, Ariz. (AP) — Thousands of swarming bees have left one landscaper dead and another critically injured after the men were stung in southern Arizona.

Douglas Fire Department officials say the landscapers were working on a home around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday when they were attacked by the huge swarm of bees.  One man later died at a hospital.

The names of the victims weren't immediately released.

A hive was found inside the home's attic and a beekeeper later exterminated it after parts of the roof of the home were torn off.

OPINION - Shields and Brooks 2/28/2014

"Shields and Brooks on Putin perceptions and a tax reform proposal" PBS Newshour 2/28/2014

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks join Judy Woodruff to discuss the week’s news, including the latest developments in Ukraine and the ways Russian President Vladimir Putin wields power, the veto of a controversial bill in Arizona, Rep. Dave Camp’s new tax reform plan and the launch of a program encouraging private foundations to support young men of color.

SUPREME COURT - Refuses Arizona Appeal on Abortion

"Supreme Court refuses to hear Arizona abortion case" PBS Newshour 1/13/2014

The Supreme Court Monday declined to reconsider an Arizona law that would ban abortions at 20 weeks of pregnancy.

The justices, according to SCOTUSblog, refused to hear the case filed by the state of Arizona "without comment and without any noted dissents."

The ban, signed into law by Ariz. Gov. Jan Brewer in April 2012, was overturned by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in May 2013.  The lower court ruled that the ban violated previous Supreme Court rulings concerning a woman's constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy up to the time when the fetus was "viable" enough to live outside the womb -- currently considered around 24 weeks.

In the appeal, filed by Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne, the state questioned whether the fetus' "viability", taken from the Supreme Court's previous decisions upholding abortion rights in 1973's Roe v. Wade and 1992's Planned Parenthood v. Casey, was correctly used as the only critical factor when deciding on constitutionality.  The appeal also included a reference to evidence of fetal pain and whether the previous precedents in two seminal Supreme Court cases should be revisited considering said evidence.

AMERICA - Western U.S. Fires Update

"Town Mourns Victims of Uncontained Mega-Fire in Arizona" (Part-1) PBS Newshour 7/2/2013

JUDY WOODRUFF (Newshour):  Investigators on the ground in Arizona are still trying to determine why so many firefighters died in Sunday's tragedy, even as other crews are struggling to slow the blaze.

The morning brought calmer winds in Yarnell, Ariz., today.  But the deadly fire that started Friday remained largely uncontained.  Fire spokeswoman Karen Takai warned afternoon thunderstorms and winds today could bring more threats to the parched landscape.

KAREN TAKAI, Southwest Incident Management Team Spokesperson:  There's not a lot of large timber, but the vegetation out there, that mesquite is extremely oily.  And once that starts, an ember gets into those extremely dry fuels, that fire is going to rip.  And it's very difficult to control that at that degree, especially with the winds that we're having out here.

JUDY WOODRUFF:  The dangerous conditions which claimed the lives of 19 Prescott, Ariz., firefighters Sunday.  They died when the raging fire, fueled by sudden and changing wind gusts, overcame the crew.

Last night, fellow firefighters paused to remember their fallen comrades.

MAN:  Andrew Ashcraft, 29.

MAN:  Anthony Rose, 23.

JUDY WOODRUFF:  And more than 1,000 people grieved the community's loss in a Prescott gymnasium.

The city's mayor paid tribute to the crew.

MAYOR MARLIN KUYKENDALL, Prescott, Ariz.:  The city of Prescott, you and I, we lost 18, 19 wonderful individuals, family men, and it was like that.

JUDY WOODRUFF:  Elsewhere, family members of those killed spoke of their loved ones.  Kevin Woyjeck was recalled by his sister as a third-generation firefighter who wanted to follow in his father's footsteps.

WOMAN:  My parents lost a son.  My brother lost his best friend, and I lost my guardian angel.  And it's never going to be forgotten.

JUDY WOODRUFF:  And Andrew Ashcraft, who leaves four children, was mourned by his wife.

WOMAN:  We celebrated their dad and the hero that he is and will always be.  And he's an angel for us now.

JUDY WOODRUFF:  An investigative team is being deployed to the area where the firefighters died.

Takai underscored, this fire is part of a larger trend.

KAREN TAKAI:  We are in a long-term drought. And that keeps on being repeated.  But that's what we're seeing with these mega-fires, that it's throughout the Southwest.  It's not only here.  It's other areas.

JUDY WOODRUFF:  In addition to the Yarnell Hill blaze, 15 other major wild fires continue to burn in the Western United States.

"Hotter Temps, Long-Term Drought, Development Drive Fire Problems in the West" (Part-2) PBS Newshour 7/2/2013

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  How do weather conditions, land use and forestry practices play a role in sparking wildfires nationwide?  Judy Woodruff speaks to author and journalist Michael Kodas ,who has been covering the deadly wildfire in Prescott, Ariz., about fire risks and whether the latest fatalities will affect firefighting policy in the future.

Watch Hotter Temps, Drought, Development Drive Fire Problems on PBS.

See more from PBS NewsHour.

AMERICA - The Grand Canyon 70 Million Years Old?

"Grand Canyon May Be 60 Million Years Older Than Previously Thought" PBS Newshour 11/30/2012

Excerpt

MARGARET WARNER (Newshour): ...... Just how old is the Grand Canyon?

The conventional wisdom holds that this natural wonder of the world was shaped by the Colorado River about five or six million years ago. But there's been a long-running debate over whether it's much older. And, yesterday, researchers published a study in the journal "Science," arguing these majestic formations were formed by two much older rivers cutting through the landscape some 70 million years ago. That was during the age of the dinosaurs.

We have NewsHour science correspondent Miles O'Brien here to tell us what the debate is all about.

POLITICS - Newly Elected Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona

"Talking Revenue, Filibuster Reform and Transition to Senate With Jeff Flake" PBS Newshour 11/29/2012

Excerpt

RAY SUAREZ (Newshour): And now we continue our conversations with newly elected senators.

Jeff Flake (R) is currently finishing his sixth term representing Arizona in Congress.

Prior to being elected to the office, the 49-year-old Flake worked as the executive director of the Goldwater Institute, an association that promotes less government.

Earlier this month, he won the seat left open by retiring Republican Jon Kyl, taking 50 percent of the vote.

And Sen.-elect Flake joins me from Capitol Hill.

ARIZONA - Extremest J.T. Ready Goes On Shooting Rampage

"Friends: Shooting suspect was cruel, controlling" by Laurie Merrill (The Arizona Republic), USA Today 5/4/2012

GILBERT, Ariz. – To most outsiders, nothing seemed amiss between Lisa Mederos and Jason Todd Ready.

But behind closed doors, friends say, Ready was cruel and controlling, once pouring a bottle of water over Mederos' head because it was the wrong brand and another time ordering her daughters to find new homes.

For several years, J.T. Ready conducted armed, civilian patrols along the U.S. border, urging the use of violence to prevent smuggling and illegal immigration.

On Wednesday, the former Marine, who was running for Pinal County sheriff, went on a shooting rampage in a sedate Gilbert neighborhood, killing four people, including Mederos, before he took his own life, authorities believe.

Despite outside appearances, Mederos, 47, was a domestic-violence victim, Gilbert police said. She had called police twice about domestic violence, the first time in February, when she reportedly complained that Ready had choked her six months earlier, police said. The report went nowhere.

The second time was her last: She called police in the moments before she and three other members of her household were slain Wednesday before Ready, the suspected shooter, killed himself, police said.

Neighbors and friends described Mederos as a stay-at-home grandmother who adored walking and decorating her home, where she had lived in for about 20 years. Ready was a gun-toting member of the far right National Socialist Movement who wore fatigues around the house, amassed a grenade stockpile and led armed vigilante patrols to the border.

Their public demeanor was unremarkable, neighbors said. Ready had moved into Mederos' home about six months ago, which was about six months after the couple met. Neighbors reported the two smiled at them as they would pull into their driveway. They exchanged pleasantries as they walked her dog and often shopped together, especially for antiques, neighbors said.

But others had noticed troubling signs before gun shots pierced the quiet of the neighborhood around 1 p.m. Wednesday and shattered the assumptions of acquaintances. The dead included three generations of the Mederos family: Lisa, her daughter Amber, 23, and her 16-month-old granddaughter Lilly. Amber's fiancee, Jim Hiott, 24, was also slain.

Gilbert police said that Ready, 39, who had a history of soured relationships, went on a rampage, shooting everyone in sight, then himself. Moments before the shooting, Mederos had called 911 to report a domestic violence incident, police said.

"Our investigation is directing us to murder-suicide," Gilbert police Sgt. Bill Balafas said Thursday. "There is no indication of outside players at all."

Mederos may not have known Ready's troubled past with women, which included a Scottsdale woman who filed an order of protection against him in 2009, and another woman in Ready's apartment complex who in 2003 accused him of stalking, spying, frequently calling and trying to kiss her.

Amber, her daughter, Lilly, and and her sister, Brittany ,were living with Lisa when Ready moved in. Ready had been fired from his Auto Zone job and lost his apartment, friends and neighbors said. Lisa supported him.

It didn't take long for the girls to become disenchanted, said Morton and Castle.

"They hated him," Castle said. "They were always nervous around him."

Ready, an admitted white supremacist, often behaved in a racist manner toward Lilly, who was half-Latino, calling her "50 percent ugly," Morton said.

Ready also was short-tempered, cocky, cruel and controlling, Castle and Morton said.

Once, when Lisa bought him the wrong kind of bottled water, he poured it on her head, said Richard Rory, a friend of Morton's and Amber's. He timed the girls' showers, ordering them to hurry up, Morton said.

"He's living there for free. He's telling her children how long they can shower," Morton said. "He does nothing for her."

He then delivered a crushing blow, splitting the family apart as domestic violence offenders are known to do. Her told Amber and Brittany they had to move out, and both girls left, Castle and other friends said.

"He was such a horrible person," said Castle. "He was a scary person. He was short-tempered.

IMMIGRATION - Supreme Court Battle on Arizona's Law

"In Ariz. Immigration Case, Supreme Court Weighs Limits of Federal, State Powers" PBS Newshour 4/15/2012

Excerpt

SUMMARY: As the Supreme Court heard arguments on Arizona's contentious immigration law Wednesday, justices appeared skeptical of the Obama administration's claim that the state had overstepped federal law. Gwen Ifill and Marcia Coyle discuss the arguments and the four distinct parts that are being challenged.

GWEN IFILL (Newshour): The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments today over Arizona's immigration law. The justices appeared skeptical of the administration's claim that the state had overstepped federal law.

Following the arguments, supporters and critics of the measure made their case outside the court.

SUPREME COURT - Arizona Immigration Law

"Supreme Court to Weigh Contentious Arizona Immigration Law" PBS Newshour 4/24/2012

Excerpt

JUDY WOODRUFF (Newshour): And to our two-part look at immigration.

On the U.S. Supreme Court docket Wednesday is a tough new law in Arizona.

NewsHour correspondent Tom Bearden traveled there recently and sets the scene for tomorrow's arguments.

The "impromptu encounter" mentioned in above video

"'No One Is Higher Than Me,' Sheriff Arpaio Tells Inmate"
By Tom Bearden, PBS Newshour 4/24/2012