Arizona

WASHINGTON — Kari Lake, the fiery former news anchor who narrowly lost a race for governor of Arizona last year, said in an interview that she is considering a Republican campaign for the U.S. Senate in Arizona next year. She has also scheduled campaign-style events this month in Iowa — home to her party’s first presidential nominating contest — that typically signal White House ambitions. Additionally, she is still contesting her November defeat in the Arizona governor’s race, despite her claims of misconduct being rejected in court . She has continued raising money to help finance legal bills related to her court challenges, and has also given several paid speeches, but declined to say for whom. Ms. Lake’s maneuvering in recent months has signaled that she’s eager to build out her fledgling political résumé following a midlife career shift. After spending decades as a local television reporter and anchor, Ms. Lake burst onto the political scene last year after … [Read more...] about Kari Lake, Still Refusing to Accept Defeat in One Race, Teases Arizona Senate Run

PHOENIX — Military veterans lined both sides of the Capitol Plaza here on Wednesday as a black hearse delivered the coffin carrying Senator John S. McCain to the rotunda, where constituents began saying farewell to the war veteran who became a towering political figure in this part of the West. As Mr. McCain was lying in state , his immediate family and Arizona political leaders paid tribute to the naval aviator, who endured torture as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. They remembered him as an example of a statesman striving to unite Americans regardless of their political beliefs. “It’s our job to show our respect,” said Robbie Campbell, 59, a statewide captain of the Patriot Guard Riders, an organization composed largely of motorcyclists who attend the funerals of United States military service members and first responders. “We don’t want anybody that serves to protect our freedoms to not know that the whole nation cares.” Gov. Doug Ducey of Arizona embraced Mr. McCain’s wife, … [Read more...] about John McCain Is Honored in Arizona, With Tears and Tributes

They go into the streets in search of data. Peeking behind dumpsters, shining flashlights under bridges, rustling a frosted tent to see if anyone was inside. This is what it takes to count the people in America who don’t have a place to live. To get a number, however flawed, that describes the scope of a deeply entrenched problem and the country’s progress toward fixing it. Last year, the Biden administration laid out a goal to reduce homelessness by 25 percent by 2025. The problem increasingly animates local politics , with ambitious programs to build affordable housing getting opposition from homeowners who say they want encampments gone but for the solution to be far from their communities. Across the country, homelessness is a subject in which declarations of urgency outweigh measurable progress. Officially called the Point-in-Time Count , the annual tally of those who live outside or in homeless shelters takes place in every corner of the country through the last 10 … [Read more...] about This Is What It Looks Like to Try to Count America’s Homeless Population

A consortium of political advocacy groups are pushing for an investigation into allegations that Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) has had staffers running her personal errands and performing sundry household tasks on the taxpayer dime. As first reported in December by The Daily Beast , Sinema aides are bound by a 37-page memo that lays out a very specific set of demands: the senator’s groceries are to be picked up promptly, her hour-long massages are to be booked weekly, and her internet service at home in D.C. must always be in working order. (If not, an assistant “should call Verizon to schedule a repair” so a staff member can be there to let a technician into her apartment, according to the memo.) Now, 13 progressive nonprofits—including, among others, the Arizona Democracy Resource Center, Sunrise Movement Tempe, Patriotic Millionaires, and Vets Forward—have filed a formal complaint with the Senate Ethics Committee over Sinema’s alleged behavior. The accusations “paint a … [Read more...] about ‘Disrespectful and Even Abusive’: Kyrsten Sinema Hit With Ethics Complaint

PHOENIX — When former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. traveled to Senator John McCain’s Arizona ranch last Sunday to spend a few hours with his ailing friend, the two reminisced about the “crazy senators” they had served with, the overseas trips they took together for decades and the friendship Mr. McCain forged with Mr. Biden’s two sons. But the conversation on the sun-splashed deck off Mr. McCain’s bedroom was not all nostalgia. “Here John knows he’s in a very, very, very precarious situation, and yet he’s still concerned about the state of the country,” Mr. Biden said in an interview. “We talked about how our international reputation is being damaged and we talked about the need for people to stand up and speak out.” As he battles brain cancer and the debilitating side effects of his aggressive treatment, Mr. McCain himself is reckoning with his history and the future, as he and a stream of friends share memories and say what needs to be said. No one is saying goodbye, … [Read more...] about At His Ranch, John McCain Shares Memories and Regrets With Friends

Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had a fiery fit as Republicans prepared to remove Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Ocasio-Cortez made the comments Thursday as lawmakers debated the question prior to the vote that removed Omar. The New York Democrat angrily described Omar’s removal as an “attack on women of color.” “There is nothing consistent with the Republican Party’s continued attack, except for the racism and incitement of violence against women of color in this body. I had a member of the Republican caucus threaten my life and you all — and the Republican caucus — rewarded him with one of the most prestigious committee assignments in this Congress,” she said, referring to GOP Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar. In Nov. 2021, Gosar posted an edited anime video that depicted Gosar killing her attacking President Joe Biden. He quietly removed the video two days after posting it, but House Democrats still voted to censure … [Read more...] about Ocasio-Cortez Has Fiery Fit On House Floor Over Ilhan Omar’s Committee Removal

SEARSPORT, Maine — In 2019, when Celine Kelley’s daughter was born, there were 13 births and 31 deaths in the coastal town of Searsport — a familiar phenomenon in a state where deaths had outpaced births for more than a decade. But the pandemic brought a countervailing force. Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire have seen an uptick in new residents arriving from other states, more than 50,000 across the three states since April 2020, even as other Northeastern states — and especially large metro areas — have experienced a surge in out-migration. While experts say it is unclear if the blip will become a lasting trend in largely rural northern New England, Ms. Kelley already sees both good and bad effects. With more children showing up, she said, it feels more certain that her 3-year-old will have activities to join, from youth soccer to Easter egg hunts in the park. But Ms. Kelley also owns a cafe and bakery in Searsport, a town of 2,600 about two hours north of Portland, and as she … [Read more...] about In Maine, a Rare Influx of New Residents, and a Housing Crunch

In the depths of the cold war, in 1983, a senior at Columbia University wrote in a campus newsmagazine, Sundial, about the vision of “a nuclear free world.” He railed against discussions of “first- versus second-strike capabilities” that “suit the military-industrial interests” with their “billion-dollar erector sets,” and agitated for the elimination of global arsenals holding tens of thousands of deadly warheads. The student was Barack Obama, and he was clearly trying to sort out his thoughts. In the conclusion, he denounced “the twisted logic of which we are a part today” and praised student efforts to realize “the possibility of a decent world.” But his article , “Breaking the War Mentality,” which only recently has been rediscovered, said little about how to achieve the utopian dream. Twenty-six years later, the author, in his new job as president of the United States, has begun pushing for new global rules, treaties and alliances that he insists can establish a nuclear-free … [Read more...] about Obama’s Youth Shaped His Nuclear-Free Vision

For more than a year, we’ve been asking you for tips on exploring the Golden State — and you’ve been delivering. California is treasured for its natural beauty, and you’ve recommended hundreds of the best places to soak it all in. The darkest desert campsites to see the stars, the best road trip routes to the world’s biggest trees or just your favorite hiking trails in your regional park. Today we’re offering a highlight reel of sorts. Recently, many of you have written to us about trips you’ve taken within the state that were inspired by reader suggestions published in this newsletter. It’s been lovely to see how delighted you’ve been to discover, or rediscover, California and all its wonders. Below, I’m sharing some of the notes and photos you sent in from your trips, which will hopefully provide some inspiration for future vacations. As always, please keep sending us your favorite places to visit in California by emailing us at [email protected] . We’ll be sharing more in … [Read more...] about Readers Share Their Favorite California Travel Tips

A vast dome of high pressure has edged westward and settled over California, inflicting sweltering and record-setting temperatures across much of the state and threatening to strain the state’s power grid. Record high daily temperatures scorched several cities across the Bay Area on Monday, with oppressive heat forecast to continue for days, according to the National Weather Service. Gilroy hit 112 degrees, breaking a daily record of 106 that was set just two years ago. Temperatures in Livermore hit 116, topping a daily record of 108 degrees from 1950. In Southern California, Pasadena touched 103 degrees over the weekend, breaking a daily record set in 1938. Burbank hit 110 degrees. In the Central Valley, a federal meteorologist forecast that Fresno, a city of more than 500,000, would top out at 114 degrees on Tuesday — three degrees higher than the city’s all-time high temperature for September. “It’s definitely record-setting,” said Bill South, lead meteorologist for the … [Read more...] about California swelters through a Labor Day heat wave, stretching its electricity resources.