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19 Jun 2011 12:24

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U.S.: Massive Arizona wildfires could expand significantly today

  • 3.1M number of acres affected by wildfires this year as of May 31st, according to the National Interagency Fire Center
  • 3.2M number of acres affected through the entirety of 2010, the group’s annual report notes; see what we’re getting at?
  • seven number of states that could face the effects of two Arizona wildfires today; conditions are very bad source
  • » The first fire’s only 27 percent contained: Our friends in Arizona and neighboring states have a lot to deal with right now, and with a second, fast-growing blaze promising more danger, things aren’t looking to get any better soon. With high heat, low humidity and strong winds — the worst conditions possible for a wildfire — both blazes could expand significantly today. Let’s hope it doesn’t, guys.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Jun 2011 11:33

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U.S.: In honor of this Gabrielle Giffords photo, today is good news day

  • Yeah, we know there are updates to the Anthony Weiner story. Also, the IMF got hacked pretty badly. Syrian rebels are still struggling for democracy. And Tracy Morgan is a homophobic idiot. But those stories will be here tomorrow. Just look into this woman’s eyes. She dealt with the worst non-natural-disaster news story of the year — a senseless tragedy that could have been prevented if Arizona had stricter mental health laws — and she’s able to smile that wide. She has a long way to go, but with a smile like that, you get a feeling it’s all going to be OK. So with that euphoric feeling in mind, we’re going to focus on covering optimistic stories today. If Bin Laden dies again, we’ll have to switch back, sadly, but there’s just something about not fighting this moment we need to grasp onto. We hope you understand, guys. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Jun 2011 15:31

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U.S.: Worse than Arizona? Alabama’s new anti-immigration law

  • Alabama is going to start checking students to see if they’re legal immigrants. It’s sort of reminiscent of that law in Arizona that’s being challenged in court, only this one is a little more invasive. Alabama’s law would require all businesses to check the status of their workers and register them in an online database, as well as checking all students to make sure they’re legal. Scott Beason, the GOP state senator who sponsored the law, says that it will help give jobs back to people in Alabama. But that leads us to the question, “are they jobs people would want in the first place?” This bill is definitely invasive, possibly racist and certainly unfair. It’d make life harder for a lot of people. source
Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Jun 2011 13:27

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U.S.: Arizona wildfire forces evacuations and shuts down airports

  • Arizona’s struggling with the third-largest wildfire in its history, which has already consumed over 230,000 acres of land. Low humidity and high winds aren’t making it easy for fire crews fighting the blaze, either (wind has carried burning embers up to three miles). The fires have forced people from their homes, the smoke has closed airports, and the Apache National Forest has shuttered in the wake of the blaze. On the bright side, the wildfires have only destroyed four summer rental cabins. Best wishes to those in Arizona affected by the fire, and hope for the safety of the firefighters out there. source
Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 May 2011 11:18

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U.S.: Supreme Court sides with Arizona on immigrant worker law

  • 5-3 states can take away business licenses, the SCOTUS says source
  • » Obama and the Chamber of Commerce, together at last: In a decision in a case that put two longtime adversaries on the same side of a losing battle, the Supreme Court backed an Arizona immigration law that encourages employers to verify their workers — or they could lose their business license if they knowingly hire undocumented immigrants. We don’t know if we agree with the Supreme Court’s decision on this case — especially because it could lead to a number of copycat laws as a result of this. (By the way, in case you were wondering: Justice Elena Kagan didn’t vote in the case, as it came up while she was still Solicitor General.)
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 May 2011 21:46

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U.S.: E-mails: School struggled with Jared Lee Loughner’s demeanor

  • “It was just a little alarming, especially since I have been observing the way he carries himself.” That’s a student’s reaction to Jared Lee Loughner bringing a pocketknife to class. According to a series of e-mails released by Pima Community College today as the result of a legal case, the gunman in the Gabrielle Giffords shooting exhibited a very standoffish demeanor (including what’s described as an “evil” look), expressed extreme views and told one professor he would keep quiet to avoid expulsion from their class. The e-mails show a struggle to keep Loughner, a student that many students considered threatening, in line. “I keep coming back to the conclusion that we did the best we could, given legal counsel’s advice and the limited resources available to us,” wrote the school’s former college counselor, Cecilia Alter, in the days after the Giffords shooting. Loughner voluntarily left the school months earlier. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 May 2011 23:54

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U.S.: Liberal county attempts secession from Arizona

  • Pima County wants to become the 51st state. It’s a left-leaning county in conservative Arizona, and a group of residents have initiated the process of secession. The new state, dubbed “Baja Arizona,” would be larger than four existing states and more populous than five others. The movement gained steam after some controversial moves by Republican Governor Jan Brewer, but it has a long road ahead. First, petitioners must collect 48,000 signatures. Then, voters need to approve a measure to send the proposal to the state legislature. Then, the legislature has to pass it. Then, voters have to approve it again. “All the stars would have to align for this to happen,” a lawyer backing the Baha effort said, “but it could conceivably happen by the fall of 2013.” As residents of California, count us skeptical. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

10 May 2011 10:27

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Biz: Arizona ensures the Happy Meal stays unregulated, unhealthy

  • It’s not that we’re trying to make kids fat — clearly we’re not; it’s about how much government intrusion is really necessary.
  • Arizona Restaurant Association president Steve Chucri • Using the small-government argument to fight for one of his group’s major interests: Keeping Happy Meals unregulated. The group helped push forth an Arizona law that bars local governments from doing what San Francisco did — that is, forcing fast-food places to sell healthier food with their toy-laden meals. Yale’s Kelly Brownell, who leads the university’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, offers a pretty good explanation why the food industry is fighting so hard against the policy: “The companies are fearful these laws will impede their opportunity to recruit new customers,” he notes. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Apr 2011 21:40

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U.S.: Gabrielle Giffords will watch her husband leave for space, but …

  • awesome! Three months after a shooting which changed her life and she barely survived, Gabrielle Giffords will be around to watch her astronaut husband Mark Kelly as he leaves for space on Friday.
  • however … She may be in a position to see her husband leave the planet, but she won’t be in a position to show herself to the world. She uses a walker and can only speak in short sentences. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Apr 2011 15:45

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U.S.: AZ Gov. Jan Brewer surprises gun-rights front with veto

  • AZ Gov. Brewer vetoes campus gun carry bill: In a move much to the chagrin of the gun rights movement, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer vetoed a bill that would have allowed firearms on school campuses. Brewer complained the bill was “poorly written,” and that while it’s said to only affect colleges, the exact language refers to them only as “educational institutions,” which speaking literally would include K-12 schools, violating most state and federal laws. With a Republican governor, in a state with some of the loosest gun laws in the nation — they probably thought this was a slam dunk going in. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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