Buckmaster: 13 picks for the Southwest Books of the Year

A former Bosnian Serb soldier, linked a brutal 'rape camp' during the breakup of Yugoslavia, was found guilty of immigration fraud in an effort to hide his wartime past, including lying on an application for permanent residency and when he attempted to gain U.S. citizenship. Read more»   

Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy promised his party he'd play hardball during negotiations with Joe Biden over the debt ceiling. So what's with all the Nerf? Read more»   

Ranchers and Republican lawmakers are welcoming a Supreme Court ruling that narrows the range of waters subject to federal regulation, calling it a win for private property rights - but environmental groups say the ruling will be “disastrous for Arizona." Read more»   

Peering into the scrying mirror — depicting a world equally grotesque and apocalyptic — Tucson artist Daniel Martin Diaz's new book “Iconoclasm: AI and The Devaluation of Humanity's Achievements” makes inquiries into the impact of artificial intelligence on the arts and the shape of things to come. Read more»   

A federal judge in Montana partially sided with environmentalists, agreeing that the Forest Service violated the Clean Water Act by discharging aerially deployed fire retardant into waterways without a permit, but allowed the continued use of aerial retardants while obtaining a permit. Read more»   

The number of housing units in Pinal County grew to 185,650 as of last summer, the fastest rate in the state with an estimated 3.5% increase from July 2021 to July 2022, echoing the population increases experienced in Maricopa County. Read more»   

A 38-year-old man died at a hospital Thursday, five days after he began a suicide attempt at the Pima County Jail. Read more»   

A two-day special hearing at the Arizona Senate aimed at examining the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic was rife with conspiracy theories, misinformation and fear-mongering around vaccines and public health — all endorsed by the Republican state legislators. Read more»   

Gov. Katie Hobbs on Friday issued five more vetoes, rejecting Republican-led bills that state officials warned would have undermined and overly complicated elections in Arizona and a bill which would have outlawed photo radar and red-light cameras across Arizona. Read more»