Jose Robles is the picture of health. And because of that, he has to remain sick, even though new drugs would likely cure him of the disease he’s had since birth. He’s not the only one: From doctors and patients to ethicists and actuaries, the debate over access to drugs for hepatitis C has spurred investigations and lawsuits and conversations about the restrictions that leave some patients without access to the newest treatments. Read more»

Arizona’s 11 immigration judges varied widely in their handling of asylum cases between 2009 and 2014, with denial rates ranging from 21.3 percent for one judge to 65.9 percent for another, according to Justice Department data. Read more»

Southern Arizona residents Nan Stockholm Walden and Sue Chilton didn’t agree on much in their testimony to a House subcommittee Thursday, but they did agree on one thing – something needs to be done to better protect border communities. Read more»

The director of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality told lawmakers Thursday that new air-quality standards will burden rural communities, like many in Arizona, by holding “rural counties accountable for pollution they did not create.” Read more»

WASHINGTON – National monuments designated by President Barack Obama are adding $156 million to their local economies a year, according to a study of the 10 most recently named monuments spanning Western states. Read more»

A divided federal appeals court Wednesday reinstated a Navajo Nation lawsuit seeking to force the National Park Service to return more than 300 remains and relics that are “among the most sacred” of the tribe’s property. Read more»

A federal appeals court Tuesday rejected the latest in a long line of challenges to the Tohono O’odham casino that opened in Glendale in December. Read more»

After face-to-face meetings in Washington this week, officials agreed that “there is a problem” with overpopulation of wild burros in Arizona’s western counties and that something needs to be done. Read more»

Arizona Republicans responded swiftly – and vehemently – to the plan announced Tuesday by President Barack Obama to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where some of the most notorious terrorism suspects are detained. Read more»

Endorsements can give a campaign a bump or bring in some money, but when there appears to be a strong anti-establishment current to the campaigns some endorsements might even backfire. Read more»

Backers of a bill that would create a new national monument on 1.7 million acres of federal land around the Grand Canyon touted a new survey Thursday that they said shows broad support for the plan. Read more»

Phoenix faces a bigger financial threat from a market crash than it does from drought, terrorism or any of a number of other manmade and natural disasters, according to a new “risk index” of cities around the globe. Read more»

Six months after the Gold King Mine spill dumped nearly 3 million gallons of toxins into the Animas River, regulators say the immediate threat has passed, but others say the long-term threat remains. Read more»

The White House said Tuesday that it will include an additional $1.1 billion in its fiscal 2017 budget request to help states battle prescription opioid abuse and heroin use. Read more»

Federal officials are moving forward with a proposal to allow target shooting on more than 470,000 acres of the Sonoran Desert National Monument – a stark change from a 2012 plan that would have limited shooting to just 84 acres. Read more»