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U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema speaking on the Senate floor Jan. 13, 2022, in defense of the filibuster, which requires all legislation to receive 60 votes to pass the 100-member body.

Arizona is not the only state where political parties are taking their elected officials to task, a change that analysts and former lawmakers attribute to the politically polarized times and now almost a rite of passage for some prominent politicians. Read more»

Cindy McCain, the widow of Sen. John McCain, and former Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake are all smiles before a confirmation hearing on their nominations to be ambassadors to the United Nations and to Turkey, respectively.

Cindy McCain, whose late husband served more than 30 years in the Senate, and former Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, who served on Foreign Relations, faced light questioning during their confirmation hearing to be ambassadors to the United Nations food programs and to Turkey, respectively. Read more»

U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly delivers his maiden speech on the Senate floor.

"Arizonans sent me here to have their backs. And to work towards a brighter future for our growing state." — U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly delivered his first speech on the floor Wednesday, in a Senate tradition of "maiden speeches." Read more» 1

Former Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, a Republican, was an early critic of President Donald Trump and came out publicly in support of President Joe Biden in last year’s election. Biden this week nominated Flake, who left the Senate in 2018, as the next ambassador to Turkey.

President Joe Biden’s choice of former Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, a Republican never-Trumper with no formal diplomatic experience, to be the next ambassador to Turkey was “risky” – but is still likely to win confirmation, analysts said. Read more»

President Joe Biden on Wednesday tapped Arizona's Cindy McCain, the widow of former U.S. Sen. John McCain, as the U.S. Representative to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture, with the rank of ambassador. Read more»

State, local and federal officials said the designation of the Lower Salt and Gila Rivers as an Urban Waters Federal Partnership site could help boost efforts to restore the Rio Salado to healthy, livable spaces.

Federal officials on Tuesday named a 58-mile stretch of the Lower Salt and Gila rivers an Urban Waters Federal Partnership location, a designation that could bring millions in funding to efforts to revitalize the stressed Valley waterway. Read more»

Cindy McCain, widow of the late Sen. John McCain, has been a member of human trafficking task forces under both Gov. Jan Brewer and Gov. Doug Ducey. She said trafficking is  an 'epidemic' in the state.

Officials at a forum on human trafficking said Arizona is “leading at the state level” on prevention, but warned that people need to remain vigilant to what one speaker called a trafficking “epidemic” in the state. Read more»

Former Sen. John McCain’s grave at the U.S. Naval Academy is next to friend and former classmate, Adm. Chuck Larson. Since his death a year ago, McCain’s grave has become a stop for visitors who leave mementos.

While former colleagues have added John McCain’s name to legislation and one Arizona district plans to name an elementary school for him, other tributes have stalled. Among those are a measure to name a human rights commission for the late senator. Read more»

A flag flies at half-staff over the Russell Senate Office Building to mark the death Saturday of Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he will push to have the building renamed in McCain’s honor, another indicator of McCain’s stature in Washington.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has steadfastly refused to discuss a replacement for Sen. John McCain until after the senator’s funeral, but political consultants say the governor faces an “unenviable” task when he does name an appointee. Read more»

U.S. Sen. John McCain at a 2011 town hall in Tucson.

John McCain wore it all on his sleeve, collar, shirtwaist, slacks and shoes. He wanted to be above the game but succumbed to it regularly. We knew exactly what he was thinking because he was so bad at hiding it. Read more»

Cindy McCain,  wife of Sen. John McCain, is moved to tears Wednesday as she reads a letter from her husband about his appreciation of the Grand Canyon and his friendship with the late Rep. Morris Udall.

A plaque dedicated to two Arizona icons who have championed the Grand Canyon – Sen. John McCain and the late Rep. Morris Udall – was unveiled in an emotional ceremony last week on the South Rim. Read more»

Arizona Republican Sens. Jeff Flake, left, and John McCain, listen to testimony about sex trafficking in Indian Country. Members of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee said federal agencies are too often failing trafficking victims.

Sex-trafficking in Indian Country is a significant problem, with tribal women and children suffering at higher rates than the general population, a panel of experts and activists told a Senate committee Wednesday. Read more»

Cindy McCain, a longtime advocate against human trafficking, said it’s long past time to update the Communications Decency Act, which she and other say gives cover to online sex trafficking.

Proponents say the bill would allow courts to vigorously enforce federal and civil laws relating to online sex trafficking, but critics say it could do more harm than good. Read more»

The online classified advertising site Backpage.com took down its ads for adult services in the U.S. last week under pressure from Senate officials, what the site’s executives called the result of unconstitutional censorship by lawmakers.

Executives of the online classifieds site Backpage.com refused to answer questions from a Senate committee investigating claims that the site facilitated child sex trafficking through its adult ads section. The hearing last week came one day after the site – whose former owners Michael Lacey and James Larkin co-founded the Phoenix New Times – removed its “adult” ads pages because of what it called unconstitutional censorship. Read more» 2

U.S. Sen. John McCain joined the wave of Republicans withdrawing their support from Donald Trump in the wake of the release of taped comments in which the GOP nominee joked about sexual assault. "Cindy and I will not vote for Donald Trump." Read more»

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