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During a speech on the middle class and housing at a Phoenix, Arizona high school, President Obama was heckled by a member of the audience. (VIDEO: Christie Shouts Down Heckler: ‘Sit Down and Shut Up!’) Halfway through Obama’s speech at Central High School, considered part of a pre-State of the Union tour to sell his policies, the heckler began yelling. “Is this about housing?” Obama asked, before the shouting stops. WATCH: (starting at 58:21) It’s difficult to make out what the heckler was yelling about in the official White House video, but local media indicate that she was shouting something...

'Mysterious Beasts' Spotted by Arizona Highway Cameras A suspicious pack of what appeared to be a group of large animals has sparked a viral debate about a possible sasquatch sighting in Arizona. The Arizona Department of Transportation was behind the latest announcement -- and conspiracy theories began to grow after they posted a photo from a highway patrol camera. It wasn't Big Foot enthusiasts reading too deeply into a suspicious photo; the government officials were the ones to suggest that something sinister -- and mysterious -- was going on. "We might have spotted a family of sasquatches on SR 260...

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio was using that law to justify workplace raids, more than 80 since the Arizona Legislature passed the law in 2008. Those raids rolled up nearly 800 men and women, charged with felonies for seeking employment while they were in the country illegally. It was unclear how many of them were convicted or deported. But federal law explicitly says seeking employment is not a crime, no matter a person’s immigration status. A group of immigration rights organizations sued Arizona, the county and Arpaio. On Monday, the plaintiffs prevailed, at least for now.

~~snip~~ Voting against Boehner (10) Gohmert* Yoho* Rep. Steve King (Iowa) Rep. Jim Bridenstine (Okla.)* Rep. Dave Brat (Va.) (freshman) Rep. Walter Jones (N.C.)* Rep. Gary Palmer (Ala.) (freshman) Rep. Thomas Massie (Ky.)* Rep. Paul Gosar (Ariz.) Rep. Marlin Stutzman (Ind.) Said prior to 2014 election that they would vote against Boehner (2) Rep. Jody Hice (Ga.) (freshman) Rep. John Ratfliffe (Tex.) (freshman) Voted against Boehner in 2013/haven't weighed in (2) Rep. Steve Pearce (N.M.) (spokesman says he's "undecided") Rep. Justin Amash (Mich.) Voted against Boehner in 2013/will support him (3) Rep. Mick Mulvaney (S.C.) Rep. Raul Labrador (Idaho) Rep....

week’s vote. The latest Republican to announce plans to oppose Boehner is Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar, who made public his intentions in a Sunday evening statement. “Trust is a series of promises kept; my vote for new leadership reflects a promise I made to voters when they elected me,” Gosar said. “I cannot stand beside the same leadership that has offered up bills too large to read, used parliamentary tricks to bring bills to the floor and has refused to take swift action against the president and his administration’s unconstitutional actions.” The official speaker’s election is set for Tuesday, when...

via Matthew Boyle on twitter "Gosar just came out against Boehner. Voted for Boehner last time"

A federal appeals court has refused to reconsider a decision allowing residents of Kansas and Arizona to register to vote using a federal form without providing proof of their U.S. citizenship.

Sen. John McCain is no fan of the tea party – and he’s now doing his best to purge the Arizona Republican Party of its influence. According to Politico, McCain is preparing for his 2016 reelection bid by dismantling Arizona’s tea party apparatus. That includes a massive effort to remove or undermine the many local officials who have influence across state politics and could cause trouble for McCain in a primary. Prior to Aug. 26, when the races for the party offices were held, the vast majority of the 3,925 precinct slots were filled by people McCain’s team considered opponents....

I considered saving this for tomorrow night, just to send you off into 2015 on the most depressing, eeyorishness note possible. But then I reconsidered.For maximum eeyorishness, I should really end the year with a “Romney 2016″ post instead, no? Team McCain’s goal? Unseat conservative activists who hold obscure, but influential, local party offices.Under the byzantine rules of Arizona Republican Party politics, these elected officials, known as precinct committeemen, vote for local party chairmen. The chairmen, in turn, determine how state and local GOP funds are spent, which candidates are promoted in an election year, and which political issues...

Nearly a year ago, tea party agitators in Arizona managed to get John McCain censured by his own state party. Now, he’s getting his revenge. As the longtime Republican senator lays the groundwork for a likely 2016 reelection bid, his political team is engaging in an aggressive and systematic campaign to reshape the state GOP apparatus by ridding it of conservative firebrands and replacing them with steadfast allies.

Sen. Jeff Flake, the vocal proponent of immigration reform from Arizona, has a New Year’s wish: serious action in the issue from the House of Representatives, and soon. The 2014 midterm elections are just months behind us, but already Flake feels the pressure of the 2016 presidential elections. In an interview with The Daily Beast earlier this month, the Republican senator—one of the few Republicans in Congress still aggressively push hard for immigration reform—urged quick legislative progress on a series of measures on the matter before politicians get too caught up in the next election cycle. “The closer we get...

California Senate candidate Carly Fiorina voiced support Friday for Arizona’s new immigration law even as she deplored a “racist tone” that’s developed in some corners of her party over the highly charged issue. The former Hewlett Packard CEO said the law’s passage stemmed from Washington’s failure to address the problem of illegal immigration through stricter border enforcement and a practical temporary worker program. But when asked in an interview with POLITICO if Republicans needed to make any changes in their approach to the growing Hispanic community, Fiorina replied, "There has been a very unfortunate racist tone that has emerged in...

Minnesota Congresswomen and presidential candidate Michele Bachmann has become the latest politician to call for an impenetrable fence along the entire length of the border with Mexico. "President Obama has failed the American people by failing to secure the southern border," said Bachmann. "I will secure that border and that will be Job One." Statements like that may get some attention, but they are not practical. Don't take our word for it; take Rick Perry's. The Texas governor has been called a lot of things, but he's hardly a mushy liberal. Yet even this tough Texan sneers at calls for...

A bummer from D.C., especially coming so soon after a federal judge in Pennsylvania held that the amnesty was unconstitutional. Don’t fret, though. A similar lawsuit, led by incoming Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and joined by 24 different states, has already been filed in Texas with a hearing scheduled early next month. The judge in that case is a Bush appointee who’s been critical of Obama’s DHS on immigration in the past. I like those odds. Worry about losing that one, not this one, as all it’ll take is a circuit split to force this issue before the Supreme...

Ohio Gov. John Kasich will roll out “responsible” tax plans that protect against revenue gaps. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Arizona’s new Republican governor are delaying big dreams of nixing the income tax as they face budget shortfalls. And Missouri Republicans, once jealous of their neighbor Kansas’ massive cuts, are thankful they trimmed less. Call it the Brownback effect. Story Continued Below . . Republicans once idolized Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback as a tax cutting superstar — now he’s a lesson in what not to do. “It’s a cautionary tale on a national scale … Many of us felt that...

“I want to see what happens in the hearings,” Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said. “But certainly I’m supportive.” McCain and Sens. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) all said in interviews they have met with Lynch privately and are inclined to vote in favor of her nomination. “I would say yes, unless something comes up during the hearings,” Fischer said when asked if she was leaning toward backing Lynch.

There is a lot of worry popping up in the media just now -- "Can Israel Survive?" Don't worry about it. It relates to something that Palestinians, the Arabs, and perhaps most Americans don't realize -- the Jews are never going quietly again. Never. And if the world doesn't come to understand that, then millions of Arabs are going to die. It's as simple as that. Throughout the history of the world, the most abused, kicked-around race of people have been the Jews. Not just during the holocaust of World War II, but for thousands of years. They have truly...

U.S. Sen. John McCain laughed at the possibility that former Alaska governor Sarah Palin may challenge him in the 2016 election. After dropping hints that he was considering retiring, the 78-year-old Arizona Republican is now expected to announce that he will run for a sixth term — to the dismay of many conservatives. And while he expects to see a primary challenger, the moderate lawmaker is certain it will not be Palin. “Oh, that’s foolish,” McCain told The Arizona Republic. “Sarah and I have maintained a very close and warm relationship. That’s just not in the realm of possibility.” McCain...

Parting Shot: Outgoing Arizona Gov. Brewer Calls Obama A ‘Failed President’ By William La Jeunesse Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, stepping down after six years in office where she was a perpetual thorn in the side of the Obama administration, is leaving with a parting shot -- calling President Obama a "failed president." "He's been a very big disappointment to me," Brewer told Fox News in an interview. "I think he has done things that certainly we would never have expected any president to do -- by executive order and because he says so." Brewer has spent the last few years...

A federal judge on Tuesday threw out a lawsuit brought against Barack Obama by an Arizona police chief who called the U.S. president's sweeping immigration reforms unconstitutional, saying the plaintiff lacked legal standing in the case. Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia denied the demand by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio for a preliminary injunction to halt the policies. Arpaio, who calls himself "America's Toughest Sheriff," filed the case last month, saying Obama had overstepped his powers by bypassing Congress and ordering the changes himself. Arpaio's lawsuit said the reforms, which eased the...