Free Republic

Gov. Katie Hobbs of Arizona, a vulnerable Democrat running for re-election, plans to tap a longtime Republican and former mayor of a Phoenix suburb to serve as her running mate, according to two people familiar with the decision. John Giles, a former mayor of Mesa, Ariz., is expected to be announced in the coming days as Ms. Hobbs’s lieutenant governor nominee. Neither Ms. Hobbs nor her campaign would confirm the choice, and nothing is final until an announcement. But the apparent pick is a nod to bipartisanship in a campaign that will pit Ms. Hobbs, a low-key Democrat, against Representative...

U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff picked up a high-profile endorsement Tuesday from former U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican whose clashes with President Donald Trump prompted him to back other prominent Democrats. Flake said he still disagrees with Ossoff on key policy issues. But in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, he said character outweighed those partisan differences. “I’m still a conservative Republican. But character matters. And I want someone in that seat who takes the institution seriously and will protect the institution,” Flake said.

aseball's unwritten rules were broken Sunday afternoon at Progressive Field, at least according to a few members of the Cleveland Guardians. In the top of the sixth inning, Arizona Diamondbacks utility man Tim Tawa attempted to bunt for a base hit with Guardians ace Gavin Williams working on a perfect game. The bunt attempt went foul and catcher Patrick Bailey took off his mask and had words with Tawa. Brayan Rocchio expressed some displeasure from shortstop as well. Tawa lined a legit single to right field on the very next pitch to end the perfect game. A few minutes later,...

A Tucson man is seeking $176 million in monetary damages from the Pima County Sheriff’s Department after deputies entered his home and shot him, leaving him paralyzed from the chest down. Attorneys representing 24-year-old Axeel Melendez and his mother, Carmen Melendez, filed a notice of claim against Sheriff Chris Nanos and his department last week, informing the county they intend to sue. ... “Our justice system recognizes the dignity of a human life and the importance of the completeness of your body. Axeel’s health, his independence, his ability to earn a living, his sense of security, that’s all been stolen...

Arizona state Rep. Alexander Kolodin, an election attorney, is projected to defeat former state GOP chair Gina Swoboda in the Republican primary to take on Secretary of State Adrian Fontes (D) in November, according to Decision Desk HQ. Kolodin is best known for his efforts to contest the 2020 election results, with the State Bar of Arizona ultimately sanctioning him over the move. In 2023, the Arizona state House Republican supported legislation alongside most of his GOP peers in both chambers that would have given counties the ability to hand-count ballots instead of tabulating them through machines. Some Republicans have...

@Chicago1Ray 🇺🇸 @Chicago1Ray Big round of applause 👏 goes out to Stephen Miller's (AFL) legal team They filed suit against Katie Hobbs & won Now only American citizens can vote in (15) counties in Arizona... many described it as a huge win for election integrity Can I get a Hell yeah for Stephen Miller https://x.com/Chicago1Ray/status/2079331361781883139

ARIZONA ELECTIONS: Today’s primaries in Arizona will set up several competitive House battleground races this fall, as well as competitive elections for governor, secretary of state and other offices. Today’s primaries in Arizona will also set up several competitive House races this fall.

A semiconductor company whose president was head of the now-bankrupt Solyndra solar energy company stands to receive $6.6 billion in funding from the Biden administration. Under a preliminary agreement, according to CNBC, a subsidiary of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) in Arizona will receive the funding under the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act. The company’s president is Brian Harrison. The Washington Free Beacon reported that Harrison was CEO of Solyndra, which in the early 2000s was involved in the manufacturing of solar panels and considered at the forefront of the sustainable energy industry.

On Wednesday, while campaigning in Arizona, Joe Biden revealed that the government reached an $8.5 billion deal with U.S. chipmaker Intel to build four plants in the U.S. that will build advanced computer chips. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the deal would enable the U.S. to manufacture 20% of the world's most advanced computer chips by 2030 and create 30,000 jobs. “Failure is not an option — leading-edge chips are the core of our innovation system, especially when it comes to advances in artificial intelligence and our military systems,” Raimondo told reporters. “We can’t just design chips. We have to...

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has been in discussions for several years with both TSMC and Intel to build advanced chip manufacturing plants in the U.S. and extract U.S. supply chain needs from China and southeast Asia. It appears his efforts, and the emphasis on global supply-chain shifts from President Trump, are getting results. According to numerous media reports Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) is likely to announce this week they will build an advanced chip manufacturing facility in Arizona. A manufacturing facility for advanced 5 nanometer chip manufacturing is a steep investment decision costing around $10 billion. This shift in...

Arizona Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego, a potential 2028 presidential candidate, engaged in sexual relationships with at least two House staffers and his “very flirtatious” habits with others may come back to haunt him, The Post has learned. The 46-year-old lawmaker admitted to the two relationships — both with aides to Texas Democrats — to one source while a second person said they had recently learned of the romantic entanglements. A third source confirmed one of the dalliances, both of which are said to have been consensual and occurred during Gallego’s decade representing Phoenix in the House. The relationships are part...

A former political candidate for state and federal races in Arizona was recently arrested for an alleged disturbance reported last Friday in the Valley. Brianna Westbrook, 41, was arrested on July 10 after her former partner contacted police following an incident at a Phoenix residence, court records show. The reporting party told police Westbrook allegedly "pushed her way" into the residence holding a knife and duct tape. The two then allegedly "wrestled" until Westbrook pushed the other person onto the couch. The victim then screamed out and asked Westbrook "to stop" before Westbrook allegedly "took off running," records show. Officers...

The Arizona Supreme Court has weighed in on the conflict between the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and County Recorder Justin Heap. The Supreme Court ended the stay previously put in place by the Arizona Court of Appeals. Heap’s election plan can now be put back into place, the high court ruled. The lower court previously ruled that it was too close to an election to make changes. The board of supervisors said it was disappointed in the ruling. “The Board is disappointed with today’s decision by the Arizona Supreme Court because it reverses the stay order in Heap v....

A Los Angeles-area man pleaded guilty to felony harassment charges in ​federal court on Thursday for sending fake ransom notes posing as a kidnapper of "Today" show co-host Savannah ‌Guthrie's missing elderly mother. Derrick Callella, 42, pleaded guilty to two counts of harassment by telecommunications device, marking the only criminal conviction to date stemming from the disappearance of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie from her home in Tucson, Arizona, five months ago. The charges carry a maximum penalty of ​two years in prison and a $250,000 fine. But the plea agreement with prosecutors calls for Callella, a resident ​of Hawthorne, California, to...

GILBERT, AZ — An Arizona toddler was found breathing inside a Gilbert hospital morgue after being declared dead hours earlier by an Arizona doctor, according to police records. A police report and body camera video reviewed by the ABC15 Investigators show that two Gilbert police officers saw signs of life multiple times, but the toddler was still taken to the hospital’s “cold room,” which is also considered to be the morgue. One officer wrote in the police report that the baby was pronounced dead “in error” by the Mercy Gilbert doctor even after a tense exchange about a pulse possibly...

Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) faces accusations of using campaign funds for several lavish expenditures, including Disneyland, Disney World, and the Super Bowl. “Sen. Ruben Gallego repeatedly used campaign cash to fund luxury outings with his wife and to care for his children since launching his campaign for Senate in 2023, including attending the Super Bowl using a joint campaign account with Eric Swalwell,” POLITICO reporter Irie Sentner writes. More from The Daily Beast: The Arizona lawmaker used political action committee funds to pay for trips and more than $18,000 in child care since 2019, Politico reported Sunday. “He just spends...

Ali Hcaimi has a pattern of preying on elderly people, according to the prosecution. He is currently being tried for two cases, with one involving first-degree murder and robbery, and another involving just robbery. In the first case, prosecutors say he followed an elderly woman home from a bank after he saw her withdrawing $5,000 in cash. He pushed her and took her purse, which contained medication that is critical to her health. Prosecutors say he then dumped the purse and the medication.

As Arizona State University moves forward with plans for a new downtown health headquarters, a Phoenix homeowner is fighting to preserve what he says is a historically significant home that has stood for more than a century. Two months after city and state leaders' broke ground on ASU’s new health headquarters at the corner of Fourth Street and Fillmore Street, 89-year-old Robert Young remains determined to save the Louise Emerson House, a 124-year-old property in the Evans-Churchill neighborhood. “It is rich in history, and what we call historical significance, and it starts with the person who created this house,” Young...

An Arizona man was arrested days before the inauguration of President Donald Trump for threatening him when he was president-elect. Secret Service agents say Rene Ortiz made the threats through documents he left at the federal courthouses in Phoenix and Tucson, where he asked for the “court to execute the newly elected POTUS.” Agents said Ortiz, who claims to be a U.S. Marine combat veteran, brought a letter to the Phoenix federal courthouse on Nov. 5, the date of the 2024 election. In the filing dropped off at the courthouse, it reads, “I chose to execute the newly elected POTUS...

A violent Saturday morning home invasion in Chandler left an elderly man with a broken skull and his disabled adult daughter hospitalized with multiple gunshot wounds. What we know: The incident occurred around 6 a.m. near Arizona Avenue and Elliot Road. Three people who looked to be in their 20s forced their way through the back door of the home and demanded car keys, according to a source with firsthand knowledge of the criminal case who spoke on the condition of anonymity. A third person inside the residence managed to hide from the intruders and call 911, said that source....