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GLENDALE CASINO UPDATE
US court rules casino site issue still undecided
PHOENIX (AP) - A federal appeals court says a key legal issue remains unresolved regarding whether a southern Arizona tribe was rightfully awarded reservation status for its planned casino site near Glendale.
The court says the U.S. Interior Department must consider anew whether a federal law on land acquisitions by the Tohono O'odham Nation prohibits adding the site to the tribe's reservation.
An earlier ruling granted reservation status for the 54-acre site.
The property is an unincorporated island bordered on three sides by Glendale, and at issue is how to interpret part of a federal law on land acquisitions by the tribe.
Tohono O'odham Nation Chairman Ned Norris Jr. said the tribe is "very pleased" by the ruling.
The Tohono O'odham Nation unveiled its plans for the massive resort and casino in 2009.
SCHOOL BUS CRASH
1 hurt after SUV and bus collide in San Tan Valley
SAN TAN VALLEY, Ariz. (AP) - Authorities say a passenger in an SUV is critically injured after the vehicle struck a school bus in San Tan Valley, east of Phoenix.
Rural Metro Fire officials say none of 47 children aboard the bus were injured in the crash about 3:30 p.m. Monday.
The SUV and bus collided near Bella Vista Road and Quail Run Lane.
The injured SUV passenger was taken to a hospital, but that person's name wasn't immediately released.
TEENAGER MURDERED
Body of murdered teen boy found east of Ashfork
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) - Authorities in northern Arizona say they're investigating the murder of a 17-year-old Ashfork boy.
Coconino County Sheriff's officials didn't immediately release the victim's name Monday and they say a suspect hasn't been identified yet.
The Sheriff's Office received a call Friday about a body found near Interstate 40 just east of Ashfork.
A gas company employee had pulled off the highway on a side road and discovered the body on the ground in a turnaround area.
Investigators say the teenage victim suffered trauma to his head.
An autopsy was conducted Monday and authorities say the cause and manner of death are pending.
Sheriff's detectives still are searching the area where the body was found for possible clues.
UNDECLARED CASH SEIZURE
Man accused of trying to smuggle $107K out of Ariz
NOGALES, Ariz. (AP) - Federal authorities say a Mexican man is in custody for allegedly trying to smuggle nearly $107,000 in undeclared cash across the southern Arizona border.
They say 54-year-old Gamaliel Gonzales De Dios, of Nayarit, Mexico, was arrested Friday in Nogales near the Dennis DeConcini Port.
Customs and Border Protection officers and Border Patrol agents conducting outbound inspections selected Gonzales De Dios for a secondary inspection after he declared $1,000 in U.S. currency.
They say he actually was carrying almost $1,900 in cash and 23 packages containing an additional $105,000 was found concealed in a cooler Gonzales De Dios was carrying.
The cash was processed for seizure and Gonzales De Dios was referred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations.
Authorities didn't immediately know Monday if he has an attorney.
MURDER SUSPECT ARRESTED
California man wanted in Alabama arrested in Ariz.
SAN LUIS, Ariz. (AP) - Federal authorities say a California man wanted in an Alabama murder case has been arrested near the southern Arizona border.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said Monday that 50-year-old Jose Manuel Martinez was taken into custody and turned over to San Luis police.
They say Martinez is from Delano, Calif.
CBP officers arrested Martinez on Friday after a records check showed that he was wanted on a homicide charge out of Lawrence County in Alabama.
Details of the murder case weren't immediately available Monday afternoon and authorities didn't know if Martinez has a lawyer yet.
TEMPE TRAIN FATAL
Tempe police release name of man killed by train
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) - Authorities have released the identity of a man who was fatally struck by a train in Tempe.
Tempe police say 27-year-old Shane Tsosie was the man killed when he was struck by a southbound Union Pacific train about 7:40 a.m. Sunday.
Police say Tsosie was on the tracks near 10th and 11th streets when he was struck.
It wasn't immediately clear Monday if Tsosie was a Tempe resident.
The train conductor reported the collision to the police.
Police say an investigation into the fatal accident is continuing.
MEDICAID EXPANSION
Brewer bill signing halt stays after vote
PHOENIX (AP) - Gov. Jan Brewer won't begin signing passed bills again even though the Arizona Senate has passed a budget that includes expanding Medicaid.
Brewer spokesman Matthew Benson said Monday that the House of Representatives still needs to act. Until that happens he says the veto threat the governor put in place two weeks ago stays.
Medicaid expansion is Brewer's No. 1 priority this session and she's grown frustrated with deadlock in the Legislature caused by conservative opposition. Just days after she issued the veto threat, Senate President Andy Biggs released a package of budget bills and they moved swiftly to passage last week.
Now, House Speaker Andy Tobin must move the bills. But he says he won't be rushed.
That means lawmakers will do little work until a budget deal emerges
TUCSON JAIL-FREON LEAK
No injuries after Freon leak at jail in Tucson
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - Authorities say there are no reported injuries after a Freon leak at the Pima County Jail in Tucson.
Tucson Fire Department crews responded to the jail shortly after noon Monday after the leak of colorless gas was reported.
Crews learned that maintenance workers were working on the roof and thought the Freon had been drained.
When they opened a valve, they saw there was still Freon in the system.
Fire haz-mat crews secured the leak and then got rid of any leftover Freon with electric smoke ejectors and fans.
The jail staff had evacuated those in the area of the leak before fire crews arrived.
Authorities say acute exposure to Freon can lead to dizziness, drowsiness and possibly an irregular heartbeat.
NAVAJO CASINO-ARIZONA
Navajo Nation opens flagship casino in Arizona
TWIN ARROWS, Ariz. (AP) - New sets of twin arrows are beckoning travelers on Interstate 40 in northern Arizona.
A grand opening for the Twin Arrows Navajo Casino Resort is set for Friday. It's the Navajo Nation's first casino in Arizona, about 20 miles east of Flagstaff.
The 267,000 square-foot building sits across the interstate from an old trading post and rest stop known for the giant twin arrows that point toward the ground.
The resort's design offers a glimpse into Navajo culture and traditions. Those include the basket weave on the building's exterior, and the glittering chandelier in the entryway that depicts the Navajos' rise into a fourth world.
Tribal gaming chief Derrick Watchman says the resort could spur economic development in the area.
The tribe has three other casinos in New Mexico.
SOLDIER BASIN FIRE
Fire east of Nogales estimated at 3 square miles
NOGALES, Ariz. (AP) - A wildfire has burned about 3 square miles of grass and brush on ridges of the Coronado National Forest about a dozen miles from Nogales in rural Santa Cruz County in southern Arizona.
The Soldier Basin fire is some five miles east of the Nogales airport, which is seven miles northeast of the southern Arizona city of Nogales.
The Forest Service says the 2,500-acre fire is human-caused fire and is 5% contained.
It isn't threatening any structures.
The fire began Friday night and is being fought by about 200 firefighters who are building lines to stop the fire's spread.
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