There are slim pickings in the cupboards of the Queen Creek area’s food assistance programs, as donations struggle to keep pace with an increase in people seeking help.

Gilbert officials hope to get 10 police officers, a new fire station, a sewer system for one of the oldest parts of town and a new pedestrian trail out of the just-passed federal stimulus package.

East Valley residents looked up and saw what they thought was a UFO, but the extraordinary sighting was deflated to simply be a weather-balloon-like object descending with a bright parachute.

Phoenix lags millions of dollars behind smaller communities in federal funding that primarily assists the neediest families.

Going on the offensive, Arizona sued the federal government on Thursday, charging it has failed to meet its legal responsibility to secure the border.

American Indian tribes need additional federal funding to improve their law enforcement efforts across the state and country, tribal leaders told two U.S. senators during a special field hearing of the U.S. Senate Indian Affairs Committee on Monday.

Federal officials arrested the owners and employees of five shuttle operations Thursday that they charge were knowingly ferrying illegal immigrants from Tucson to the Phoenix area.

As the federal government plays catch-up on defense spending, defense contractors like Scottsdale-based General Dynamics Decision Systems are reaping the rewards with billions of dollars worth of ongoing and new contracts.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has arrested 174 people in connection with child sex offenses and other sexual crimes in Arizona since July 2003 as part of the Operation Predator initiative, the federal agency announced over the weekend.

The state has picked up a new, powerful foe in its bid to deny any public funds to Planned Parenthood for family planning services: the United States government.

Some services to the poor, elderly and disabled will be threatened if proposed cuts to federal Community Service Block Grants come to fruition, local charity and non-profit organization leaders fear.

Some services to the poor, elderly and disabled will be threatened if proposed cuts to federal Community Service Block Grants come to fruition, local charity and non-profit organization leaders fear.

Some services to the poor, elderly and disabled will be threatened if proposed cuts to federal Community Service Block Grants come to fruition, local charity and non-profit organization leaders fear.

A federal agent told members of Congress on Wednesday that Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents in Arizona routinely allowed the purchase of guns they knew would wind up in the hands of Mexican cartel members.

A federal agent told members of Congress on Wednesday that Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents in Arizona routinely allowed the purchase of guns they knew would wind up in the hands of Mexican cartel members.

A federal agent told members of Congress on Wednesday that Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents in Arizona routinely allowed the purchase of guns they knew would wind up in the hands of Mexican cartel members.

Mesa United Way is looking for volunteers to help low-income East Valley residents prepare their 2012 tax returns. Volunteers will help individuals, families, seniors, people with disabilities and those with English as a second language prepare and file their income tax returns free of charge, said Don Jensen, program manager for Mesa United Way.

A plethora of halfway houses has turned west Mesa into a destination spot for felons, and Mesa’s new police chief announced plans Thursday for a “hard-core enforcement approach” that will track the “baddest of the bad.”

Prepared text of Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer's State of the State speech:

One Monday morning in December, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office sent several of its most highly trained deputies to arrest day laborers.

A federal judge indicated Friday's he's not buying the state's argument that it can cut off family planning funds for Planned Parenthood.

The dismantling of the Maricopa County sheriff’s SWAT team has left the Arizona Department of Public Safety to handle all high-risk raids on methamphetamine labs carried out by a special narcotics task force.

January 12, 2005

If U.S. Navy veteran Michael Ermish doesn’t find at least $480 this week, he, his wife and their dog will be evicted from the west Mesa trailer he bought this summer. Ermish, 54, is one of many East Valley veterans facing homelessness.