Arizona

Southeastern Arizona’s rock-spire monument is one signature from becoming the state’s fourth national park and the nation’s 64th.

Supervisors grill Justin Heap as early voting nears; County Attorney Mitchell says most flagged cases were registration errors, not citizenship fraud.

Newly released records show Speaker Steve Montenegro asked federal prosecutors in July to probe bribery and fraud claims after AG Mayes declined state charges.

Arizona’s secretary of state rivals spar over early ballots, ID rules, and election-night results in a heated Clean Elections debate.

Management & Training Corp. signed a Sept. 29 ICE contract for the ~800-bed Southern Arizona facility; town says zoning already allows correctional use.

Federal water-year changes begin Thursday; Arizona, California and Nevada still race to finish a Lower Basin deal before January.

A September survey puts long-term supplies first for the first time; federal Colorado River cuts and November ads make drought a midterm defining issue.

Federal H.R. 1 eligibility rules strip most humanitarian immigrants from AHCCCS full benefits; emergency-only coverage remains as clinics scramble.

Coronado National Forest order bars public access through jaguar habitat west of Nogales; conservationists and Rep. Grijalva say oversight and protest rights are chilled.

AP: helicopter saves a motorist west of Phoenix; Hatch and Rio Grande communities ordered out while saturated Southwest soils worsen flash-flood risk.