In 2008, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was given the chance to choose the “wake- up” music to roust her astronaut husband, Mark Kelly, and the rest of the crew slumbering above Earth aboard the Discovery mission.The song she chose, “Crystal Frontier,” had several layers of significance. First, it’s a loud, fast-track…
Bill Nugent lives in the heart of Tucson and has done so for the better part of his 65 years. His family has lived here since before the first battles of the Civil War. After his mother passed away in 2000, he took charge of The Shanty on 9th Street,…
Jared Loughner may find it hard to plead insanity after shooting U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords and killing six others, but perhaps he’ll consider pleading “dreaming.”According to one of his classmates, Jared Loughner kept a journal of his dreams, which is most likely being pored over by Tucson investigators. And if…
The U.S. Marshals have arrested a man wanted in connection to a 2001 stabbing murder of a 40-year-old Phoenix resident. The Phoenix Police Department announced today the arrest of Marc Salinas, 38, for allegedly stabbing Rishard LaPointe to death in his Phoenix apartment near the intersection of East Bell Road…
We spoke too soon. Speaker John Boehner prepared for his tissue call yesterday and addressed the house as it debated over the resolution slated to honor the victims of the mass murder in Tucson. “Look at Tucson right now and you will be reminded that America’s most plentiful source of…
Congressman Ben Quayle may think Barack Obama is “the worst president in history,” but he’s apparently still good for a lift.Quayle is among several lawmakers who will hitch a ride from Washington to Tucson aboard Air Force One with Obama today in order to attend a memorial service for those…
Governor Jan Brewer signed into law a bill that was expedited through the House and Senate to prevent members of a fundamentalist church from disrupting the funerals of victims from the January 8 shooting spree in Tucson.Brewer called the measure “a truly bipartisan effort to assure that grieving families and…
When the parents of Jared Loughner, the 22-year-old suspect in Saturday’s shooting rampage in Tucson, issued their first statement since the incident, they did so via-a short statement given to the media by two men who refused to identify themselves to the media. New Times has discovered that one of…
The lunatics from the Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church have agreed to not protest the funeral of 9-year-old Christina Greene, who was one of six people killed in Saturday’s shooting rampage in Tucson, in exchange for air time on Canadian and Phoenix radio stations.As we reported Monday, the group said it…
It was an upbeat event, yesterday’s investiture ceremony in downtown Phoenix for incoming Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Douglas Gerlach. Presiding county judge Norm Davis led the Pledge of Allegiance and Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Rebecca White Berch administered the Oath of Office to the onetime ASU sports broadcaster,…
We figured it would only be a matter of time before Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio plopped himself in front of a TV camera to offer his two cents about Saturday’s shooting rampage in Tucson. We were right — Arpaio did so on the O’Reilly Factor last night, where he…
The school careers of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and Jared Lee Loughner couldn’t be more different. Both are from Tucson. The similarities end there. Long before she set foot on Capitol Hill, Gabrielle Giffords was paving her way to a life in politics. She graduated from the prestigious University High School in Tucson, then…
As a media firestorm has bombarded the Pima County Sheriff’s Office, one of the office’s spokesmen has offered a few clarifications about facts in the case that have been lost in the chaos.One of the more-important misconceptions is the reported number of those wounded during Saturday’s rampage shooting that left…
The bodies of three men found dead near the Salt River bottom were identified by Phoenix police Tuesday. The men, thought to be victims of a triple homicide, were identified as Adrian Moreno, 38, Raul Piziarro, 28, and Jimmy Alejandro Villa, 23…
In the 24-hour news cycle, it can be difficult to keep up. We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times’ blogs. Today’s entries:…
After swiftly moving through the state Senate and the House of Representatives, a bill that makes it illegal to protest or picket within 300 feet of funerals is making its way to Governor Jan Brewer, who is expected to sign the measure into law.Lawmakers jumped into action — with bipartisan…
The family of Jared Loughner just released a statement regarding Saturday’s shooting rampage — allegedly orchestrated by their son — that left six people dead and 14 injured, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.Until this point, the family had said nothing about the tragedy and reportedly hasn’t even left their house since…
One of Jared Loughner’s professors at Pima Community College describes Loughner, the man alleged to be responsible for Saturday’s shooting rampage in Tucson, as often having an “evil stare.” He also describes a number other bizarre instances in which Loughner became angry with teachers and basically scared the crap out of…
State lawmakers proposed emergency legislation Tuesday to head off picketing by a Topeka, Kansas, church at the funeral service for a 9-year-old girl who was among six people killed during Saturday’s shooting in Tucson.The state Senate passed a bill, which is being considered by the House of Representatives and will…
An eclectic collection of politically involved Arizona women have graduated from Scripps College, Gabrielle Giffords’ alma mater. Margaret Hance, Phoenix mayor from 1976-83 went there. Class of ’45. So did Ann Symington, ’74, wife of former (disgraced) Arizona Governor J. Fife Symington. And Christa Severns, a former congresional staffer (and…
Saturday’s shooting rampage in Tucson, which left six people dead and 14 others injured — including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords — is just the latest in at least 30 documented rampage shootings in American history.Listed below are 10 of the deadliest:…
Doctors treating Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords said this morning that the congresswoman is now breathing on her own after a bullet, allegedly fired by 22-year-old Jared Loughner, went through her brain.Giffords remains in critical condition, and her breathing tube has not been removed, but doctors say she’s “holding her own” following…
