I have read so many good books lately I couldn’t decide which one to review. It was a toss up between “The Obituary Writer,” by Ann Hood and “The Secret Keeper,” by Kate Norton (I don’t know about you but any title that contains the word “secret” draws me like a magnet — maybe it was that early Nancy Drew conditioning).

I must disagree with Mr. Robert O’Meara, “A shadow in the hallway near the Lincoln Bedroom,” AFN, Jan. 30, when he says that Bill Clinton has no other interests in life outside politics. His interests range far and wide.

‘Will Work for Food!” You have probably seen signs like this as you drive to and from your office. Reality is that everyone is working for food unless they are independently wealthy. In the hierarchy of needs, food and shelter are among the first elements you require. A benefit of working is that you are able to secure these comforts. You can then reach higher and attain other benefits.

To play a mother torn from her husband and sons by the 2004 tsunami, Naomi Watts sure wasn’t going Method.

I was awakened at 12:30 a.m. a few weeks ago by the sound of chirping. The smoke detector in our bedroom was sending out a low battery warning. We didn’t have any 9-volt batteries in the house because my son had changed a different room’s detector a few days earlier, and that had been the last one. My husband pulled out the battery and we went back to sleep ... until 2:30 a.m., when the smoke detector in our daughter’s bedroom began chirping.

In the latest labor report, 368,000 more Americans have stopped looking for work, artificially skewing the unemployment stats down. The recent report of 8.1 percent tricks the brain of the casual thinker. Try thinking about this: 12.5 million of your fellow Americans are out of work (Labor Department). Perhaps you are one of them or your child. See: www.money.cnn.com (2012 August jobs report).

At the risk of sounding insensitive I’m just going to say it: I never felt like 9/11 changed my life.

The Phoenix metro area is seeing an epidemic of Valley Fever after last summer’s massive dust storm and this year could lead to a high number of cases, too.

Linus van Pelt knew the subtle comfort and break from reality his security blanket provided him. The national organization named for the character is certain Linus — consistently portrayed in the popular Peanuts comic strips and cartoons carting around his wavy blue companion — was on to something.

"General Hospital" -- now reaping the most nominations at this year's Daytime Emmy Awards -- has gone from bust to boom.

I have been a fan of baseball for as long as I can remember.

Retirement hasn’t kept Pete Sampras off the tennis court.

Despite his official exit from the game eight years ago, Sampras has spent much of 2011 playing competitive tennis, including a televised match against Andre Agassi in Madison Square Garden, several exhibitions in China and his participation in the 12-city Champions Series.

Having worked with families for more than three decades, I feel slightly qualified to generalize: A crisis tends to bring out the best in some individuals. Unfortunately, it brings out the worst in others.

Alison Thammavongsa has taken summer trips to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala., to complete “missions” and workshops for the last two years, but she isn’t an astronaut. She’s a Peoria science teacher. “If I could be an astronaut, I would,” she said.

Thousands in attendance at the Major League Baseball's All-Star Fan Fest at the Phoenix Convention Center.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska Earthquake Information Center says a major earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.2 has been recorded in the Pacific Ocean off Alaska's remote Aleutian Islands.

Guest article by Linda Turley-Hansen

A Nuclear Regulatory Commission report said more employees at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station need regular training on the plant’s Severe Accident Mitigation Guidelines, and that training exercises are rare.

One of the more poignant lessons in forgiveness that Colleen Bennett has received is exemplified on the walls of her daughter's bedroom.

One of the more poignant lessons in forgiveness that Colleen Bennett has received is exemplified on the walls of her daughter's bedroom.

No, you’re not getting out of going to church on Sunday. Billboards around the West Valley are proclaiming that Saturday is Judgment Day — when Jesus’ believers will go to heaven — but Valley churches haven’t canceled Sunday’s services.

Students at Chandler’s Paragon Science Academy, a public charter school, raised $1,500 for victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The classes presented the money to the Red Cross.

It's no secret that electronic media has become the new standard for communication in the social and business worlds. Companies take advantage of the Internet, including social media sites, due in part to convenience and speed.

It's no secret that electronic media has become the new standard for communication in the social and business worlds. Companies take advantage of the Internet, including social media sites, due in part to convenience and speed.