A Phoenix Fire Department spokesperson said the reasons people get stuck on local mountains is failing to stay on the hiking path and not being prepared.

The Phoenix City Council has approved a sweeping ethics reform package for elected officials that Mayor Greg Stanton says gives the city some of the toughest ethics rules in the nation.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says an outbreak of hepatitis A linked to a frozen berry mix sold at Costco has grown to 87 people with illnesses in eight states.

On April 15, two pressure cooker-fashioned bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. The attack left the city and entire country shaken.

Searching for the perfect active adult community to enjoy during retirement creates all sorts of questions. Do you want to live somewhere else? If so, where? Do you want warmth and sunshine? Do you want to stay close to family? Do you want a condo or single-family home? With questions like these, doing your homework is important. As is starting early.

Editor’s note: This is part two of a continuing summer series on the proposed South Mountain Loop 202 Freeway.

She: "Baby, you are gonna miss that plane."

At 14, Tyler Cohen had never been out of the country or traveled without his Long Island family when he found himself in Costa Rica on a monthlong service trip for teens.

Selling your first home in a buyers’ market? You can get the best possible price if you know how to negotiate.

You may remember one of the most well-known miracles that Jesus performed in Mark, chapter 6: Thousands have gathered, it’s getting late, and most (if not all) are hungry. The natives are starting to get restless, and much like I get when I’m hungry, I’m sure that irritability was going up as patience was on the decline. So, Jesus tells the disciples to feed the masses of people who had followed them there, to which their first thought was to make a run to the local market and buy all the bread they had left (Mark 6:37). We know where the story goes from there — Jesus performs another miracle, turning close to nothing into a feast, satisfying all who were hungry.

"Mud" has the feel of a classic, although it's perhaps not enthralling enough to be one. The third and most elaborate feature to date from writer-director Jeff Nichols seems to have been adapted from a novel that doesn't exist -- something by James Lee Burke, perhaps, or Cormac McCarthy, or some other specialist in frequently violent tales about the challenges to masculinity and the forging of new identities that face rural people who belong to a sprawling modern world -- who might be hanging out in a supermarket parking lot one moment and falling into a creek full of deadly cottonmouths the next.

"Oblivion” is another movie that seems better suited for a video game than a motion picture. Watching the characters engage in endless shoot outs and explore vast, abandoned terrains, all you want to do is get your hands on a controller. Since a movie is unequipped with game play, though, you’re forced to sit back and merely observe the story. Then again, most modern video games have more three-dimensional characters and smarter plots than “Oblivion.” This science fiction mystery from director Joseph Kosinski isn’t completely without some good ideas, elevating it above “Transformers” schlock. It’s just unfortunate those ideas never meld into anything that intriguing.

Future bids to oust public officials through recall could get a lot harder under the terms of legislation given preliminary approval Tuesday by the Senate.

Robert Redford does his most compelling work in some time as both actor and director in "The Company You Keep," a tense yet admirably restrained thriller about a fugitive forced out of hiding after 30 years to prove his innocence. Adapted with clarity and intelligence by Lem Dobbs from Neil Gordon's novel, and lent distinguishing heft by its roster of screen veterans, this gripping drama provides an absorbing reflection on the courage and cost of dissent.

Bill Richardson presents thoughtful perspectives on our national debate regarding gun control (“How is an illusion going to make us safer?,” AFN, March 22).

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).

BURBANK, Calif. — Alan Arkin is Steve Carell's idol, in reality and in their new movie.

Whatever valid points Michael Reagan may have had (“The real answer to the immigration question,” AFN, March 8) was lost on me by his persistent need to be snarky, referring to the President as the “golfer in chief” and “part-time President.” While it is arguable that no President gets days off, Mr. Obama took 131 vacation days in his first term, including weekends at Camp David. That would put him on pace for 262 by the time he completes his second term, right around the average and 1/4 the “time off” of his predecessor.

Clean elections

How many times has this “Medical Advice” column reported a change in prevailing medical recommendations? Here we go again. Humpty Dumpty could certainly identify with the angst a humble egg currently has to deal with. Talk about self-esteem issues. For years, eggs have been slashed from “healthy” diets because they were considered too loaded with fat and, therefore, a leading contributor to heart disease. The general recommendation was no more than two eggs per week. Even yours truly ascribed to that theory and personally was responsible for instructing her patients in that direction.

Many ions ago, as some will recall, a duet from England called Chad and Jeremy recorded a song called “Yesterday’s Gone.” A section of the lyrics went like this; “that was yesterday, and yesterday’s gone…” It was about a lost love between two young people but the words brought to mind something that happens a lot with software and in particular, protective software.

Joe Arpaio is the best sheriff ever in the history of Maricopa County! No, he’s the worst Maricopa County sheriff ever!

Isaiah 43:12 says, “I have revealed and saved and proclaimed — I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “that I am God.”

It's easy to understand why Hollywood loves doing business with author Nicholas Sparks. His books are huge best-sellers, and several of the films adapted from his novels - "Message in a Bottle," ''The Notebook," and "Dear John" - have achieved impressive box office grosses. The latest Sparks adaptation, "Safe Haven," will probably continue his winning streak, especially with its Valentine's Day opening pegged to lure female fans. A thriller element that has not been present in earlier Sparks movies is designed to draw reluctant male viewers to see the picture, but they won't respond with the same enthusiasm as his core audience of woozy romantics.

On Jan. 22, Priest Willis slipped on a pair of powder blue football gloves, aligned his hands in the sign of a “U” and confirmed to the college football world what everyone long suspected: He was verbally committing to UCLA.