On May 5, 1862, a rag-tag force of vastly outnumbered Mexican soldiers held off well-provisioned French troops backed by heavy artillery in a battle to defend Mexican sovereignty.

"The Sapphires" is missing a lot — detailed characters, a unique narrative arc, half-plausible scenes of the Vietnam War — but it's got two uncommon things going for it: genuine charm and Chris O'Dowd. They are not mutually exclusive.

Girls from Girl Scout Troop 1538 in Ahwatukee are getting their hands dirty while taking action and helping out in the Ahwatukee Community Garden Project’s Children’s Garden.

Debra Gutierrez knows first-hand how lasting friendships can be made while being a Girl Scout.

Jozef Bagby, 14, of Ahwatukee recently received his Eagle Scout Award in a court of honor ceremony on March 16 at Esperanza Lutheran Church. Bagby began his scouting career as a Cub Scout Webelos in 2007. He earned his Arrow of Light before bridging into Boy Scout Troop 124, and eventually transferred to Troop 14 after moving to Ahwatukee.

In a week when North Korea posted a homemade video showing the U.S. Capitol building being destroyed by a missile, what more logical response could Hollywood offer than a macho thriller about a Secret Service agent who takes on North Korean terrorists who attack the White House? The first of two similarly themed action dramas set for this year ("White House Down" arrives in June), "Olympus Has Fallen" will put to the test the question of whether American audiences are ready, 12 years after 9-11, to watch, strictly as disposable popcorn entertainment, a film in which the United States and some of its most prominent landmarks are devastated by foreign terrorists.

The Boy Scouts of Troop 78 worked on the Children’s Garden at the Ahwatukee Swim and Tennis Center on Feb. 16 and 23.

Eagle Scout and Mountain Pointe High School junior Jacob Rak-Kinonen, along with Chandler MMA owner Master Paul McGowan, hosted a women’s self defense clinic on Feb. 10 as a fundraiser called “Helping women be prepared” for local Boy Scout Troop 1/A212.

William Austin Gray has enjoyed participating in scouting since he became a Cub Scout in the second grade. He is an active member of Boy Scout Troop 697 in Tempe.

In 2011 hundreds of Girl Scouts descended on Club West Park grabbing paints, brushes and canvasses to help with the Great Ahwatukee Paint Out. The goal was to fill the walls of the Ronald McDonald House with love.

Attorney General Tom Horne and a Sierra Vista Republican lawmaker are pushing a plan to let principals, teachers and janitors at public schools carry guns.

Madison Callan and Isa Rivers, left to right, junior Girl Scouts, won a contest for best wagon design and theme at the Arizona State University Women In Engineering/Advancing Women in Construction cookie wagon building workshop last month as part of the Girl Scout “Gift of Caring” program.

In celebration of Black History Month, Southeast Regional Library in Gilbert is hosting an exhibit of West African art on loan from local genealogist Joyce Reese McCollum.

Earlier this month, Mountain Pointe High School’s Academic Decathlon team snagged third place in a tough regional competition against more than 20 other high schools.

Boy Scout troops and Cub Scout packs from the Grand Canyon Council, BSA hosted their annual Scouting For Food Drive on Feb. 2. More than 30 Scouting units from the Salt River District went door-to-door collecting food to support St. Vincent de Paul’s food banks. Scouts in Ahwatukee and Tempe collected more than 15,500 pounds and delivered to three locations; two in Tempe and one in Ahwatukee. The Ahwatukee location broke their previous year’s record by more than 2,000 pounds, collecting a total of 7,556 pounds and overflowing the bins that were set up at the Kyrene Monte Vista Elementary School parking lot for the event.