TUCSON, Arizona, Dec. 20 -- The U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management's Arizona State Office issued the following news release: The Bureau of Land Management Tucson Field Office is pleased to announce the selection of Alan Nyiri, resident of Bandon, Ore., site host at the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area and photographer, as its first artist in residence. The BLM Artist-in-Residence program offers opportunities on public lands for painters, photographers, potters,   more

LAKE HAVASU CITY, Arizona, Dec. 19 -- The U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management's Arizona State Office issued the following news release on Dec. 18, 2023: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Lake Havasu Field Office announces the temporary closure and restrictions of selected public lands for the Parker 400 off-highway vehicle (OHV) race events in and around the Parker 400 course near the communities of Parker and Bouse. The temporary closure takes effect at 11:59 p.m. Jan  more

KINGMAN, Arizona, Dec. 21 -- The U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management's Arizona State Office issued the following news release: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will begin a wild burro gather on Jan. 8, 2024, in the Black Mountain Herd Management Area, located west of Kingman, in Mohave County. The gather will remove up to 1,000 excess wild burros to address herd health and impacts to rangeland health, wildlife habitat and roadway safety concerns associated with herd o  more

FORT HUACHUCA, Arizona, Dec. 21 -- The U.S. Army's Fort Huachuca issued the following news: By Jensen Jennings The U.S. Army Garrison held its change of responsibility ceremony bidding farewell to Command Sgt. Maj. Clark Kuhling and welcoming Command Sgt. Maj. Terrina Anderson on Dec. 15 at Brown Parade Field. Col. John Ives, garrison commander, presided over the ceremony. He remarked that being a part of the garrison command team is like being a city manager who is responsible for the daily   more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued the following news release: EL PASO, Texas - The third member of a group charged in a human smuggling case was sentenced on Dec. 19 in a federal court in El Paso to 135 months in prison for her role in an ongoing conspiracy that resulted in the death of two migrants. The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations El Paso with the assistance from the U.S. Border Patrol Big  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 -- The U.S. Department of Justice issued the following news release: Michael Lee Tomasi, 37, of Rio Verde, Arizona, was arrested on Friday after a grand jury indicted him on three counts of threats against a federal official and three counts of making interstate threats. According to court documents, from May 2021 through November 2023, while living in Colorado and Arizona, Tomasi used a social media platform to express a desire to incite violence and threaten a variety of   more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 21 -- The U.S. Department of Justice issued the following news release on Dec. 20, 2023: An Arizona man pleaded guilty today in San Diego federal court to conspiracy to commit access device fraud. According to court documents, Luis Ramirez, 42, of Mesa, helped to obtain "leads" for fraudsters who sought to steal money from the bank accounts of unknowing U.S. victims. The "leads" consisted of financial information for the prospective victims that included bank account numbers.   more

PHOENIX, Arizona, Dec. 21 -- The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued the following news release on Dec. 20, 2023: * * * Resolves Federal Lawsuit Steel Plant in Eloy, Arizona Harassed Black and Latino Workers * * * The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today that Schuff Steel Company, a steel fabrication company headquartered in Phoenix, agreed to pay $500,000 and implement companywide policy changes and prevention measures to resolve a lawsuit alleging   more

EL PASO, Texas, Dec. 20 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas issued the following news release on Dec. 19, 2023: The third member of a group charged in a human smuggling case was sentenced today in a federal court in El Paso to 135 months in prison for her role in an ongoing conspiracy which resulted in the death of two migrants. According to court documents, Guadalupe Quezada, 35, of Mesa, Arizona, along with codefendants Veronica Quezada, 39, of Mesa, and Eli  more

FORT HUACHUCA, Arizona, Dec. 20 -- The U.S. Army's Fort Huachuca issued the following news: By Amy Stork, USAICoE Public Affairs The U.S. Army's Program Executive Office Simulation, Training and Instrumentation (PEO STRI) Threat Systems Management Office (TSMO) demonstrated a new Army threat system at Fort Huachuca Dec. 14. The demonstration of the system included a system check and data collection for Fort Huachuca stakeholders. Jacob Lamb, TSMO's Electronic Warfare Branch chief, said that   more

TUCSON, Arizona, Dec. 23 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona issued the following news release: On December 14, 2023, a federal grand jury returned a 40-count indictment against Kevin McKenzie, 47, and Corina Martinez, 41, of Tucson. McKenzie and Martinez were charged with Conspiracy to Embezzle from an Indian Tribal Organization; Embezzlement; Theft Concerning Programs Receiving Federal Funds; Wire Fraud; Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud; Conspiracy to Commit Money La  more

PHOENIX, Arizona, Dec. 19 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona issued the following news release: On Tuesday, a federal grand jury in Phoenix returned a 50-count indictment against Jeremie Sowerby, 45, of Fountain Hills, for wire fraud and transactional money laundering. The indictment alleges that Sowerby scammed at least 150 victims out of millions of dollars in a cryptocurrency scheme known as Dunamis Global Technologies. Sowerby marketed Dunamis as a company that   more

TUCSON, Arizona, Dec. 21 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona issued the following news release: Clifford Valisto, 63, of Tucson, was sentenced last week by United States District Judge John C. Hinderaker to 60 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Valisto pleaded guilty to Transportation of Illegal Aliens for Profit on October 2, 2023. Valisto also was sentenced to 12 months in prison to run concurrently for violating conditions of his feder  more

CHEYENNE, Wyoming, Dec. 20 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Wyoming issued the following news release: Shakeel Kahn, age 57, was convicted by a federal jury of crimes involving drug distribution, firearms possession, and money laundering. According to court records and trial evidence, between 2011 and 2016, Kahn was a licensed medical doctor who operated clinics in Casper, Wyoming, and Fort Mohave, Arizona. Kahn unlawfully distributed drugs by writing prescriptions for lar  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 -- The U.S. Department of the Interior's U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued the following news release: After a thorough review of the best available scientific and commercial information, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has determined that two Arizona species, the Pinaleno talussnail and the San Xavier talussnail, do not warrant listing under the Endangered Species Act. The Pinaleno talussnail and San Xavier talussnail are land snails endemic to southeastern Arizona  more