Yuma News Now

Douglas, Arizona - United States Customs and Border Protection officers at the Douglas, Arizona port of entry played a pivotal role in finding two individuals wanted by the Los Angeles County sheriff in connection with a homicide involving multiple victims, including two children.

At around 4:45 on Saturday afternoon, CBP officers screening people wanting to enter the United States through the Douglas were approached by Mexican authorities, who were escorting two men to the port of entry. The officers’ suspicions were raised by the fact that the men were being escorted by Mexican immigration authorities and, since their mission is to discover and stop threats from entering the United States, they began working to determine the identity and admissibility of the two men.

During the inspection, suspicions were raised further when the two men refused to speak English or Spanish, prompting officers to find a CBP officer who spoke Korean to assist with questioning. As the officers identified the men through use of immigration and other databases, and through questioning, they discovered information leading them to believe the men were wanted as persons of interest in connection with the murder of several people, including two children, in Los Angeles County.

The men were turned over to the Douglas Police Department for further investigation and processing.

“Looking for threats to the American public is what our officers do every day,” said Field Operations Director David Higgerson, “and in cases like this, we are pleased to be able to contribute to the investigation by finding people who may be involved in heinous crimes such as this and stopping them from freely entering the country.”

Tucson, Arizona - The Arizona Research Institute for Solar Energy, known as AzRISE together with U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords will host an event focusing on ways to expand the use of solar energy.

The Southern Arizona Solar Energy Development Conference will be held on Monday, June 30 at the Arizona Historical Society, which is located on the campus of The University of Arizona.

The day-long event is aimed at bringing together government policy makers who recognize the need to make solar energy an integral part of the area’s future growth.

Joseph H. Simmons, AzRISE co-director and head of the UA’s materials science and engineering department, joins Giffords and other speakers at the conference including Tucson Mayor Bob Walkup, Scottsdale Mayor Mary Manross and Arizona Corporation Commissioners Bill Mundell and Kris Mayes.

“Solar energy may be the one solution to provide additional energy to this population without significant water use and loss of air quality,” Simmons said. “We want to do whatever is possible to make solar energy generation cheaper and more efficient.”

AzRISE was established at the UA with a goal to fully develop the potential of solar energy. The institute does this through research, industry partnerships and policy solutions while also promoting outreach efforts, which makes it unique to the state of Arizona.

The research goals of AzRISE include identifying, funding and coordinating Arizona-specific solar energy research opportunities, developing intellectual property and promoting development and widespread adoption of solar energy.

According to the AZRise Web site, solar energy is the most abundant renewable source of energy in Arizona with the potential of generating all of the state’s current electricity needs using less than one quarter of one percent of the state’s land.

“After attending community meetings in Southern Arizona, I discovered that there was another need beyond solar energy research,” Simmons said. “The community was looking for leadership that would help businesses, utilities, local governments and others.”

Flagstaff Arizona - Fatal collision - helicopters collide in mid-air leaving at least seven people dead. The incident happened close to a hospital in the city of Flagstaff. Three people on one of the helicopters died, at least one of them a patient, the Federal Aviation Authority. It was not clear how many of the others who died were involved.