Dozens evacuated after flash-flood event near Bright Angel Canyon and Phantom Ranch, officials say

One person died and about 15 people were missing or unaccounted for after a major flash flood swept through the Grand Canyon national park in Arizona on Saturday afternoon, according to the National Park Service.

The flash-flood event occurred in the area of Bright Angel Canyon and the Phantom Ranch, where park staff and the Arizona department of public safety had evacuated more than 60 people as of Sunday morning.

In states like Montana, range riders can play a key role in a wild landscape where livestock and predators navigate life together

For most people, the word “cowboy” still summons a figure from Western folklore – a rough rider with a weathered face and a steely gaze, a self-reliant loner who answers to nobody, is fearless in the face of danger, and protects his lands from predators – animal and human alike.

But over the past 15 years, a new range rider has emerged in the American West, one that is out on a wholly different mission: to live in a wild landscape where livestock and predators can co-exist.

Samuel Bateman, 50, is convicted of three state child abuse counts after previous conviction on federal counts

A polygamous sect leader already serving a 50-year federal sentence for orchestrating sex involving children was given another 24 years in prison Tuesday on separate state convictions for child abuse for hauling girls in an unventilated trailer in Arizona.

Samuel Bateman, 50, was convicted of three child abuse counts stemming from an August 2022 traffic stop in Flagstaff that led to the discovery of three girls, aged 11 to 14, in the trailer. It had a makeshift toilet, sofa and camping chairs and lacked air conditioning and seat belts. Someone tipped off authorities about the trailer after seeing small fingers reaching through gaps in the doors.

In Trump administration’s plan, California, Arizona and Nevada face about a 20% cut to water supply over two years

Nevada filed a federal lawsuit on Monday challenging the Trump administration’s new plan for the imperiled Colorado River, launching what could become the first of many court battles over the waterway that supplies 40 million people, dozens of tribes and 5.5m acres of farm land across the American west.

The federal plan, issued Friday, cut roughly 20% from the water supplied to lower basin states – Nevada, Arizona and California – over the next two years, with a potential for harsher cutbacks in the future, based on conditions.

The 10-year blueprint mandates water cuts of up to 40% for California, Arizona and Nevada

It’s official: after years of tense negotiations and missed deadlines, there is finally a plan to govern the future of the imperiled Colorado River - or at least the makings of one.

With the previous framework set to expire in October, the US Bureau of Reclamation publicly released its proposal for a new plan on Friday.

Pima county figures show highest number of monthly migrant deaths in two years as critics condemn US policy

According to newly released data from the medical examiner’s office in Pima county, Arizona, the remains of 19 migrants, including children, were recovered along the Arizona-Mexico border last month.

The figure accounts for the highest number of monthly deaths in that area since 2024 and brings the number of total remains found to 73 this year, 14 more than the same time period last year.

This article was updated on 21 August 2026 to correct the name of Octavio Fuentes.