By her own admission, Alejandrina Cabrera does not speak English very well. Yet this didn't prevent her from running for city council in San Luis, Arizona, a town where 90 percent of its resident speak Spanish. Former Mayor Guillermina Fuentes — a former friend of Cabrera's but now a political enemy — asked a court to remove her name from the ballet because of "inadequate" language skills. Cabrera subsequently failed a court-ordered English language proficiency test.

Last Tuesday Tucson Unified School District voted to end its Mexican-American Studies program to comply with an Arizona State Law banning ethnic studies.  The administration released a list of seven books teachers would have to remove from their curriculum including titles like "Critical Race Theory" and "Rethinking Columbus: The next 500 Years." Teachers are also being advised to avoid books that address themes of race, ethnicity, and oppression. One such targeted text is Shakespeare's "The Tempest."

According to recent Census data, the Latino community has seen huge growth in the U.S. They're becoming a group that politicians are increasingly trying to win over. A large part of that process is just about getting Latino voters to polls. But once they're at the ballot box, what are Latino voters looking for in a candidate?

The country's "toughest sheriff" has had his gold star revoked. A scathing U.S. Justice Department report released Thursday found that Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's office carried out a blatant pattern of discrimination against Latinos and held a "systematic disregard" for the Constitution amid a series of immigration crackdowns that have turned the lawman into a prominent national political figure.

The Supreme Court has announced that it will rule on Arizona’s tough immigration law. The case is making its way to the highest court after the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco blocked parts of the law in April. One of the parts of the law in question is a provision that requires state law enforcement officials to check the immigration status of anyone they stop or arrest.

Traditionally thought of as a Republican stronghold that most past Democratic candidates haven't even bothered with, the Obama campaign is actively courting Arizonans for 2012. The campaign has opened offices in Phoenix, Tucson and Flagstaff and recruited a Latino candidate for Senate. The state's booming Latino population, combined with the state legislature's crackdown on illegal immigration, has opened the possibility for a bluer Arizona.

Major League Baseball's All-Star Game will take place in Phoenix, Arizona this year. The state has been the focus of national controversy over a recent law concerning unauthorized migrants, and 30 percent of league players are Latino — which means politics may overshadow the game. Groups on both sides of the debate are planning to make statements to spectators. George Vecsey, sports columnist for The New York Times, talks about the dynamic of the game.

Firefighters across the southwestern United States are facing some of the season's worst weather, as crews battle record blazes. The National Weather Service is warning that the hot temperatures, humidity and wind gusts as high as 60 mph pose an extreme fire risk. The largest fire began more than three weeks ago in Arizona and has burned into western New Mexico, destroying more than thirty homes and half a million acres. Michel Marizco,a reporter with our partner station in Arizona, KJZZ, speaks with us.

The Wallow Fire in Arizona has forced thousands of residents to flee their homes. Firefighters have thus far been unable to control the blaze, which has been raging across the state for nearly two weeks, and now has spread over 600 square miles and is nearing the New Mexico border. The fire is now threatening the region's electrical grid, which could affect the power supply as far as Texas.

Alabama has become the latest state to enact very strict new immigration policy.  The new law, signed by Governor Robert Bentley, is said to be the most severe in the country, including Arizona’s controversial SB1070. The new Alabama law will require public schools to verify the immigration status of all elementary and secondary students and will bar enrollment to illegal immigrants seeking to attend college.

A massive wildfire continues to ravage eastern Arizona, and officials say there's no end in sight. Two towns have been evacuated, and the fire is headed toward power lines that supply electricity to hundreds of thousands of people, in areas as far east as Texas. 

Eastern Arizona has seen close to 3,000 of its residents displaced due to an out-of-control wild fire in the mountains along the New Mexico border, that has been ablaze for more than 10 days now. 

Two months have passed since the deadly shooting in Tucson, Ariz., that left six dead, thirteen wounded, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, and a nation shaken. In response to that horrific event, many proposals are out there to reform gun laws — but not all of them are what you might expect. In Arizona, there are a number of bills under discussion that would expand gun rights, including allowing concealed weapons to be carried on college campuses. How are Arizona residents reacting to this trend?

Almost a year ago, key parts of Arizona's controversial immigration enforcement law SB 1070 were declared unconstitutional by a federal judge. But this week, more than a dozen anti-immigration bills were introduced in the state. One bill would allow Arizona to build its own wall between it and Mexico. Another would require hospitals to check the legal status of patients. And the bill’s supporters are hoping that this time around, they can face down the feds by asserting state’s rights. 

Saturday's shooting in Tucson has led gun control advocates to begin drafting bills to strenghten gun control laws. Meanwhile, gun sales have been up since the shooting. While the issue of gun control tends to come to the fore following tragedies of this sort, few actually think that any real legislative change will come in the wake of the shooting.

This has been a week of difficult coverage on The Takeaway. The deadly shooting in Tucson left us grappling with difficult questions – not only about the victims and their families, but also about gun control, mental illness, political discourse, extremism, the media and free speech – questions that cut to the very heart of Americans values. What can we learn from the Arizona shooting? How should we reflect on this terrible tragedy?

After a shooting spree over the weekend that left six people dead and a U.S. Congresswoman in critical condition, President Barack Obama flew to Tucson, Arizona on Wednesday to offer his condolences to the community. Obama spoke last night at service titled, "Together We Thrive: Tucson and America." Despite the occasion for grief, many at the rally seemed energized, in part by the news that during the president's visit to her hospital bed, Rep. Giffords (D-Ariz.) opened her eyes for the first time since the attack. It was estimated that more than 14,000 people were in attendance. 

In June 1982, John Hinckley, Jr. – President Reagan’s would-be assassin – was found not guilty by reason of insanity. The announcement sparked widespread public criticism, as many believed that the verdict, for all practical purposes, exonerated the man who tried to kill the president. Nearly thirty years later, it seems likely that Jared Loughner, the man charged with attempted assassination and murder after last weekend’s deadly shooting spree in Tucson, will also plead insanity in his case.

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Tex.) is reportedly writing a bill that would allow congressmembers to carry concealed weapons in Washington D.C. Carrying a concealed weapon is currently illegal in D.C., but is not illegal for members of Congress on Capitol grounds. The news of this bill comes after twenty people were shot in Arizona over this past weekend, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who is still in the hospital recovering. Will more guns mean less senseless acts of violence? 

Back in March Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords made a statement responding to Sarah Palin's anti-healthcare reform campaign, saying, "we're on Sarah Palin's targeted list. But the thing is the way that she has it depicted has the cross hairs of a gun site over our district." Could metaphors in that statement have had an effect on who Jared Loughner targeted in Arizona over the weekend?