Fatal Texas blast starkly signals need for action

The following editorial appears on Bloomberg View:

It's Saturday night, Tucson; hit the town

2nd Saturdays Downtown and The Far West at Boondocks are two ideas.

Burger Night at Steak Out features $6 steaks

Higher ed elsewhere

Frogs go to community college, UNM approves alcohol, lots of universities in the West need new presidents, and tuition hikes are everywhere.

Higher ed elsewhere

In an effort to be a better curator of higher-education news, I bring you this blog feature on higher ed elsewhere. I'll try to do it once a week or so, with a focus on the West and with lots of Arizona context. Let me know what you think. Here we go:

S. Florida rediscovers defense, beats W.Va.

TAMPA, Fla. — B.J. Daniels threw for 232 yards and three touchdowns, and South Florida rebounded from two subpar defensive performances to frustrate No. 20 West Virginia in a 30-19 victory Friday night.

S. Florida rediscovers defense, beats W.Va.

Radar van locations

The city's police radar van is scheduled to snap photographs of speeders at these locations during the next few days, according to the Tucson Police Department:

Bridge

Floods, winds menace South after West's major snowfall

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Residents of some Western and Plains states were digging out Friday after an early blast of snow. Meanwhile, heavy rain and winds that toppled trees, power lines and church steeples lashed parts of the South, leaving three people dead.

Floods, winds menace South after West's major snowfall

At least 42.4 percent of police, firefighters live outside Tucson

At least 42.4 percent of Tucson police and firefighters live outside the city limits, making them unable to vote on a controversial ballot measure related to the city's public safety coverage, based on analysis of data obtained by the Arizona Daily Star.

US cannot attack and support Afghanistan's drug trade

WASHINGTON

Stars, fundraisers among White House visitors

WASHINGTON — Celebrities Oprah Winfrey, George Clooney and Denzel Washington, prominent Democratic fundraisers and heavyweights from the financial services and high-tech industries were among those landing visits with President Obama or others at the White House during Obama's first months i…

Stars, fundraisers among White House visitors

Fundraiser to benefit '45-mph couch potatoes'

Fall has arrived in the Old Pueblo, and what it lacks in colorful leaves it makes up for in fine weather.

Regulators shut 9 banks, mostly in West, as loan defaults keep taking toll

NEW YORK — Regulators shut nine banks Friday, including Los Angeles-based California National, as the still-weak economy produces a stream of loan defaults.

Take Fitz home for the holidays and New Year, too

Star funnyman David Fitzsimmons has designed five totally Tucson holiday ornaments. The nearly 3-inch round ceramic pieces feature Fitz's unique, quirky Southwestern characters:

Asia-Pacific region defense chiefs meet in Hawaii

KAPOLEI, Hawaii (AP) — Top defense officials from 24 nations in the Asia-Pacific region discussed how to combat piracy and deliver disaster assistance at a meeting in Hawaii.

West Virginia tops sleeplessness survey

ATLANTA — Sleepless in Seattle? Hardly. West Virginia is where people are really staying awake, according to the first government study to monitor state-by-state differences in sleeplessness.