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Yahoo
3 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Man out walking dog kills mountain lion in Buckeye neighborhood
A Buckeye man recently shot and killed a mountain lion after it attacked him and his dog on an evening walk in a residential area, according to officials with the Arizona Game and Fish Department. The incident occurred in Verrado, a community near Skyline Regional Park. Officials said the man, whom they declined to identify, was walking his dog around 10 p.m. on May 25 when a mountain lion approached him and began attacking. Officials said the man engaged in "a brief altercation" with the wild animal, successfully "kicking the lion off of his dog." But it continued to follow them as they began walking back toward their home. When the mountain lion attempted to approach again, the man shot and killed it. Officials said the animal was slain in self-defense. State wildlife managers picked up the carcass, and no citations were issued. The man's dog was not severely injured, officials said. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Man kills mountain lion after it attacks dog in Buckeye neighborhood
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Loop 202 on-ramp in southeast Valley now closed for 2 months. What to know
After a Memorial Day weekend break from freeway closures and restrictions, temporary closures and restrictions were planned for the May 30 through June 2 weekend on several Valley freeways and roads. This work included the Loop 202 improvement project, which includes adding and widening lanes, improving pavement, widening overpass bridges and constructing noise walls on parts of the freeway in the southeast Valley. The eastbound Loop 202 (Santan Freeway) on-ramp at Arizona Avenue in the Chandler area closed on May 28. The closure, as part of a $200 million improvement project, was set to last 60 days. The Arizona Department of Transportation said crews were reconstructing the ramp as part of the Loop 202 widening project. It was scheduled to reopen in late July. When complete, lanes will be added and interchanges improved along 8 miles of Loop 202 between Loop 101 (Price Freeway) and Val Vista Drive in Chandler and Gilbert. ADOT suggested drivers use detour routes, entering eastbound Loop 202 at Alma School or McQueen roads. Weekend closures: What to know about freeway closures for the weekend of May 30-June 2, 2025 This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Loop 202 on-ramp in southeast Valley now closed for 2 months
USA Today
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
A drama professor encouraged his students to strip. The college shrugged.
A drama professor encouraged his students to strip. The college shrugged. | Opinion A Mesa Community College instructor encourages his female drama students to strip for a class assignment. Two months later, he was still teaching and the school is playing duck and cover. Show Caption Hide Caption Blake Lively files legal complaint against Justin Baldoni Blake Lively says "It Ends with Us" co-star Justin Baldoni sexually harassed her and tried to destroy her reputation in a California legal filing. A Mesa Community College drama teacher in Arizona encouraged his young female students to strip on stage for their midterm exam. The rest of the class was forced to watch. Students complained and not for the first time. For two months, Mace Archer was still teaching the class. And college officials? They get an A in performance art – a farcical piece entitled "How to Look Like You're Doing Something Without Doing Anything At All." "Because this is an active personnel matter, we cannot provide specific details to protect the privacy of those involved," Lindsey Wilson, spokeswoman for Maricopa Community Colleges, assured Arizona Republic reporter Robert Anglen in a May 19 email. "Our colleges," Wilson said, "take any allegations of misconduct seriously and are committed to fostering a safe, respectful, and supportive environment for students, faculty, and staff." So seriously, in fact, that Archer was allowed to finish out the semester, fully two months after the strip show, and was slotted in for fall classes. 'I ... sometimes can't muster up the courage to go' The lights should have come on in February, when a student in Archer's modern drama class warned college officials that he was sexualizing her performances and touching females inappropriately. Thea Moore, a musical theater major, told an administrator she dreaded going to class. "I get severe anxiety everyday before attending and sometimes can't muster up the courage to go," she wrote in a Feb. 20 email to Puvana Ganesan, who chair's the communication, theater and film arts department. "A lot of his classes are requirements for our degree, which is difficult." Opinion: Four fifth-graders planned to kill their classmate. What does that say about us? Ganesan replied the next day, saying she was "truly sorry" and asking for examples of Archer's behavior. So Moore sent a five-point list and never heard back. Eventually, she dropped the class, prompting another email from Ganesan, saying she was 'truly so sorry.' "I completely understand that sometimes, we experience discomfort that can be too great to continue," Ganesan wrote March 6. Take off your clothes for a grade Apparently, Archer's female students experience a fair amount of discomfort – enough that they've compiled a shared file of complaints, ranging from sexual harassment to rude behavior to disturbing assignments. Speaking of disturbing assignments, students in Archer's Acting 2 class this spring were required to offer a performance in which they had to face a fear. One student, Gabrielle Monroe, said the teacher steered some of the younger females toward taking off their clothes on stage to complete the March midterm assignment. "I have heard from other women that their initial idea was not enough of a fear risk, and he suggested that they remove articles of clothing," Monroe told Anglen. Two young women stripped to their underwear under the glow of the theater's stage lights, as Archer and their classmates watched. One got buck naked. Opinion: Gen Z has been priced out of a future, so we invest in the present I guess if you've got to suffer for your art, you might as well do it for your 56-year-old teacher's viewing pleasure. Hopefully, they scored an A. College officials ducked Anglen's questions about the three strip shows, saying only that they launched a 'formal investigation' in March after 'receiving concerns.' They offered no explanation for why Archer was allowed to continue teaching, finish the spring semester and was even listed as an instructor in the fall course catalogue until Anglen asked about it. (The catalogue was then changed, with the instructor listed as "staff".) My guess is Mesa Community College's "formal investigation' commenced with Anglen's phone call. My recommendation is the people who run the community colleges consider a career in comedy. "Our colleges take any allegations of misconduct seriously and are committed to fostering a safe, respectful, and supportive environment for students, faculty, and staff,' they say? Yeah, I'm still laughing at that one. Laurie Roberts is a columnist for The Arizona Republic, where this column originally appeared. Reach Roberts at or follow her on X (formerly Twitter) at @LaurieRobertsaz, on Threads at @LaurieRobertsaz and on BlueSky at @
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Influencer Sues To Keep 3-Year-Old Son's Death Details Private After TikTok 'Frenzy'
Popular lifestyle influencer Emilie Kiser is suing multiple public offices in Arizona in order to keep details about her 3-year-old son's death private after his accidental drowning became the center of an online 'frenzy.' 'Emilie is trying her best to be there for her surviving son,' who is 2 months old, Kiser's attorneys wrote in a lawsuit filed Tuesday and published by the Arizona Republic. 'But every day is a battle.' Kiser amassed more than 4 million followers on TikTok and 150,000 subscribers on YouTube by regularly showcasing her family's life and her experience of motherhood. Her vlogs, which recently gave a glimpse into her postpartum life, were heartwarming and light, but fans noticed she had stopped posting on May 12. The lawsuit says that her 3-year-old son, Trigg, died on May 18 'following a heartbreaking accidental drowning.' On May 12, he had been pulled unconscious from a pool at the family's home in Chandler, Arizona. Despite Kiser and her family 'desperately' wanting to grieve in private, Trigg's death sparked a 'media frenzy,' according to the lawsuit. In one case, a TikTok user shared a screenshot from the Maricopa County Medical Examiner's website to immediately confirm the 3-year-old's death to his more than 1 million followers. While Kiser received support from her fans, she also received blame from people who obsessively looked through her old videos and promoted an unsubstantiated theory that the influencer had refused to have a pool fence installed. More than 100 public record requests have been filed with both the city of Chandler and the Maricopa County Medical Examiner following Trigg's death, according to the lawsuit, which says Kiser has not reviewed the information contained in these records, but assumes they reveal 'graphic, distressing, and intimate details of Trigg's death.' Her legal team also believes that 'many' people requesting records are doing so for 'commercial purposes.' 'To allow disclosure in these circumstances would be to turn Arizona's Public Records Law into a weapon of emotional harm, rather than a tool of government transparency,' the lawsuit argues. The situation has sparked discussion online, with some commenters pointing to the obsession over Trigg's death as an example of parasocial behavior, a one-sided psychological attachment toward a celebrity or influencer. Wait, What The Heck Is A 'Parasocial Relationship'? Mexican Beauty Influencer Shot To Death During TikTok Livestream President Donald Trump Taps Wellness Influencer Close To RFK Jr. For Surgeon General
Yahoo
a day ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Portions of several freeways in metro Phoenix will close this weekend: What to know
A few closures and lane restrictions were scheduled for the weekend due to improvement projects along parts of Phoenix-area freeways, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation. The right lanes of the east and westbound Loop 101 (Agua Fria Freeway) will be closed near 51st Avenue all weekend while the westbound Loop 202 was scheduled to be closed May 31 between Gilbert and Cooper roads. The northbound Loop 101 (Price Freeway) ramp to westbound Loop 202 (Red Mountain Freeway) was expected to be closed overnight June 1 to June 2. Drivers should allow extra travel time and plan on using detours as needed, ADOT said. Schedules were subject to change due to inclement weather or other factors, ADOT said. Motorists can check the AZ511 app or call 511 to see real-time highway conditions. Here's what you need to know about traffic closures from May 30 through June 2. The right lanes near 51st Avenue will be closed 10 p.m. May 30 to 5 a.m. June 2 for bridge work, ADOT confirmed. Plan for 51st Avenue to be closed in both directions at Loop 101. Detours: Consider using other nearby cross streets including 35th or 59th avenues. Westbound Loop 202 will be closed between Gilbert and Cooper roads from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 31 for work on a widening project, ADOT said. Westbound Loop 202 on-ramps at Santan Village Parkway, Val Vista Drive and Lindsay Road will be closed, along with the westbound Loop 202 frontage road between Lindsay and Gilbert roads. The eastbound Loop 202 HOV lane will additionally be closed between Cooper and Gilbert roads, ADOT confirmed. Detours: Consider using westbound Pecos or Germann roads to travel beyond the closure or taking westbound U.S. 60 (Superstition Freeway). The northbound Loop 101 ramp to westbound Loop 202 will be closed overnight from 9 p.m. June 1 to 4 a.m. June 2 for pavement maintenance, according to ADOT. Detours: Drivers can consider traveling onto eastbound Loop 202 and exiting at Dobson Road before turning to enter westbound Loop 202. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix area freeways affected by closures this weekend: What to know
