Families shopping for back-to-school supplies can expect to see increases across the board this year, according to estimates from the National Retail Federation. • Experts estimate that more than $26.5 billion will be spent on clothing, shoes, supplies and electronics in the 2014 back-to-school shopping season.

Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story misquoted Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. A statement from McCain's office called the ruling a "victory for religious freedom and individual liberty in the face of big-government mandates." The story below has been revised to correct the quote. Clients who used this story are asked to run the correction that can be found here.

Estimates of same-sex families in Arizona in 2010, according to the Williams Institute's Arizona Census Snap Shot: 2010. • In 2010 there were 15,817 same-sex couples in Arizona, 2,608 of them were raising children. • Apache County had the highest share of the state's total, with 48 percent of same-sex couples with children.

WASHINGTON – Not only does Phoenix resident Jeremy Dodd expect to be the first in his family to get a four-year college degree – he expects he’ll be able to do it in just 2.5 years. That’s because Dodd is enrolled in a Northern Arizona University program that lets students earn credit by passing tests to demonstrate what they already know, instead of how long they sat in a classroom.

WASHINGTON – Arizona officials told a House panel Wednesday that the federal government’s decision to end a rainbow trout program at the Willow Beach fish hatchery could have a devastating impact on the state’s economy. Fish and Wildlife Service said last year it planned to stop sport-fish production at the hatchery after 52 years there.

WASHINGTON – When Scottsdale resident Candy Campbell sat down in October to fill out the application to be a Peace Corps volunteer, she hoped to be fulfilling a lifelong dream. She didn’t think it would almost take a lifetime to fill out the paperwork. But the 60-page application required answers to specific, intricate questions, multiple essays – and almost two months for Campbell, at the time a recent Arizona State University graduate, to complete.

Cleft palate and cleft lip are birth defects that can cause trouble feeding and sleeping, can lead to ear infections and can cause problems with teeth and with hearing. • A cleft lip occurs when an embryo's lip tissue fails to join, resulting in an opening of the upper lip. • It occurs during the fourth and seventh weeks of pregnancy.

WASHINGTON – Lots of high school bands will march in Fourth of July parades Friday, but not many will have flown 2,000 miles to do it. When the Willow Canyon High School marching band steps off Friday for the National Independence Day Parade in Washington, though, it will be a long from home in Surprise.

Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly reported that a vaccine for porcine epidemic diarrhea virus was not available. In fact, the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued a conditional license on June 16 to Harrisvaccines Inc. for its vaccine, the first to win conditional approval for controlling PEDV.

• A common desert plant found throughout the Southwestern U.S., indigenous to that area and northern Mexico. • Became popular as an alternative to rubber trees during World War II's rubber crisis. • Needs less water, fewer nutrients and pesticides to survive than most other plants. • Thrives in a semiarid habitat and can be grown year-round.

WASHINGTON – When thousands descend on the beaches of Normandy Friday for the 70th anniversary of the D-Day invasion, the crowds are expected to include tourists, veterans and world leaders there to mark the day. And Scottsdale resident Stan Dale, who will be carrying scores of little bags filled with dirt.