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.

WASHINGTON – Plenty of high-school bands marched in Fourth of July parades Friday, but not many flew 2,000 miles to do it. When the Willow Canyon High School marching band stepped off for the National Independence Day Parade in Washington, it was a long way from home in Surprise. "It feels really great that a small Division III band, from Surprise, Arizona, can make to Washington, D.C., like this," said Charles Abarquez, a senior at Willow Canyon.

Piglet deaths as a result of the virus will likely mean fewer hogs ready for market down the road, slimmer margins for farmers and higher prices for consumers. WASHINGTON – A swine virus that has already caused a nationwide hog shortage has turned up in Arizona, where one farm official worries it could have "catastrophic effects on the pork buying and producing industry."

When thousands descended on the beaches of Normandy last week for the 70th anniversary of the D-Day invasion, the crowds included tourists, veterans and world leaders. And Scottsdale resident Stan Dale was there with scores of little bags filled with dirt. Dale had gathered samples of soil from all 50 states to place at Omaha Beach for the American soldiers who gave their lives there.