2010s in Arizona: Mass shooting and VA scandal

A look at some of the top stories that made headlines in The Arizona Republic over the years.

This is a look at Arizona in the 2010s.

April 23, 2010

Immigration-bill showdown

Arizona passes Senate Bill 1070, one of the toughest and most controversial anti-immigration bills in U.S. history, triggering protests and nationwide calls for boycotts of Arizona. Scheduled to take effect in summer, SB 1070's most controversial provisions are put on hold by a federal judge's decision.

Opponents say the law — which under one provision requires state law-enforcement officers to determine someone's immigration status during a stop if there is "reasonable suspicion" that person is an undocumented immigrant — will lead to racial profiling. Two years later, the U.S. Supreme Court would uphold that provision of the law but strike down three others as unconstitutional.

Jan. 8, 2011

Tucson tragedy

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is shot during a gathering to meet with constituents at a Tucson-area Safeway. Six people are killed, including a 9-year-old girl, a federal judge and one of Giffords' aides. Thirteen are injured, Giffords most seriously. The congresswoman will survive and, along with her astronaut husband Mark Kelly, become an outspoken advocate for stricter gun-control laws and gun-violence prevention.

2012

100 years of statehood

Arizona celebrates its centennial.

June 30, 2013

Yarnell Hill disaster

While battling the Yarnell Hill Fire, 19 members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots are killed after flames overrun their position. Brendan McDonough, who was apart from the Prescott-based crew serving as lookout, is the sole survivor. The deaths trigger an outpouring of support — and make the Yarnell Hill Fire the deadliest wildfire in Arizona history — but also set off bitter legal battles between some families of the victims and the city of Prescott. Investigations and questions of who was to blame for the firefighters' deaths persist.

2014

Scandal at the VA

Early in the year, TheArizona Republic investigates concerns at the VA Hospital in Phoenix that veterans have died while waiting for care and that the hospital's wait-time data has been falsified. The ensuing scandal results in audits of all U.S. VA health-care facilities, which later find that Phoenix was reporting wait times of just 24 days, while the actual delay in appointments averaged nearly four months. On May 30, U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki resigns.

Feb. 1, 2015

Another Super Bowl

Glendale hosts its second Super Bowl game at University of Phoenix Stadium, where the New England Patriots defeat the Seattle Seahawks, 28-24. Super Bowl XLIX and its related events are widely considered a success, prompting Valley leaders to immediately begin planning for when they might host the next Super Bowl.

Best photos from The Republic's 125 years

Front pages from The Republic's 125 years