Latest Arizona news, sports, business and entertainment:

Crews gaining upper hand on Arizona wildfire

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) _ A wildfire in northern Arizona has grown to 14,000 acres but is now 20 percent contained. Authorities say the 800 firefighters are gaining the upper hand on the blaze and the estimated 1,000 evacuees may be allowed to return Wednesday morning.

Massive clouds of smoke still choke Flagstaff as firefighters battle to keep a nearly 19-square-mile wildfire from heading toward the mountain town of about 60,000 people.

About 750 homes remained under evacuation orders as crews worked on containment lines on the south and north sides where the so-called Schultz fire is most active.

The blaze is about five miles from Flagstaff on the southernmost edge where rocky terrain and rolling hills make the terrain more difficult for fire crews to access. Gov. Jan Brewer toured the fire area Tuesday afternoon.

RENZI-CO-DEFENDANTS

Trial begins for 2 Renzi associates

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) _ Jurors heard opening statements on Tuesday in the trial of two associates of former Arizona Rep. Rick Renzi.

The case is tied to allegations that the congressman looted his family insurance business to fund his campaigns and for personal expenses.

Andrew Beardall was the Sierra Vista insurance firm's president and lawyer from late 2002 through 2003. He's charged with conspiracy and two counts of insurance fraud.

Dwayne Lequire was the company's accountant starting in July 2003. He's charged with conspiracy and 10 counts of embezzlement.

Both have pleaded not guilty.

Renzi is also charged in the insurance case and with various unrelated corruption charges. His trial is on hold while he pursues a constitutional challenge.

CAMPAIGN FINANCE-QUELLAND

Judge denies Ariz. lawmaker's request to keep seat

PHOENIX (AP) _ A judge has denied a former state lawmaker's request for an injunction preventing state officials from removing him from office.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Crane McClennen denied the request by Phoenix Republican Rep. Doug Quelland on Tuesday.

The Citizens Clean Elections Commission last year ordered Quelland removed from office for allegedly padding his publicly financed 2008 campaign with private spending.

The judge upheld the commission's ruling in May, and state officials later declared the seat officially vacant.

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors will choose a replacement for Quelland from a list of three people chosen Monday night by Republicans in Quelland's district.

Quelland is appealing the commission's ruling and is running for office.

JUDGE COMPLAINT

Chief deputy complaint against judges is tossed

PHOENIX (AP) _ A state judicial commission has rejected ethics complaints filed against current and former Maricopa County judges.

The Arizona Commission on Judicial Conduct said it found no evidence of ethical misconduct by Judge Gary Donahoe and former Judges Barbara Rodriguez Mundell, Anna Baca and Kenneth Fields.

Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy David Hendershott accused Donahoe of failing to disclose an attorney-client relationship, failing to take action against an official for disclosing grand jury information and threatening the Sheriff's Office.

Hendershott issued a statement through the Sheriff's Office saying he has not seen the notification nor has he read the completed investigative report.

Hendershott said he was never interviewed by investigators and he questions what facts they looked into in order to come to this conclusion.

The Chief Deputy accused Rodriguez Mundell, Baca and Fields of improper behavior related to criminal cases.

ARIZONA IMMIGRATION-REFERENDUM

New filing for referendum on Ariz. immigration law

PHOENIX (AP) _ A new referendum drive is under way to put Arizona's new immigration law on hold pending a public vote in November.

The drive was launched by a Tempe man, Larry Gist (jihst), who is running unopposed for the Green Party nomination for governor.

But Gist did not immediately return calls for comment on the paperwork filed late Monday, and a Green Party spokesman said Tuesday that party officials don't know Gist and have no involvement in the referendum drive.

To qualify for the ballot, the referendum campaign needs to file nearly 77,000 signatures by July 28.

Two other ballot campaigns, one for an initiative and another for a referendum, already are under way. It's not clear if either will collect enough signatures.

DRUG WAR-ARIZONA

Police in border city threatened by drug smugglers

PHOENIX (AP) _ Police in the Arizona border city of Nogales have been told to carry guns when they aren't at work after smugglers threatened to retaliate against two off-duty officers who earlier this month stopped a vehicle carrying 400 pounds of marijuana.

Nogales Police Chief Jeff Kirkham said Tuesday that he considers the threat credible because various informants who spoke with investigators were able to identify the specific officers who thwarted the drug load.

Kirkham said the U.S. Border Patrol has sent additional agents to the stretch of desert east of the city where the off-duty officers who were riding horses had stopped the smugglers.

The smugglers left behind their vehicle and fled into Mexico.

No one was injured in the bust.

MOTHER-DAUGHTER HOMICIDES

VT cops say suspect in '78 homicides died in Ariz.

WATERBURY, Vt. (AP) _ Vermont State Police say they believe the man suspected of killing his wife and her 5-year-old daughter 32 years ago in Jericho killed himself in Arizona in 1997 following a police chase.

Police say the identity of the man in Yuma was unknown for years, but the FBI recently matched fingerprints taken from that body with those of Michael Reapp.

In 1978, Reapp reported as missing his 32-year-old wife Grace and her 5-year-old daughter Gracie. Their bodies have never been found.

Michael Reapp, who remarried, disappeared from his Florida home in 1996 after he learned police were excavating his former home looking for the bodies.

Reapp's fingerprints were entered into an FBI database in 2006 after police charged him with murder.

RAY MINE-DEATH

240-ton truck kills worker at Arizona copper mine

PHOENIX (AP) _ A diesel mechanic has been killed and a second man severely hurt after their small truck was run over by a massive ore hauler at a copper mine east of Florence.

Authorities say 53-year-old Thomas E. Benavidez was killed instantly when the 240-ton dump truck ran over the pickup at Asarco LLC's Ray mine. Assistant state mine inspector Tim Evans says a second mechanic was cut from the crushed truck after Sunday morning incident.

Evans says the pickup pulled in front of the ore-hauler and the driver did not see the smaller truck.

Federal officials say the death was the second in Arizona this year and the 11th nationwide for the mining industry excluding coal mines. Coal mines have lost 38 workers so far this year.

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Information from: The Arizona Republic, http://www.azcentral.com

COLORADO RIVER SEARCH

Colorado River search to resume for Henderson man

LAKE MEAD NATIONAL RECREATION AREA, Nev. (AP) _ National Park Service rangers are due to resume a search for an 18-year-old man from Henderson, Nev., who disappeared while swimming in the Colorado River about two miles south of Hoover Dam.

Lake Mead National Recreation Area officials say the search will resume Tuesday for the Remon Shaker, who was last seen Monday swimming with two friends in Black Canyon. Searchers presume Shaker drowned.

Shaker's friends told officials they were able to swim back to shore, but Shaker struggled and went under water in swift current.

A helicopter and boat search was launched about 4 p.m. Monday after Shaker's friends hiked two miles up the Gold Strike Canyon trail to get cell phone reception and summon help.

FAKE DETECTIVES

2 arrested for posing as MCSO detectives

PHOENIX (AP) _ Two employees of a Phoenix loan company are accused of posing as Maricopa County Sheriff's Office detectives in an apparent attempt to collect loan payments.

Authorities say Merle Madison and Paul Romero both were arrested Tuesday. They say one of the men will be charged with impersonating a peace officer and the other will be charged with conspiracy to aid in impersonating a peace officer.

Madison and Romero worked at Cash Time Title Loan Company. They allegedly were representing themselves as law enforcement officers in an attempt to intimidate clients to repay loans or turn in vehicles to be used as collateral for the loans.

Sheriff's investigators say the two men had apparently made several hundred telephone calls since early 2009 acting as detectives.

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Information from: The Arizona Republic, http://www.azcentral.com

BEE ATTACK

7 people stung by bees in Casa Grande

CASA GRANDE, Ariz. (AP) _ Authorities say seven people were stung by bees that swarmed an apartment complex in Casa Grande.

Three of the victims were taken to Casa Grande Regional Medical Center for treatment after Monday morning's bee attack at the Aspen Court Apartments. Their conditions were not immediately available Tuesday.

Aspen Court manager Stacy Gambs says the complex's pool and common areas were not busy at the time at the attack, but some people were outside when bees suddenly began swarming.

Casa Grande firefighters responded to the scene and at least one of the persons stung was taken by ambulance to a hospital for treatment.

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Information from: Casa Grande Dispatch

LION MEAT BURGERS

Arizona restaurant serving lion meat burgers

PHOENIX (AP) _ A Mesa restaurant owner dreamed up a novelty meal to give customers a South African experience during the World Cup. But serving burgers made with African lion meat has brought plenty of protests.

Cameron Selogie says his Il Vinaio restaurant has received more than 150 e-mails from protesters as well as a bomb threat. He says African lions are on the protected list, but not endangered.

The restaurant ordered 10 pounds of the African lion meat from a USDA regulated free-range farm in Illinois, which Selogie says he researched to make sure they were humane.

USDA spokesman Jim Brownlee says lion meat is an uncommon dish, but he knew of no prohibitions against it.

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Information from: The Arizona Republic, http://www.azcentral.com