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Region in brief: August 1

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Prescott gets new airline carrier at municipal airport

PRESCOTT, Ariz. (AP) — The federal government has approved a recommendation for a new airline carrier at the Prescott Municipal Airport.

The Prescott Council and an airport advisory committee had recommended a commercial air-carrier proposal from Skywest Airlines, operating as United Express. The city announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation approved it. The airline’s 50-seat jets will make daily round-trip flights between Prescott and Denver. It will fly to and from Los Angeles every day except Saturday. Services will start in late August.

Judge raises bail to $1M for Hoover Dam barricade suspect

KINGMAN, Ariz. (AP) — An Arizona judge has raised the bail to $1 million for a Nevada man accused of using an armored vehicle to block a bridge near the Hoover Dam last month.

Matthew Wright is being held on felony counts of terrorism, aggravated assault, misconduct involving weapons and unlawful flight from a pursuing law enforcement vehicle. Wright, 30, of Henderson, surrendered to authorities on the Arizona side of the bridge after a 90-minute barricade situation that stopped traffic on the main highway between Las Vegas and Phoenix.

FBI: 2 sought in armed robbery of casino in Payson area

PAYSON, Ariz. (AP) — The FBI says two armed men robbed a Payson-area casino while threatening employees and firing shots.

The FBI says it is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of two people sought in the armed robbery July 26 of the Mazatzal Casino. The robbers are believed to have left the casino, crossed State Route 87 and left in a vehicle.

Arizona state trooper fatally shot in highway confrontation

GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) — A rookie state trooper still in training was fatally shot and a second trooper was wounded in a fight with a suspect who took one of the trooper’s guns in a confrontation along a highway in a Phoenix suburb, DPS officials said July 26.

Phoenix airport offering biometric scanners to shorten wait

PHOENIX (AP) — Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is integrating biometric technology that will ease the wait time for travelers willing to pay a fee.

Biometric screening company Clear unveiled kiosks with fingerprint and iris scanners Wednesday inside Terminal 4. The privately-run scanners will be made available at some point at the other terminals.

Clear officials say passengers with a membership will move through a separate line where their identities would be verified with "the tap of a finger or blink of the eye."

But they would still have to go through bag checks and metal detectors.

Annual membership costs $179. An additional family member can be added for $50 per year. Children under the age of 18 can enroll for free. Sky Harbor is the 25th airport nationwide where Clear operates.

5 vehicles involved in fatal Interstate 17 wreck

PHOENIX (AP) — Authorities say five vehicles were involved in a fatal wreck that closed part of northbound Interstate 17 in north-central Arizona before the freeway as partially reopened late on the morning of July 27.

The Department of Public Safety says the vehicles involved in the wreck north of Sunset Point Rest Area were a tractor-trailer rig, two passenger vehicles, a pickup and a box truck.

The DPS had earlier said the preliminary information indicated that a tractor-tractor rig had collided with two pickups. In addition to one person being killed, two injured people were transported for treatment and three others were checked at the scene for minor injuries but not transported. The investigation is currently ongoing.


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