Author: Donovan Quintero

Standing beneath the late afternoon sun outside the Rough Rock Community School gymnasium, 34-year-old Wesley Yazzie of Chinle paused as the rhythmic beat of drums carried across the field. The Navajo song and dance was dedicated to honoring veterans, a moment of reflection for Yazzie, who recently completed 13 years in the U.S. Army.

A national infant botulism investigation that includes one confirmed case in Arizona has led to a voluntary recall of two batches of ByHeart infant formula, prompting warnings across 10 states.

The morning light crept across the edge of a metal rooftop that now glimmers above a weather-worn home tucked into the red-earth hills of Oak Springs. Inside, 69-year-old Janice Billiman moved slowly through her living space, stepping around boxes, blankets and personal belongings that filled nearly every corner of the one-room house.

From 1,000 feet up, the fissures in the landscape showed themselves in unexpected colors – not just the brittle tans of drought and the rust of eroded sandstone, but the matte blacks and sun-bleached grays of trash pits scattered near homes.

With the federal government shutdown freezing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for November, Arizona and New Mexico scrambled to deploy emergency aid while Utah warned that it could not issue November payments.