Facebook said Friday it mistakenly removed a post in which Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer criticized a controversial policy decision by President Barack Obama's administration to limit deportations of illegal immigrants.

The Republican governor had said in a post Friday that Facebook censored the item she posted Thursday because it apparently violated Facebook's community standards.

Brewer didn't elaborate in her post, but she said Friday in an interview that an email she received from Facebook said the post was removed because of an included illustration.

The email, which she read aloud, didn't specify how the illustration violated standards.

"I'd like to know why it happens,'' she said of the removal.

Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes responded to a query by The Associated Press by saying in a brief email that Brewer's post was removed in error and that Facebook was sorry.

These amazing pictures from the United States show a wall of dust moving through the city of Phoenix in Arizona. Sandstorms like this happen during the region's monsoon season, which is underway. They occur over desert land and can reach thousands of feet into the air, spurred by strong winds. The dense cloud dramatically reduced visibility, grounding flights at a major airport and leaving thousands without electricity.

Weapons linked to a questionable government strategy are turning up in crimes in Valley neighborhoods.

For months the ABC15 Investigators have been searching through police reports and official government documents. We’ve discovered assault weapons linked to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ controversial "Fast and Furious" case strategy have turned up at crime scenes in Glendale and Phoenix communities.

THE HISTORY

Phoenix ATF agents recently testified during a Congressional hearing that they knowingly allowed weapons to slip into the hands of straw buyers who would then distribute the weapons to known criminals.

The strategy was designed to lead ATF officials to key drug players in Mexico, but some agents admitted they never fully tracked the weapons after suspicious buyers purchased them.

U.S. Sen. John McCain is blaming illegal immigrants for starting some of the wildfires that have scorched hundreds of thousands of acres in Arizona.

"There is substantial evidence that some of these fires have been caused by people who have crossed our border illegally," McCain, R-Arizona, said Saturday at a press conference. "The answer to that part of the problem is to get a secure border."

The Arizona senator, however, did not say what the evidence is, prompting a swift rebuke from Latino civil rights advocates.

"It's easier to fan the flames of intolerance, especially in Arizona," said Randy Parraz, a civil rights advocate who ran unsuccessfully against McCain as a Democratic candidate in 2010.

Authorities expected a massive wildfire in eastern Arizona to become the state's largest by Wednesday, as investigators focused on two people whose campfire may have started the blaze and firefighters fought to keep the flames from devouring a small New Mexico mountain town.

Fires also grew elsewhere in New Mexico, including one near the Colorado border that forced the closure of a busy interstate highway.

Kelly Wood, a spokesman for the multi-agency effort battling the Arizona blaze, said late Tuesday that two people of interest were being questioned about an abandoned campfire but he didn't immediately have details. He said the U.S. Forest Service would release more information Wednesday.

As efforts continued Monday to stop the advance of Arizona's second-largest recorded wildfire, residents of two towns were being allowed to return home -- but not without a stern warning that they could be in for a smoky, sooty, dangerous experience if they do.

Authorities lifted the evacuation orders Springerville and Eagar on Sunday, but warned residents of the towns located about 170 miles east-northeast of Phoenix that air quality could continue to be a problem, water may not be drinkable and food in refrigerators may have spoiled.

And while the communities have all the police, fire and medical coverage they need, emergency crews may have trouble getting to some homes because of downed trees or other obstacles, the Apache County Sheriff's Office said.

Authorities say a raging wildfire that could become the largest in Arizona history is now 5 percent contained after charring more than 386,000 acres and destroying 22 homes in Greer.

The Wallow Fire has burned more than 525 square miles in Eastern Arizona. But fire officials Thursday evening said they were optimistic some residents who have been forced to flee the flames would be allowed back home by the weekend.

Full evacuations were still in place for Eagar, Springerville, Sunrise, Greer, Blue River, Alpine, Nutrioso and many subdivisions. More than 5,000 residences are threatened by the massive fire, officials said.

Fire crews worked through the night to protect several Arizona mountain communities from a growing forest fire that has forced thousands from their homes and threatens transmission lines that supply electricity as far east as Texas.

The 607-square-mile blaze, the second largest ever in Arizona, is expected to reach the power lines as early as Friday. If the lines are damaged, hundreds of thousands in parts of New Mexico and Texas could face rolling blackouts.

Meanwhile, crews were hopeful that they could slow the fire Thursday if weather predictions hold true. After a few days of driving winds, there was no high-wind warning issued for Thursday.

A huge forest fire in the southwestern US state of Arizona has destroyed around 230,000 acres of forest, and forced some 2,500 people in rural communities to evacuate as firefighters battled the blaze.

There were no reports of casualties from the fire, but the third largest blaze in the state's history was nowhere near containment on Tuesday, with high winds and low humidity fuelling the inferno which is expected to continue for days.

Governor Jan Brewer on Monday signed a declaration of emergency in response to the wildfires, with her office saying the action released $200,000 from the Governor's Emergency Funds to pay for emergency responses and recovery expenses.

Over 2,500 firefighting personnel were battling the blaze, backed by 22 helicopters with equipment to douse the inferno, with water brought in to help in the battle, officials and local media said.

Firefighters said the blaze, which began on Saturday, was largely out of control.

New evacuations were ordered overnight in Arizona as firefighters attempt to gain ground on the Wallow fire, which has burned 192,000 acres near the New Mexico-Arizona state line.

Over 2,200 people fled their homes as the fires advanced, fed by hot winds and dry fuel. There is concern that the blazes could expand today, fed by hot gusty winds as well as lightning storms that can trigger new fires.

"It was horrific -- the likes of a fire I've never seen from the air before," Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer said.

Residents have turned to using inhalers in attempts to breathe through the thick smoke.

The Mexican government promised Friday to defend any Mexicans affected by an Arizona law that punishes employers who hire undocumented migrants. The Arizona law, which went into effect Tuesday, prohibits businesses from knowingly employing illegal immigra

Illegal immigrants in Arizona, frustrated with a flagging economy and tough new legislation cracking down on their employers, are returning to their home countries or trying their luck in other states.

Buffeted by criticism, the architect of an alternative plan to penalize employers for hiring illegal immigrants has revised his proposal. The new version of the initiative, filed Tuesday, still provides businesses with absolute immunity from charges of hi

Sheriff Joe Arpaio said Tuesday he has every right to crack down on day laborers in Phoenix. "I happen to be the county sheriff. I think Phoenix happens to be in the county. I go into Phoenix all the time to do investigations," Arpaio told FM News/Talk 92

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., on Friday announced her support for a permanent U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint south of Green Valley. Giffords said a checkpoint should remain where the temporary facility is located, north of Tubac on Interstate 19,

Time is running out for employers of illegal aliens in Arizona. A new state law takes effect next year that will harshly punish companies that hire illegal workers...one of Arizona's toughest sheriffs will help enforce this measure. Outrage tonight over a

Martinez was able to sneak back into the United States illegally. He was soon arrested for assault by the Scottsdale, Arizona, Police Department, which never reported him to federal immigration authorities. An ICE spokesman says, if it had been notified,