ASU Prep launches Family Choice Day for flexible Friday learning

by Julia Thompson
  • Slug: Family Choice Day. 570 words.
  • Photos available (thumbnails, captions below).
  • Video available.

By Sienna Monea
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – ASU Preparatory Academy is making educational waves with Family Choice Day. This new program aims to give families more flexibility while helping students stay engaged in their learning. The initiative comes as more schools nationwide, including those in the Phoenix area, adopt four-day school weeks.

Continue reading “ASU Prep launches Family Choice Day for flexible Friday learning”

New coach Pa-Modou Kah brings global expertise to Phoenix Rising FC amid roster uncertainty

by Paola Boivin
  • Slug: Sports–Phoenix Rising New Coach, 1,140 words.
  • 3 photos available.

By Cooper Burns
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – The new coach of Phoenix Rising FC comes from a different league, and the roster he is taxed with improving before the United Soccer League season begins in March is still in a state of flux. But Pa-Modou Kah has a resume as unique as the situation he is inheriting.

Kah has a wealth of experience not only on the field but off it. The Gambia native has experience in both European and North American soccer and speaks seven different languages. Kah is fluent in Wolof, Norwegian, English, Spanish, French, Dutch and Arabic. Kah’s mastery of diverse languages should help him form genuine connections with his players quicker than most.

Just four days after Phoenix lost a quarterfinal playoff game to New Mexico on Nov. 3, ending Rising’s bid to defend their USL title, the team announced that interim coach Diego Gomez would not return. Gomez stepped in after the firing of first-year coach Danny Stone in June. Continue reading “New coach Pa-Modou Kah brings global expertise to Phoenix Rising FC amid roster uncertainty”

‘We are not alone’: LA city council passes sanctuary city ordinance as Donald Trump plans mass deportations

by Julia Thompson
  • Slug: LA Sanctuary City. 670 words.
  • Photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Brandelyn Clark
Cronkite News

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles City Council unanimously voted Tuesday to pass a new sanctuary city ordinance that aims to solidify protections for immigrant residents at risk of deportation.

City hall was abuzz with activity as supporters, many wearing T-shirts and holding signs with slogans like “Protect our neighbors” and “Make California a Sanctuary City,” gathered to advocate for the measure.

Continue reading “‘We are not alone’: LA city council passes sanctuary city ordinance as Donald Trump plans mass deportations”

Look who’s 21: Arizona State checks into CFP rankings for first time since 2014 as BYU looms

by Paola Boivin
  • Slug: Sports–CFP Ranking ASU, 760 words.
  • Photo available.

By Fletcher Anderson
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Defeat Kansas State? Check.

Land in the College Football Playoff rankings? Check.

The CFP committee placed Arizona State at No. 21 in the third ranking of the year Tuesday, its first appearance since the inaugural year in 2014 as they continue their improbable run at 8-2. Continue reading “Look who’s 21: Arizona State checks into CFP rankings for first time since 2014 as BYU looms”

Arizona Fall League proves invaluable for MLB prospects in successful 2024 campaign

by Adnan Alam
  • Slug: Sports–Fall League Championship, 800 words.
  • Photo available.

By Sean Brennan
Cronkite News

SCOTTSDALE – Entering the 2024 Arizona Fall League championship game, Washington Nationals No. 13 prospect Robert Hassell III felt several emotions.

He was excited for a chance at redemption: he reached the semifinals in the two previous seasons with two separate teams but lost each time. He felt a sense of fulfillment for giving himself an opportunity at a championship. But the one emotion he didn’t feel was surprise.

Despite the AFL season being a sprint that begins in early October and wraps up in mid-November, Hassell’s Salt River Rafters have formed a strong connection over the short time. They bonded over many things, but the biggest was undoubtedly the desire to win a championship. Continue reading “Arizona Fall League proves invaluable for MLB prospects in successful 2024 campaign”

Cronkite News Digest for Wednesday, Nov. 20

by Paola Boivin

Here is your Cronkite News lineup for Wednesday, Nov. 20.

If not linked below, stories promised for today, along with photos and links to multimedia elements, will post to our client site at cronkitenews.jmc.asu.edu/clients.

Continue reading “Cronkite News Digest for Wednesday, Nov. 20”

Cancer can affect anyone. But Hispanics face disproportionately severe outcomes

by Julia Thompson
  • Slug: Hispanic Cancer. 1,130 words.
  • Photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Nicollette Valenzuela
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – For 58-year-old Beatriz Topete, cancer has been a part of her life from an early age. When she was barely a toddler, Topete lost her mother to leukemia. Fourteen years later, her half-sister, 3, was diagnosed with Wilms tumor, a type of cancer that affects kidneys. The girl survived.

Later, the disease took her 62-year-old father, two uncles and one grandmother. Topete was anything but surprised when doctors told her she had a rare muscle cancer called leiomyosarcoma this year.

Continue reading “Cancer can affect anyone. But Hispanics face disproportionately severe outcomes”

Ruben Gallego outspent Kari Lake to win Senate seat but other Arizona races proved money isn’t always enough

by Julia Thompson
  • Slug: Costly Arizona Elections. 750 words.
  • Photo available (thumbnail, caption below).

By Miguel Ambriz
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – More than $250 million poured into Arizona’s contests for the U.S. Senate and House. After all the ads, mailers, phone calls and rallies, not a single seat flipped – proving, experts said, that money isn’t everything in politics.

The Senate race between Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego and Republican Kari Lake, a former news anchor, drew the bulk of that spending – $156 million, according to OpenSecrets, a group that tracks campaign spending.

Continue reading “Ruben Gallego outspent Kari Lake to win Senate seat but other Arizona races proved money isn’t always enough”

’12th-man experience’: No. 21 ASU set for showdown with No. 14 BYU as sold-out crowd awaits

by Julia Thompson
  • Slug: Sports–ASU Football BYU, 560 words.
  • Photo available.

By Dane Palmer
Cronkite News

TEMPE – Arizona State football has finally made its push into the top 25 teams in college football, landing at No. 21 in the nation. One of the most important games of the season now lies ahead of the Sun Devils as they get ready to face off with 14th-ranked BYU at Mountain America Stadium.

Coach Kenny Dillingham’s mantra has been “Activate the Valley” since he arrived at ASU, and it looks as if he’s done just that – Saturday’s matchup will go down in front of a sold-out crowd. Reportedly, student tickets were in high demand with the Ticketmaster queue reaching up to 1,000 people waiting to claim tickets.

Players have felt the buzz all week and are ready for the Sun Devils crowd to create a home-field advantage. Quarterback Sam Leavitt is more pumped for practice knowing he’ll be in front of a packed stadium this weekend. Continue reading “’12th-man experience’: No. 21 ASU set for showdown with No. 14 BYU as sold-out crowd awaits”

‘Cultural shift’ of young voters favored Donald Trump in 2024 election

by Julia Thompson
  • Slug: Young Voter Swing. 710 words.
  • Photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Nash Darragh
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – The outcome of the 2024 election has a familiar look to 2020. Then, the Democrats successfully got Joe Biden elected to the presidency, won the U.S. House and split the Senate. Now, a massive swing has led to what some are calling “the greatest comeback in political history.”

The Republicans have a trifecta for at least two years; Donald Trump won the presidency while Republicans won the Senate and officially claimed 218 House seats for a GOP majority.

Continue reading “‘Cultural shift’ of young voters favored Donald Trump in 2024 election”

Arizona receives mixed ratings on American Lung Association’s annual ‘State of Lung Cancer’ report

by Julia Thompson
  • Slug: State of Lung Cancer. 465 words.
  • File photo available.

By Jalen Woody
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – The American Lung Association (ALA) graded Arizona’s lung cancer response as mostly below average Tuesday. The association releases an annual report documenting the success or failure in each state’s response to lung cancer awareness.

“The No. 1 modality (for lung cancer) is going to be smoking,” said Dr. Richard Gillespie, a thoracic surgeon at HonorHealth Heart Care – Heart and Lung Surgery – Shea. “It’s No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, but it’s not the only risk.”

Continue reading “Arizona receives mixed ratings on American Lung Association’s annual ‘State of Lung Cancer’ report”

Breaking Barriers: Ability360 opens Phoenix Summit Challenge to all abilities

by Paola Boivin
  • Slug: Sports–Ability 360 Phoenix Summit, 850 words.
  • Photo available.

By Keller Brown
Cronkite News

TEMPE – On a slightly overcast Saturday at Papago Park, which is sandwiched between Tempe and Phoenix, a group of three hikers gathered to take on their second hike of the day, with two more trails still to follow.

The three hikers, accompanied by at least one guide per person at all times, were not ordinary hikers, and not just because they were willing to hike four trails in a day.

Two sat in wheelchairs, another recently suffered a partial loss of her vision. Continue reading “Breaking Barriers: Ability360 opens Phoenix Summit Challenge to all abilities”

Migrants headed north from the Darién Gap can walk or catch a bus

by Adnan Alam
  • Slug: Borderlands-Uvita. 2,340 words.
  • Photos, charts available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Carly Stoenner
Cronkite Borderlands Project

UVITA, Costa Rica — Yocelin Dayana Garcias Barrio and Gladys Yusberny Seijas Matute stand begging for money in front of a grocery store in this small tourist town on the Pacific coast in southern Costa Rica. They hold pieces of cardboard with messages written in black ink. The 90-degree tropical sun bears down on them, and perspiration mixed with highway exhaust soaks their clothes. They have been on the road for two months since leaving Colombia, which was their first stop after fleeing their home country of Venezuela.

“We are a Venezuelan family. We are migrants. Please help us if you can with work, food or a little money,” reads their makeshift sign. “Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”

Continue reading “Migrants headed north from the Darién Gap can walk or catch a bus”

COVID-19 winter surge expected to hit marginalized communities hardest, experts warn

by Adnan Alam
  • Slug: COVID-19 California. 940 words.
  • File photo available (thumbnail, caption below).

By Brandelyn Clark
Cronkite News

LOS ANGELES – As COVID-19 is expected to surge this winter, communities across the Southwest face rising hospitalizations and new, resilient variants. Infection rates can be even more severe for marginalized populations in these states.

Limited health-care access and historically low vaccination rates amplify the burden on these communities and underscore long-standing health disparities. Following a summer surge, this new wave serves as a stark reminder of how these inequities continue to put vulnerable groups at greater risk.

Continue reading “COVID-19 winter surge expected to hit marginalized communities hardest, experts warn”

‘Don’t get lost in the sauce’: No. 21 Arizona State preps for landmark game against No. 14 BYU

by Adnan Alam
  • Slug: Sports–ASU Football Ascension. 740 words.
  • Photo available.

By Tucker L. Sennett
Cronkite News

TEMPE – The last time Arizona State football finished the season undefeated at home came in 2004. Kenny Dillingham, then a 14-year-old freshman in high school, reflected Monday on what he was likely up to 20 years ago.

“I was either watching games or probably playing Halo 2 with people in high school,” Dillingham said.

The Master Chief, the Halo franchise’s iconic main character, is known for making miracles happen on science-fiction battlefields. While the gridiron isn’t the same as a sci-fi war, what the Arizona State head coach has done with the program in his second year is nothing short of a miracle. Continue reading “‘Don’t get lost in the sauce’: No. 21 Arizona State preps for landmark game against No. 14 BYU”

‘It’s like family’: Phoenix Suns gear and connection bring joy to Kenyan superfan Hussein Siro

by Adnan Alam
  • Slug: Sports–Kenyan Suns Fans. 740 words.
  • 3 photos available.

By Anne-Marie Iemmolo
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Devoted Phoenix Suns fan Hussein Siro was overcome with emotion when his package – which had traveled over 9,000 miles from Phoenix to Nairobi, Kenya – finally arrived.

Inside the box were a Devin Booker jersey and some Suns graphic tee shirts.

Mike Joseph, a graphic designer from the Valley and creator of the @SunsUniTracker account on X, had connected with Siro earlier in the year and arranged to send the package to Kenya. Continue reading “‘It’s like family’: Phoenix Suns gear and connection bring joy to Kenyan superfan Hussein Siro”

CORRECTION to Nov. 15 story on federal subsidies for the TSMC semiconductor factories

by Julia Thompson

EDS: Clients who used the Cronkite News story slugged CHIPS Biden TSMC that moved Friday, Nov. 15, under a WASHINGTON dateline are asked to run the following correction. The error occurred in grafs 2 and 18 of the original. A corrected version of the story has been posted here.

WASHINGTON – A Nov. 15 Cronkite News story about federal subsidies for the TSMC semiconductor factories in Phoenix misspelled the name of Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo.

Biden locks in $6.6B for huge TSMC chip factories in Arizona, ensuring Trump can’t rescind CHIPS Act deal

by Adnan Alam

EDS: An earlier version of this story misspelled the name of Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. The error occurred in grafs 2 and 18 of the original. The story below has been corrected, but clients who used previous versions are asked to run the correction found here.

  • Slug: CHIPS Biden TSMC. 645 words.
  • Photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Phineas Hogan
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – The Biden administration has finalized a $6.6 billion award for the Taiwan semiconductor giant that is building massive factories in Phoenix, amid concerns President-elect Donald Trump will derail subsidies aimed at fostering the domestic chip industry.

“This is a gigantic announcement,” Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo told reporters on a call ahead of the announcement early Friday, 10 days after Trump’s election.

Continue reading “Biden locks in $6.6B for huge TSMC chip factories in Arizona, ensuring Trump can’t rescind CHIPS Act deal”

Where’s the beef? After administrative feud defined relationship, ASU, GCU finally settling rivalry on court

by Adnan Alam
  • Slug: Sports–GCU ASU Fued. 1,200 words.
  • 2 photos available.

By Tucker L. Sennett
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – The relationship between the Valley’s two Division I basketball powers is an odd one. On Thursday night at Footprint Center, the Grand Canyon and Arizona State men’s basketball teams faced off in the Hall of Fame Series in a battle for community supremacy.

GCU’s rise from athletic afterthought to March Madness darling suggests an ideal crosstown rival for ASU. However, a history of bad blood between the schools at an administrative level prevented the rivalry from ever truly blossoming on the court.

Grand Canyon’s for-profit status was a major point of contention for Arizona State president Michael Crow. The tension boiled over at two inflection points, with the most recent coming in a scathing exchange between Crow and GCU president and CEO Brian Mueller in 2017. Continue reading “Where’s the beef? After administrative feud defined relationship, ASU, GCU finally settling rivalry on court”

Strength coach for the mind: Diamondbacks’ mental performance guru brings ‘whole person’ into baseball

by Adnan Alam
  • Slug: Sports–Diamondbacks Mental Health. 1,470 words.
  • 3 photos available.

By Grace Del Pizzo
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Major League Baseball – with its 162-game season, plus spring training, plus postseason for a lucky few – is a uniquely grueling sport physically.

It is also a uniquely mental game. Much of it is played in solitude. Players can do all the preparation and coaching they want, but when they ultimately step up to the plate or take the mound, they do it alone.

When a sport is as all-encompassing as baseball, how do players stay locked in on the game without losing themselves in it?

Continue reading “Strength coach for the mind: Diamondbacks’ mental performance guru brings ‘whole person’ into baseball”