• Slug: BC-CNS-Sinema Out,680 words.
• 2 file photos available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Ian McKinney
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema announced Tuesday that she will not run for re-election this fall, lamenting the current state of partisan politics where voters and lawmakers alike prefer to “retreat farther to their partisan corners.”

The announcement ends months of speculation over Sinema’s political future and removes the possibility of what could have been a three-way race for Senate, as Sinema left the Democratic Party in 2022 to become an independent.

That followed a series of votes that angered progressives, who targeted Sinema over her refusal to back a higher minimum wage and to preserve the filibuster, among other actions. Continue reading “Sinema won’t run again, decries system where ‘compromise is a dirty word’”

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• Slug: BC-CNS-Tree Tales,530 words.
• 2 photos, audio story available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Alex Hager
KUNC

The current Western megadrought is unlike any other dry period the region has experienced over the past 500 years.

That’s according to a new study in which scientists looked at tree rings to track changing temperatures going back to 1553. Researchers found that human-fueled climate change is driving temperatures higher, which makes soil drier and droughts more frequent, intense and widespread. Continue reading “If trees could talk: Tree rings show recent decades warmest in 500 years”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Lethargic Lawmakers,940 words.
• File photo, graphic available (embed code, thumbnail, caption below)

By Ian McKinney
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Lawmakers passed a last-minute budget extension Thursday to head off a looming Friday government shutdown – just the 40th law passed by this Congress, which is on pace to be the least productive in at least a half-century.

Those 40 bills – four of which were continuing resolutions to extend the budget that Congress has been unable to pass since fiscal 2024 started Oct. 1 – are about 11% of what would normally be passed at this point in a typical congressional session. Continue reading “Congress in action, or inaction? This Congress among the least productive”

• Slug: BC-CNS-EVerify Vilified,780 words.
• 2 photos, video story available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Martin Dreyfuss
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – House Speaker Ben Toma says his latest immigration bill could save Arizona billions in welfare benefits annually, but small-business owners rallied Monday to say it will cost the state instead, by driving out businesses and workers.

The business owners, backed by advocates and Democratic lawmakers, said HCR 2060 – which would require proof of citizenship to work or to receive any public assistance – will wind up hurting the state’s economy while renewing fear among Latinos in Arizona. Continue reading “Business owners challenge bill requiring E-Verify checks for jobs, benefits”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Defense Dollars,680 words.
• 2 photos, graphic available (embed code, thumbnails, captions below)

By Ian McKinney
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – When the Senate approved $95 billion in military and other aid for Ukraine and Israel earlier this month, President Joe Biden singled out Arizona as one of the states that would benefit from the increased defense spending.

It’s not clear whether Ukrainian aid is entirely the cause, but there’s no question that defense spending has been good to the state. The Pentagon spent $15 billion in Arizona in fiscal 2022, the last year for which data is available, up from $14.6 billion the year before. Continue reading “Going on offense over Defense spending: Biden touts benefits to states”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Sickle Cell,1430 words.
• 8 photos available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Mia Milinovich
Cronkite News

PHOENIX — Arizona currently has a one- to two-day supply of donated blood, barely half of the standard supply. The shortage is critical for Arizonans who need frequent blood transfusions because they have sickle cell disease.

Sickle cell disease is a red blood cell disorder that affects close to 100,000 Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Sanjay Shah, the director of the sickle cell program at Phoenix Children’s Hospital, said without frequent transfusions, sickle cell patients experience severe pain that can result in organ damage. According to BioNews, simple blood transfusions for sickle cell patients are “typically given in intervals, possibly once or twice a month.” Continue reading “Arizona is in critical need of blood donations for sickle cell disease patients”

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• Slug: BC-CNS-Hydropower Halted,710 words.
• File photo. audio available (thumbnail, caption below)

By Alex Hager
KUNC

Federal energy officials took the unusual step of denying permits Thursday to several pumped hydropower projects proposed on the Navajo Nation, citing a new policy that gives tribes a greater voice in projects on their lands.

The tribe and environmental groups had urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to deny applications for several of the pumped storage projects, saying they worried about the impact of the projects but had not been consulted by developers. Continue reading “Federal regulators deny permits for hydropower projects on Navajo Nation”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Migrant Tumble,810 words.
• Photo, graphic available (embed code, thumbnail, caption below)

By Ian McKinney
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Border encounters plunged from record highs of more than 300,000 in December to 176,205 in January, a 42% drop that Customs and Border Protection attributed to enforcement efforts and a traditional seasonal drop.

While most people welcomed the drop, few were confident that it will remain at this level – a level that critics said should still be considered a “crisis.” Continue reading “January sees sharp drop in border numbers after record-setting December”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Election Summit,680 words.
• 3 photos available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Ian McKinney
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – The federal government provides funds to make sure bridges and dams don’t collapse – it should do the same for the nation’s elections, a bipartisan group of Arizona officials said this week.

The comments by Maricopa County Supervisors Bill Gates and Jack Sellers and Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes came at a National Association of Counties discussion on elections, which Fontes called “the most egregious unfunded mandate in the American political system, or any political system.” Continue reading “State officials call for federal funds to protect election systems, workers”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Cardiac Schools,570 words.
• Photos, video story available (thumbnail, caption below)

By Lauren Kobley
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – More than 23,000 children each year will experience cardiac arrest, according to the American Heart Association. Of these incidents, 40% are related to sports.

Pyper Midkiff was one of those children. Last April, when she was 12, she suffered cardiac arrest during the middle of her soccer practice at a Mesa park. Pyper’s dad, Matt Midkiff, was called over to the field by Pyper’s twin sister, Emeri. By the time he arrived, another parent had begun CPR. Continue reading “Arizona Heart Association lobbies for bill mandating cardiac arrest emergency plans in schools”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Satanic Reverses,650 words.
• Photo available (thumbnail, caption below)

By Martin Dreyfuss
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – A Senate committee gave preliminary approval Wednesday to a bill that would ban satanic displays on public grounds, following an often-testy debate over whether Satanism is a religion to be respected or a “desecration of public property.”

The Reject Escalating Satanism by Preserving Essential Core Traditions, or RESPECT Act, would ban “satanic memorials, statues, altars, or displays, or any other method of representing or honoring Satan” on public property.

Opponents, including Satanists who testified against the bill, called it a clear violation of their freedom of religion rights. But a combative Sen. Jake Hoffman, R-Queen Creek, called Satanism the “antithesis of religion.” Continue reading “Bill to ban satanic displays advances, after heated debate on religion”

EDS: An early version of this story incorrectly reported the full name  of MALDEF as well as Andrea Senteno’s title in the 14th graf. The story below has been corrected, but clients who used previous versions are asked to run the correction found here.

• Slug: BC-CNS-Border Bill,970 words.
• 2 file photos available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Ian McKinney
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – The bipartisan immigration reform bill unveiled in the Senate late Sunday includes $1.4 billion to help border communities grappling with the migrant surge, in addition to funding for Ukraine and Israel.

The money for the Migrant Shelter and Services Program, which helps communities and nonprofits along the border provide assistance to migrants, is part of a $6 billion pot of money in the bill that would go toward beefing up border security.

But the overall $118 billion measure faces an uphill fight in Congress, where critics from both sides of the aisle have attacked it and House Speaker Mike Johnson declared it “dead on arrival” even before seeing the bill. Continue reading “Border bill includes funds for local communities, along with Ukraine, Israel”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Shaky Sinema,820 words.
• 3 file photos available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Ian McKinney
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema raised a fraction of what her leading challengers brought in in the last quarter of 2023, raising new questions about her chances in what could be a bruising, three-way race.

Sinema still had more than $10 million in her campaign account as of Dec. 31, more than any of the candidates currently in the race, according to numbers posted Thursday by the Federal Election Commission.

But the FEC said she raised less than $600,000 in the last quarter, compared to $3.3 million for Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Phoenix, and $2.1 million for GOP hopeful Kari Lake in the same period. Continue reading “Sinema’s lackluster fundraising quarter raises eyebrows over campaign hopes”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Planet Pluto,710 words.
• 2 file photos available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Martin Dreyfuss
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Pluto was taken off the “full-size planet” list almost 20 years ago, but that’s no reason why it can’t still be Arizona’s official state planet, the way Rep. Justin Wilmeth sees it.

“When you think of cactus, you think of Arizona. When you think of Pluto, you think of Arizona,” said the Phoenix Republican.

That may be a stretch but Wilmeth’s “fun” bill to add the planet to the long list of official state symbols was passed 8-1 Wednesday by the House Government Committee. Continue reading “It’s not officially a planet, but Pluto could be Arizona’s official planet”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Black Breast Camcer,1080 words.
• 3 handout photos available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Mia Milinovich
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Cancer biology, inadequate insurance coverage and limited access to health care are a few factors influencing the consistently high breast cancer mortality rates for Black women in the United States, according to cancer experts. Black women are over 40% more likely to die from breast cancer than white women, a percentage that has largely stayed the same for a decade, according to the American Cancer Society.

While the overall disparity in deaths from many cancers has grown smaller between Black and white communities, there is a prevailing divide in mortality rates for breast and uterine cancers. Continue reading “Local group, U.S. task force target disparity in Black breast cancer mortality rates”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Border Disorder,1000 words.
• 2 photos, graphic available (embed code, thumbnails, captions below)

By Ian McKinney
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Border officials said they encountered more than 300,000 migrants at the southern border in December, setting a one-month record that pushed the total for the first quarter of fiscal 2024 to 785,422.

The continuing surge in migrants comes as debate on immigration is heating up in Washington. Senators this week are expected to unveil a sweeping, bipartisan immigration reform bill that is already being called “dead on arrival” in the House, where a committee is set to start impeachment proceedings Tuesday against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Continue reading “As immigration debate heats up, migrant encounters in December set record”

EDS: NOTE potentially offensive language in quote in last graf.

• Slug: BC-CNS-Party Crashers,900 words.
• 2 file photos available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Ian McKinney
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – One day after its chairman was forced out over the leak of an embarrassing audio tape, the Arizona Republican Party got more bad news Thursday when former President Donald Trump backed out of a planned Friday fundraiser.

The rally, which was to have featured many of the state’s leading GOP candidates, was subsequently canceled – on the eve of the party’s annual meeting set for Saturday.

It’s been a week for the Arizona GOP. Continue reading “DeWit quits, Trump bails, rally’s cut: It’s been a week for Arizona’s GOP”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Grooming Ban,750 words.
• 2 photos available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Martin Dreyfuss
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Teresa, now 16, testified about the late-night texts from her softball coach, his talk of drinking and losing his virginity and, eventually, the uncomfortable touching.

And how prosecutors later told her there was nothing they could do about it.

That’s why she and her parents turned out Wednesday for an emotional hearing on a proposal to make child “grooming” a crime.

Under current law, “the actions that occurred in my situation … are legal,” Teresa told the House Judiciary Committee, choking up at points during her testimony. It was the emotional highlight of a packed 90-minute hearing in which murmurs and occasional crying could be heard from the audience.

But opponents argued that there are laws in place to punish the coach for what he did, and the bill is unneeded. Continue reading “Victim backs bill to criminalize child ‘grooming’; opponents say it oversteps”

EDS: NOTE potentially offensive language in quote in 15th graf.

• Slug: BC-CNS-Focus Phoenix,880 words.
• 8 photos available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Lillie Boudreaux
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Chanting “bans off our bodies” and “my body, my choice,” protesters marched on the Arizona Capitol Saturday as the National Women’s March was held in Phoenix to highlight the state’s role as the next battleground over abortion.

The chanting, cheering crowd of mostly women included those who fought for abortion rights as well as those who grew up knowing nothing else until the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.

“I honestly can’t believe that I’m doing this all over again,” said Jennifer Kimball, 74, a Phoenix resident who recalled advocating for abortion rights in the 1970s when the Supreme Court handed down Roe v. Wade, the decision that recognized abortion as part of the constitutional right to privacy. Continue reading “Phoenix hosts ‘National’ Women’s March, as abortion debate moves to Arizona”