• Slug: BC-CNS-Marching On.750 words.
• 5 photos available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Ian McKinney
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – For Tucson resident Jacob Mauer, joining the National March for Life in Washington was a “bucket-list moment” – even if it came on a frigid, snowy Friday that kept down the crowd size, if not the excitement.

“I went to a Catholic school growing up so even from a very early age I was always taught that all life is important and so I felt like coming here,” said Mauer, 22.

“Obviously, it’s not a short trip to D.C. and the weather’s not great, but this is too important of an issue to not come out and support,” he said as he wrapped a blanket over his shoulders to ward off the below-freezing temperatures on the National Mall. Continue reading “Roe is gone, but Arizonans still join abortion opponents marching in D.C.”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Immigrant Interpreters,530 words.
• 2 photos, video story available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Adriana Gonzalez-Chavez
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Asylum seekers who don’t speak English are once again required to bring their own interpreters to interviews for U.S. immigration services, and some worry it will be a hindrance for those fleeing persecution in their home countries.

The September rule change reverted to a pre-pandemic requirement that put the onus on non-English-speaking migrants to find and pay for an interpreter. Continue reading “Asylum seekers face new requirement to find their own interpreters”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Budget Salv0,820 words.
• 2 file photos available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Lillie Boudreaux
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Gov. Katie Hobbs unveiled a $16.3 billion budget proposal Friday for fiscal 2025 that would close a projected $889 million revenue shortfall by cutting transportation projects and sharply reining in the state’s Empowerment Scholarship Accounts.

Those cuts and others, if approved, would clear the way for Hobbs to fund $488 million in new initiatives, including investments in child care support, prisons, housing and public education.

But bipartisan support seems unlikely. The Republican chairmen of the House and Senate Appropriations committees were already blasting the proposal Friday afternoon, with Rep. David Livingston, R-Peoria, calling it an “unserious mess.” Continue reading “Hobbs targets transportation, ESA program to close $889 million budget hole”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Rural Veterans,750 words.
• Photo available (thumbnail, caption below)

By Ian McKinney
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren called on lawmakers Thursday to put Veterans Affairs medical and benefits centers on the reservation to help deliver services that he said Indigenous veterans have earned but often cannot access.

“The lack of VA care in the Navajo Nation is not reflective of the continuous contributions the Navajo people have provided to this country,” Nygren in testimony to the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee. Continue reading “Navajo president calls for new VA medical, benefits centers at House hearing”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Yuma Accusers,700 words.
• File photo available (thumbnail, caption below)

By Ian McKinney
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Supreme Court justices grappled Wednesday with the question of when testimony from an expert crosses the line into evidence that a defendant should have the right to challenge in court.

The question arose in a Yuma County drug case where Jason Smith was convicted in part due to lab tests that were performed by Arizona Department of Public Safety forensic scientist Elizabeth Rast, but presented at trial by another expert, Greggory Longoni.

Smith’s attorneys say that violated his Sixth Amendment right to confront his accusers. Continue reading “Supreme Court considers right to face accusers in Yuma drug case”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Riparian Restoration,540 words.
• 8 photos available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Hunter Fore
Cronkite News

TUCSON – On an overcast November morning, volunteers got to work to restore local river flow.

Drought and decreasing water availability have been ongoing problems throughout Arizona. In Tucson, drought along with new land developments are causing decreases in vegetation and wildlife habitat.

Watershed Management Group is a Tucson-based nonprofit that aims to fix this problem. The group aids in local water conservation, land restoration and river flow. It holds regular events to help the environment such as cleanups, workshops, fundraisers and classes. The group has a club called the River Run Network, which includes a biweekly email with invitations to events like creek walks and family education days to help restore Tucson’s heritage of flowing rivers. Continue reading “Watershed Management Group removes invasive plants to aid in river flow, land restoration in Tucson”

• Slug: BC-CNS-HIV Dominican. Audio Essay,200 words.
• 7 photos, 3 audio stories linked below (photo thumbnails, captions below)

By Albert Serna Jr.
Cronkite Borderlands Initiative

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic – AIDS Healthcare Foundation works to provide treatment for people living in the Dominican Republic. But for Haitian migrants, access to care can be difficult. Continue reading “For immigrants in the Dominican Republic, HIV treatment access is hard to obtain”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Pumped Hydropower,1220 words.
• 3 photos available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Renee Romo
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – When Adrian Herder saw the plans for proposed hydropower project on the Navajo Nation’s Black Mesa, he was shocked by the “outrageous” 450,000 acre-feet of water the project would reportedly use.

“Which is also kind of scary, too, especially given that we’re from such an arid region here on Navajo,” said Herder, media and community organizer for Tó Nizhóní Ání – or Sacred Water Speaks – a Diné-led environmental nonprofit.

Developers agree it would be scary – if it was right. But Denis Payre insists that the Black Mesa Pumped Storage Project – which is still years away from approval, much less construction – will use only about 3,000 acre feet of water while generating clean, renewable energy. Continue reading “‘Pumped’ hydropower plans proliferate; one in particular stirs opposition”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Hispanic Middle Class,1550 words.
• 2 photos, graphic available (embed code, thumbnails, captions below).

By Tim Henderson
Stateline

The Hispanic middle class has grown faster than the white or Black middle class in the past decade and has reached near-parity with the white middle class in seven states, including Arizona, according to a new Stateline analysis.

Between 2012 and 2022, the percentage of Hispanic households in the country that qualified as middle class grew from about 42% to 48%, while the share of white households in the middle class remained about the same at 51%. The proportion of Black middle-class households grew more slowly, from 41% to 44%.

Hispanic households’ increasing economic success reflects the maturing of a community that now has more U.S.-born residents. But it also reflects a change in fortunes for immigrants filling service jobs that are in high demand, as well as a broader labor shortage that has pushed up wages. Continue reading “Arizona among states where Hispanic families are surging into middle class”

• Slug: BC-CNS-UFO R-E-S-P-E-C-T,710 words.
• Photo, video story available (thumbnail, caption below)

By Alexandria Cullen
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – After years of researching UFOs, Phoenix resident Shane Hurd thinks the research may be finally be entering what he hopes is a “golden age.”

“The taboo … is lifting and the government is taking it seriously,” said Hurd, the assistant director of the Arizona Mutual UFO Network. “And as I said, I think we’re even in a little bit of a golden age where we stand a real possibility of getting some very meaningful information from the government and … from scientists.”

Hurd and other researchers are encouraged by the federal government’s recent interest in explaining Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena – the new name for what used to be called UFOs. Continue reading “UFO buffs feel the R-E-S-P-E-C-T as government gets serious about research”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Opioid Settlement. 750 words.
• Photos, video story available (thumbnails and captions below).

By Oakley Seiter
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – On Aug. 31, Maricopa County announced it was distributing approximately $2 million in national opioid settlement funds to 12 local organizations. The county prioritized organizations that offer youth prevention and treatment, recovery programs and harm reduction programs. According to the Maricopa County Department of Public Health, more than two-thirds of all drug overdose deaths from 2019 to 2021 involved opioids.

Live and Learn AZ, a nonprofit organization that supports women, received $60,000 of those funds. Live and Learn provides education and training to women who have experienced homelessness, domestic violence or substance use disorders, and offers a structured two-year program to help women reach economic independence. The organization offers career guidance, job training, mentoring and financial assistance. Continue reading “Maricopa County uses part of national opioid settlement for group that helps recovering women”

EDS: This is a partner story from KUNC. If you choose to use it, please fill out this form to help their tracking.

• Slug: BC-CNS-Winter Wishing,1240 words.
• 6 photos, audio story available. (thumbnails, captions below)

By Alex Hager
KUNC

When the snows come to the mountains of Colorado, it’s good news for skiers but also the first step to recharging the Colorado River.

But this winter’s precipitation outlook is unclear, and how it unfolds will have an outsized impact on the next few years of management of the river, which supplies water to tens of millions of people from Wyoming to Mexico and gets most of that water from high-altitude snow, two-thirds of which falls in Colorado. Continue reading “Winter snow could help recharge the Colorado River. But what if it doesn’t?”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Tomato Wars,740 words.
• 2 file photos available. (thumbnails, captions below)

By Lux Butler
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – The U.S. is involved in a “critically important trade battle” that could cost the Arizona economy billions while raising the price of tomatoes to consumers by as much as 50%, according to one study.

That’s what Arizona businesses and lawmakers say will happen if the Commerce Department gives in to demands to raise tariffs and overhaul an agreement on tomatoes imported from Mexico, an agreement that growers in Florida and other states say is being abused. Continue reading “Tomato fight: Arizona firms say tariff on Mexican tomatoes will hurt state”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Politician Shaman,880 words.
• 3 file photos, video story available. (thumbnails, captions below)

By Adrienne Washington
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Jacob Angeli-Chansley said he is not ready to give up on shamanism, but he wants voters in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District to know that he no longer wants to be known as the QAnon Shaman.

“I’ve never called myself a shaman. I call myself a shamanic practitioner. I practice shamanism,” said Angeli-Chansley, who rocketed to fame as the face-painted, horned-hat face of the Jan. 6 insurrection.

“If I’m going to rebrand myself, it would be maybe ‘America’s shaman,’ because the QAnon label has been stigmatized with the number of sub-labels or subcategories, conspiracy theories, white supremists, terrorists,” he said. “I don’t want to be associated with anything that the media has already maligned.” Continue reading “Still a shaman, but not the ‘Q’ shaman: Chansley rebrands for Congress bid”

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

By Renee Romo
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Open congressional seats typically draw a crowd of hopefuls, but the crowd lining up to replace outgoing Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Peoria, is being described by experts with words like “all-stars,” “fascinating” and “fun.”

The 20 candidates to file paperwork for the seat with the Arizona Secretary of State’s office for the primary or general election so far include two failed statewide GOP candidates, another two who were at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 and the former congressman from the district, who resigned amid an ethics probe in 2017.

“Grab your popcorn, pull up your chair because you’re going to be in for a world of fun watching that race … it’s going to be a blast to watch,” said Mike Noble, CEO of Phoenix-based Noble Predictive Insights. Continue reading “Lesko’s retirement starts stampede of high-profile hopefuls in 8th District”

EDS: This is a partner story from KUNC. If you choose to use it, please fill out this form to help their tracking.

• Slug: BC-CNS-Colorado Confab,1740 words.
• 4 file photos, audio story available. (thumbnails, captions below)

By Alex Hager
KUNC

The annual Colorado River Water Users Association meets this week, but for the first time in several years, state water policy leaders say there’s less urgency for short-term fixes and more time to focus on long-term solutions.

A wet winter and a recent conservation deal have bought some breathing room as the biggest water policymakers in the arid West convene in Las Vegas at the Colorado River’s marquee annual event.

The event brings together hundreds of scientists, politicians, tribal members, farmers and others with a stake in the future of the water supply for roughly 40 million people across the Southwest. While they still face the daunting challenge of agreeing on water cutbacks by farms, ranches and cities from Wyoming to Mexico, many say last year’s wet winter helped clear the way for more productive talks. Continue reading “Some breathing room as water managers meet to weigh Colorado River’s future”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Vintage Fashion,1170 words.
• 4 photos available. (thumbnails, captions below)

By Kate Duffy
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – If you’ve been to a flea market or visited First Friday in downtown Phoenix, you’ve likely seen booth after booth of independent sellers offering a curated selection of vintage finds.

Vintage reselling has become a popular full-time job for fashion enthusiasts in the past few years, and vintage markets have become a destination for young shoppers hoping to lessen their environmental impact by avoiding fast fashion. Continue reading “Vintage resale: Sustainable business endeavor grows for fashion enthusiasts”

• Slug: BC-CNS-CN2Go Weekly Update. Runtime 13:09.
• Downloadable audio here. (Note: Some web browsers may not support media download)

 [Music bed under]

CN2Go Host: This is Cronkite News 2 Go. I’m your host, Kiersten Edgett.

[Music fade in/under]

CN2Go Host: On today’s show, we talk about Governor Katie Hobbs signing a petition to put abortion rights on the 2024 ballot, how New Mexico residents are taking action to raise gun violence awareness, and more about a new project launched by the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition.

Continue reading “CN2Go Weekly Update: Abortion rights push, gun violence awareness and tribal boarding school healing”