• Slug: Cattle and Snake. 1,105 words.
• Photo available (thumbnail, caption below).

By Kelechukwu Iruoma
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – The Center for Biological Diversity and Maricopa Audubon Society are accusing federal agencies of allowing livestock grazing that has put the northern Mexican garter snake at risk.

The rare wetland snake has lost 90% of its habitat in the past century and was declared threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 2014.

The two groups sued the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on July 11, asserting that livestock grazing on federal lands along the Big Sandy River in western Arizona is pushing the garter snake toward extinction.

Continue reading “Conservationists say cattle grazing on federal lands in Arizona has pushed a threatened garter snake closer to extinction”

• Slug: Green Energy Jobs. 915 words.
• Photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Amelia Monroe
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – The nation’s first solar-powered cobalt processing facility will break ground next year in Yuma County, a $300 million project subsidized by a big federal investment in climate-friendly projects.

The plan is one of two dozen projects underway in Arizona catalyzed by the Inflation Reduction Act signed by President Joe Biden in August 2022. The law set aside $370 billion to promote clean energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Continue reading “Arizona has seen growth in clean energy jobs under Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, at a cost Republicans call wasteful”

• Slug: ASU Budget Cuts. 785 words.
• File photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Aaron Stigile
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Arizona State University announced measures on Monday to deal with higher education budget cuts passed by the state Legislature. They include a tuition surcharge, cuts to programs such as the Arizona Teachers Academy and the Arizona Promise Program and the closing of its Lake Havasu center. Thousands of students and employees are expected to be affected.

The tuition surcharge is a $350 additional payment for full-time on-campus students in spring 2025. Part-time on-campus students will pay a proportional charge.

Continue reading “ASU tuition surcharge, cuts in response to state budget reflect lower Arizona higher education spending”

• Slug: News21-Fractured-Language Barriers. 2,655 words. Note: An abridged version of 1,447 words is also available. 
• With audio story and 9 photos.

Note to CN clients: This story includes Arizona material.

By Celia Frazier
News21

LAS VEGAS – In the heart of Las Vegas’ Chinatown, residents gather for a celebration of the annual Dragon Boat Festival. Some stop in to grab shiny, red packages of premade zongzi.
Others grab flyers decorated with a colorful dragon boat and something else: a QR code taking them to information about how to vote – all translated into Chinese. As demographics shift, advocates from Nevada and Arizona to Alaska are fighting to make voting accessible for citizens who speak different languages. But challenges remain – from the cost of translating materials to outright resistance to the idea.

 

• Slug: News21-Fractured-Generation Democracy. 2,576 words. Note: An abridged version of 1,150 words is also available.
• With video story, audio story and 16 photos. Also available: “The Civic Duty,” a series of three video explainers.

By Delaney Chase and Emily Richardson
News21

Note: This story has a strong Arizona focus.

NEW YORK – With studies showing a decline in civics education and knowledge across the U.S., programs from Arizona to New York are working to engage the next generation in democracy. In New York, high school students who gathered this summer for “Democracy Camp” were asked to consider a question: “What is my role in an ideal democracy?” In Arizona, Camp O’Connor takes seventh and eighth graders on a five-day journey through the workings of government. “There’s space to be better,” says one young voter.

 

• Slug: Who Crosses Border. 880 words. By Mia Osmonbekov.
• File photo available (thumbnail, caption below).

WASHINGTON – Republicans have been warning that “military-aged” men have been crossing the Southwest border in threatening droves since President Joe Biden took office – especially from adversaries such as China and Russia.

“It’s like a military invasion,” former President Donald Trump said at a rally in Tucson last week. “We are being conquered and we are being occupied by a foreign element. And you know, if you think about it, China has a 5 million man army.”

Continue reading “More migrants are coming from outside the Americas, but Donald Trump’s claims of ‘military invasion’ by China are unfounded”

EDS: This story has been updated to reflect that the Leona Group, which operates 28 charter schools in Arizona, declined to comment on the record. Please update grafs 14 and 15. 

• Slug: Homeless Money Unspent. 950 words.
• Photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Madeline Nguyen
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – The Arizona Department of Education is scrambling to urge schools to tap millions of dollars earmarked to help homeless students before the funds expire at the end of the month.

Three years ago, Arizona schools were allotted nearly $17 million in federal COVID-19 pandemic relief funds intended to provide resources ranging from temporary housing and transportation to prepaid debit cards. Continue reading “Millions in federal aid for homeless students in Arizona schools, unspent after 3 years, about to expire”

• Slug: Empowering Voters with Disabilities. 630 words.
• Photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Sienna Monea
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – As the November general election approaches, Arizona is taking a significant step toward ensuring that voters with disabilities are fully prepared to participate in the democratic process.

On Monday, First Place AZ and the Foundation for Blind Children co-hosted Spark the Spectrum, a workshop to equip voters with disabilities with the knowledge and tools needed for Election Day.

The event, which aligned with National Voter Registration Day, was designed to familiarize attendees with voting equipment, accommodations and the overall voting process. It also served as a reminder of the Oct. 7 voter registration deadline.

Continue reading “Spark the Spectrum empowers Arizona voters with disabilities after court ruling expands accessibility”

• Slug: Parkland Survivors Endorsements. 1,150 words.
• Photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Miguel Ambriz
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – March For Our Lives, the group founded by survivors of a 2018 high school shooting rampage in Parkland, Florida, has thrown its weight behind Democrats in two contentious races in Arizona.

In the fight for an open U.S. Senate seat, the group is backing U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego of Phoenix over Kari Lake, and former state Sen. Kirsten Engel of Tucson, who is challenging first-term U.S. Rep. Juan Ciscomani, a Tucson Republican.

Continue reading “Endorsements from Parkland survivors group elevates gun debate in Arizona races that pit Democrats against NRA-backed Republicans”

• Slug: Uranium Mine Environment. 1,095 words.
• Photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Marshall Baker
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Carletta Tilousi was a young girl when she first heard about possible uranium mining near her home of Supai. Deep within the canyons near the Grand Canyon’s South Rim, this is where the Havasupai people reside.

From the day they were contacted about it, the Havasupai were resistant to uranium mining near their homelands.

Continue reading “Havasupai Tribe continues to oppose controversial uranium mine as Energy Fuels assures safety”

Slug: News21-Fractured-Rise of AI. By Kyle Chouinard/News21. 2,794 words. Note: An abridged version of 1,100 words is also available.

With 7 photos.

CONCORD, N.H. — This year’s election marks the first amid the rapid rise of artificial intelligence, and that has regulators, lawmakers and voter advocates examining how best to regulate the technology to combat its misuse. Bills passed in New Hampshire and California seek to regulate deepfakes during election season, but other states and Congress have yet to take meaningful action. A robocall scheme in New Hampshire quickly became national news earlier this year, turning Americans’ concerns about the emerging technology of AI into a domestic case study for its misuse in elections.

 

• Slug: RECA Navajo Rally. 600 words.
• File photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Gabrielle Wallace
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Survivors of nuclear testing and uranium mines are ramping up pressure on Congress to reauthorize a federal compensation program that expired in June.

Many of those afflicted since World War II are from the Navajo Nation, which is organizing a rally next week that will include prayers at the Capitol for radiation victims.

“I want Congress to realize that it’s important and we need to pass this bill because some people did not get any … compensation,” said Maggie Billiman, whose father, a Navajo Code Talker during World War II, died of stomach cancer that she attributes to fallout from nuclear tests that settled over their hometown in Arizona.

Continue reading “Navajos will press U.S. House to revive aid for victims of bomb fallout and uranium mines”

• Slug: Young Voter Forum. 750 words.
• Photos available (thumbnails, captions below).
• Embeddable chart available.

By Hayden Larkin
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – With the 2024 election around the corner, droves of people are being pushed toward the polls this November. But and for many young voters, it has become difficult to remain engaged. Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. Tempe Alumnae Chapter urged college-aged voters to stay engaged and informed at its Youth Voter Forum on Sunday.

“I just encourage everyone to vote,” said Keisha Tatem, Alumnae Chapter president. “I vote because there were people at one point in time that could not vote, and some people lost their life to make sure everyone in America had the right to vote. And so I vote to honor them, but also because I want to be in control. I want to have some control over my future, and so it’s important to know that that’s what voting can give you.”

Continue reading “ASU voter forum encourages college-aged voters to engage ahead of 2024 election”

• Slug: Fractured-Trump’s Legacy. By Lillie Boudreaux and Ismael Lele/News21. 2,956 words. Note: An abridged version of 1,268 words is also available.
• With video story and 17 photos.

By Lillie Boudreaux and Ismael Lele
News21

In Tuesday’s debate, Vice President Kamala Harris sought to remind voters of Donald Trump’s role in the Capitol insurrection, the criminal charges he’s faced and of his ties with autocrats, saying he “admires dictators.” Harris, in short, put Trump himself in the spotlight. It’s been a common refrain this election year: Democracy itself is at stake. From political pundits to worried voters, many have insisted that should Trump take office again, he will destroy the very foundations upon which the country was built. What is the lasting impact of Trump, and Trumpism, on American democracy? And what might the future hold if he wins in November? News21 takes a look.

 

• Slug: 15-Week Abortion Explainer. 1,180 words.
• File photo available (thumbnail, caption below).

By Macy Markham
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON — States have imposed a wide range of abortion rules since the Supreme Court ended constitutional protection more than two years ago.

Half the states allow abortion through viability or set no restrictions tied to gestational age. Voters in Arizona and nine other states will decide whether to move in that direction in November.

Fourteen states ban abortion entirely.

Continue reading “Arizona’s 15-week abortion ban: What it means for pregnant women and how it compares to other states”

• Slug: Tempe Healing Field Photos. Photos by Aryton Temcio.
• Photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

TEMPE – The Tempe Healing Field paid tribute Wednesday to the 23rd anniversary of 9/11. The annual display of flags and related events memorialize those who lost their lives during the 2001 terrorist attacks. Nearly 3,000 American flags covered the fields of Tempe Beach Park.