• Slug: BC-CNS-FAFSA Mess. About 500 words.
• Photos available (thumbnails, captions below)
• Video available.

By Athena Kehoe
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Students across the state are still in limbo as they wait to hear how much financial aid they can expect to receive for the upcoming school year.

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, otherwise known as FAFSA, has now been delayed for months. This means that students and parents are still unsure how much financial aid they will be offered for the 2024-25 school year, which may delay college decisions. Arizona universities are hoping the information will be ready by the end of April so they can relay financial aid information to students.

The delays have caused a significant decrease in the number of people who submitted a FAFSA form.

Continue reading “Arizona students still unsure of financial aid for fall as Gov. Katie Hobbs announces FAFSA campaign”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Abortion Armies,710 words.
• 3 photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Martin Dreyfuss
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – While lawmakers inside the Capitol were jockeying over efforts to repeal a near-total abortion ban from 1864, advocates on both sides of the issue who gathered outside the Capitol Wednesday were looking forward to fights at the ballot box this fall.

Hundreds showed up over the course of the day, carrying signs, handing out literature and manning tables in hopes of recruiting people to their cause.

It came as Democrats tried – and failed – for a second week to repeal the 19th century law that was revived last week by the Arizona Supreme Court, that makes abortion a felony except to save the life of the mother. But the effort inched forward in the Senate, before both chambers adjourned until next week. Continue reading “Abortion-rights advocates, opponents continue to spar, with eye on fall ballot”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Jones Execution,670 words.
• 2 file photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Ian McKinney
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – State officials told the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday that a lower court gave too much weight to mitigating factors when it ordered a new sentencing for Danny Lee Jones in a pair of brutal 1992 murders in Bullhead City.

But Jones’ attorney argued just the opposite. While conceding that Jones was guilty of “brutal crimes,” including the strangulation of a 7-year-old girl, the defense attorney said a lower court judge “serially nit-picked” evidence of Jones’ brain damage and abusive childhood to support the death sentence for him. Continue reading “State asks Supreme Court to reject new trial for Arizona death row inmate”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Senate Abortion,960 words.
• 3 photos, video story available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Reagan Priest and Martin Dreyfuss
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – The Arizona Senate took tentative steps toward a repeal of the state’s 1864 abortion ban Wednesday, just hours after House Republicans blocked efforts to do so.

Senate Democrats, with the support of Republican Sens. T.J. Shope and Shawnna Bolick, were able to introduce a bill to repeal the territorial-era law that bans virtually all abortions, a law that was resurrected by the Arizona Supreme Court last week.

That ruling is currently on hold, but abortion-rights activists have been scrambling to stop the ban from taking effect. Attempts last week to overturn the law, just days after the court ruling, were blocked by Republicans in both the House and Senate. Continue reading “Republicans stall, but don’t kill, effort that would repeal 1864 abortion ban”

EDS: An earlier version of this story included incorrect timing of a Free Arts Day put on by Free Arts for Abused Children of Arizona. The error appeared in the 13th graf. The story below has been corrected, but clients who used previous versions are asked to run the correction found here.

• Slug: BC-CNS-M3F Philanthropy. 1,100 words. By Sam Ballesteros.
• 18 photos available (thumbnails, captions below).
• Audio clips available here and here.

By Sam Ballesteros
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – For 20 years, the M3F music festival has been an oasis for music lovers in the Phoenix area, as well as a benefactor of local charities. Since its inception in 2004, M3F has donated 100% of its ticket sales to different charities in Arizona – accumulating about $5.2 million in total donations.

Tired of galas and auctions, John Largay of Wespac Construction wanted to give back to the community in a creative way. So, in 2004, the McDowell Mountain Music Festival was born. The festival would change over the next two decades, including its name, nonetheless, M3F has continued its mission of bringing people together through music and support of local charities that foster arts, community, education and environment.

Continue reading “M3F music festival funds art programs, other nonprofits in Arizona”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Alternative Meat Labeling. 760 words.
• Photos available (thumbnails, captions below).
• Video available.

By Sadie Buggle
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – In response to the surging popularity of lab-grown meat and plant-based alternatives, Arizona Rep. Quang Nguyen, R-Prescott Valley, has introduced a bill seeking to impose stricter regulations on the labeling and representation of such products.

HB 2244 aims to prevent “intentionally misrepresenting” food items not derived from traditional livestock or poultry as meat or animal products. This legislation would apply to lab-grown meat created from the cells of animals as well as plant-based meats or synthetic alternatives derived from insects or other sources.

Continue reading “Arizona bill aims to regulate labeling of meat alternatives, but opponents say it’s too broad”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Long-COVID Disparities,1180 words.
• Photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Leah Mesquita
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Andrew Archer has been recovering from COVID-19 for almost four years.

“My life is so different (now), and I’m slowly starting to accept that,” Archer said. “It’s like losing a part of you.”

Archer is a part of the estimated 18.1% of Arizonans to ever experience long COVID – a condition broadly defined by symptoms that continue to develop weeks, months or years after an acute COVID-19 infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Continue reading “Arizona’s long-COVID cases top nation’s; Hispanics most likely to suffer”

• Slug: BC-CNS-PPD Pill,1774 words.
• 4 photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By David Ulloa Jr.
Cronkite News

PHOENIX –  The Food and Drug Administration approved the first pill meant to help parents treat their postpartum depression, but it comes at the cost of $15,900 for a 14-day treatment cycle. Mrs. Arizona International 2023 Carolyn Larsen knew she was at risk, even though she had no history of depression or mental health issues, because her sister had suffered from postpartum depression. But she always wanted to be a mom, so she made grand plans in preparation for her first child.

Continue reading “Behind the smile: How a nonprofit organization and a new postpartum depression pill seek to help those fight their silent battle”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Biggs Stage,820 words.
• Photo available (thumbnail, caption below).

By Ian McKinney
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs said he is prepared to tell the Senate, and the American public, the “historical basis” of high crimes and misdemeanors and how they apply to the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

If he gets the chance.

The Senate is expected to quickly dismiss articles of impeachment that will be sent over this week from the House, which indicted Mayorkas in February on two articles, including willful refusal to comply with the law and “breach of public trust.”

Biggs is one of 11 House managers scheduled to present the case to the Senate, which one analyst called a “reinforcement of brand on steroids” for the Gilbert Republican who is one of the leaders for the far-right Freedom Caucus in the House. Continue reading “Biggs ready for his day in impeachment spotlight, even if it’s short-lived”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Abortion Veep,740 words.
• 4 photos, video story available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Lillie Boudreaux
Cronkite News

TUCSON – Vice President Kamala Harris blasted former President Donald Trump Friday as “the architect” of new abortion restrictions sweeping the country, including the near-total ban that was resurrected this week in Arizona.

The hastily arranged Tucson campaign stop came just three days after a divided Arizona Supreme Court ruled that, since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned its Roe v. Wade decision in 2022, an 1864 abortion ban that was still on the books in Arizona was back in effect. Continue reading “Harris, Arizona Democrats seize on abortion ban to blast Trump, GOP”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Early Exit,850 words.
• 2 file photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Ian McKinney
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Jacob Angeli-Chansley, better known as the “Qanon Shaman,” will not be going back to Washington – at least not in any official capacity.

Angeli-Chansley was one of more than 70 would-be candidates for federal office who failed to meet the April 1 deadline to turn in petition signatures to the secretary of state’s office that were needed to get their names on the ballot.

While that narrowed the field, it still left dozens of candidates who will compete in this fall’s primary and general elections – some of which are already shaping up to be bitter, high-profile bloodbaths. Continue reading “Shaman sidelined: Chansley among more than 70 to miss signature threshold”

• Slug: BC-CNS-AIDS Walk. 1,300 words.
• Photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Brenna Gauchat
Cronkite News

TEMPE – Kenyon Belyeu was handing out leaflets and condoms at the Aunt Rita’s Paint the Town Red AIDS Walk Arizona & 5K Run, when he talked candidly about his own HIV diagnosis – a discovery he made only because he was being treated for substance use disorder.

“Terros came to do HIV testing and STI (sexually transmitted infection) testing,” said Belyeu, a Terros Health program supervisor. “I found out nine years ago that I was HIV positive and if I never went to rehab or if I never got tested, I would never know my status.”

Terros Health, an Arizona-based health care company, was just one of the many partner organizations involved in the AIDS Walk Arizona & 5K Run on April 6. Aunt Rita’s Foundation, which began in 1988 with the purpose of “filling in the gaps” in community HIV care, was the organizer of this year’s event. The foundation supports HIV prevention and treatment programs with grants to groups like Terros Health that may not have the budget to cover its wide range of HIV-related services.

Continue reading “Annual 5K walk & run tackles misinformation and stigma surrounding HIV and AIDS”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Veterans Wall Photos. 90 words.
• Photos available (thumbnails, captions below).
• Video available.

By Kayla Mae Jackson
Cronkite News

PEORIA – The Wall That Heals, a replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., is on display through Sunday at Lake Pleasant in Peoria. The traveling replica has been displayed in nearly 700 communities across the U.S., according to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund.

The three-quarter-scale replica is 375 feet long and 7.5 feet tall and honors the more than 3 million Americans who served in the U.S. armed forces in the Vietnam War. It features the names of more than 58,000 who lost their lives in the war.

Continue reading “The Wall That Heals: Replica Vietnam Veterans Memorial travels to Lake Pleasant”

EDS: An earlier version of this story misquoted filmmaker Greg Kwedar. The error appeared in the 11th graf. The story below has been corrected, but clients who used previous versions are asked to run the correction found here.

• Slug: BC-CNS-Phoenix Film Festival. 720 words.
• Photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Paloma Ruherford
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – The Phoenix Film Festival is celebrating its 24th year and is dedicated to promoting independent cinema and providing a platform for filmmakers to showcase their work.

Jason Carney, executive director of the Phoenix Film Foundation and the festival, said this anniversary offers valuable insights into the growth and evolution of filmmaking in the Valley over the past two decades.

Continue reading “Phoenix Film Festival works to boost Arizona’s film scene”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Black Overdose Deaths. 950 words.
• Photos available (thumbnails, captions below).
• Graphic from Pew Research Center.

By Jack Orleans
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Black people in Arizona die from opioid overdoses more than any other race or ethnicity, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.

The Opioid Overdoses Surveillance report revealed that Black people in Arizona experience an opioid overdose fatality rate of 32.4 deaths per 100,000 people. Nonfatal overdoses also occur at a higher rate for Black Arizonans than for other groups, at a rate of 67.7 per 100,000 people.

Continue reading “Black people have the highest opioid fatality rate among all other races and ethnicities in Arizona”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Prom Dress Shopping. 945 words.
• 20 photos available.

By Lauren Kobley
Cronkite News

GLENDALE – Prom season is upon us. Some high schoolers are looking for a more affordable and sustainable option when purchasing a dress this year.

The price of a new prom dress could range from $85 to $900, but most people will spend an average of $400 to $500, said Kunal Madan, co-founder of Amarra, a dress company. According to the company’s guide to navigating prom costs, total costs could be upward of $2,000.

Continue reading “The Prom Closet and Valley Girl Dresses offer prom shoppers free or affordable options”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Rockin’ River Ranch. 660 words.
• Photos available (thumbnails, captions below).
• Video available.

By Marnie Jordan
Cronkite News

CAMP VERDE – After setbacks and struggles and eager anticipation and waiting, Rockin’ River Ranch State Park opened on Feb. 9.

Arizona’s newest state park sits between Phoenix and Flagstaff, at the confluence of West Clear Creek and the Verde River, where native wildlife, hiking trails and picnic areas have already attracted local and international visitors.

According to the website, the 209-acre state park was originally privately owned and operated as a guest ranch with horse riding and boarding facilities. The state acquired Rockin’ River Ranch in 2008, and master planning happened in 2017 and early in 2018.

Continue reading “‘Absolute beautiful place’: Rockin’ River Ranch State Park opens in Camp Verde”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Hobbs Affordable Housing Photos.
• Photos available by Marnie Jordan.
• Video available.
• Note: This story includes photos and video only.

Continue reading “Photos: Gov. Katie Hobbs touts affordable housing initiative”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Tribes Cartels,620 words.
• 2 photos available (thumbnail, caption below).

By Ian McKinney
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Lawmakers wanted to talk about the problems of foreign criminal cartels operating on Indigenous lands, but tribal leaders came to the House Natural Resources subcommittee hearing Wednesday seeking solutions.

Instead, they said, they left the hearing afraid it was just another “check-a-box-off” exercise.

“Something that wasn’t really talked about is where do we go from here?” said Tohono O’odham Chairman Verlon Jose. “I heard, ‘Yes I want to go to your reservations,’ ‘Yes, I learned something.’ But there was no real strong commitment on where do we go from here. That’s what I want to hear.” Continue reading “Tribal leaders seeking solutions to cartel crime, say they mostly got talk”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Repeal Repelled,850 words.
• File photo available (thumbnail, caption below).

By Martin Dreyfuss
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – The Arizona House blocked two efforts to overturn a near-total ban on abortion Wednesday, one day after the 19th-century law was reinstated by the state Supreme Court.

The procedural moves to block the repeal sparked an outburst by angry Democrats, who shouted down the lawmakers who called for a recess. That was followed by a more-civil, but no more successful second try later in the day before the House adjourned for a week.

Rep. Stephanie Stahl Hamilton, D-Tucson, said “the eyes of the world watching the state of Arizona” and she urged her colleagues to stay in session and vote to reverse the Supreme Court’s “extreme” ruling. Continue reading “Attempt to repeal abortion ban fails as House devolves into raucous shouting”