• Slug: FEMA Politics. 905 words.
• Photo available.

By Amelia Monroe and Mia Osmonbekov
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – As Hurricane Milton slams into Florida, and North Carolina residents dig out from Hurricane Helene, Republicans are pushing claims – widely debunked – that federal disaster aid has been depleted because of illegal immigration.

“FEMA, among a whole bunch of other federal agencies, has been using your tax dollars that are supposed to help you as American citizens,” said U.S. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Louisiana, during a campaign stop Tuesday in Phoenix on behalf of former President Donald Trump. “They use that money helping illegals here that they brought into America.”

Continue reading “Republicans falsely link illegal immigration to federal relief funds as Hurricane Milton slams Florida”

• Slug: Cisconmani-Engel Rematch. 1,195 words. By Miguel Ambriz.
• Photo composite available (thumbnail, caption below).

By Miguel Ambriz
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – In the rematch between first-term U.S. Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Tucson, and former state Sen Kirsten Engel, D-Tucson, immigration and abortion rights are forefront issues.

Both call the other extreme, even as each claims to be a centrist eager to work with people across the aisle.

“Rep. Ciscomani and I agree that Congress has been run by extremists,” Engel said during a fiery 55-minute debate Tuesday night. “Where we disagree – I believe Mr. Ciscomani is part of that dysfunction. He has sided with extremists.”

Ciscomani portrayed his challenger as out of touch on kitchen-table issues and public safety.

Continue reading “In closely watched rematch, freshman U.S. Rep. Juan Ciscomani tangles with ex-state Sen. Kirsten Engel over border, abortion and extremism”

• Slug: Gila River Solar Canal. 660 words.
• Photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Jalen Woody
Cronkite News

SACATON – In the heart of Sacaton, located south of Phoenix, the Gila River Indian Community received nearly $6 million in funds from the Biden administration in 2023 to create a renewable energy plan involving the construction of solar panels over the Casa Blanca Canal.

Funding came from the Inflation Reduction Act, part of Biden’s Investing In America agenda, which aimed to combat the effects of climate change with new projects to conserve energy, according to the Department of the Interior. The project aims to cover 2,782 feet of the canal and requires approximately 2,556 solar panels.

Continue reading “Gila River Indian Community solar panel-over-canal project powers up on a hot October day”

• Slug: Antisemitism Campuses. 795 words.
• Photos available.

By Zev Black
Cronkite News

TEMPE – As incidents of antisemitism continue to surge across the United States, new data from the Anti-Defamation league shows staggering numbers with college campuses emerging as a focal point.

Jewish students report feeling increasingly unsafe and facing harassment, vandalism and hateful rhetoric in both physical and online spaces. While some students at Arizona State University believe that the administration has done a good job with ensuring safety on campus, concerns remain.

Continue reading “1 year after Hamas attack, antisemitism remains problem on college campuses”

• Slug: Voter Registration. 435 words.
• Photos available.

By Hayden Larkin
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Monday, Oct. 7, marks the final deadline for Arizona voter registration. Volunteers and state officials across the political spectrum are attempting to engage citizens for the November election.

This election is a tight one, where both presidential candidates are fighting to win battleground states like Arizona.Polls show both former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris effectively tied in many of the key states, meaning both campaigns are vying for votes to clinch a victory. Continue reading “Groups target potential Arizona voters on last day to register for 2024 election”

• Slug: Noncitizen Voting. 1,075 words.
• File photo available (thumbnail, caption below).

By Mia Osmonbekov
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – The threat of a government shutdown thrust noncitizen voting, a long-standing Arizona political flashpoint, into the national spotlight after House Speaker Mike Johnson paired the government funding package with a controversial election integrity bill.

Backed by former President Donald Trump and four U.S. House representatives from Arizona, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act would require proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections.

Continue reading “Donald Trump-backed SAVE Act elevates noncitizen voting claims, but experts say it’s rare”

• Slug: Indigenous Voting Obstacles. 1,100 words.
• Photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Marshall Baker
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – The Indian Citizenship Act was signed into law in June 1924, granting Indigenous people born in the United States citizenship and the right to vote. Although this was 100 years ago, today Indigenous people in Arizona still face many challenges when it comes to the electoral process at the federal, state and local levels.

Despite the law, Native Americans still faced many suppression tactics. In 1948, the Arizona Supreme Court overturned a ruling prohibiting Indigenous people from voting in the state. Even after the Voting Rights Act was passed by Congress in 1965, reinforcing Indigenous voting rights, English literacy tests were given as a requirement to vote until the 1970s.

Continue reading “Arizona organizations look to help Indigenous communities with voting obstacles ahead of November”

EDS: An earlier version of this story misspelled Sam Morrissey’s last name in grafs 2, 13 and 21. The story below has been corrected, but clients who used previous versions are asked to run the correction found here.

• Slug: LA Olympics Transportation. 800 words.
• 3 photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Emery Davis
Cronkite News

LOS ANGELES – Ahead of the 2028 Olympic Games, the City of Angels is already preparing for its turn with the torch by improving public transport in support of a “transit-first” Games.

“Public transportation will be the best option for spectators to take because it will be built into the Games plan to serve as the most reliable and efficient way to get to your destination while minimizing traffic in highly congested areas,” Sam Morrissey said in a statement. Morrissey is vice president of transportation for LA28, the Games’ organizing committee.

Additional public transportation will not only benefit spectators of the Games but also Southern California residents.

Continue reading “Southern California transportation upgrades will support sustainable 2028 Olympics in LA”

• Slug: Cancer Disparities Climate. 865 words.
• Photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Brandelyn Clark
Cronkite News

LOS ANGELES – Last month, experts examined cancer in medically underserved communities at the 17th annual American Association for Cancer Research Conference in Los Angeles. One panel was dedicated to the intersections of climate change and cancer disparities.

The panelists said there is a need for a more equitable approach to environmental justice and cancer care among marginalized communities.

Continue reading “California panel calls attention to ties between Southwest climate crisis and cancer disparities”

• Slug: Women of Color Politics. 930 words.
• File photo available (thumbnail, caption below).

By Sienna Monea
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – As the 2024 presidential election approaches, women of color are emerging as one of the most influential voting blocs in the United States. Their growing political power is reshaping policy debates and driving grassroots activism across the country.

Arizona, a battleground state, has seen substantial change to the racial and ethnic composition of its electorate. According to the Center for American Women and Politics, Black women became the second-largest group in voter turnout in the U.S. in 2022, behind White voters and ahead of Asian American/Pacific Islander and Latino voters. In recent elections, the number of women voting exceeded the number of men. Black voters play a crucial role in several key battleground states this year.

Continue reading “Experts say women of color will massively influence the 2024 election”

• Slug: Bernice King. 630 words.
• Photos available.

By Hayden Larkin
Cronkite News

TEMPE – An often-forgotten piece of the Civil Rights Movement is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s visit to Arizona in 1964 to champion the Civil Rights Act. In honor of the 60th anniversary of this event, Arizona State University, in collaboration with the Tempe Center for the Arts, spearheaded this celebration with a keynote lecture by Bernice King, the youngest of King’s children.

She urged people to engage with her father’s strategies of nonviolence to change the minds of others.

Continue reading “Bernice King, ASU celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy for 60th anniversary of Arizona visit”

• Slug: Grijalva Retirement. 485 words.
• File photo available (thumbnail, caption below).

By Jackson Sutter
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Tucson Congressman Raúl Grijalva, diagnosed with cancer early this year and absent from the U.S. Capitol since February, says his next term will be his last.

He’s seeking a 12th term next month and on Monday, the 76-year-old Democrat told KOLD-TV in Tucson that he won’t run again after that.

Continue reading “Tucson Congressman Raúl Grijalva, sidelined by cancer since February, says next term will be his last”

• Slug: Harris Border. 830 words. By Nash Darragh.
• Photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Nash Darragh
Cronkite News

DOUGLAS – Border security and stability were main themes in the gymnasium at Cochise College on Friday during a visit by Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris along with other prominent Democrats.

“I strongly supported the comprehensive border security bill written last year, as you know, by a bipartisan group of senators, including one of the most conservative members of the United States’ Congress,” Harris said. “That bill would have hired 1,500 more border agents and officers. It would have paid for 100 inspection machines to detect fentanyl that is killing tens of thousands of Americans every year.”

Continue reading “Vice President Kamala Harris touts failed bipartisan border bill as immigration solution in Arizona speech”

• Slug: Prison Health Care. 1,025 words.
• File photo available (thumbnail, caption below).

By Hayden Larkin
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – In 2022, Judge Roslyn Silver ruled that Arizona was violating prisoner’s rights by not providing proper care and that health-care faults were causing preventable deaths in Arizona prisons. That case, Jensen v. Thornell, led to the Arizona Department of Corrections Rehabilitation & Reentry implementing changes to its quality of care up to bring it to constitutional standards via changes in staffing, higher quality physical care and access to mental health care.

However, the case didn’t end the issues. In 2023, the Arizona district court issued another injunction to speed up the process, ordering the state to improve its health-care staffing, bring in additional physicians and hit benchmarks laid out by the court. In 2024, though, the problems remain.

Continue reading “Monitoring reports show prison health care provider NaphCare, Arizona still noncompliant after 2022 case”

• Slug: California Proposition 36. 1,300 words.

By Brandelyn Clark
Cronkite News

LOS ANGELES – As California grapples with a surge in crime, the debate over how to address the issue has divided the state. Proposition 36, also known as the Homelessness, Drug Addiction and Theft Reduction Act, would toughen penalties for nonviolent drug and theft offenses and add new sentencing enhancements.

Supporters argue it’s a necessary step to rebuild communities’ safety and health while critics warn the proposition will refill prisons and disproportionately affect marginalized communities.

If passed, Prop. 36 would reverse Proposition 47, an extensive prison and sentencing reform measure. Since its adoption nearly a decade ago, it has reduced the prison population, reduced recidivism and saved the state more than $800 million.

Continue reading “California’s Prop. 36, which would again toughen criminal penalties, sparks debate”

• Slug: Unions Harris Trump. About 1,000 words.
• Photo available (thumbnail, caption below).

By Grace Monos
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – About 10,000 votes would have tipped the last presidential contest in Arizona. The state has about 133,000 union members so, like other slivers of the electorate, these and their issues could be decisive.

Traditionally, Democrats hold a major edge with organized labor due to their consistent support for higher wages and the right to unionize.

Continue reading “Arizona union workers weigh 2024 presidential choices as Kamala Harris and Donald Trump vie for support”

• Slug: Tribal Water Rights. About 600 words.
• Photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Gabrielle Wallace
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Seven states that rely on the Colorado River each got a cut of its water under a deal struck over a century ago – a deal that excluded the Hopi, the Navajo and other tribal nations.

After years of pressure and negotiation, Congress is moving to rectify what the tribes have long seen as an injustice that has caused enormous hardship.

Continue reading “Arizona tribes’ long fight for share of Colorado River water nears resolution in Congress”

• Slug: Chandler Hispanic Heritage Film. 720 words.
• Photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Sienna Monea
Cronkite News

CHANDLER – To mark Hispanic Heritage Month, the city and the Chandler International Film Festival screened the 2015 film “Spare Parts” on Sunday. The film, based on a true story, follows four Arizona high school students who defied the odds to win a national robotics competition.

The event was also a chance to celebrate the people who inspired the film. The screening featured a red carpet, appearances by local community leaders and a Q&A session with the film’s director, Sean McNamara; its writer, Elissa Matsueda; one of the four students, Lorenzo Santillan; and the original robotics coach depicted in the film, Fredi Lajvardi.

Continue reading “‘It’s not just a movie’: Hispanic Heritage Month screening of ‘Spare Parts’ honors STEM heroes”

• Slug: Kelly Cruz Microchips. 570 words.
• Photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Miguel Ambriz
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – In an election year, cooperation between Republicans and Democrats tends to be rare.

But this week, Sens. Mark Kelly and Ted Cruz, an Arizona Democrat and a Texas Republican, together succeeded in pushing through a measure to cut red tape that delays new U.S. semiconductor factories.

Continue reading “Sens. Mark Kelly and Ted Cruz join forces to cut red tape on U.S. semiconductor projects”

• Slug: Harris Border Douglas. 775 words.
• Photos available.

By Mia Osmonbekov
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Vice President Kamala Harris will visit Douglas on Friday, her first border visit as the Democratic presidential nominee and only her second as vice president.

In June 2021, she spent over 4 hours in El Paso, far from the migrant crisis hotpots at the time.

Douglas is also not the focus of Republican attacks about the current administration’s record on border security, which could help explain why her campaign picked it.

Continue reading “Why Douglas? Kamala Harris picks relatively quiet Arizona border city to blunt Donald Trump’s attacks”