• Slug: BC-CNS-Battleground Arizona,1110 words.
• 4 photos available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Lillie Boudreaux
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – In the 51 years since the U.S. Supreme Court recognized – and then reversed – federal abortion protections, advocates and opponents have fought constantly over the boundaries of that right.

That fight continues today, but now Arizona finds itself at the forefront of the national battle.

Abortion-rights advocates are hoping to get voters to amend the state constitution this fall to enshrine abortion protections, while opponents are arguing that the proposal goes too far. And both sides are waiting to see if the Arizona Supreme Court will restore a 19-century law, still on the books, that bans almost all abortions. Continue reading “After 51 years of fighting, abortion in Arizona comes down to next 10 months”

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”

• 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-Commerce Criticism.690 words.
• 2 file photos available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Reagan Priest
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – A Senate committee grilled Arizona Commerce Authority officials Wednesday, just one day after Attorney General Kris Mayes said the agency’s wining and dining of CEOs violated the state’s gift clause.

The normally routine sunset review by the Senate Government Committee turned into an hours-long review of the agency’s performance.

It included an Arizona Auditor General report that said the authority spent millions on “CEO Forums” for tickets, hotel rooms and food for events like the Waste Management Phoenix Open and the 2023 Super Bowl. The audit also said the authority is at “increased risk of fraud and waste of public monies” because it lacked sufficient documentation for some of its activities. Continue reading “Senate panel blasts Commerce Authority in face of audit, legal questions”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Undocumented Mental Health,1440 words.
• 4 file photos, video story available (thumbnails, captions below)

By John Leos
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Ileana Salinas has to renew her immigration status this year. If she misses the deadline or doesn’t get approved, she doesn’t know what will happen to her job, her family, or her life in the United States. Living each day in survival mode has taken a toll on her mental health, and the ever-changing slew of immigration policies are compounding the problem.

Salinas is a recipient of temporary immigration protection under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals initiative, or DACA, enacted by the Obama administration in 2012. This program was intended to temporarily alleviate the threat of deportation for the hundreds of thousands of undocumented youth who immigrated to the United States as children. Continue reading “Arizona’s anti-immigrant policies foster culture of fear, create barriers to mental health care for undocumented communities”

• 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-Boarding School Histories,1640 words.
• 9 photos, audio available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Ellie Willard
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – A national oral history project aims to document the experiences of Indigenous children who attended federal boarding schools. The Department of the Interior announced the project in September as part of the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative.

The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition (NABS) has been entrusted to lead the project with $3.7 million in grant funding through the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Continue reading “‘We are survivors’: National, Arizona projects aim to uncover, preserve histories of Native American boarding schools”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Arizona Honeybees,600 words.
• 7 photos available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Kate Duffy
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Key pollinators in Arizona faced a rough summer, but community efforts can help them thrive.

Arizona is home to the second-most diverse bee population in the country, according to pollination ecologist and bee specialist Stephen Buchmann, who said more than 1,300 native bee species reside in the state. The desert landscape also hosts a large population of honeybees, which, while not native to Arizona, are still important pollinators. Continue reading “Gardening helps protect threatened bees in Arizona”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Saavi Services,850 words.
• 4 photos, video story available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Caleb Scott
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Sending an email, cooking a meal and navigating the internet are activities people might take for granted, but some people need special training in order to perform these tasks. Saavi Services for the Blind teaches people who are visually impaired or blind how to do many activities that enable them to live independently.

Garry Fowlkes, 45, a recent graduate of Saavi, said “it gave me back a life.” Fowlkes, whose vision had been deteriorating for decades. had to have cataract surgery when he was in eighth grade. He said that until Saavi, “I was throwing a very lavish pity party.” Continue reading “Saavi Services for the Blind helps build life skills, career, tech training for independent living”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Border Alzheimer’s,1600 words.
• 6 photos, graphic available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Angelina Steel
Cronkite News

LAREDO, Texas – In a small border community in Texas, locals attending the city’s eighth annual Walk To End Alzheimer’s carried large pinwheel-shaped flowers made of brightly colored plastic, each color representing a different designation for those affected by the disease.

The orange flowers represented people who support the cause of Alzheimer’s research, yellow flowers were held by those caring for someone battling Alzheimer’s; people who have lost someone to the disease carried purple flowers and blue flowers were carried by those currently battling it.

Texas border communities have higher rates of Alzheimer’s than anywhere else in the state. Laredo, with a population of about 256,000, is a border community located across from Tamaulipas, Mexico. According to a study released by the Alzheimer’s Association, Laredo is tied with El Paso, another border community, for the highest Alzheimer’s rate in Texas and is ninth in the nation: 15%. Continue reading “Alzheimer’s impacts border communities in Texas at a higher rate than the rest of the state”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Sailing Classes,550 words.
• 4 photos, video story available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Sydney Witte
Cronkite News

TEMPE – Tempe, renowned for its popular Mill Avenue and Arizona State University, has a lesser-known yet thriving spot making waves – Tempe Town Lake. This expansive water haven isn’t just a picturesque backdrop: It’s a hub for various water recreation pursuits such as outrigger canoeing, kayaking and sailing.

Audubon Arizona reports that the state’s waterways, including Tempe Town Lake, contribute $13.5 billion to Arizona’s economy, drawing 1.5 million residents annually who indulge in the diverse aquatic offerings.

Arizona’s water recreation activities run deep with families across the state. Continue reading “Arizona Sailing Foundation makes waves with sailing lessons in the Valley”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Hayden Flout Mill,650 words.
• 6 photos available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Ellie Willard
Cronkite News

TEMPE – The Hayden Flour Mill silos and building have stood vacant since the mill officially closed in 1998. But that’s about to change.

In October, the city of Tempe announced the approval of a restoration and redevelopment plan for the historic Hayden Flour Mill, which stands at the corner of Mill Avenue and Rio Salado Parkway.

“The mill is truly a central, iconic building and very unique building to Tempe’s history,” said Jared Smith, senior curator at the Tempe History Museum. “It makes sense that that building is a focal point going forward.” Continue reading “A 120-year legacy: Tempe’s historic Hayden Flour Mill set for revitalization”

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-Snow Drought,580 words.
• 2 photos available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Alex Hager
KUNC

Winter is off to a dry start across the West, with wide swaths of the Rocky Mountains seeing lower-than-average snow totals for this time of year. But scientists say there’s still plenty of time to end the “snow drought” and close the gap.

High-altitude snowpack has big implications for the region’s water supply, which serves about 40 million people across seven Western states. Two-thirds of the Colorado River’s water starts as snow in Colorado’s mountains before melting and flowing into the watershed. Continue reading “An early-winter ‘snow drought’ is leaving the West’s mountains high and dry”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Adaptive Water Sports,300 words.
• 7 photos available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Hunter Fore
Cronkite News

SCOTTSDALE – On a sunny Saturday, kids and adults alike strapped on their life vests for some fun in the sun at Bartlett Lake.

At this September event and others like it, Arizona Adaptive Watersports helps people with disabilities enjoy the water through activities that include wakeboarding and water skiing. Continue reading “Arizona Adaptive Watersports provides fun-filled lake days for people with disabilities”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Gateway Tucson,990 words.
• Photo, graphic available (embed code, thumbnail, caption below)

By Adrienne Washington
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Migrant encounters in the Tucson sector of the border have steadily increased in recent years until the sector became busier than any other on the southern border, replacing the Rio Grande Valley as the busiest.

Migration experts say reasons behind the shift are not surprising: Migrants are looking to avoid other, more militarized border sectors. Continue reading “Tucson sees most border encounters, as migrants turn away from other sectors”